Queer Book Club: ACE by Angela Chen

Join librarians virtually to discuss books centering on LGBTQ+ voices.

Meetings are on the second Wednesday of the month (January-December) from 6-7 pm.

For more information please visit: https://sonomalibrary.org/queerbookclub

Physical copies of the book are available (while supplies last).

August 10 - Ace: What Sexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen+ 

An engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that's obsessed with sexual attraction, and what we can all learn about desire and identity by using an ace lens to see the world.

What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through the world not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about consent, about compromise, about the structures of society? This exceedingly accessible guide to asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different needs in relationships—are conflicts that all of us need to address as we move through the world.

Through interviews, cultural criticism, and memoir, ACE invites all readers to consider big-picture issues through the lens of asexuality, because every place that sexuality touches our world, asexuality does too.

Journalist Angela Chen uses her own journey of self-discovery as an asexual person to unpretentiously educate and vulnerably connect with readers, effortlessly weaving analysis of sexuality and societally imposed norms with interviews of ace people. Among those included are the woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that "not wanting sex" was a sign of serious illness, and the man who grew up in an evangelical household and did everything "right," only to realize after marriage that his experience of sexuality had never been the same as that of others. Also represented are disabled aces, aces of color, non-gender-conforming aces questioning whether their asexuality is a reaction against stereotypes, and aces who don't want romantic relationships asking how our society can make room for them.

2022 Discussion Titles

February 9 - Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde*+ 

March 9 - Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller*+ 

April 13 - Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color*+ 

May 11 - On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong+ 

June 8 - One Last Stop by Casey Mcquiston+ 

July 13 - Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin+ 

August 10 - Ace: What Sexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen+

September 14 - In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado*+ 

October 12 - Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas*+

November 9 - Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction by Joshua Whitehead (Editor)*+ 

December 14 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker*+ 

* E-Books or e-audiobooks are available through Hoopla 
*Hoopla: https://sonomalibrary.org/library-collection/hoopla-digital-0
Books available through Hoopla are always available for unlimited checkout.

+ E-Books or e-audiobooks are available through Overdrive.
+Overdrive: https://sonomalibrary.org/library-collection/overdrive