A Pride Reading List
June is a time to honor LGBTQ+ history, culture, and voices, so we’ve curated a reading list to celebrate stories of resilience, joy, and love across genres and generations. From classics like Giovanni’s Room to to new and notable works like Blessed Water, these books will help cure any summer reading slump. Explore the full list, or stop by to see our curated book selection on the shelves of the first-floor Bow Room.
See a title you’d like to read? Select the link to visit our catalog where you’ll find the call number to locate the book yourself, or simply choose “Pick up at Circulation,” log in with your last name and six-digit member ID, and we’ll have it ready for you!
Every morning our librarians pull requests bright and early to keep your reading list moving. If you’re placing a hold later in the day and hoping to grab your book by lunch or after work, just give us a call at 617-720-7626. We’ll do everything we can to get it ready in time.
Fiction
- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
- When Women Were Dragons: A Novel by Kelly Barnhill
- A Minor Chorus: A Novel by Billy-Ray Belcourt
- Henry Henry: A Novel by Allen Bratton
- The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara
- All the World Beside by Garrard Conley
- Hall of Mirrors by John Copenhaver
- Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby
- The New Life: A Novel by Tom Crewe
- Homebodies: A Novel by Tembe Denton-Hurst
- Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy
- The Sons of El Rey: A Novel by Alex Espinoza
- City of Laughter: A Novel by Temim Fruchter
- Countries of Origin: A Novel by Javier Fuentes
- Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala; translated from Spanish by Anna Kushner
- The Words That Remain: A Novel by Stênio Gardel
- The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
- Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde; foreword by Cheryl Clark
- The Lions’ Den by Iris Mwanza
- Medusa of the Roses: A Novel by Navid Sinaki
- A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest: A Novel by Charlie J. Stephens
- Idlewild: A Novel by James Frankie Thomas
- Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson
- Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
- Rainbow Black: A Novel by Maggie Thrash
- Blackouts: A Novel by Justin Torres
- Memorial by Bryan Washington
- The Humble Lover: A Novel by Edmund White
- Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Children’s & Young Adult Books
- Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
- Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
- Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker
- Flamer by Mike Curato
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
- Canto Contigo: A Novel by Jonny Garza Villa
- Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart; illustrated by Anne Passchier
- Melissa by Alex Gino
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us, edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby
- When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff; illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
- All Out, edited by Saundra Mitchell
- Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Laura Cornell
- The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
- Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
- She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
- The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
- Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer; illustrations by Holly Clifton-Brown
- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera