Every month, the Dallas Public Library hosts Queer Reads Book Club, a program dedicated to highlighting books about and/or written by the LGBTQ+ community. 

The book club welcomes all identities for fun, thoughtful and supportive discussions. This week, the group meets to read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It discusses Greek mythology character Patroclus’ relationship with Achilles, from their time during the Trojan War to their romantic relationship.

The monthly event came to a halt when the pandemic first hit. It was then brought back virtually. Now, program specialist Daisy Rodarte, said Queer Reads Book Club is growing slowly. 

“We’re building a little small community and it’s been really exciting because people are so excited to talk about the books and bounce off ideas,” Rodarte said. 

 

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Participants meet on Zoom for an engaging conversation about the book and reality. 

“It’s a community-driven book club,” Rodarte said. “And even though it’s about queer reads, our selections are not focused too much on tragedy or suffering. We still want to address real world situations but we don’t necessarily want to focus on those narratives that already exist so much in our community. We want to make this an uplifting space.”

For May, the book club will read Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans and Black Truck Divers. The group will focus on the intro and chapter two of the book.

All books are accessible on Hoopla, which has no check out limit, as an e-book or audiobook. Participants can also request a copy through the library’s catalog. People can submit what they want to read. There’s no limit to join Queer Reads Book Club. Sign up.

Got a tip? Email Mia Estrada at mestrada@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @miaaestrada.

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