Books

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Here are my list of very gay and very good books you should read.

The Argonauts

Maggie Nelson

The Argonauts defies categorization in the best way. The book is a poetic memoir about Maggie Nelson’s relationship with Harry, a gender-fluid artist with whom Nelson falls in love and begins a family. But in addition to the incredible story, The Argonauts radiates with stunning observations about being queer and in love, making the memoir feel less like a book and more like the perfect rendering of a person’s heart on a page.

Leah on the Offbeat

Becky Albertalli

You may know Becky Albertalli for her novel Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda(which was turned into a fantastic movie Love, Simon). But now Albertalli is back with a new book: Leah on the Offbeat. Where Sapiens outlines Simon’s adventures in coming out, Leah on the Offbeat reveals that Leah is struggling with her identity too: she’s bisexual and working to muster the courage to come out to her friends. But as Leah navigates her senior year of high school, she realizes that she may love one her friends more than anyone else might expect.

As the title probably suggests, They Both Die At The End is not what we could a “happy” book. The novel follows a day in the life of two boys, Mateo and Rufus, who get early morning calls from Death-Cast telling them that today is the day that they’re going to die. Though initially strangers, Mateo and Rufus are soon brought together through the Last Friend app, a social network that connects people on their last day alive. But as Mateo and Rufus embark on a quest to check items off their bucket list while they still have time, their friendship grows into something more, ultimately exploring what happens when we fall in love with someone we know we only will have a very limited time with.

Fun Home

Alison Bechdel

Fun Home is a graphic memoir about coming out and finding love, centered around two people. The book documents Alison Bechdel (who also came up with the Bechdel test), her experience exploring her attraction to women, and the way that her father resisted her identity. But, after Alison’s father is hit by a car and killed, she reflects on his past and realizes that he may have had his own struggles with his sexual identity.

Nevada

Imogen Binnie

Nevada follows Maria, a young trans woman living in New York City, trying to navigate the punk scene while also working in retail. When Maria’s girlfriend breaks up with her by revealing that she’s been cheating, Maria’s world is turned upside down. On a quest to escape it all, Melanie embarks on a cross country road trip where she meets James, a stoner living in Nevada who is just as lost as Maria. As the book jumps between both James and Maria’s perspectives, Nevada offers a thoughtful look at identity and the trans experience.