Pride Month 2026 Reading List

Pride Month!  I've said it before, I've said it again, but science fiction in particular has always been fantastically queer.  Fantasy as well, but scifi in particular.  Because science fiction has always been about asking society, "what if?"  A lot of authors throughout history have asked, "what if we weren't so closed-minded?" and they've often had some really great answers to that question

Here are some books I've loved in the past!

* * *


**This is why I read scifi.  A cutting social commentary, but wrapped in a fun tech setting with thriller-paced plotting**


**Not just one of the most heart-rendingly good queer coming-of-age books I've ever read, but one of the best coming-of-age books I've ever read, period**


**A series of essays about the wonder and majesty of marine life, paired with stories of the author's experiences as a female, queer, mixed-race person in the largely white and male field of scientific journalism.  An absolute winner**

* * *

So here's what I'm hoping to read this week.  Let me know if you want to join in!

"Amberlough" by Lara Elena Donnelly (2017)

Le Carré-style queer spy fiction set in an alternate Gilded Age?  Everything about that sounds great

"Persphone Station" by Stina Leicht (2021)

Cyberpunk scifi Western (Magnificent Seven vibes, apparently?) with a female or nonbinary cast, yup, those are all things I love

"The Stars Undying" by Emery Robin (2022)

Epic scifi, political machinations in a far-future empire, based loosely on Caesar and Cleopatra, should be fun

"Camp Damascus" by Chuck Tingle (2023)

Chuck Tingle actually writes a fairly serious supernatural horror story set at a "queer conversion camp", analogs for the persecution faced by the queer community in America.  But also, you know, it's Chuck Tingle

"Destroy All Monsters" by Sam J. Miller (young adult, 2019)

I've loved Sam J. Miller's work (especially "Blackfish City"), so happy to support his YA work as well

"They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silver (young adult, 2017)

As mentioned above, "More Happy Than Not" is one of the most remarkable books I've read.  I hope this book is just as good, and expect it to be just as depressing

"Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu (novella, 1872)

Yes, that says 1872.  Predating Stoker's "Dracula", and credited with basically creating the lesbian vampire trope, I'm ashamed it took me so long to read this

"Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters" by Aimee Ogden (novella, 2021)

Queer space opera retelling of "The Little Mermaid", easy pick, let's do it

"This One Summer" by Mariko Tamaki (graphic novel, 2014)

Tamaki's "Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me" should be required reading for all preteens, one of the most empathetic looks at the difficulties of young love.  I'm excited to read Tamaki's other work

"Gay Bar: Why We Went Out" by Jeremy Atherton Lin (nonfiction, 2021)

Already considered a modern classic, an important look into the current state of the queer community in America

* * *

So here we are.  Looking forward to a great month!

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