My 2022 Pride Month TBR!!

Kicking off my summer by reading the best books: the gay ones!

As I do every year, I’m reading only queer books for the entirety of June to celebrate Pride month. I always feel like I’m not reading a lot of queer books even though I do, so it’s always nice to dedicate a whole month to them. And of course, with my whole trying-different-genres thing, I’m especially excited to explore all types of them!

As I’ve noticed all my TBRs have become, this is less a strict TBR and more a list of options for me to pick and choose from, based on my mood! My reading has been very slow in the past few months, and I’ll be busy doing fun things in Thailand anyway, so I’m simply hoping to read at least 5 books (half of these books).

NOTES OF A CROCODILE

Yes, the book on last month’s TBR that I said I had started in April is making an appearance on this month’s TBR! I still have not finished it!

I should probably DNF it, since I’m halfway and extremely bored by it (nothing… is happening…). But I want to finish it, since I’m curious about where it’ll go! I also think that one reason I’m not loving it—the writing style is a bit strange—could be because it’s translated/written by someone from another culture that might have different storytelling styles, so I feel like I’d be doing it a disservice by giving up on it just because it’s something I’m not used to.

(Also, this is the first book I’ve read in months that I haven’t liked, so maybe I’ve kind of forgotten how to push through books that I’m not feeling…)

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS

This was one of my most anticipated books last year, and I’m excited to finally get around to it!! This is the only physical book I’m bringing with me to Thailand, so I’m hoping that that’ll force me to actually read it, simply because I don’t have any other (physical) options. I’ve become very interested in “quiet” character-focused sci-fi stories, and I feel like this one perfectly fits that. Even though this features a lot of pain and trauma, including pain relating to being trans, it is supposed to be very healing and I think it’ll make me cry! (Which, as we know, I’m always a fan of.)

THE MIGHTY HEART OF SUNNY ST. JAMES

I’m always trying to read more middle grade, and I’ve consistently loved and been heartbroken by Ashley Herring Blake’s books—I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while now and I think now is the perfect time! Queer middle grade is so important, especially books with questioning characters, and I have a feeling that this one will resonate a lot with me right now, even though I’m not the target audience. And middle grade is always the perfect choice when I’m feeling slumpy!

EVEN THIS PAGE IS WHITE

I’m always intrigued by poetry collections from QBIPOC exploring their identities, and that’s no different for this poetry book by a trans bi Indian Canadian woman! I haven’t looked at any quotes or read any of the author’s writing before, so I’m interested to see what her writing style will be like. This collection touches mainly on racism and her experience as a trans brown woman in Canada.

EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD

I have very limited experience in reading adult contemporary books, but I’m somehow very confident that I’ll love this one. My reasons: Several trusted friends/reviewers have loved it, it seems weird and sad (very appealing to me, a weird and sad person), it’s about a lesbian, etc. The blurb makes the book seem a bit murder mystery-like, which is intriguing, but I’m most interested in its exploration of mental health and existentialism!

TO BREAK A COVENANT

Though I may not be the biggest fan of YA anymore, I’ve discovered a very specific subset of it that I seem to consistently enjoy: sapphic YA thriller/mystery/paranormal horror. (And of course, the weirder, the better.) I think that this book will be the latest addition to that list, with lovely female friendships, funny banter, and sapphic friends to lovers. It’s like it was written for specifically me in mind!

DON’T DATE ROSA SANTOS

Every once in a while, I decide to be nice and give a YA contemporary romance a try. Don’t Date Rosa Santos is the lucky winner this time! Either this will go terribly (in which I will then feel justified in my lack of interest in YA contemp romances), or end up as a pleasant surprise (in which I will still feel justified in my lack of interest in YA contemp romances but pride myself on my ability to choose the good ones).

LA BASTARDA

This is a short book (my attention span rejoices) about the coming of age of a girl in Equatorial Guinea, who is exploring her place in society as a supposed “outsider”, as well as her sexuality. It’s also the first book by a woman from Equatorial Guinea to be translated! I think it’d be a fun challenge if I could try to read this book in Spanish (its original language), but I’m not sure I’ve reached that level yet… so I’ll just enjoy the English version for now!

ZAMI

I read Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider last year for Pride, so I feel like it’d be fitting if I read her memoir for this year’s Pride! I loved her writing style in those essays—it’s very clear that she’s a poet, even when she’s not writing poetry—and I was intrigued by the small glimpses into her life that she provided. I think I’ll love this biomythography from her just as much, if not more!

THE STONEWALL READER

I think this will be a very informative and enlightening read, since it shares firsthand accounts (ie. interviews, diaries, newspaper/magazine articles) of the LGBTQ+ rights movement before 1969, during Stonewall, and after 1969, touching on the major events and key activist figures. It also includes information on queer people of color and their roles in the movement, which is something I always want to prioritize when I look for queer nonfiction.

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what books are you planning to read for Pride? have you read any of these before? any nonfiction recs? (I’m always searching for those especially!)

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