Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Who is lining up books to read for Pride Month? I am, but my library still isn't fully open so I don't know what I will end up reading. So far I only have two books:

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown - I've read many of her cat mysteries, now I'm finally going to read this classic!

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith - I love Highsmith so I expect great things!

and it looks like my library has an audiobook available for Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters so I'll probably listen to that. Not sure what else I'll pick up. If they have it, I'll try reading along with the monthly group read of The Map of Salt and Stars


My daughter wants a YA lesbian or bi novel. Any recommendations? She's already read (and loved) Pink. I'll probably have to buy it for her so I want to make sure I pick a good one, and she'd be all weirded out by her mother buying a book with explicit sex, so ... no explicit sex scenes! I really liked The Miseducation of Cameron Post so I'm thinking about that one; it's got some rough scenes in it, but it's a lot because Cameron's family rejects her, and that wouldn't happen to my daughter, so I'm thinking maybe it won't be too disturbing for her ... but she's very sensitive, so I'm not sure. All the bits about Cameron's parents dying might be too upsetting - she really really hates when the parents die. So I'm looking for another book.

The Summer of Jordi Pérez, Tell Me How You Really Feel and Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit are all cute romcoms. There are some mild sexual scenes/references in Georgia Peaches, but on the same level as what was in Cameron.

Crier's War is a popular f/f YA fantasy, but I haven't read it so I can't speak on dead parents or explicit scenes.

Thanks those look like good recs!

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe, it's so good. I totally recommend it.

Pumpkinheads this was an awesome graphic novel. This is the only thing I've read by Rainbow Rowell so I can't say whether her other books would fit what you're looking for for your daughter.

I have Proxy out from the library (from 2 months ago....) which I had intended to read for *last* Pride month...
I also have Juliet Takes a Breath on a 2 month loan, but I haven't started it, so I can't say how it goes.

It's not lesbian, but My Most Excellent Year has a gay character and is one of the most charming books in general if someone wants something uplifting (unless you're just overwhelmed with happiness right now, in which case, please share how you're doing it! )

Nadine wrote: "My daughter wants a YA lesbian or bi novel. Any recommendations?"

If graphic novels are okay, I recommend On a Sunbeam, about high school sweethearts who get separated and one's quest to find the other one again. It's sci-fi but very character-based and I think would appeal to non-sci-fi readers.

I loved Wilder Girls but I recall you didn't like it much, and I guess it's awkward pandemic reading anyway.

Crier's War may not be a good fit because one of the main characters' parents were killed by imperial soldiers (I don't think it was graphically described, but she hears it from a place of hiding and later sees the bodies). No explicit sex though, it doesn't go beyond kissing.

This is making me realize most of my go-to f/f recs are adult books, although I learned about all of them through YA blogs so there's definitely crossover appeal. (Seven Blades in Black, The Stars Are Legion, and Gideon the Ninth - though I don't recommend Gideon here because parental death is a major plot point, (view spoiler)[Harrow's parents commit suicide in front of her (hide spoiler)])

Other YA stuff from my TBR: The Abyss Surrounds Us (f/f pirates and monster trainers), Ship of Smoke and Steel (main character is bi and on a mission to steal a ghost ship)

I started working on my list of possibilities days ago, but I keep getting distracted by the real world. Let's see if I can do this.
(EGAD no wonder this took so long. I haven't even looked through my piles!)


Heartstopper, Vol. 1 - It's FINALLY in the States and I'm so excited! Squee!

Hurricane Child - Poor thing, I've been picking this up and putting it down for months. I will finish this month!


Books I Have:
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
Alan Cumming: Legal Immigrant
All Boys Aren't Blue
Autoboyography
Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays - David Sedaris
The Black Flamingo
Blackfish City
Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman
Clap When You Land
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
The Extraordinaries
Felix Ever After
Gracefully Grayson
The Gravity of Us
Holding - Graham Norton
How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
Ian Mckellen: A Biography
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
A Keeper - Graham Norton
King and the Dragonflies
Let's Talk About Love - Ace
Love Is Love: A Comic Book Anthology
The Magic Misfits - Neil Patrick Harris
Most Likely
Naked - David Sedaris
None of the Above - Intersex
On a Sunbeam
Queen of the Conquered
Rick - companion to George
Stay Gold
When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris

I know I have a copy of Bingo Love somewhere but I don't remember which one.

I thought I got the copy of The Black Tides of Heaven from Tor the day I got this Chromebook, but now I can't find it.

I'm not sure if Dragman: A Novel works for sure, but hey, gender non-conformity at least.

Absolutely not actually queer but how can I not include my new copy of Our Rainbow Queen with a title like that? It's photos of the Queen in different colored outfits.

Some of these have lovely covers



Books I Don't Have:
Amberlough
The Argonauts
Bloom
Every Heart a Doorway
Fingersmith
The Immortalists
Like a Love Story
Love: Beyond Body, Space & Time - indigenous SFF
Maurice
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
Pink
Speak No Evil
Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights
Tin Man
An Unkindness of Ghosts
The Weight of the Stars
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities

I am super excited to get into some LGBTQIA content for Pride (I've been trying to fit as many as I can into this challenge too). I have some catching up to do on some that are pretty widely read as I haven't read much over the last few years.
I'm currently listening to (and loving) Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda on audio which I'm using as my book about or featuring social media.
I'm particularly excited to get to The Gloaming (using for the upside down object prompt), I haven't even heard all that much about it, I just feel oddly drawn to it so fingers crossed I love it.
The Animals at Lockwood Manor and The Confessions of Frannie Langton are both available digitally from my library and I'm keen to read some more diverse historical fiction and mysteries.
I'll be reading Birthday and Autoboyography sometime this month.
I've read 2 Jane Austen novels so far this year so it seemed perfectly fitting that I found Most Ardently, a FF Pride and Predjudice retelling that just so happened to be released in the month of October (my birthday month) last year.
I just got an email from Netgalley that I've been approved for an arc of Each of Us a Desert that I am very excited for

Beyond these I'm hoping to get a hold of some others soon
Felix Ever After
Hex
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Carry On
Verona Comics
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics
Leo Loves Aries
Wolfsong
I'll Give You the Sun
Every Heart a Doorway

Nadine wrote: "Who is lining up books to read for Pride Month? I am, but my library still isn't fully open so I don't know what I will end up reading. So far I only have two books:

I'm doing a local IRL challenge, and one of the prompts is Banned Books (!), and I found one of their recs. Annie on My Mind is a really sweet YA lesbian love story, friends to lovers romance. I'm really enjoying it!

It was published in 1982, so I don't know if that would sit well with your daughter. But a lot of reviewers have said it could have been written today. It doesn't feel outdated to me at all.

ETA to remove extra italics

I finished The Priory of the Orange Tree last night, really enjoyed it. I would love it in movie or tv form! Next up is On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and I’m reading one story a night from Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers. Also listening to The Map of Salt and Stars.

I'm picking up a few from the library tomorrow.

The Map of Salt and Stars
Leah on the Offbeat
More Happy Than Not
Every Heart a Doorway
A Single Man

Doubt I will get to them all since I want to try to read a couple of books on racism, but I'll do what I can.

I just listened to Clap When You Land and recommend it, good on audio.

Some others of which I will read a few:
The Map of Salt and Stars
Cantoras
Here Comes the Sun
The Heart's Invisible Furies
Freshwater
Happiness, Like Water

Traci wrote: "I just listened to Clap When You Land and recommend it, good on audio.

Some others of which I will read a few:
The Map of Salt and Stars
Cantoras
[b..."

Ooo! Cantoras is one of my all-time favorite novels. I hope you read that one!

I already have these checked out:

Mostly Dead Things
Under the Rainbow

But I'd like to incorporate more Black LGBTQ books this month, so I'm thinking these:
Real Life (which I already have on my shelf)
From Juliet to Julius: In Search of My True Identity
I Rise - The Transformation of Toni Newman
A Finer Specimen Of Womanhood: A Transsexual Speaks Out
Full Disclosure

And I just found out that the author of Hiding My Candy appears in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil which happens to be one of my book club books this month. I'll try to read both.

Also, I know the author of HoodWitch so I have a signed copy of this one on its way to me - yay!

I just finished The Nest which includes LGBTQ characters, but I didn't love it.

Nadine wrote: "My daughter wants a YA lesbian or bi novel. Any recommendations?"

I can not recommend Once & Future enough. I do not recall any explicit sex, though there’s definitely flirting and kissing in a sex-positive way. Queer characters abound and the sequel, Sword in the Stars, just came out (ha!) in April.

I just finished listening to The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, which I thought was excellent.
I also read Something to Talk About, which was fine but kind of boring for a romance.

I picked up a new autobiography today. Read by the author


Officer Clemmons




Also this feminist punk queer time travel book.
The Future of Another Timeline

poshpenny wrote: "I picked up a new autobiography today. Read by the author


Officer Clemmons





I just saw an article talking with the author and a small excerpt from the book, it looks good!

I watched a great video from Bowties & Books recommending books that cover more of the spectrum than the L and the G. I highly suggest watching their video for all the excitement and details. I want to note these books for myself but can't hit my spreadsheet at the moment. I'll get linky later when I get the chance. Their channel also has other videos about more LGBTQ+ books plus others, of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZfSl...

BI BOOKS
Her Royal Highness
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Red, White & Royal Blue

TRANS BOOKS
I Wish You All the Best
Pet
The Deep
Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens
The Antidote For Everything - literally begs everyone to read this
Patsy
Freshwater
The Death of Vivek Oji
Homie
Space Between: Explorations of Love, Sex, and Fluidity
All Boys Aren't Blue
The Vanishing Half
Naamah

ACE BOOKS
The Deep
Raybearer
Sawkill Girls
Let's Talk About Love

QUEER BOOKS
Patsy
The Vanished Birds
The Broken Earth Trilogy
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
Naamah
The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays
Kings Queens and in Betweens
In the Dream House

Nadine wrote: "Who is lining up books to read for Pride Month? I am, but my library still isn't fully open so I don't know what I will end up reading. So far I only have two books:

Rubyfruit Jungle..."

I'm a little late to this, but if you're still looking for YA recs that aren't too heavy, since she liked Pink, you might check out Empress of the World

There's also Leah on the Offbeat. It's a sequel to Love Simon: Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda. It helps to have read Simon, but both are quick reads and worth it.

Her Royal Highness is also a good choice. It's a fun royal rom-com. Technically it's set in the same universe as Prince Charming, but unlike with Leah, Her Royal Highness can stand completely on it's own. Some of the characters cross over and one of the main characters from HRH gets introduced in Prince Charming, but you don't have to read it to understand HRH.

If she likes fantasy and fairy tale retellings, she might like Ash by Malinda Lo. It's a lesbian retelling of Cinderella.

Queens of Geek is a cute book that follows the story of 2 characters (1 bi young woman of color and 1 young autistic woman) during a fun weekend at a sort of comic-con convention.

I haven't read them yet, so any one is free to jump in here, but I've heard decent things about The Princess and the Fangirl, The Brightsiders, and Juliet Takes a Breath

Hopefully there's something there that might interest her. Happy Reading!

Lauren wrote: "Traci wrote: "I just listened to Clap When You Land and recommend it, good on audio.

Some others of which I will read a few:
The Map of Salt and Stars


Cantoras recently came in from my library holds, so I'm listening to it now. I'm only about 20% in, but am liking it so far! (I did give her book The Invisible Mountain 5 stars last year, so not surprised I'm liking this one too)

I read the teen novel We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen. I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction so it was nice to have a light read. I enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars!

June is probably my favorite month when it comes to reading. I love Pride!! So far I've read:

The Deep
The Gravity of Us
Beyond the Gender Binary
Music from Another World

Early this month, I finished Warcross, which does have some LGBTQ+ rep in the supporting characters, although the MC is straight. I'm currently reading Darius the Great Is Not Okay. It's listed in a few LGBTQ+ bookshelves, but I haven't finished it so I honestly don't know if it really does. (If it does, please don't tell me! No spoilers lol). I MIGHT read Like a Love Story if I can finish the monstrous brick that is Dune.

I think I'm done with PRIDE books for the month. I enjoyed all those I finished. I DNF'd The Ministry of Utmost Happiness because I could just not get into it (and I pretty much never DNF, so there's a chance I'll try again).

Books finished:
Clap When You Land
The Map of Salt and Stars
Less
Cantoras

My favorites were Clap When You Land and Cantoras.

So my Pride Month reading completely collapsed, I had grand plans and I ended up reading only two books. My reading has been all out of order in the last few months :-(

I read:
Rubyfruit Jungle - I'm glad I read it, because it's a classic and now I can stop thinking "I should really read that" ... but otherwise, it was rather "meh."
The Map of Salt and Stars - I did NOT like this.

I also counted:
Deathless Divide - I LOVED this book! I did not pick it up specifically for Pride Month, and I believe the author identifies as cis-het (usually I only count books that are ownvoices for these dedicated months), but there is an ace character and a bisexual character and at least one lesbian couple, so I thought it was worth mentioning, anyway.

I still plan to read The Price of Salt - I bought that book two years ago and it keeps staring at me, wanting to be read - but it won't happen in June. And all Sarah Waters audiobooks that I wanted to listen to were checked out when I went back to borrow one, so that didn't happen.

I read three for pride month:

Birthday

Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded

What If It's Us

I liked all of them.

Lauren wrote: "I already have these checked out:

Mostly Dead Things
Under the Rainbow

But I'd like to incorporate more Black LGBTQ books this month."

I can highly recommend Don't Call Us Dead. Poetry, but very different poetry, IMO. I loved it.

While I rarely plan ahead for various "pride" months, I simply try to diversify my reading on a consistent basis throughout the year, which works for me. :) I did happen to read Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel this month which includes a transvestite character about whom the reader is told very little. There is room for the imagination to "fill in the blanks" and conjecture about her relationships, IMO. It was a generic depiction that I found added to my enjoyment of the book overall.

I read a few books this month either written by the LGBTQ community or including characters of that community.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

In the 20 Minutes On The Tube: Who Are You Travelling With? series by Daniel Hurst, a few characters are LGBTQ (or in denial of such) in all of the books.

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood; published in 1964, this must have been scandalous at the time

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

I have checked out from the library but haven't yet read The Map of Salt and Stars and Red, White & Royal Blue

Lynn wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I already have these checked out:

Mostly Dead Things
Under the Rainbow

But I'd like to incorporate more Black LGBTQ books this month."

I can highly..."

Well that's a coincidence! I read Don't Call Us Dead about a week ago! My local indie bookstore recommended it when I asked for "Black and queer" books, haha.

Some years I read exclusively for the heritage months, some years I mix it up with other stuff. This year was definitely a mix. I still got several books in. On first glance, it looks heavily male, but when I think about there are many flavors of queer in there somewhere.


Finished:
All Boys Aren't Blue - Memoir, really good. He shares a lot of very personal things. A lot of that stuff you wondered about as a kid because nobody ever really told you the details? They are in there. I hope a lot of people who need to find this book will do so.

Heartstopper, Vol. 1 - SO SWEET AND ADORABLE and I'm so happy there are sweet, adorable gay stories with super cute dogs out there in the world.

Dragman: A Novel - It's difficult to describe because I don't know which words to use. When a man puts on women's clothes he can fly, and becomes a superhero. He calls out the name Dragman as not being accurate but once the media names you, you are stuck with it. Trans, transvestite and t-girl are all used. Plot involves not only his identity but also a serial killer of trans women and how capitalism steals your soul. The art is cute. (Just was searching and his art tutor was Quentin Blake, which makes perfect sense.)

The Gravity of Us - Gay romance, astronauts, MARS mission planning, social media, reality TV and space program funding. Bonus getting to feed my Pride month and NASA nerd needs at once.

The Black Flamingo - Yes. Read or listen to this. Or both. Verse. Race. Sexuality. Identity. Drag.

Bonus: not at all queer but, I mean, come on
Our Rainbow Queen - Photos of QEII and her colorful clothes. I enjoyed it.


Still Reading:
Felix Ever After - Not that far in but I feel good about it

The Future of Another Timeline - About halfway through and I'm struggling to continue because the narrator is not doing it for me. Queer, punk, feminist, alt-history time travelers fighting the patriarchy and incels for freedoms and reproductive rights. Set near where I grew up, which is weird.


Because pretty