7 LGBTQ+ Books To Read During Pride Month

Pride Month is a very good excuse to buy more books, which is dangerous because I personally do not need much encouragement.

But if you are looking for something to read this month, it is worth going beyond the usual rainbow-covered display and picking up a proper mix of queer stories. Some are historical classics, some are messy first loves, and some will leave you staring at the ceiling for 20 minutes after the final page.

Here are seven novels to add to your Pride Month reading list.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

If you want an Irish sapphic coming of age story, Sunburn is the perfect place to start. Set in a small, conservative Catholic village in County Kilkenny in the early 1990s, the novel follows our main character Lucy as she tried to make sense of herself and questions the life everyone expects her to want.

Her friendship with Susannah slowly becomes something much bigger, and much harder to ignore, and blossoms into a first-love romance that clashes with the expectations of the world around her.

Close To Home by Michael Magee

Close To Home is not a neat Pride romance, but that is kind of why it belongs here. Set in working-class Belfast, Michael Magee’s novel explores masculinity, shame, violence, friendship and the parts of yourself you are taught not to look at too closely.

It is one of those books that feels very Irish in the best and worst ways. Funny, bleak, sharp and painfully honest.

Wild Geese by Soula Emmanuel

This novel follows Phoebe, an Irish trans woman that live in Denmark with her Dog, Dolly, trying to build a quieter life away from her roots in Dublin, until her first loves decides to crash back into her life and drags back memories that have been long buried.

It is a very comforting book that touches on themes of memory, transition and the strange feeling of becoming yourself somewhere far from home.

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill

This is definitely a heavy read both literally and emotionally, so please be prepared.

Set in the lead-up to the Easter Rising, it follows Jim and Doyler, two boys who meet at the Forty Foot and make a pact to swim out to the Muglins. Along the way, the friendship they build evolves into something much deeper against the backdrop of chaos both in their lives and in Ireland at the time,

It is one of those books people seem to recommend over and over again for a reason. Big, ambitious and packed with heart, it is well worth the time if you are looking for a proper Irish classic this Pride Month.

Carol by Patricia Highsmith

Originally published as The Price Of Salt, Carol follow Therese, a young shopgirl, and Carol, an older woman navigating a tricky divorce. With the almost 15 year age gap and the social expectations of 1950s America add tension to the novel, but the real controversy was at the time was its depiction of queer desire and the fact it dared to give that love story real hope.

The novel is beautifully written and romantic, and you can certainly see the reason why Carol is still considered one of the great queer love stories.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

This one is quite the short read, only about 150 pages, but still packs a huge punch that still manages to emotionally devastate people every single year.

Set in 1950s Paris, it follows David, an American expat who begins a relationship with an Italian bartender named Giovanni while struggling with his own identity and desires.

Another very beautifully written book it mirrors Love in the Time of Cholera, in that deeply romanticised but also heartbreaking way, staying on your mind long after you finish it.

Maybe keep a comfort read nearby.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

No pride list would be complete without at least on mention of the great Oscar Wilde.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray on paper is a story about beauty and vanity, that contains supernatural elements. But it is also packed with queer subtext, sharp one-liners and enough wit to explain why Wilde is still being quoted more than a century later.

Plus if you are a fan of the classics, you might as well read some Wilde for Pride Month.

Pride Month is obviously about more than books, but there is something nice about taking the time to read stories that have meant so much to so many people.

Whether it is a first love in rural Ireland, a heartbreaking classic set in Paris or a novel that leaves you staring at the ceiling for 20 minutes afterwards, there is something on this list for everyone.

And if nothing else, it is a very good excuse to buy another book.

Words by Andrew Connolly