Queer alt-pop artist Girli shares the five books that have impacted her the most

“I love reading books by women, about women.”

Every avid reader has a book (or two, or three) that holds a special place on their shelf. Maybe it’s the first book that really hooked them on reading or a novel they read while at one of life’s pivotal crossroads. Creating music under the moniker Girli, half-Australian, half-English artist Milly Toomey started performing at age 14.

Over a decade later, Girli is on a journey of self-discovery. Her recently released album, Matriarchy, explores themes of queerness, femininity and self-doubt. “I chose to use Matriarchy as the album title because that word means so many things to me,” she says. “The matriarchy of being a queer woman in love with another, the matriarchy of being my own queen who governs my life (or queendom), and a commentary on taking back power.”

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Her creative passions have always moved beyond music, and Girli has a keen interest in untold LGBTQI+ history. An avid reader, she enjoys queer romance stories, non-fiction music memoirs and “books by women, about women”. Here, she shares the five books that have impacted her the most.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

A period romance thriller set in Victorian London – this is my cup of tea. Oh, it’s a sapphic love story with two strong women as central characters? I like this tea a lot. A lesbian writer? I love this tea!

Get it here.

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

My sister gave me this book to read on tour. It’s a lesbian classic from the 1970s. The writer based it on her experiences as a lesbian in the ’50s and ’60s, and it’s witty, painful and revelatory. To hear stories of queer women from a period when we’ve been taught they didn’t exist is really powerful.

Get it here.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

I read this on holiday in the summer of 2023. I raced through it, practically ripping the pages as I read with speed by the pool. It is an amazing, bizarre story. It’s a Marmite (or Vegemite) book – you either come away feeling frustrated and confused by the story or in awe. I came away feeling… both. Regardless, I love reading books by women, about women, and Moshfegh’s writing is infectious. The story played on my mind for months afterwards.

Get it here.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

One of my all-time faves, this is Patti Smith’s autobiographical story of her life pre-fame as a struggling artist in bohemian 1970s New York with her then-boyfriend, Robert Mapplethorpe. It’s enthralling and beautifully written and paints such a romantic image of art, love and New York in a time before the gentrification of New York City and the digital age that changed art forever.

Get it here.

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. by Viv Albertine

The Slits were one of the all-female bands of the 1970s British punk scene who were overshadowed by the male bands on the scene. Viv Albertine tells the story of that time from the perspective of the forgotten heroes of the punk scene: the women. It’s so cool and also quite disturbing to hear of her experiences. It changed my view on the punk scene of the ’70s because it made me realise how much women were shunned and erased from the telling of the story.

Get it here.

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