Maybe you first found her through Pink Pony Club or Good Luck, Babe. Maybe you counted down the days until the release of her debut full album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Maybe you’ve been living under a rock and this is the first time you’re hearing of Chappell Roan. Whatever your journey to her music, know that we at BookTrib are here to provide you with the latest, greatest bookish updates on this pop princess’s discography. Because at long last, Chappell Roan’s single The Giver is finally here.
Heralded as one of the pop icons of the summer alongside Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan has skyrocketed to the heights of musical acclaim, even recently winning the Grammy award for Best New Artist. Her powerful vocals, artfully crafted drag persona and unapologetic authenticity have earned her a place at the top of countless people’s “Top Artists” playlists on Spotify. And ever since she first performed it on SNL, fans have been clamoring for her cheeky new country bop The Giver.
To celebrate the single’s release, we’ve compiled a list of the newest and trendiest books on the market that we think match the lyrics’ vibes. Here, you’ll find everything from stories of chaotic sapphic longing to the dazzling misadventures of a Pink Pony Club-like dancer, all hand-picked for your own personal enjoyment.
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters
“Ain’t got antlers on the walls / but I sure know mating calls”
Torrey Peters, author of the award-winning novel Detransition, Baby, is back with another subversive and defiant exploration into the broad range of queer experiences. In the titular novel, lumberjacks at an illegal logging site organize a dance in which some of the men will participate as women — soon devolving into a tumult of rivalry and desire. Shorter stories jump from wild setting to wild setting, everywhere from a Quaker boarding school to the gritty margins of Las Vegas and the aftermath of a gender apocalypse. Altogether, Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories pulls readers into four tales that subvert gender and push up against society’s expectations of “palatable” queer existence, instead depicting the rawness of reality.
Soft Core by Brittany Newell
“So, baby / when you need the job done / you can call me, baby”
When she’s just Ruth, she’s a girl living with her ex-boyfriend, adrift and purposeless. But as the stripper Baby Blue, she’s vibrant and vivacious, the sole focus of her captive audience. It’s a dizzying power trip, but Ruth is sure she can handle it — that is, until her ex disappears without a trace, and Ruth starts to question what’s real. In the nighttime hours between her shifts, she sets off on a desperate search through San Francisco, aided by the reclusive client Simon, a mysterious fetishist named Nobody, and Emeline — a new hire at the strip club who’s as ethereal as she is strangely familiar. Described as “an ode to the heartbroken and unhinged,” Soft Core takes us on a tour of all the ways humanity attempts to fill the pit of loneliness within each of us.
Animal Instinct by Amy Shearn
“’Cause you ain’t gotta tell me / it’s just in my nature”
The 2020 lockdown is in full force, and recent divorcée Rachel Bloomstein is stuck in the confines of her Brooklyn apartment. There’s no better time to explore dating apps in the wake of her toxic ex-husband’s departure — but Rachel, in her 40s and feeling restricted by the expectations of being a good mother and upstanding employee, doesn’t even know where to begin. She turns to the AI companion Frankie (short for Frankenstein) in the hopes of finding the perfect partner, only to be caught in a tangled web of emotions as her real-life relationships begin to unravel. Animal Instinct is a sharp new exploration into sexuality, identity and the dynamism of human nature that traditional gender roles seem determined to stifle.
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett
“So take it like a taker / ‘cause, baby, I’m a giver”
Cherry Hendricks is a clown. Professionally. And while she has a talent for prompting laughs and creating good fun, everything is a mess beneath the surface. Perpetually broke and struggling with a judgmental mother and a turbulent love life, Cherry’s at a loss — until she meets Margot the Magnificent. Margot’s an older, experienced performer, with an easy confidence and the successful career Cherry yearns for. She’s also a lesbian, and sexy as hell. But now taken under her wing as a mentee, Cherry must decide if it’s worth throwing away that opportunity for a chance with Margot, or if she should just obscure her feelings beneath her clown makeup. Uproariously funny and devastatingly tender, this highly anticipated new release examines art, relationships and the exhausting yet rewarding experience of giving ourselves to our community.
Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani
“Good luck finding a man who has the means / to rhinestone cowgirl all night long”
Liquid follows an unnamed Iranian-Indian American narrator as she struggles through the mire of academia-induced financial straits — until she stops striving for a stable living based on scholarly pursuits and, at the joking suggestion of her friend, decides to marry rich. Thus begins a hunt for the perfect partner, organized by a meticulous spreadsheet laying out one hundred dates over the course of one summer. The search takes her on a series of wild adventures across Los Angeles, on dates with enigmatic figures of all genders — but when tragedy forces her to Tehran, the narrator must face a long-overdue family reckoning, along with the uneasy truth that her pursuit of marriage may not be the solution she so desperately needs. Searingly relevant to the modern dating world, readers may find some of their own dating misadventures reflected within Liquid’s pages.
Cover Story by Celia Laskey
“Well, I get the job done / yes ma’am, yes, I do / you’re welcome”
The year is 2005, and part of Hollywood publicist Ali’s job is keeping closeted celebrities firmly in said closet. As a lesbian herself, Ali sees the irony there — but in her mind, she knows the situation better than anyone, and is determined to shield her clients from the harsh reality of societal judgment. But that’s not how Cara, Ali’s new client, sees it. Loud, proud and unpredictable, Cara chafes under Ali’s attempts at professional guidance, and with her career blowing up due to her role in the newest (heterosexual) romantic blockbuster, Ali’s job just got a million times harder — not even accounting for the way that Cara makes her feel. An unflinching look at stardom, sexuality and a second chance at love, Cover Story challenges us to envision a future that’s brighter than what we might think it capable of.
