If you don’t know what to read next, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of 15 wonderful LGBTQ+ books you can choose from.
1. Dress You Up – Wayne Power
This drama, set during the summer of 1997, tells the story of young Bobby Burke. The book follows the protagonist as he tries to navigate classic teenage experiences such as dancing underneath disco balls, suffering from inevitable hangovers and singing away at karaoke.
Speaking to Waterford News and Star, Wayne Power said, “The play is a love letter to the nineties” and that his transition from poetry to playwriting marks the next step in his creative journey.
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2. Drought – Scott Alexander Hess
Hess’s newest novel, Drought, follows Parnell, a recluse from Newark, New Jersey, who inherits a dilapidated tobacco farm in Kentucky from his estranged Uncle Willy. At his arrival, Uncle Willy tells him about his deep love for a man named Phil, as Parnell discovers there are more than tobacco leaves buried in the fields.
This historical fiction novel is full of compassion and humanity, as well as a macabre and unexpected plot twist. The perfect combination for somebody who’s looking for an LGBTQ+ book to stay hooked on overnight.
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3. Summerhouse – Yiğit Karaahmet
This black comedy thriller about gay love, lust, and lies will captivate you. The novel follows the tale of a couple’s 40-year relationship, Fehmi and Şene, a pair of old friends who’ve chosen to keep each other company by living together in their youth. In truth, they are a closeted gay couple celebrating their anniversary. However, their fairytale is soon jeopardised by their neighbours.
As the story continues, one betrayal leads to another until their relationship faces challenges they would have never expected.
Suspenseful and fun, Karaahmet’s debut offers a love story of supporting gay rights, but also their wrongdoings.
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4. Sparks of Bright Matter – Leeanne O’Donnell
Irish novelist Leeanne O’Donnell brings readers along on a journey with scientist and alchemist Peter Woulfe, who is tasked with caring for a mysterious illustrated book, the Mutus Liber.
His plans go awry when he meets the elusive and seductive Sukie one hot summer night. She lightly steals the book and Peter finds himself being pursued by threatening men who are willing to do anything to get it back.
Woulfe quickly realises that the grimy Georgian London is even more dangerous than he first believed. This is a thrilling and intoxicating debut novel and a must on your reading list.
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5. Black Box – Dona Ann McAdams
Black Box is an emotional photographic memoir by American photographer Dona Ann Mcdams, who captured pivotal cultural and political movements, including the queer liberation movement, the culture wars, and the vibrant performance art scene of the ’80s and ’90s in New York.
This compilation portrays moving black-and-white pictures which will give goosebumps to any queer history lover.
The masterpiece is available for preorder.
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6. American Teenager, How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era – Nico Lang
This vivid and heart-melting book chronicles the experiences of seven diverse families of trans youth in seven different states.
His author, Nico Lang, is a longtime LGBTQ+ reporter who knows the importance of telling the stories of trans kids from their point of view. He spent a year travelling the country to document the lives of transgender, nonbinary, and genderfluid teens and their families.
This LGBTQ+ book offers an optimistic vision of the future in the current anti-trans climate and shares young people’s hopes in an insightful way.
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7. The politics of gender and sexuality in modern Ireland – Jennifer Redmond & Mary McAuliffe
This collection offers historical reflections and contemporary analyses of issues related to the often hidden gender and sexual politics in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
As an interdisciplinary work, it draws together different approaches from different fields to provide a comprehensive perspective on the newest research on gender, sexuality and sexual politics.
An ideal LGBTQ+ book for the ones who want to spend some educational free time learning about queer history and research.
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8. Our Rainbow Baby – Aisling Carroll
Our Rainbow Baby was born from Ailising’s pain after her miscarriage. Her work offers an acknowledgement to parents of what it has taken to reach this goal of having a baby and to let a child know they are special.
Our Rainbow Baby is the result of a grieving experience of pregnancy loss that turns the narrative into a book about the joy of becoming a mother.
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9. Threads – Moya Morris
Author Moya Morris brings together stories written by a collective of lesbian women, who grew up in the North and South of Ireland, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Threads is a queer book full of real-life narratives that will get you immersed in the lives of these women as if they were your own.
10. The struggle to be gay; in Mexico, for example – Roger N. Lancaster
The Struggle to Be Gay makes a compelling argument for the centrality of social class in gay life—in Mexico, for example, and in other places as well.
Anthropologist and scholar Roger N. Lancaster ponders four decades of visits to Mexican cities to offer this book of reflections combining storytelling and ethnography.
He shows, firstly, how economic inequality affects sexual subjects and subjectivities. Secondly, how the meaning of being de ambiente—“on the scene” or “in the life”—has evolved in response to shifting political and economic circumstances. This has led to a groundbreaking ongoing discussion about identity politics, offering a fresh perspective on how identities are formed and experienced.
A theoretical LGBTQ+ book that will get you into thinking.
11. Late Bloomer baby boomer – Steve Milliken
This collection of humorous essays is about Steve Milliken’s experience “being gay back in the day and finally finding his way”. As he reckons, the book is not just targeted at queer people, it’s also for any “straight” guy who’s had gay experiences.
Its comedic narrative drives you along his coming out journey. Mistakes, a wide range of topics, lots of laughter and introspection are some things readers may find among the pages of these essay titles, which include “My Rocky Horror Virginity Show,” “Sober Porn,” “My Colonoscopy Eve,” and “Bitch Ass Snitch”.
So grab your favourite snack and spend a joyful evening reading this hilarious queer book.
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13. Classroom Hero – David Graham
This queer book is Graham’s latest children’s book addressing the experience of an ‘opted-out’ child in a Catholic primary school in Ireland.
The narrative follows a boy who struggles to fit in a world that makes him stand out. From his point of view, readers get immersed in a story that portrays the impact of religious patronage on Irish schools, and the experience of ‘opting out’ of communion.
Classroom Hero opens the door to think about the controversial role of religion in schools, and the importance of an inclusive education system that treats all children with equal respect, regardless of their family background.
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13. The Unworthy – Agustina Bazterrica
With its publishing coming on March 13, what we can expect from The Unworthy is authentic sinister writing. Whilst Bazterrica’s previous bestseller Tender was a physical horror, The Unworthy is a psychological one.
Among its pages about power, religion and betrayal within the narrative of a post-apocalyptic context, the author provides a glimmer of hope with a beautiful queer love story.
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14. Troll: A Love Story – Johanna Sinisalo
Winner of the Finlandia Prize, Sinisalo’s Troll: A Love Story is an unforgettable story of a man’s relationship with wildness, desire, and himself.
It all starts when Angel, a young photographer, comes home to find a group of drunken teenagers in the courtyard of his apartment building.
As the plot says, wanting to protect what he sees as a helpless creature, he is unaware of the chaos that awaits. But as he begins to learn more about his strange new companion, it becomes clear that the troll has a powerful connection to all of humanity’s most forbidden feelings – and it begins to make Angel cross boundaries he never imagined he would.
This queer book offers an insight into queer desire and wildness, as a man unintentionally disrupts his life by opening his home to a peculiar troll.
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15. Bathhouse Babylon – Jameson Farn
This LGBTQ+ book comes from Jameson Farn’s drawing diaries and his 10 years of experience in the bathhouse industry across North America. Bathhouse Babylon offers a behind-the-scenes look at this unique world by portraying the author’s journey from a regular customer to managing three gay sauna establishments.
The pages of this queer book reveal the intricate subculture of bathhouses and share the unusual and shocking sex stories that are an integral part of this environment. The narrative also dives into some sociological aspects and includes deeply examined topics that range from drug use, money, escorts, celebrities, diversity challenges, business competition, and sex addiction.
This concludes our list of LGBTQ+ books for this spring. If you are still hungry for more, check out our previous recommendations from the winter season!
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