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Books to read this Pride Month

Happy Pride Month everybody! I love reading so I wanted to share some of my favourite LGBTQIA+ books. These books are for all different ages (please check Common Sense Media to confirm appropriate reading ages) and they may contain some triggers that can be found at Book Trigger Warnings.

 

Disclaimer: this list is not perfect and does not cover all the queer identities. For example, this list only includes 1 transgender or non-binary MC. Yes, this is an issue and I need to read more books with genderqueer MCs - I would really appreciate any recommendations!

 

  • Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough: lesbian MC* (YA* contemporary, romance)
  • Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: transgender, gay MC (YA fantasy)
  • Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Kerring Blake: lesbian MC, bisexual MC (adult romance)
  • Heartstopper by Alice Oseman: gay MC, bisexual MC (YA graphic novel, romance)
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman: asexual/aromantic MC (YA contemporary)
  • One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston: bisexual MC (adult romance, sci-fi)
  • Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales: bisexual MC (YA contemporary, romance) [this is one of my favourite books ever! It makes my lil bi heart so happy!!]
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: queer MCs (YA fantasy)
  • Radio Silence by Alice Oseman: bisexual MC (YA contemporary)
  • The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar: lesbian MC (YA romance)
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab: bisexual MC (adult fantasy, historical, romance)
  • The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland: sapphic/queer MCs (YA horror, fantasy)
  • The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes: lesbian MC (YA contemporary, romance)
  • The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon: queer MCs (adult fantasy)
  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: gay MCs (YA fantasy, historical, retelling).

*MC = main character

*YA = young adult

 

Please share your book recommendations for this Pride Month and remember to read LGBTQIA+ books year round!

 

mw24
mw24Posted 03-06-2024 06:49 PM

Comments

 
Pinkfluffyunicorn24
Pinkfluffyunicorn24Posted 16-06-2024 04:04 PM

Hi, I'm new and perhaps a little late to the party, but I wanted to recommend "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo." This book was an absolute hit for me. It was phenomenal, and I may have shed a few tears while reading it, which is unusual for me as I'm usually an emotionless reader. You will thank me later- 

 
 
mw24
mw24Posted 17-06-2024 11:53 AM

@Pinkfluffyunicorn24 I loved Evelyn Hugo! I couldn't put it down.

 
PeelingOranges
PeelingOrangesPosted 11-06-2024 04:53 PM

Happy pride month, and thanks for the great recs @mw24 !!!

To add to these, if anything is interested in Chinese fiction, I highly recommend looking into danmei or baihe novels, which are the Chinese equivalents of gay and lesbian fiction respectively!

If you can't read Chinese, Seven Seas Danmei in particular does beautiful english translations with gorgeous cover and internal illustrations for a lot of the most popular series. Many of them are also xianxia or wuxia, meaning they take place in ancient China and have either a fantasy or martial setting respectively!!

If you do check them out, just be mindful of the age ratings and trigger warnings as some series in particular can be quite heavy.

Happy reading!!!

 
loona
loonaPosted 08-06-2024 08:12 PM

Thanks for this post!

 

I would strongly recommend Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg. It's a work of fiction with autobiographical elements, that follows the life of a stone butch lesbian in the late 20th Century. I will warn that it may be triggering to some people due to the various forms of violence and bigotry in it.

 

Also, I would recommend dabbling in non-fiction and queer theory. Audre Lorde is one of my favourite writers, and her essays like "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House" demand the consideration of subjugated voices, like those of Black women and lesbians, in feminist discourse. 

 
 
mw24
mw24Posted 09-06-2024 12:37 PM

Thanks @loona for the recommendations! I'm not a big non-fiction reader, but queer stuff is always better 😁

 
nomnom77
nomnom77Posted 06-06-2024 05:28 PM

I'm currently reading Gwen and Art are not in Love by Lex Croucher, there's a gay mc and a lesbian mc. It's the arranged marriage trope where the two people involved pretend to be in love to help each other. I'm around maybe 180 pages in, and so far i really like it.

 

Another queer book i read earlier this year is Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White, it has a transgender and gay mc named Benji, and personally as a gay trans guy i thought he was pretty relatable!! 🙂

 

I really recommend both of these if you're looking for books to read.

 
 
mw24
mw24Posted 07-06-2024 09:18 AM

Thanks for the recommendations @nomnom77 ! 

Anonymous
Not applicable

 
AcidMonster55
AcidMonster55Posted 04-06-2024 06:15 PM

Hi@mw24 thank you so much for the recommendations, I was running low on books to read. I definitely recommend heartstopper (both the book and the series) are really great.

 

I also recommend the book If I was your Girl by Meredith Russo. I read it last year and it was such a touching and important story about finding trans joy. It can be a bit heavy at time but it's so eye opening. 

 
 
mw24
mw24Posted 05-06-2024 10:16 PM

Hi @AcidMonster55 I haven't heard of If I Was Your Girl, I'll have to check it out! Thanks for the recommendation 🌈

 
Scarlet_Locust
Scarlet_LocustPosted 03-06-2024 06:54 PM

@mw24 Happy pride month 🏳️‍🌈!! and thankyou for the reading recs!!

I've read a few of these and can confirm that I really loved Delilah Green Doesn't Care and The Song of Achilles!

 

Loveless  has been on my 'to read' list for a couple years so given your rec this is definitely one I'm planning to read for pride this June!

 

I really appreciate how diverse you've made this list, I'm definitely looking to diversify my reading atm!! 🙃

 

 

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