Lift All Voices: Books for Pride Month

June 03, 2022

By now you know it is Pride Month. Every commercial and social media post has mentioned it. Companies have changed their logos to incorporate the rainbow.

Some see it as performative. Some see it as inclusive.

At RecycleReadRepeat we cannot wait for the day when Pride Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month and the like are less important. But for now, we know representation and visibility matter.

We also know that books are powerful.

For too long, female and diverse voices were not published. Women used male pen names to get published. In the 1980s and 90s educators advocated to get books by authors of color into curriculums.

And now we are watching schools ban books, especially those that address LBTQIA issues and feature LGBTQIA characters.

It is terrifying. And we must fight on several fronts, of course. But one way is to lift these voices, to read these books and share these books. The more books we have in our repertoire the more we can convince others that these books are not propaganda, but rather they are stories. About people. Who exist.

So here is our small contribution to the fight to lift all voices. Here are some books by LGBTQIA authors or those featuring stories of LGBTQIA characters that we love.

Literally any book by Marlon James

Basically anything he writes, we will read. This man is a genius. He is Jamaican. He is young. He is on fire. His books feature complex characters and plots. His characters span the spectrum- just coming out, bi-sexual and on the downlow, but all are rich and deeply developed. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is our favorite. It is the first of a fantasy trilogy, but I promise you do not have to love fantasy. Be prepared for violence and detailed (sometimes hot, sometime sweet, and sometimes violent) sex scenes in any of his books. The Brief History of Seven Killings is another great one and a winner of the Booker Prize. It is a historical fiction account of the assassination attempt on Bob Marley. Read Marlon James. He is brilliant, and he will make you laugh aloud.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

We read this in book club, and we were all a little scared that it would no longer be an acceptable account of a intersexed person (it was written in the 1990s), especially since it is written by a heterosexual man that is not intersexed. It is great, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize. The book is narrated by the protagonist, a teen in the 1970s, but the same narrator is omniscient even to his grandparents' journey as they escape the Balkan Wars. This book is part family saga and part historical fiction. The protagonist is Cal (initially Callie) who on top of all the stress and drama that comes with being a tween, learns that they are intersexed. This book will teach you, make you laugh and have you reflect on your own family’s history and the impact it has had on you generations later.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

This is an autobiographical account of Machado’s abusive relationship with a woman while Machado was getting her MFA. It breaks the stereotype of lesiban relationships as an oasis of safety since abusers are usually men. But as Machado points out in the book, lesiban relationships are not devoid of abuse. The writing is poetic and descriptive. Machado also writes are wonderful collection of short stories called Her Body and Other Parties.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Because Celie is married for the majority of this book, and because her marriage is so abusive and terrible, I find that many people when talking about this book, forget that Celie is gay. The Color Purple is a beautiful story of female bonding, overcoming obstacles and a search for self despite the world agreeing that you do not deserve it that culminates with Celie living her best life living with her abusive husband who she has forgiven and her true love, Shug. In a story filled with such violence, poverty and other ugliness, it is one of the most beautiful I have ever read.

We encourage you to read some of these and share with us others that you love.