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Pep & Hugh's Queer History 101 Book Club

Queer History 101 is dedicated to highlighting iconic books that explore the lives of LGBTQ+ folks past and present, hand-selected by Miss Peppermint and Hugh Ryan.

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    APRIL PICK

    Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex - Hardcover by Melissa Febos

    From Melissa Febos, the national bestselling author of Girlhood, comes an examination of the solitude, freedoms, and feminist heroes she discovered during a year of celibacy and a wise and transformative look at relationships and self-knowledge. "Only Melissa Febos could convince us of the ecstasy of abstinence. She never fails in her candor and precision."--Katherine May, author of Wintering In the wake of a catastrophic two-year relationship, Melissa Febos decided to take a break: For three months she would abstain from dating, relationships, and sex. Her friends were amused. Did she really think three months was a long time? But to Febos, it was. Ever since her teens, she had been in one relationship after another. As she puts it, she could trace a "daisy chain of romances" from her adolescence to her midthirties. Finally, she would carve out time to focus on herself and examine the patterns that had produced her midlife disaster. Over those first few months, she gleaned insights into her past and awoke to the joys of being single. She decided to extend her celibacy, not knowing it would become the most fulfilling and sensual year of her life. No longer defined by her romantic pursuits, she learned to relish the delights of solitude, the thrill of living on her own terms, the distinct pleasures unmediated by lovers, and the freedom to pursue her ideals without distraction or guilt. Bringing her own experiences into conversation with those of women throughout history--from eleventh-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen, Virginia Woolf, and Octavia Butler to the Shakers and Sappho--Febos situates her story within a newfound lineage of role models who unapologetically pursued their ambitions and ideals. By abstaining from all forms of romantic entanglement, Febos began to see her life and her self-worth in a radical, new way. Her year of divestment transformed her relationships with friends and peers, her spirituality, her creative practice, and, most of all, her relationship to herself. Blending intimate personal narrative and incisive cultural criticism, The Dry Season tells a story that's as much about celibacy as its inverse: pleasure, desire, fulfillment. Infused with fearless honesty and keen intellect, it's the memoir of a woman learning to live at the center of her own story, and a much-needed catalyst for a new conversation around sex and love.

    Hugh Ryan QH101 Co-Host
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    Peppermint & Hugh Ryan

    Peppermint rose to fame as the first out trans contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, finishing as runner-up. She then made history as the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway in Head Over Heels. Peppermint is also an activist, serving as the ACLU's first Artist Ambassador for Trans Justice and raising funds for LGBTQ+ organizations. She has been recognized for her work with award nominations and honors, including a GLAAD Media Award nomination, a "Queeroes" award, and a spot on OUT magazine's "OUT100" list.

    Hugh Ryan is an award-winning historian, curator, and writer. He is the author of The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison and When Brooklyn Was Queer, which is currently being developed as an XR series by Elliot Page. He teaches nonfiction writing in the MFA program at Bennington College.

    Q's about the book club?

    To join the club, simply subscribe on our website. Perks include a complimentary Allstora membership, exclusive interviews, and limited-edition collectibles, with more exciting things to come!

    This is a read-at-your-own-pace book club! Since there are thousands of folks in our clubs with different reading speeds and schedules, we want to take the pressure off--reading is FUN(damental). Once you finish the book, whether that’s in four days or four weeks, you can join the discussion in our exclusive online portal.

    Yes! However, if you’d like to continue getting 30% off all books on our site, you’ll have to sign up for an Allstora membership separately.

    For book club subscriptions, you will be billed on a monthly basis on the 15th of each month, regardless of the date you first subscribe.

    We will announce each month’s selection on the 15th of the prior month. If you're not interested in a particular month's book selection, you have the option to skip that month's shipment and receive a gift card for the equivalent amount. If you'd like to opt for the gift card, you have until the 17th to let us know.

    When you sign up for a Book Club subscription, our system will automatically cancel your membership, so you aren’t paying double! Membership is a complimentary perk of any Book Club subscription.

    Back when we were ShopQueer.co, Queer History 101 was our original book club subscription! We're so excited to be relaunching this club with extra perks for our Allstora family.

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