Author:Amelia Abraham
How do we shape a better world for LGBTQ+ people? Olly Alexander, Peppermint, Owen Jones, Beth Ditto, Shon Faye and more share their stories and visions for the future.
'A vital addition to your bookshelf' Stylist, 5 Books for Summer
'Captivating... A must-read' Gay Times, Books of the Year
In We Can Do Better Than This, 35 voices - actors, musicians, writers, artists and activists - answer this vital question, at a time when the queer community continues to suffer discrimination and extreme violence. Through deeply moving stories and provocative new arguments on safety and visibility, dating and gender, care and community, they present a powerful manifesto for how - together - we can change lives everywhere.
'Powerful, inspiring...urgent' Attitude
'Read and be inspired' Peter Tatchell
'Illuminating' Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk
'Friendly and fierce' Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Gay Bar
With We Can Do Better Than This, Amelia Abraham has switched on every light in the queer village, illuminating the still-not-visible and giving space to many, important, intersectional voices on pregnancy and gender, for instance; refuge; ageing and queer community, or the dream of a trans-majority future. Let this be an invitation for us to read further on every pertinent subject and brilliant mind in it
A queer selection box that's at once thought-provoking and powerful, and at times very funny. This is a snapshot of where we are now, and where we need to get to
—— Juno Dawson, author of This Book is GayA vibey roundtable, an atlas charting global disparities but also interconnectedness, an expedition over the rainbow, a friendly and fierce survey of this critical juncture. Join up
—— Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Gay BarWe Can Do Better Than This is a diverse and powerful collection of writing from 35 inspiring figures, as they reflect on their own experiences of being queer. It poses a simple but essential question: how can we create a better world for our LGBTQ+ family? . . . Urgent and vital
—— Uli Lenart , Book of the Month, AttitudeCaptivating . . . We Can Do Better Than This imagines the next step for our community . . . Digs deep to present a candid commentary on the LGBTQ+ community's ongoing issues and delivers hopeful, thoughtful solutions. Simply put, it's a must-read
—— Gay Times, 10 LGBTQ+ Books You Have to Read this Pride MonthThoughtful and thought-provoking, this book embodies the rainbow-coloured diversity of the queer community and neatly articulates the struggles ahead. It is an education in why the concept of 'pride' remains not only relevant but critical
—— Mohsin Zaidi, author of A Dutiful BoyRead and be inspired! Global voices with ideas to shape a brighter LGBTQ+ future - a planet without criminalisation, discrimination and hate crime. This book is a reminder that it starts with us and now
—— Peter TatchellPaul Tran's debut collection of poems is indelible, this remarkable voice transforming itself as you read, eventually transforming you. I felt at times a passenger, a ghost, implicated, consumed, and ultimately delivered back to myself, renewed
—— Alexander Chee , author of HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVELBetween grief and love, past and future, trauma and luminous survival, these are searching, generous poems that enact the resilience of the human spirit, how the art of language-making - story, truth-telling - allows us not only to survive but thrive. This is a stunning debut
—— Natasha Trethewey , author of THRALLAn elegant meditation on many things - history, inheritance, language, trauma, how the self tricks the self, defiance ... All the Flowers Kneeling maps the journey past bewilderment, to knowing, to, finally, the mystery of unknowing, where ... the life we get to choose for ourselves begins
—— Carl Phillips , author of PALE COLORS IN A TALL FIELDRavishing ... Formally inventive, psychologically acute ... Tran's debut demonstrates the capacity of poetry to tell the truths which will set you free
—— Dana Levin , author of BANANA PALACEAll the Flowers Kneeling is a gorgeous debut ... Out of violences intimate and imperial, out of survival and self-fashioning, Paul Tran sculpts new forms to contain all. This book is a richness. What a stellar poet for our day
—— Solmaz Sharif , author of LOOKThis utterly joyful novel takes you on an unforgettable journey with characters you wish you could meet in real life... I loved The People on Platform 5 even more than The Authenticity Project - it's glorious
—— Eva CarterThis book is bursting with the kindness of strangers, and I was bursting with hope by the end of it
—— Jenny BaylissClare Pooley is the queen of feel-good fiction. She takes relatable situations and characters and somehow makes them magical. The People of Platform 5 is funny, tender and true-to-life while also being thought-provoking. It was magnificent and a joy to read
—— Phaedra PatrickThe People on Platform 5 is nothing short of sheer and utter delight. It presents the best of humanity - the sweet and bashful kindness and generosity that lives in all of us. I can't think of a more joyful book!
—— Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A For AuntiesHeartwarming, funny, a delicious dive into the profound and ridiculous modern world in which we live. Clare Pooley reminds us why we need each other
—— Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling authorPooley delivers not only acerbic, enchanting Iona but a compelling, tangled cast of quirky, complicated characters so engaging, it's enough to make you miss crowded commuter trains
—— Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling authorThis feel-good ensemble story will bring joy to readers who loved Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine-not to mention fans of quirky London-set fare such as Ted Lasso...a warm, fun pick-me-up of a book
—— Mary Laura PhilpottClare Pooley has found a delightful way to bring home the point that we need each other
—— Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling authorLeaving you with that fuzzy feeling you want from a feel-good book
—— Woman & HomeEntertaining and uplifting
—— Good HousekeepingFilled with delightful characters... this heart-warming book explores relationships and the dilemmas of everyday life
—— CandisTackling many relevant issues, it's a heart-warming read
—— HeatPoignant, totally joyful, this is a great read
—— FabulousA feel-good read, with great characters to care about, it takes current issues seriously but adds plenty of humour
—— Choice[It leaves] the reader with that fuzzy feeling you want from a feel-good book. Fans of her previous hit, The Authenticity Project, will not be disappointed
—— Woman's WeeklyA feel-good tale about the power of real-life connections
—— SunYou can always rely on Pooley to deliver not just wonderful, lively characters but a story that leaves you feeling uplifted and hopeful
—— CultureFlyBatuman has taken what made The Idiot so brilliant, distilled it, and created an equally brilliant new work. Either/Or is unbridled joy.
—— Big IssueFunny... Unforgettable... Batuman is particularly good on sex and sexual politics... The star feature is the narration... garrulous, rambunctious... full of baroque riffs and digressions.
—— Claire Lowdown , SpectatorA fresh voice is a rare thing, and Elif Batuman is one such.
—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*Either/Or is extremely funny and delightfully ludic, as it probes the very act of reading from the point of view of confused university student Selin.
—— Anakana Schofield, Irish Times, Books of the Year 2022I was desperately looking forward to Elif Batuman's Either/Or, and it more than lived up to it.
—— Samir Chadha , White Review, *Books of the Year*Re-encountering Selin...felt like being reunited with an old friend.
—— Helen Charman , White Review, *Books of the Year*Hilarious.
—— Alice Hattrick , White Review, *Books of the Year*I greatly enjoyed the comic zing of Elif Batuman's delightful Either/Or
—— Megan Hunter , White Review, *Books of the Year*Witty, intelligent and funny... [Selin's] inner monologue is addictive enough to read a thousand more pages of, and I can only cross my fingers that this isn't the last instalment of the series.
—— CrackJust as funny and self-aware and clever as The Idiot.
—— Jessica Zhan Mei Yu , White Review, *Books of the Year*Funny, wry and insightful
—— The Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*Laugh out loud…hilarious and thoughtful
—— Times Literary Supplement, *Books of the Year*