10 LGBTQ+ Books for Beyond Pride Month

With Pride Month drawing to a close, it’s important to keep our bookshelves inclusive.

As someone who’s been obsessed with reading during lockdown, I’ve enjoyed turning this hobby into a chance to learn from other people’s experiences to better myself and my knowledge. It’s also just a bit more interesting to read about the world through different lenses.

So here is a list of some fantastic LGBTQ+ reads and why you should consider picking them up!

1. Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

This book follows the lives of Norman Alonso, a Jamaican man who’s moved to the West Midlands in the 1950s, and Jesse McCarthy, a Black nineteen year old in the 2000s who’s left his family and Jehovah’s Witness community in the West Midlands to move to London. The story of Alonso looks at his experience with racism, and according to Mendez it was a chance to reclaim his grandparents’ generation’s story and set the scene for McCarthy’s experience.. McCarthy’s story follows his life through to his mid-30s, as he comes to terms with his sexuality, his upbringing, and life as a Black man in Britain.

2. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Vuong is a poet so it’s no surprise that this book is known for its beautiful writing. It’s a letter written from a son to his illiterate mother which explores his Vietnamese family’s history. This book provides an insight into the relationship of a single mother and her son, and is an empowering opportunity to explore his own story knowing his mother will never be able to read it. It also provides commentary on race, masculinity, and sexuality, and looks at immigrant life in working class New England.

3. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

This YA novel explores the life of a trans girl who’s told that monsters don’t exist. But one day, she meets Pet, a creature created from a combination of her mother’s painting and a drop of her blood. This magical realism makes her question what a monster really is, and she begins to realise the people in her community are the monsters. It explores the binary of people vs monsters, and how no one really knows what a monster looks like – it’s about your actions. It begs the question, if monsters don’t have a physical indicator and people refuse to believe they exist, how do we tackle them?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_o5S0HdY8/

4. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

This part-novel part-poetry collection explores the life of a Jamaican-Greek Cypriot Michael as he grapples with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen. It’s only while at the University of Brighton that he embraces who he is and finds himself as the drag artist, The Black Flamingo. Oh and this beauty is accompanied by illustrations by Anshika Khullar.

5. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

Set in the Nigerian Civil War, main character Ijeoma is sent away to safety where she falls in love with another girl who is also from a different ethnic minority. Ijeoma is forced to reconcile with the dangers of openly loving other women, and the impact of having to hide her identity. All while her country tries to recover from the effects of war.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkQGrhqlefx/

6. Patsy by Nicole Y. Dennis Benn

This follows Patsy as she moves from Pennyfield, Jamaica to America to reunite with her childhood love, Cicely. To do so, she has to leave behind her five year-old daughter in an effort to prioritise herself and who she is. But, she quickly learns that life in America as an undocumented immigrant is much harder than she imagines. Back in Jamaica, her daughter is also trying to grapple with her own identity and sexuality.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_WMfNNAfAR/

7. The Stonewall Reader edited by The New York Public Library

This anthology draws upon the New York Public Library’s archive to explore the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1960s and the activists involved. It includes first hand accounts, diary entries, and literature and articles from the time surrounding the Stonewall riots. Many African Americans have become forgotten, despite them being pivotal figures in this movement. This anthology is, therefore, an important chance to learn the true history of the Stonewall Riots.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2J4A-mAav3/

8. We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib

This memoir explores Habib’s journey to discover who she is. While living in Pakistan as an Ahmadi Muslim, she faced threats from extremists who disagreed with smaller sects of Islam. Then, her family moved to Canada as refugees, where she faced racism, poverty, and pressures to conform. But this memoir follows her effort to come to terms with faith, identity and sexuality.  

9. Sister Outsider

This is a collection of essays and speeches written between 1976 and 1984 from the perspective of her particular identity as a Black lesbian and feminist. She discusses topics like sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, all while emphasising the power of recognising our differences.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CANlulcAbnB/

10. The Color Purple

This book is a classic – and for good reason. It’s honestly one of those books that you absolutely have to read in your lifetime, especially as an anti-racist or feminist. Written in letters between the main character Celie, her sister and God, it blends together a subtle exploration of Celie’s sexuality, her experience as a woman, and the treatment of Black people in early twentieth century rural Georgia. 

Ffion Clarke

Image courtesy of Daniel James on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.