It’s the powerful forces of White Whale staff picks and a community book club combined: the Pod Picks Book Club! Each month (usually on the last Thursday), a different bookseller gets to pick a book for the club to read, and they’ll host the meeting, too. Book club picks will be 10% off 30 days in advance of the meeting day, to give you time to read it. And plan on grabbing a drink and a snack from the café when you come to the meeting!

Amari’s Pod Pick: Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline

Black transgender luminary Tourmaline brings to life the first definitive biography of the revolutionary activist Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most important and remarkable figures in LGBTQIA+ history, revealing her story, her impact, and her legacy.

“She is the preeminent and foremost scholar on Marsha P. Johnson. . . . To us, Tourmaline is the expert.”—Janet Mock, Allure

“Thank god the revolution has begun, honey.” Rumor has it that after Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, she picked up a shard of broken mirror to fix her makeup. Marsha, a legendary Black transgender activist, embodied both the beauty and the struggle of the early gay rights movement. Her work sparked the progress we see today, yet there has never been a definitive record of her life. Until now.

Written with sparkling prose, Tourmaline’s richly researched biography Marsha finally brings this iconic figure to life, in full color. We vividly meet Marsha as both an activist and She performed with RuPaul and with the internationally renowned drag troupe The Hot Peaches. She was a muse to countless artists from Andy Warhol to the band Earth, Wind & Fire. And she continues to inspire people today.

Marsha didn’t wait to be freed; she declared herself free and told the world to catch up. Her story promises to inspire readers to live as their most liberated, unruly, vibrant, and whole selves.

“During Pride month, I cannot think of a more iconic, imperative book to dedicate our time and attention to than Tourmaline’s biography, Marsha: the story of the remarkable life of legendary Black transgender activist, artist, and trancestor, Marsha P. Johnson! Together, we will discuss her alchemic, queer life and how we honor her in our collective memory and fight for vibrant, queer futures!” — Amari

AMARI ONYX LAINE is a Black trans writer and visual artist from California. They are the Events Coordinator at White Whale and manage the Poetry, Memoir, and Essays sections. They organize the local queer & trans reading series, meTamorphosis. Follow @metamorphosis.pgh to stay up to date for upcoming readings and community events. You can find their book reviews on Instagram at @trustyourwings.books. They enjoy queer fiction & poetry, tattoos, coffee, dance, and film photography.