Celebrate PRIDE MONTH with book recommendations from the team at Literary Arts. We believe it’s more important than ever to uplift storytelling by queer authors and about queer characters. LGBTQ+ Books save lives!
Diary of a Misfit by Casey Parks
One of my favorite memoirs EVER and it just so happens to be by a Portland local author! When Casey Parks came out in rural Louisiana in 2002, the reaction was, unsurprisingly, not positive. What was a surprise: her grandmother confided she “grew up across the street from a woman who lived as a man,” Roy. Thus begins Parks’s 10-year journey of investigating the mystery of Roy while confronting her own fraught Southern identity.
– Pauline
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
You know that feeling when you open a book and from page one you find yourself thinking: “Oh, we’re going to have FUN here”? Allow me to gesture wildly at this book. Whip-smart historical fantasy with one of the most unique and clever magic systems around. A centuries-old mystery threatening to unravel magical society and upset a deeply entrenched balance of power. A beautifully drawn and diverse supporting cast of friends and foes alike. And, as if that wasn’t enough, top it all off with one of my favorite things: a yearning-filled (and yes, steamy) love story. Genuinely the most fun I’ve had reading a book this year. I’m waiting with bated breath (and keeping some Cat’s Cradle string handy) for the next in the series.
– Sarah
The Chromatic Fantasy by H A
Deliciously queer, even more deliciously trans, “Chromatic Fantasy” set a new standard of graphic novels for me. Not only is the art absolutely beautiful, but the content of the story is at once campy and yet remains deeply reflective. Also, it’s such a beautiful aesthetic addition to my shelves, and I have no doubt it will be for yours.
– Adesina
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
Frankly, all Cat Sebastian romances are in a league of their own, but this one is my favorite. This is my grumpy/sunshine, best-friends-to-lovers comfort read. Plus, true to form, Sebastian never shies away from the political realities of the time without losing the strength of hope and heart at the story’s core.
– Alex
Instructions for The Lovers by Dawn Lundy Martin
Yearning, embodiment, absence as its own peculiar presence—all the elements we look for in a great (love) poem feel freshly reborn, even miraculous, in this collection, whose “instructions” channel frequencies of the quotidian and oracular in equal measure.
– Alexa
On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
So many pages, and yet soo sooo soooo easy to read. How does it feel to live in a world of gender/sexual fluidity and just be? This graphic novel takes you through the breathtaking spaces with the characters and their epic growth and love.
– Rui
Local Woman. by Jzl Jmz
An anarchic & ecstatic everyday epic of Black trans womanhood set in Portland, where every dive bar, café, forest, and dating app screen feels energetically infused with the mythopoetic. Long live, Local Woman! And long live poetry that feels as alive & divine as this.
– Alexa
More pride reading recs. Shop these titles at our bookstore online or in person at 716 SE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97214.
