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I heard if we all reach our reading goals, we get a pizza party during Pride next year!
@politebotanist
July 09 2024 11:00 AM EST
July 09 2024 11:55 AM EST
July 1st is to queer people a lot like January 1st for straight people — that is if a New Year's Eve party lasted an entire month. Pride is over, another fabulous June behind us, and now you're looking for some gay goals to guide you in the year ahead. If you, like me, woke up on July 1st and thought, "Oh. We're halfway through the year, and I am nowhere close to meeting my reading goal," fret not! Here are 10 of the best LGBTQ of 2024 thus far to get you back on track.
All purchase links go bookshop.org, which directly supports independent bookstores in communities around the nation. If there's not an independent bookstore near you, you can always choose to have your purchase support an LGBTQ or LGBTQ-owned bookstore! For those who prefer audiobooks, libro.fm works the same way bookshop.org does. No, this is not a paid ad, just paying it forward!
"Broughtupsy" by Christina Cooke
Christina Cooke's debut novel Broughtupsyfollows a young Jamaican women's journey to reconnect with her family, her heritage, and herself. Following the passing of her brother Bryson, our protagonist Akúa travels from Canada back to Jamaica to reunite with her older sister, Tamika. During the two weeks they spend together, Akúa must reckon with the compounded grief of losing her mother ten years prior and now her brother as well, what it means to be a family, and what it means for herself to be a gay woman in Jamaica. A truly captivating debut, and an excellent choice for fans of Bryan Washington's Family Meal.
Broughtupsy is available for purchase here.
"The Deep Dark" by Molly Knox Ostertag
Molly Knox Ostertag, creator of the acclaimed Witch Boy trilogy, continues to enrich the landscape of graphic novels with The Deep Dark. The Deep Dark is a YA horror graphic novel about Magdelena Herrera, a high school senior with high stakes responsibility. Caring for her ailing grandma, working part time, trying to graduate, and having to sneak around because the girl you're making out with also has a boyfriend would be more than enough to fill anyone's plate, but Mags also has dark and malicious secret that she is straining to keep at hidden in her basement. When Mags's childhood friend Nessa returns, decisions must be made when this secret starts to threaten them both.
The Deep Dark is available for purchase here.
"Unsuitable" by Eleanor Medhurst
You may recognize Eleanor Medhurst from social media accounts which, like her new book Unsuitable, focus on the history of lesbian fashion. Medhurst has been writing about lesbian fashion history since the Summer of 2020 on her blog, Dressing Dykes. Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion takes all the great work Medhurst has done to preserve this key component of queer history and wraps it up into one absolute must read.
Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion is available for purchase here.
"Why Are People Into That?: A Cultural Investigation of Kink" by Tina Horn
Tina Horn, host of the hit podcast Why Are People Into That?!, has compiled the knowledge from her many years as a dominatrix and BDSM educator into the book, Why Are People Into That?: A Cultural Investigation of Kink. Why Are People Into That? is a must-read for everyone with an interest in kink, from pro dommes and pup boys to those just beginning to wonder if they might want to try something a little less vanilla. This book is great as an overview of BDSM and kink interests, but is best for its cultural analysis of how these interests are shaped by not just sexual desire, but by the likes of gender, pleasure, and power. You can listen to a preview of the book here, and if this sounds up your alley might I also suggest The Politics of Perverts: The Political Attitudes and Actions of Non-Traditional Sexual Minorities as an excellent follow up.
Why Are People Into That? is available for purchase here.
"Little Rot" by Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke Emezi's eighth book, Little Rot is somewhat ineffable. Emezi is, in my opinion, one of the best writers of the 21st century, and this is them at their best. Little Rot is about five friends at a a sex party. It's also about power, corruption, and violence. The hard part about trying to write about good writing is trying that I don't want to tell you with my words to read this book, I want to shove it into your hands and make you devour it in one sitting. Just read it.
Little Rot is available for purchase here.
"Cuckoo" by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Full transparency: I'm a big wuss. However, there are some authors so masterful in their work that I will — wrapped in a blanket and in the broad light of day — bravely venture into the world's they create. Gretchen Felker-Martin is top billing among them. Felker-Martin's second novel, Cuckoo, begins in 1995, where seven queer teens have been sent to a remote conversion camp for the summer. Sixteen years later, the survivors from that summer are the only ones who can put a stop to the horrors at Camp Resolution. A sublime, stomach turning read for fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Stephen King.
Cuckoo is available for purchase here.
"Who's Afraid of Gender" by Judith Butler
Who's Afraid of Gender?Philosopher and gender scholar Judith Butler returns with Who's Afraid of Gender?. Butler, author of the groundbreaking Gender Trouble, has written another essential guide to navigating gender politics that is sure to quickly join much of their other work in the queer canon. A true must read.
Who's Afraid of Gender? is available for purchase here.
"Masculinity in Transition" by K. Allison Hammer
In Masculinity in Transition, K. Allison Hammer dissects "toxic masculinity," tracing its roots, impacts, and ideologies all the way back to the source. They also offer us a world where toxic masculinity is not the norm, nor is it the defining idea of what masculinity is. Instead, they imagine what masculinity looks like free from settler colonialism, racial capitalism, and straight, white, cis hegemony. An impactful read for anyone, but a true gift to those of us who do not always know how to embrace our own hard fought for sense of masculinity.
Masculinity in Transition is available for purchase here.
"The Call is Coming from Inside the House: Essays" by Allyson McOuat
The Call is Coming from Inside the House: Essays by Allyson McOuat is a brutally honest reflection on motherhood and queer womanhood told through the context of '80s and '90s pop culture. An excellent read if you loved Francesca T. Royster's Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance, and a real god-send of a book for anyone with a complex relationship to being a queer person and a parent.
The Call is Coming from Inside the House: Essays is available for purchase here.
Yes Gawd!: How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in the United States|Paperback
Yes Gawd!: How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in the United States|PaperbackOne of my most anticipated books coming out in 2024, Yes Gawd!: How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in the United States by Royal G. Cravens III is an in depth analysis on just how much religion impacts LGBTQ culture, politics, and identity in the US. For those further interested in the subject, try this interview with the author.
Yes Gawd!: How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in the United States is available for purchase here.
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