This Queer Book Saved My Life

Latest Episodes:

7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Dr. Nyri Bakkalian and Confluence: A Person Shaped Story Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to the LGBT podcast 7 Minutes in Book Heaven - presented to you by This Queer Book Saved My Life!

In this short podcast, we spend 7 minutes in our virtual studio interviewing LGBTQ authors about their new and upcoming books for us to love and cuddle up with.
Today, we meet Dr. Nyri Bakkalian. Her new book is Confluence: A Person Shaped Story. What’s it about? It is a novel set in Japan's Northern Tohoku region in a cyberpunk world. It's about a trans-lesbian couple. An Armenian-American combat specialized cyborg and her Japanese cyberneticist spouse Isawa Kasu. Their intense loyalty to each other carries them through a fight against long odds and systemic injustice.
Purchase today at Balance of Seven (https://balance-of-seven.square.site/product/confluence/161?cs=true&cst=custom).
For international sales visit Sapphic Sweets and Reads (https://shop.sweetreadsict.com/products/confluence-a-person-shaped-story).
Follow Nyri!
@riversidewings on itch.io, Twitter, Twitch, Patreon, Mastodon, Countersocial, and Tumblr.

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Bless Me, Ultima with finn schneider Nov 15, 2022

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Room to breathe and ask my own questions.
Welcome to our LGBT podcast and in our new episode we're talking with dr. finn schneider (they/them) about Bless Me, Ultima. It is a coming-of-age novel by Rudolfo Anaya. For finn it saved their life three (!) different times and we’ll talk all about them, especially as the novel created a space to explore their spirituality in a new and meaningful way. As finn told us, "It created some room metaphorically for me to breathe into this my own questions around spirituality."
Buy Bless Me, Ultima and other books from our LGBT podcast at our Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/thisqueerbook
Read finn's publication in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol 35, issue 4.
finn's book chapter will be published this week (18 November) in Narrating the Insider Outsider Paradox as LGBTQ Educators in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Here is the link: https://www.routledge.com/Queerness-as-Being-in-Higher-Education-Narrating-the-InsiderOutsider-Paradox/Duran-Miller-Jourian-Cisneros/p/book/9781032185859

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DEI Is: This Queer Book Saved My Life! Nov 08, 2022

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It's election day! Go vote!
And then listen to our podcast crossover event with the podcast DEI Is. Host Enrico Manalo and I interview Brian McComak the founder of Hummingbird Humanity. Much of Brian's work focuses on LGBTQ inclusivity at organizations throughout the world, but his work is very expansive as a consultant, speaker, author and facilitator. He has a new book coming out in 2023: Humanity in the Workplace, A Framework for Developing a Human Centered Culture.

We talk about books and human-centered workplaces!
Connect with Brian at BrianMcComak.com or HummingbirdHumanity.com.
Listen to the DEI Is podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Follow them at @diveritypbc on Instagram and DiVerity PBC on YouTube.
You can also connect with them here: linktr.ee/diverity

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Whipping Girl with Rachael Cady and Julia Serano Nov 01, 2022

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Can I give myself permission to be myself?
Welcome to our LGBT podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life! In this episode, we talk with lighting designer, radio host, and teacher Rachael Cady (she/her) about the book that saved her life: Whipping Girl by Julia Serano. It's a collection of personal essays that debunk many of the myths and misconceptions that people have about trans women, femininity, and gender.
Rachael shares with us that, "for the first time I saw someone who was like me. It was incredible. It was an epiphany for me. Finally, I was able to give myself permission to be myself."
And Julia (she/her) -- the slam poetry champion, spoken word artist, and musician, with a PhD in Biochemistry -- joins us for the conversation. She explains why she wrote Whipping Girl, "The book felt necessary for me to write because I wrote it as I was making sense of the first time in my life I was actually moving through the world as a woman, but then I was also facing the day-to-day sexism and sexualization that many women face."
Don't forget to join us on November 10 at Lush Lounge and Theater in NE Minneapolis for our 2nd ever live event! We're recording the new episode "From Unseen to Seen" with author and publisher William Burleson. It's free, but we recommend you RSVP: https://bit.ly/liveatlush
Buy Whipping Girl and other books from our LGBT podcast at our Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/thisqueerbook
Follow Julia on Twitter: @juliaserano
www.juliaserano.com
Julia's music Soft Vowel Sounds is here: https://softvowelsounds.com
Follow Rachael on Facebook: RachaelKCMO
Rachael (as KC Vixen) co-hosts Siren Song on KKFI: https://kkfi.org/program/siren-song/

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7 Minutes in Book Heaven with Taleen Voskuni and Sorry, Bro Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to our new LGBT podcast short 7 Minutes in Book Heaven - a partner podcast to This Queer Book Saved My Life!
We spend 7 minutes in our virtual studio interviewing LGBTQ authors about their new and upcoming books for us to love and cuddle up with.
On our premiere episode, we meet Taleen Voskuni. Her new book is Sorry, Bro. What's it about? An Armenian-American woman rediscovers her roots and embraces who she really is in this vibrant and heartfelt queer rom-com.
Episode Transcript: https://thisqueerbook.com/podcast/sorry-bro
Pre-order the book here: https://bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook
Follow Taleen!
Twitter: @taleenvoskuni
Instagram: @taleenauthor
www.taleenvoskuni.com

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The Evening Crowd At Kirmser's with James Darville Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

Being gay together is an act of resistance.
Welcome to our LGBT podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life! This episode is the recording of our first-ever live event at Lush Lounge and Theater. We talk with James Darville (he/him) about the LGBT book The Evening Crowd at Kirmser's by Ricardo J. Brown. This memoir invites us into Kirmser's, which was the first and only queer gay bar in St. Paul, MN in the 1940s. When the book came to James, he was in college in North Dakota and on his own coming out journey as a gay black man. He shares, "It was the right book for the right time for what I was experiencing in my life."
Buy the LGBT books on this LGBT podcast at our Bookshop page! (bookshop.org/thisqueerbook)

Join us on November 10th at Lush Lounge and Theater for our second-ever recording in front a live audience. We're calling the episode, "From Unseen to Seen." We'll be chatting with William Burleson, author and Founder of Flexible Press. The event is free, but we encourage RSVPs: https://bit.ly/liveatlush

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This Queer LIT Saved My Life! Oct 11, 2022

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It’s an LGBT podcast crossover event with the delightful Queer Lit podcast! We enter a unicorn union with guest host Lena Mattheis and discuss the Queer Armenian Library and the books that saved each of our lives. We laugh, we sigh… an unmissable double feature that will turn you gay on the spot.
Listen to new episodes of Queer Lit at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/queer-lit/id1562201493
Follow Lena on Twitter and Instagram: @queerlitpodcast
Check out the Queer Armenian Library (queerarmenianlibrary.com)
Buy the LGBT books on this LGBT podcast at our Bookshop (bookshop.org/thisqueerbook)!
Join us on November 10th at Lush Lounge and Theater for our live recording event with William Burleson, author and Founder of Flexible Press. The event is free, but we encourage RSVPs: https://bit.ly/liveatlush

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Breaking The Surface with Joe Perazzo and Greg Louganis Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

To be happy on my own terms.
Welcome to the Season 2 premiere of our LGBT podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life! In this episode, we talk with Joe Perazzo (he/him) about the LGBT memoir Breaking the Surface by Greg Louganis (he/him), with special guest: 4-time gold medalist Greg Louganis! Breaking the Surface is Greg's memoir and it shares his journey not only in becoming the greatest diver of all time, but also as a gay man living with HIV. For Joe, the memoir played a crucial role in his life. First, when he was about 12-years old and dealing with gay slurs. Then at 16-years old as he came out. And then again in his early 20s as he began his career as a nurse and in HIV research. As Joe shares with us, "It's liberating to read it and then you want to live the same experience. You want to stop giving people so much power over you and become happy on your terms."
Buy the LGBT books on this LGBT podcast at our Bookshop (bookshop.org/thisqueerbook)!

Learn more about Greg and his writing at greglouganis.com. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok: @greglouganis

Follow Joe on Twitter: @writer_RN
Join us on November 10th at Lush Lounge and Theater for our live recording event with William Burleson, author and Founder of Flexible Press. The event is free, but we encourage RSVPs: https://bit.ly/liveatlush

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Dreadnought with Michael Barakiva and April Daniels Aug 23, 2022

Show notes

Telling stories that are unabashed and unapologetic.
Welcome to our LGBT podcast! In this episode, I talk with Michael Barakiva and April Daniels!
Writer and Director Michael Barakiva (he/him) shares the LGBT book that saved his life: Dreadnought by April Daniels. Dreadnought is a groundbreaking YA novel about a trans teen superhero. Michael tells us, “The honesty of her anger and the challenges that she faces helped me come to terms in really profound ways about my own coming out process.”
Then, Michael and April Daniels (she/her) talk about the politics of comics, writing queer superheroes, and what writing and publishing has meant to April as a trans author. She shares, “Writing was an escape for me. It was a way for me to take control of my life in a world that frequently strips me of control.”

Join us August 24 for Toasting Historic LGBTQ Twin Cities Nightlife at Lush Lounge and Theater. More details on our website at https://thisqueerbook.com/toasting-queer-nightlife/ or on Facebook https://fb.me/e/51jKKC697
Episode transcript available at thisqueerbook.com/podcast/dreadnaught
Learn more about Michael and his writing at michaelbarakiva.com
Stay tuned to April’s writing and when the next novel in her trilogy will arrive at aprildaniels.com
Buy the books we discuss on this episode!
Visit thisqueerbook.com/bookshop to purchase Dreadnought and One Man Guy.
Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook
Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Awen Briem, Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.
E-Lending Library
Quatrefoil Library has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

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Conundrum with David LaRochelle Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

Bringing empathy to all aspects of our lives.
In this episode, we talk with award-winning children’s author David LaRochelle (he/him) about the LGBT book Conundrum by Jan Morris. David shares with us, "So, on the one hand this book taught me a lot, but the bigger impact that this book had on me was the feeling that just because I don't experience something doesn't mean that it's not true.”

We have a fascinating conversation with David about knowing our true selves, expanding our empathy, as well as LGBTQ children’s literature.

Buy the LGBT books on this LGBT podcast at our Bookshop!
Join us for Toasting Twin Cities Historic LGBTQ Nightlife on August 24, 2022: https://fb.me/e/51jKKC697
Visit davidlarochelle.com to read David's books and to invite him to speak at your school!
The transcript of this episode is available at: thisqueerbook.com/podcast/conundrum
Here is the link to the Dr. Sarah McKay's neuroscience about empathy I reference in the episode: https://drsarahmckay.com/this-is-your-brain-on-empathy/

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