When you find yourself accumulating too many books, a good way to rationalize this is to declare yourself a collector of books. Then you can get as many books as you want without feeling like you have a psychological problem. (I mean, I do have psychological problems but they’re unrelated to amassing books.) (I think.)
This series was inspired by your interest in earning a closer look at my work library after I posted a picture of my shelves in my “Day in the Life” story from or June Member Drive. In fact, a spreadsheet was requested specifically. So guess what I made you a spreadsheet!!!
So let’s get to it, shall we?
The Professional Lesbian Reference Library
1. Anti-Gay Science // 2. Race/Racism, Black Herstory // 3. Lesbian Ethnography // 4. LGBT Visual Art // 5. LGBT Film/TV // 6. LGBT Culture By Location, LGBT Travel // 7. LGBT Culture & History // 8. Historical Lesbian Relationships // 9. Old Hollywood Lesbians & Bisexuals // 10. Journalism & Media Studies // 11. LGBT Reference // 12. Gender Studies // 13. Crime // 14. LGBT Biography // 15. Sex & Sexuality // 16. Feminism
There’s this concept that all information exists on the internet and this is false. Especially when it comes to queer history, I’ve leaned heavily on actual physical books to produce the work I publish here. Whole swaths of even pop culture history have been reduced to what’s accessible online — we link to and recirculate the same one-off Pride Month articles about Vita and Virginia or Josephine and Frida as if there are not detailed accounts, often from the stars themselves, of so many more historical lesbian romances than roam the popular imagination! Not pictured here are the plethora of books I’ve checked out from online and brick-and-mortar libraries to tell stories I can’t find anywhere else.
The books come from all over — I beeline for the LGBTQ+ section of used bookstores to find hidden gems and out-of-print materials and will essentially always shell out for any type of almanac or otherwise allegedly comprehensive reference material. Some were snagged from my Mom because she minored in Women’s Studies when she got her MSW.
Some were purchased specifically for Autostraddle stories, like the Gaia’s Guides (listing of lesbian and lesbian-friendly spots worldwide for travelers) I used to write posts like 12 Lesbian Resorts You Could Visit This Summer If You Have a Time Machine.
Organization Scheme
When I moved into my new apartment I wanted to really formalize this section as a collection of books organized like a bookstore or library — by stated topic. However I was limited by the number of books that will fit on each shelf and I also like to group books by the same author together — so sometimes books that belong in the work section are in my personal section (Like The Ex-Girlfriend of My Girlfriend is My Girlfriend probably belongs in Lesbian Ethnography, but I wanted it to live amongst other neon pink books on my Personal shelf.), and sometimes I have books that are not actually LGBT-specific in sections I have claimed are LGBT-specific. Luckily nobody else uses this library except me!
There’s some little gems in here from my life: a skull my ex bought from a street vendor that everybody thinks is creepy but I feel sentimental towards it, a Dyke Duck I fought hard to win in a Blogger Contest in the late aughts, a porcelain Sugar Skull (filled with tequila, I think, has been sealed since it arrived) from a Vida press kit, our GLAAD Award, a pencil holder in the shape of a fist.
The Personal Library
1. Stephen Dunn // 2. Mary Gaitskill // 3. Joan Didion // 4. Poetry // 5. Eileen Myles // 6. Am Homes + Raymond Carver // 7. Sarah Schulman // 8. Lorrie Moore + Rick Moody // 9. Anthologies // 10. Young Adult & Children’s Books // A: Queer Stuff // B: Everything Else
This shelving system is a little less defined, because although I’ve abandoned color-coded bookshelves, I’ve not tired of their appeal, and still prefer to have some visual coherence — which sometimes trumps accurate categorization. But something vaguely coherent is there: gay things and gay authors are mostly in the same quadrant, I have a shelf of slim poetry books. My faves are assembled in short stacks.
I also did a huge sweep of my library before moving this past December and got rid of a bunch of books I deeply regret getting rid of already, I don’t know what I was thinking, I miss them all.
For months after moving in, I poured over page after page of bookshelf options while all of these books remained in stacks on the floor. I leaned picture frames against them like it was intentional art, but it was just indecisiveness until one day I woke up and like so many of us, simply declared, fuck it I’m getting that thing from IKEA. I had to get rid of my old bookshelves when I moved because of all the ghosts clinging to them, you understand.
Other Areas
Some of my books are not in either of these locations because they are in a box in my closet (e.g., erotica books I have stories in) or on my coffee table (e.g., Tegan & Sara On/In/At, The Company of Women) or in my room or, you know, on loan.
I also read a lot of e-books — sometimes I buy them but more often get them from my local library. If you want to keep up with what I am reading, you should follow me on Goodreads!
And Now: The Spreadsheet of the Entire Library
Have I ever felt more vulnerable than I do at this moment, sharing this database with up to 6k people???? Yet I have done so, primarily because a fundraiser is happening and listen I will pull out all the stops. I’d like to qualify that a book existing in my home does not mean a book is good or unproblematic — I read a lot of different perspectives and authors, including writers that I would absolutely never endorse and rarely agree with. Many of these books are old and filled with old ideas and terminology, and also I’ve kept books that meant a lot to me when I was younger and stupider than I am now. Also tbh if I have a nice crisp hardcover book I’m gonna keep it forget unless the author like literally murders somebody.
But, so, here it is: My Library. To access the base, you need to enter a password, that password is “readafuckingbook.” Welcome to the chambers of my soul!
I still have an Autostraddle “read a fucking book” bookmark from who knows when
Omg I have one somewhere (probably in a book?) and now that I’ve been reminded of it, I need to find it!
mine is so worn but i remain deeply attached to it!
First question: literal ghosts, metaphorical ghosts, or both? (Clinging to the old bookshelves)
metaphorical!!!
Oh good. Although I guess you probably wouldn’t want to bring either with you to a new place.
yes i also cannot say for certain there were no literal ghosts you never know
I have never been so jealous of someone’s home library
sometimes when i watch tv shows or movies about rich people and they have a GIANT CAVERNOUS LIBRARY i think wow i am so very jealous
This is so amazing Riese thank you!!
This spreadsheet made me so happy
Wow! Thank you, Riese! This makes me miss my books which are currently in my parent’s house in many boxes. (I left them there when I went out of the country and haven’t taken them back since returning a couple months ago.)
I love love love spreadsheets (I keep spreadsheets of all the books I read each year and tag them by genre, author, whether they’re queer, etc.) and I bookshelves and taking a look into someone else’s brain in that way. Truly the best A+ perk possible for me personally.
Just requested Girl, Visions and Everything from LA County Library because I love Schulman and had somehow never heard of that one! Can’t wait.
Love it! I always love seeing people’s bookshelves and hearing about it. Mine are all over my house in various bookcases. There was an organization once but no one else wanted to follow it so now chaos reigns.
I love this, I love the bookshelves, and I love and feel seen by the strong presence of Joan Didion.
( Shoutout to my one prof who in one quarter hit me with the concept of transnational literature, Nella Lawson, Junot Diaz (I know, but the fact one COULD put footnotes in fiction blew my mind), Noviolet Bulawayo, Derek Walcott, AND Joan “We tell ourselves stories in order to live” Didion? Absolutely iconic behaviour)
Iconic.
I don’t understand why “being able to directly ask for niche and mildly-to-totally invasive content” isn’t listed as the primary perk of A+
“being able to directly ask for niche and mildly-to-totally invasive content” is the best and truest description of A+
RIEEEEEEEEEEESE
This may be my favourite thing Autostraddle has ever published, which is obviously saying a lot since I am hear reading this.
I understand the vulnerability necessary to share this with all of us, so THANK YOU FOR THIS.
I’ve only just started going through the spreadsheet and already have four tabs open looking up books I am interested. You might want to consider putting Autostraddle affiliate links in there! And also, if Autostraddle needs another monetization stream, you could consider lending out books from your library for a fee…
This is also giving me a major craving to reorganize my bookshelves (for the 3rd time since I moved in 3 years ago) and also to create my own digitized spreadsheet. Or at the very least visual diagrams!
FIRSTLY i am pleased to have pleased you so deeply and secondly, that’s a good idea i am going to add links (gradually, probably!) to bookshop for the books that have links!!!!
That’s amazing, thank you for doing that!
I love this! Thank you! Also: any chance you’d be interested in switching from Goodreads to StoryGraph, which isn’t owned by Jeff Bezos? (;
Oh no I did not know this, thanks for the heads up!
Lily thanks for this rec! I just switched to StoryGraph and I love it 😍
AHHH THIS IS EVEN BETTER THAN I DREAMED IT WOULD BE!!!!!!!!!
GINA MY SPREADSHEET PRINCE
Amazing! Love it! Inspired by the airtable spreadsheet!!!
I also find sharing personal spreadsheets to be an INCREDIBLY VULNERABLE act! I keep a spreadsheet of all the movies I’ve watched during quarantine with my ratings, genre, etc and sharing that with my partner was basically more nerve-wracking than the first time I was naked in front of them.
Incredible.
these are the reasons I love my A+ subscription
I love this content, Riese. I also very much relate to culling one’s book collection and then regretting it deeply. Hopefully you will learn from this mistake, as I have not; I’ve lived in something like 10 different apartments in the past 13 years and every time I move I end up doing a book purge and always, always regret it. (Well, mostly. I was probably never going to go back and re-read Foucault.)
obsessed with the title of this article!!!!!!!!! and the fact you have a spreadsheet!!!!!
As a librarian, this makes me really happy (also wow, your spreadsheet is goals! Mine is… very basic and I should fix that)