We Love Lists: #ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 1

Happy June, Everyone! It's Pride Month! I read queer fiction all year round but I especially love to read, review, and recommend my favorites this time of year to celebrate Pride. The last few years I've tried to post either a Pride Reads rec post or a TBR list for June but this year I wanted to do something different. The problem was I couldn't think of what to do beyond a recommendations post or a recap of some of my favorite queer books I've reviewed for the blog.

The other day I was randomly reading Gail Carriger's blog as I'm wont to do because I love her and her books and her queer fiction recs when I saw her post for a bookstagram meme she made to celebrate Pride. I took one look at Gail's 30 Days of Queer Reads #Reading Pride meme and knew immediately that I wanted to participate. So I am!

Gail put all 30 days of recs into one post which was lovely but I decided to divide mine up into weekly posts. I did this for a few reasons but the main two are: 1. it would be a really long post and 2. I might read something during the month that would work for one of the recommendations. I'm going to try to only recommend a book only once but we'll see how it goes.

Let's talk about my queer fiction recs for the first seven days! If we've reviewed the book on the blog, I've linked you to each review if you want more of our thoughts on a book.

Day 1: First Queer Book You Remember Reading

This was a tricky prompt. I read several classics like The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde that had a lot of queer subtext but with no characters that were blatantly out. The first book I remember reading with queer characters is Briar Rose by Jane Yolen but they were side characters. The first book I remember reading where the main characters were queer was Wicked Lies by Karina Cooper.

Day 2: Queer Book That Reminds You of Home

Any book by Becky Chambers feels like a warm hug when you read it but there was just something about A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet that just made me feel like I was at home. Part of it, I think is because the found family aspect of the book reminded me of the second family I found for myself in college.

Read Rose Red's review here.

Day 3: Queer Book That's Been On Your TBR Too Long

This could turn into a whole shameful post about all the queer books I haven't read yet. I'm most particularly ashamed that I haven't read A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy by Alex White (f/f) and Chainbreaker by Tara Sim (m/m). What have I been doing with my life? I really need to get to both of these soon because I loved the first books in both of these series.

Day 4: Queer Book With a Name or Number in the Title

You all know how much I love Roan Parrish's queer romance books. So it won't be a surprise to see several on these lists. The first of which is The Remaking of Corbin Wale by Roan Parrish is a unique and strange little book that has a super sweet romance and an intriguing premise. Plus, you'll be craving all the baked goods while reading it.

Read Rose Red's review here.

Day 5: Queer Book Where the Protagonist Has a Fun Job

This was another hard prompt to fill because I have several recs that would fit. I actually really wanted to copy Gail's choice for this prompt because it was a perfect choice but decided I should come up with my own. This is where Will Darling comes in. Will is a soldier recently back from war who has become a reluctant bookshop owner as he tries to figure out what's next for himself. Will's journey is wonderful but I'll leave it up to you to find out more. Will's story starts in Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles.

Day 6: Favorite Queer Graphic Novel

I read a lot of graphic novels and manga and I've read enough queer graphic novels that I could write a whole recommendation post. Maybe I will. That would be an awesome topic to do! For this post, I want to highlight two of my favorites: Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu and I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up by Naoko Kodama. These are both sweet romances that I loved!

Read Rose Red's review of Check, Please! Book One: #Hockey here.

Day 7: Queer Book You Often Reread
I'm a chronic rereader. If I loved a book, it's a guarantee I'll reread it multiple times. I have lots of queer books I reread on a regular basis but the two I've reread the most often the last few years has been Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala and True of Heart by M.L. Rhodes. These two books are self-published indie novels that I need to get physical copies of. I love them so much! Both are m/m with one being a sci-fi romance and the other being a fated mates fantasy novel. They're both unique and absolutely wonderful.

What books would you recommend for these prompts?