Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading with Pride 🏳️‍🌈

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Pride Month Reading 🏳️‍🌈

Prompts: Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈 What are your favourite books with LGBTQIA+ representation? Are there authors or series you always recommend? What books are on your Pride Month TBR? What do you think makes representation feel genuine?

What do you think makes representation feel genuine?

My thoughts on this apply beyond just LGBTQIA+ representation in books, but any sort of representation whether that be BIPOC or other minority groups. I think first and foremost, representation feels genuine to me when characters feel fully formed—they don’t have to be perfect, but they should feel like they’re more than whatever identity they are “meant” to represent, if that makes sense. There should be more to a character than them being queer or BIPOC. Similarly, I think books feel more authentic when these characteristics are seen as part of the world (i.e. they’re normalized) because of course it’s normal to have LGBTQIA+ people in society. When they’re the only person or the only two people in a community, then it feels more tokenistic.

What are your favourite books with LGBTQIA+ representation?

I loved all of these books and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. They are some of the books that I always recommend when people ask for reccos!

*^{Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell, Blades of Furry by Emily Erdos & Deya Muniz, HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez}*

*^{Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Everything for You by Chloe Liese}*

*^{Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, Lunar Boy by Jes & Cin Wibowo, A Rival Most Vial by R. K. Ashwick, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh}*

Books on my Pride Month TBR — or my TBR in general…

^{Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake, If We Were A Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal, Razor Blade Tears by S. A. Cosby}

^{Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur, You Made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo}

^{Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, She Who Becomes the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar}

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽

Abyssal Librarian

If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!