Pride Month Reads

Held in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprising, Pride Month celebrates and affirms the worth and vitality of the LGBTQ community. Titles in this collection include notable fiction and nonfiction works by LGBTQ authors and those writing about LGBTQ topics, including Audre Lorde, Douglas Stuart, and Amy Ellis Nutt.

The Witching Hour

by Anne Rice

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, The Past, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Gothic Literature

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The Wives

by Tarryn Fisher

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Femininity, Gender Identity, Power & Greed, Marriage

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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The Woodlanders

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1887

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Sexual Identity

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Social Class, Love & Sexuality, Victorian Period, British Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Victorian Era

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The Writing Retreat

by Julia Bartz

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Femininity, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Literature

Tags Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Thicker than Water

by Kerry Washington

Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Hope, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Race, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, The Past, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Art, Fame, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Biography, Arts & Culture

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Things We Lost to the Water

by Eric Nguyen

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Family, Immigration, Fathers, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Perseverance, Memory, Community, Race, Sexual Identity, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Immigration & Refugeeism, Coming of Age, Bullying, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death, Asian History, Natural Disaster, Parenting, Military & War, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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This Is the Fire

by Don Lemon

Publication year 2021

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Sexual Identity, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, Social Justice, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, African American Literature, American Literature, World History, Politics & Government, Biography

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Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

by Sigmund Freud

Publication year 1905

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth

Tags Psychology, Science & Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Love & Sexuality, Philosophy

Sigmund Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality was first published in 1905. Freud expanded it several times in later editions, and it reached its final form in 1924. The book occupies a major place in Freud’s body of work, but it was controversial when it first appeared. Freud pointedly blurs the line between perversions and normal sexual behaviors, and he develops a radically new and surprising theory of human sexuality—in particular, of childhood... Read Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality Summary

Three Women

by Lisa Taddeo

Publication year 2019

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Femininity, Sexual Identity, Masculinity

Tags Love & Sexuality, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, Biography

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Tin Man

by Sarah Winman

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Love, Memory, Regret, Sexual Identity, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, The Past

Tags LGBTQ+, Romance, Historical Fiction

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Trad Wife

by Saratoga Schaefer

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Femininity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Birth, Death, Appearance & Reality, Nature Versus Nurture, Mothers, Self Discovery, Equality, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Gender & Feminism

Saratoga Schaefer’s 2026 horror novel, Trad Wife, satirizes the social media phenomenon of “traditional wives” (or tradwives) through the lens of supernatural body horror. The story follows Camille Deming, an influencer who meticulously curates her life online to fit the perfect homesteading aesthetic. Privately, however, her marriage to her husband, Graham, is strained, and her failed attempts to conceive a child threaten both her relationship and her growing social media brand. Desperate to achieve the... Read Trad Wife Summary

Translation State

by Ann Leckie

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Love, Gender Identity, Conflict, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Disability, Language, Mental Health, Race, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Future, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Education, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, LGBTQ+, Fantasy

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