My 2021 Pride Month Reading List
In case you didn’t know, in the United States it’s Pride again! Even as many people are cautiously, optimistically looking forward to in-person celebrations, it’s perfectly acceptable to keep your distance and your nose in a book that celebrates LGBTQ+ voices.
This year I’m going all in on Pride month reading by only choosing to read stories written by LGBTQ+ writers and/or featuring predominately queer characters. Getting through eight novels in a month is a stretch — even when I was quarantining — but I’m committed to prioritizing this list.
Have you read any of the books below? What’s on your Pride reading list?
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.44
Format: Audiobook (SIL library)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, gay, middle-aged main character. Dramedy. Also, I’m a proud guncle to 11 nieces and nephews, so maybe it will be relatable? This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick, has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league. When tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.05
Format: eBook (Library loan)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, AAPI perspective, coming-of-age, gay themes, fiction that reads like a memoir. Lots of friends have read it and raved about it.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: Written as a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read, Little Dog is in his late twenties when he begins to unearth a family's history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.31
Format: eBook (Personal library)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, memoir, BIPOC perspective, essay collection for younger readers that addresses themes of toxic masculinity, race and gender identity.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.
Mama’s Boy: A Story From Our Americas by Dustin Lance Black
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.56
Format: Audiobook (Library loan)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, memoir, coming-of-age, religion in the southern United States, modern gay history. I’ve been a fan of Black’s since his Oscar-winning screenplay for the phenomenal Milk.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: As an LGBTQ+ activist, Dustin Lance Black has unlikely origins. Raised in a military, Mormon household outside San Antonio, Texas, Black always found inspiration in his plucky, determined mother. While Black struggled to come to terms with his sexuality — something antithetical to his mother's religious views — she remained his source of strength and his guiding light. Later, she would stand by his side when he helped bring the historic gay marriage case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.20
Format: Audiobook (Library loan)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, queer female lead, BIPOC perspective, Midwestern setting. I’ve heard almost uniformly positive things about it.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.50
Format: Audiobook (Library loan)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, memoir, addresses a taboo subject: abuse in same-sex relationships. A friend praised it as one of the most challenging and well-done books they had ever read.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes —including classic horror themes —to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.42
Format: Audiobook (SIL library)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, transgender perspective, first love, self-acceptance, BIPOC POV.
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: Felix Love has never been in love—and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many —Black, queer, and transgender — to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin
Goodreads Average Rating: 3.88
Format: Audiobook (Library library)
Why I’m Reading It: Queer author, nonfiction, microhistory, societal trends. What’s Pride month without an exploration of our past?
The plot [adapted from the dustjacket]: In Gay Bar, the author embarks upon a transatlantic tour of the hangouts that marked his life, with each club, pub, and dive revealing itself to be a palimpsest of queer history.
