Happy Pride!
Celebrate Pride all year.
It’s that time of year!
Dear Readers,
Happy Pride. As I wrote on (the hellscape) Threads, there are two wolves inside of me: the one who’s shrieking “PRIDE WAS A RIOT” and the one who’s all “BACK WHEN I WAS A ‘90s TEEN I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT A COMPANY BESIDES SUBARU WOULD PANDER TO THIS COMMUNITY AND HONESTLY I GUESS I’M A LITTLE LIKE ‘TAKE MY MONEY OK’?” I have mixed feelings. But, that’s me, I have mixed feelings about a lot of things. Things are nuanced. Multiple things can be true at once.
Overall I like that things are so different from the way they were then. I personally feel very valued and supported and some other nice words that my general feelings on things like EMOTIONS and VULNERABILITY prevent me from uttering aloud or even typing with my little hands onto this keyboard. But you get it.
I already shared my speech from the St. Louis HRC Gala with this list, but I’m sharing it again for Pride because it means a lot to me and also because it says all the things I like saying:
I hope you read books by LGBTQ+ authors this month—but more importantly, I hope you read books by marginalized authors ALL YEAR LONG. Read widely and not just by monthly reading challenge, etc.
xoxoAmy
Consumption - Pride TBR Pile Edition
My pile of books to be read is both figuratively and literally overflowing. Here are a few of them!
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
I’m not always a sports romance reader but I have heard such amazing things about this one!!
Second Night Stand by Fay Stetz-Waters and Karelia Stetz-Waters
REAL LIFE WIVES WROTE THIS BOOK! I love Karelia’s work so very excited about this one.
The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
I adored the Guncle so am psyched as heck about the follow-up, set five years after the Guncle. Steven Rowley is so gifted at writing very funny and also very moving prose, which would be annoying if he were not also very nice.
A Place of Our Own by June Thomas
Nonfiction about sapphic spaces? Hell yes. Let’s read it together at the Ruby Fruit.
At Her Service
Have you yet read it? It’s a great time to do so! IT’S PRIDE MONTH AFTER ALL.
"Although At Her Service is technically a rom-com, I was most drawn to its depiction of a young lesbian not just looking for love but also for friends and direction and an authentic place to grow within a town and an industry known for its superficiality."
—Autostraddle
"Spalding’s wonderfully messy characters are easy to cheer on, and the romance is sexy and satisfying. Fun and flirty but still grounded in reality, this is sure to delight."
—Library Journal
"At Her Service is an ingenious millennial coming-of-age story about trying to find yourself in the age of apps and a culture of grind. Highly relatable, laugh-out-loud funny, and full of hot-bartender sapphic swoon, Amy Spalding joyfully reminds us that growing up can happen at any age and that we're all works in progress."
—Alison Cochrun, author of Kiss Her Once for Me and The Charm Offensive
I wonder if I will ever conquer my TBR. It’s a nice dream.