11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

June 27 2017
Share 11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

In 1969, the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United States was jumpstarted by the Stonewall Riots. One year later, the first Gay Pride March was held to commemorate the riots, becoming the genesis for June Pride events around the world. This year, we at Off the Shelf are celebrating Pride with 11 books featuring LGBTQ characters and by LGBTQ individuals that showcase how far we’ve come since the raids and riots of the ’60s and the struggles and experiences of the LGBTQ community today.

The Gilded Razor
by Sam Lansky

Sam Lansky’s memoir paints a dark and enthralling tale of one journey to self-acceptance with a modern-day New York City private school backdrop. You’ll cringe, you’ll laugh, you’ll gasp, and finally you’ll applaud this young man as he finds his way in this world as an openly proud gay man.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
The Gilded Razor
Sam Lansky

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
Almost Famous Women
by Megan Mayhew Bergman

While every piece in this collection covers the fascinating experiences of women who lived just outside the spotlight, the second story, “The Siege at Whale Cay,” contains the collection’s most interesting LGBTQ character. A cross-dressing motorboat enthusiast and heiress, Joe Carstairs resides on her own private island, where she seduces women, including Marlene Dietrich.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
Almost Famous Women
Megan Mayhew Bergman

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

9 Historical Fiction Reads About Inspiring Women

By Holly Claytor | March 14, 2022

The Mary Tyler Moore TBR: 8 Books with Awesome Women to Feed Your Inner Mary Richards

By Erin Madison | September 18, 2020

Meet These Women: Famous and Obscure, Historical and Modern

By Sarah Jane Abbott | July 19, 2017

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
Lily and the Octopus
by Steven Rowley

Not your average dog book. Take a wild and emotional adventure with Lily and her owner Ted as they navigate their way through the act of saying goodbye. In a completely engrossing and wonderfully creative way, LILY AND THE OCTOPUS is part fairy tale, part portrait of grief. If you don’t shed a tear by the last page, then you can rest easy that you are a monster.

Read the full review of LILY AND THE OCTOPUS

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo
Lily and the Octopus
Steven Rowley

Ted and his elderly dachshund are at the center of this story of steadfast companionship, loss, and longing that will break your heart and put it back together again. The two share a comfortable life spent chatting about boys, playing board games, and ordering pizza just so Lily can bark at the delivery boy. But then the Octopus arrives and their simple little world begins to change. By turns hilarious and poignant, LILY AND THE OCTOPUS is a book you’ll never stop talking (and crying) about.

Read the full review of LILY AND THE OCTOPUS.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo Libro.fm logo

MENTIONED IN:

Book Club Favorites: 10 Hidden Gems for Unique Discussions

By Book Club Favorites | June 23, 2023

The 10 Most Popular Books of November

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 30, 2021

Rediscovered Reviews: 7 Books We’ll Never Stop Recommending

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 4, 2021

6 Heart-Melting Stories About Furry Friends That Show the Healing Power of Animals

By Holly Claytor | July 22, 2020

Solace in Solitude: 11 Refreshing Books for the Introverted Soul

By Sarah Jane Abbott | July 16, 2020

8 Must-Read Books by LGTBQ Authors to Pick Up This (And Every) Month

By Holly Claytor | June 17, 2020

Close
Dear John, I Love Jane
by Candace Walsh

A powerful collection of essays from women who discovered their love for other women after years of being in relationships with men. DEAR JOHN, I LOVE JANE is perfect for those questioning their sexuality at any age—one of the contributors was in her sixties when she came out!—for those who have “always known,” and for anyone hoping to learn more about sexual fluidity.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Dear John, I Love Jane
Candace Walsh

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
Fire Shut Up in My Bones
by Charles M. Blow

You may recognize Charles Blow from his many Opinion Pages in the New York Times, but he first captivated us with his incredibly honest and deeply felt struggle coming to terms as a bi-sexual man. He weaves a story of a tough childhood to frat houses to his life now as a journalist with grace, poise, and incredible skill.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Fire Shut Up in My Bones
Charles M. Blow

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Best Beach Reads: 12 Great Memoirs to Read This Summer

By Allison Tyler | June 20, 2017

Close
Licking the Spoon
by Candace Walsh

A delicious memoir that explores both sexuality and the kitchen. Through food, Candace Walsh tells her story, from her unhappy adolescence to her marriage to a man to becoming a divorcée in a same-sex relationship, with a few recipes thrown in for good measure.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Licking the Spoon
Candace Walsh

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
The People We Hate at the Wedding
by Grant Ginder

In this darkly humored tale of a family preparing for a wedding, Grant Ginder explores everything from immersion therapy to pill addiction to threesomes. It will have you cackling long after the celebration is over. We predict you'll be passing this novel around the pool to all your friends.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
The People We Hate at the Wedding
Grant Ginder

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

Say “I Do” to These 10 Books to Read During Wedding Season

By Taylor Noel | June 4, 2018

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
Man Alive
by Thomas Page McBee

In this harrowing story Thomas Page McBee reflects on what it means to “be a man” from the perspective of one who has successfully transitioned from female to male. Focusing on the two traumatic events in his life—growing up with an abusive father and a random mugging—he explores manhood in a way that will leave you breathless. The under-published world of the trans male is lucky to have McBee on this planet.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo
Man Alive
Thomas Page McBee

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
Patience & Sarah
by Isabel Miller

When Isabel Miller first self-published this novel in 1969, it was groundbreaking and would ultimately win the first American Library Association Gay Book Award in 1971. PATIENCE & SARAH follows what was still a fairly taboo subject at the time: the growing love and relationship between two strong women in a New England farming community.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo
Patience & Sarah
Isabel Miller

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close
The Flood Girls
by Richard Fifield

When one boy is trapped in small-town life, he discovers the only way to deal with it is to throw glitter all over it. Rachel Flood has returned home to make amends with her mother, only to find that no one in the town will even look at her except for the outcasts. What follows is part A League of Their Own, part To Wong Foo. This book will have you saying “Yas Qween” time and time again.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
The Flood Girls
Richard Fifield

When recovering alcoholic Rachel Flood comes back to her small Montana hometown, it isn’t a grand reception. This sassy novel will have you laughing through tears.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

Readers’ Choice: The Top 10 Most Popular Books in February

By Off the Shelf Staff | February 28, 2020

10 Uplifting Reads to Get You Through the Depths of Winter

By Keturah Jenkins | February 5, 2020

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Happy Birthday to Us, Happy Reading to You: 13 Books We’re Giving Away

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 20, 2017

Girl Crazy: 15 Literary Ladies You’ll Want to Know

By Aimee Boyer | March 29, 2016

Close
Nevada
by Imogen Binnie

When Maria Griffiths, a trans woman living in Brooklyn, is dumped by her girlfriend, she sets out on an impromptu trip to the Pacific. Along the way, she meets James, who is denying his own dysphoria. NEVADA is a poignant picture of what it means to be trans, both from Maria’s point of view as she faces the ruins of her life and through James’s story as he explores his gender identity.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo
Nevada
Imogen Binnie

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 LGBTQ Stories to Celebrate Pride Month

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2017

Close

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.