Pride Month Reads At CDPL

Summer is here and there’s no better way to kick off a season of warm togetherness than by celebrating Pride Month! First recognized during the Clinton administration, June has been designated in America as LGBTQ+ Pride Month to celebrate, remember, and honor those involved in the Stonewall riots in June of 1969. If you have the celebration part down, we can help you with the recognition and honor aspect! Make the library one of your stops this month in order to browse our excellent displays on the 1st and 2nd floors.

If a lighter read on the romantic side sounds like your perfect summer reading match, all parts of the LGBTQ spectrum are now represented in fiction, and the options are bountiful! You may have already heard of TJ Klune’s massively popular bestselling title “The House in the Cerulean Sea” (FIC Klu), which is a great starting point for your Pride Month reading–and if you’ve already read and loved it, maybe try Klune’s newest novel, “Under the Whispering Door” for a similarly warm reading experience. Looking for other contemporary stories featuring M/M couples? Try “Boyfriend Material” by Alexis Hall (FIC Hal). The sequel “Husband Material” comes out this August. “The Charm Offensive” by Alison Cochrun (FIC Coc), or “Call Me by Your Name” by Andre Aciman (FIC Aci) are also great options.

Would you rather read a classic of a similar persuasion? Check out Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited” (FIC Wau) from 1945; or E.M. Forster’s “Maurice” (FIC For) originally written c. 1914! Sapphic romances are well-represented on our displays with “The Henna Wars” by Adiba Jaigirdar (YA FIC Jai), “The Verifiers” by Jane Pek (FIC Pek), or “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon (FIC Sha) – an extraordinary and atmospheric fantasy novel! Looking for stories featuring trans characters and romances? Try Isaac Fellman’s “Dead Collections” (FIC Fel), Joss Lake’s “Future Feeling” (FIC Lak), “This Is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel (FIC Fra and LP FIC Fra), or “Dreadnought” by April Daniels (YA FIC Dan).

There are plenty of other titles to pick from that focus more on identity, belonging, and community. You’ll find tons of memoirs and biographies on the first floor that showcase the range of LGTBQ folks’ experiences; some favorites include “How We Fight for Our Lives” by Saeed Jones (921 Jones, S.), “Punch Me Up to the Gods” by Brian Broome (921 Broome, B), “A Year Without a Name” by Cyrus Grace Dunham (921 Dunham, C.), and “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle (921 Doyle, G).

Would you like to learn about lesser-known aspects of LGBTQ history? We have several new books that you might want to look at, including “It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic” by Jack Lowery (362.19697 Low), “The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes: And the Unwritten History of the Trans Experience” by Zoe-Jane Playdon (921 Forbes, E.), and “Eminent Outlaws: The Gay Writers Who Changed America” by Christopher Bram (810.9 Bra).

No matter your preferences, there’s a book and a place for everyone at the public library! We sincerely hope you’ll drop by to take part in recognizing the inclusive diversity of our history, and don’t be afraid to let us know if you’re looking for more reading recommendations along these lines. We can also provide additional recommendations by email at [email protected]; just provide us with a way to reply. Cheers!

Shelbi Hoover is a Library/Digital Communications Assistant at CDP