We’ve all sought out some kind of respite this manic year and there’s been plenty of brilliant books on our radar this year. So, we’ve handpicked our favourites to share some of our favourite glorious, heart-wrenching, and all-round enjoyable reads from this year. After all, reading is fundamental…
Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays by Jill Gutowitz
A memoir-meets-personal essay collection, Girls Can Kiss Now is an illuminating, easy read detailing Gutowitz’s life experiences. Whether it’s recounting her collisions with pop culture or examining facets of her identity, Gutowitz’s humorous wit will keep you glued to the page with her charming stories and takeaway lesson on what we can learn from mainstream lesbian culture and what we can take with us into a, very, queer future.
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Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller
If you’re looking to find your LGBTQ+ heroes, well, this isn’t the place for you. Based on the popular podcast series, Bad Gays is a megamix of history, michfief, and joyous provocation. Leading readers through the lens of LGBTQ+ history, Lemmey and Miller’s book walks through the lives of figures who have shaped history in their unique and often villainous ways.
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I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
Why does Chloe Green care so much about Shara Wheeler? For fans of the Netflix’s The Half of It, Casey McQuinston unravels a highschool mystery when Willowgrove Christian Academy’s most popular student goes missing. Readers are left immersed into a world of rivalries, hormones, and coming-of-age friendships in this academic rivals to lovers read.
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All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
Following the life of Sneh, All This Could Be Different powerfully explores the first-generation Asian-American experience. Plus, it’s queer too. A dynamic mixture of humour, hope and pain, Mattews taps into the lived reality of feeling out your identity while rallying against the structures that surround you. We can promise you’ll finish reading this in no time.
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My Government Means To Kill Me by Rasheed Newson
You might have noticed we’re really into coming-of-age stories. Well, here’s another brilliant one. My Government Means To Kill Me is as gripping as it is memorising. Set in the 1980s, a young Black man, Earl “Trey” Singleton leaves his wealthy background to discover more about himself in New York City. Picking up lessons from activists and the on-going AIDS crisis, Earl valiantly battles trauma and seeks out his true meaning in this captivating read.
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Time Is A Mother by Ocean Vuong
Marking his second full-length volume of poetry, Voung movingly examines life after his mother’s death in this touching, intimate read. Vuong gifts us with emotionally eloquent prose as he unspools his thoughts on grief, family, and the loss of cultural identity due to American war. An incredibly impactful collection, there’s no doubt Time Is A Mother will strike a chord with most.
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Burn The Page by Danica Roem
Danica Roem aka the nation’s first openly trans person elected to US state legislature is finally having her say. From trangender metal rockstar to a leading figure in US politics, Roem has plenty to share with her audience. Burn The Page is an invigorating read that incorporates Roem’s run for office, her journey to coming out, and transforming into a fearless leader, despite the naysayers standing in her way. An amusing, educational read, Burn The Page is so much more than a manifesto of rights, it’s an inspiring tale of determination.
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Greenland: A Novel by David Santos Donaldson
Imagine: you only have three weeks to write a novel. Oh, and you’re in a basement. Well, that’s exactly where Kip, a Black LGBTQ+ author, finds himself. In this characterful satirical read, we find ourselves meandering through this complex book. For some, this debut may be a miss, but Donaldson proves himself as an intriguing author with this eccentric novel.
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Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
From the author of Shuggie Bain, Young Mungo is Douglas’ second novel that follows the lives of two working-class men from two different Christian backgrounds. The author’s second book treads familiar ground as it revisits the similar powerful themes unearthed in his first novel. However, Young Mungo captures its own distinct and unique romance of a cross-faith love story. A book that promises powerful, moving and sensitive moments, Young Mungo is a must for everyone’s reading list.
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The King Is Dead by Benjamin Dean
In this Gossip Girl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda thrilling, mystery romance, James’ world is turned upside down overnight. His father is dead and, now, he finds himself in line to be crowned King. Secrets threaten to overspill, boyfriends go missing, and panic ensures as James finds himself questioning those closest around him. The King Is Dead is a YA LGBTQ+ must read.
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None Of The Above by Travis Alabanza
What do you do when you don’t quite fit in anywhere? In None Of The Above, Travis Alabanza reflects some of society’s biggest questions back on itself. In this educational, deeply interesting book, Alabanza prompts us all to consider things with a fresh perspective.
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