Reading with Pride

Check out this selection of books by LGBTQ+ authors about LGBTQ+ characters and issues.

Biography & Memoir

¡Hola Papi! – In ¡Hola Papi!, JP shares his story of growing up biracial and in the closet in America’s heartland, while attempting to answer some of life’s toughest questions: How do I let go of the past? How do I become the person I want to be? Is there such a thing as being too gay? Should I hook up with my grade school bully now that he’s out of the closet? Questions we’ve all asked ourselves, surely. ¡Hola Papi! is for anyone—gay, straight and everything in between—who has ever taken stock of their unique place in the world.

I Might Regret This – Abbi Jacobson is the co-star and co-creator responsible for the hit series Broad City. In this memoir, she recounts the experience of driving across the country alone to take a step back and ask what she really wants. Filled with anecdotes, illustrations, observations and reflections, Abbi shares her story with her hilarious and relatable tone.

My Name's Yours, What's Alaska? – Before RuPaul’s Drag Race became a global phenomenon, drag was an underground art form driven by daring performers and big energy on small budgets. This memoir follows Alaska Thunderfuck 5000’s rise from DIY beginnings to drag superstardom, sharing her journey from childhood creativity to chart-topping success—and the personal stories, including a very public breakup, that shaped her into an All Star.

Untamed – A transformative memoir about a woman's journey to break free from societal expectations and live authentically, exploring themes of love, family, addiction and self-discovery through a feminist lens. Selected as a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, this book is known for its raw honesty, humor and powerful insights, encouraging women to trust their inner voice and live a more genuine life.

Pageboy – Full of intimate stories, from chasing down secret love affairs to battling body image and struggling with familial strife, Pageboy is a love letter to the power of being seen. With this evocative and lyrical debut, Oscar-nominated star Elliot Page captures the universal human experience of searching for ourselves and our place in this complicated world.

Historical Nonfiction

Queerstory – A visual timeline of infographics mapping a century of the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. Includes graphically represented statistics, key dates and events, quotes and facts about rights, campaigns and queer pioneers.

The Stonewall Reader – For the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, an anthology chronicling the tumultuous fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1960s and the activists who spearheaded it, with a foreword by Edmund White.

General Fiction

Less – You are a failed novelist about to turn 50. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is now engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes—it would all be too awkward—and you can’t say no—it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of half-baked literary invitations you’ve received from around the world. How do you arrange to skip town? You accept them all. Thus begins an around-the-world-in-80-days fantasia that will take Arthur Less to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India and Japan, putting thousands of miles between him and the problems he refuses to face. What could possibly go wrong? Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Red, White & Royal Blue – First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis, Prince Henry, at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

The Foghorn Echoes – Breaking his promise to protect Hussam, with whom he fell in love as they coped with a shared traumatic experience and devastating separation in Syria, Wassim must come to terms with the past as they both realize the secret that haunts them is not the only secret that formed them.

Historical Fiction

The Disenchantment – In 17th-century Paris, everyone has something to hide. For Baroness Marie Catherine, she wishes to hide how unhappy she is in her marriage. When her husband is gone, Marie Catherine revels in a more liberated existence that is filled with forward-thinking discussions with female scholars and time with the androgynous, self-assured countess Victoire Rose de Bourbon—who steals Marie Catherine's heart. When Victoire's passion results in a shocking act of murder, she and Marie Catherine must escape. As they attempt to outwit Paris’ chief of police, they are led to the darkest corners of Paris and Versailles.

Humor Fiction

The Guncle – Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece and nephew. 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. So when tragedy strikes, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat stalled career and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a 6- and a 9-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.

Mystery & Thriller

Murder in the Dressing Room – By day, shy hotel accountant Joe hides behind their desk and plays by the rules. By night, Joe takes to the stage as Misty Divine, an upcoming star of the London drag scene. But when Misty’s mentor, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room, Misty finds herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Because Lady Lady was murdered—and as the only ones with access to her room, Misty and her fellow performers quickly become prime suspects.

Romance

Delilah Green Doesn't Care – A clever and steamy queer romantic comedy about taking chances and accepting love—with all its complications. Delilah swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. When Delilah's estranged stepsister pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees one of Astrid's stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there's some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all.

The Pairing – When two exes accidentally end up on the same European culinary tour, chaos ensues. They set each other a challenge: to hook up with the most people over the trip and prove they’re absolutely over each other. But across countries and cities, it becomes apparent they might not be so indifferent after all.

Sci-fi & Horror

This Is How You Lose the Time War – Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, Red and Blue, begin to exchange letters and fall in love across time and space while working for opposing factions in a war. The epistolary novel follows their dangerous romance, which threatens to upend the war, as they leave messages for each other in the past, growing closer despite their conflicting missions.

A Vicious Game – The thrilling third entry in the high fantasy saga that started with A Broken Blade. With her enemies closing in, Keera and her fellow rebels must rally after a devastating defeat, but her discovery of new powers gives them a fighting chance.

Graphic Novel & Manga

My Brother's Husband – Yaichi is a work-at-home suburban dad in contemporary Tokyo; formerly married to Natsuki, father to their young daughter, Kana. Their lives suddenly change with the arrival at their doorstep of a hulking, affable Canadian named Mike Flanagan, who declares himself the widower of Yaichi's estranged gay twin, Ryoji. Mike is on a quest to explore Ryoji's past, and the family reluctantly but dutifully takes him in. What follows is an unprecedented and heartbreaking look at the state of a largely still-closeted Japanese gay culture: how it's been affected by the West, and how the next generation can change the preconceptions about it and prejudices against it.

Be Gay, Do Comics! – The dream of a queer separatist town. The life of a gay, Jewish Nazi-fighter. A gender reveal party that tears reality apart. These are just some of the comics you'll find in this massive queer comics anthology from The Nib. This book is filled with dozens of comics about LGBTQ+ experiences, ranging from personal stories to queer history to cutting satire about pronoun panic and brands desperate to co-opt pride.