Author: Read with Pride

Some books take you on a journey. Others strap you into a vintage biplane and send you soaring across decades, continents, and the boundaries of what it means to be free. Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle is firmly in the latter category: a sweeping, ambitious novel that weaves together early 20th-century aviation, queer desire, and the …

Pages of Pride #49: Great Circle: A Swashbuckling Epic of Freedom and DesireRead More

Sometimes the best families are the ones we never saw coming. The Guncle proves that gay literature doesn’t have to choose between making you laugh and making you cry, it can brilliantly do both at the same time. When Your Gay Uncle Becomes Your Only Option Picture this: Patrick O’Hara, a washed-up sitcom star living …

The Guncle: Steven Rowley's Heartwarming ComedyRead More

If you’re hunting for spicy MM romance recommendations that veer into darker territory, buckle up. Bath Haus isn’t your typical gay romance: it’s a psychological thriller that’ll have you white-knuckling your Kindle at 2 a.m., texting your book club: “WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS.” P.J. Vernon’s debut novel broke ground as the first major …

Bath Haus: P.J. Vernon's Gay Noir ThrillerRead More

Look, we’re not going to sugarcoat it, LGBTQ+ literature is having a moment. And by moment, we mean a full-blown renaissance that’s showing no signs of slowing down. If you’ve been paying attention to the best MM romance books 2026 has been serving up, you already know what we’re talking about. But here’s the thing: …

Beyond the Page: The Future of Global LGBTQ+ LiteratureRead More

Some books don’t just tell stories: they crack open the world and show us truths we didn’t know we needed. Leslie Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues is one of those rare, necessary books. Published in 1993, this groundbreaking novel shattered expectations about gender, identity, and what it means to survive in a world that refuses to …

Stone Butch Blues: Leslie Feinberg's Groundbreaking JourneyRead More

Before binge-watching was a thing, there was binge-reading. And back in 1976, San Francisco residents got hooked on something magical appearing in their morning newspaper, a serialized story about the wonderfully weird, deeply human lives unfolding at 28 Barbary Lane. Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City didn’t just chronicle queer life in San Francisco; it …

Tales of the City: Maupin's San Francisco ChroniclesRead More

Let’s talk about a book that changed the game for gay literature before most of us even knew what the game was. Published in 1988, The Swimming-Pool Library arrived like a beautifully tailored suit at a beach party, sophisticated, unexpected, and absolutely unforgettable. This wasn’t just another coming-out story or AIDS crisis narrative (though it’s …

The Swimming-Pool Library: Alan Hollinghurst's MasterclassRead More

Before binge-watching was a thing, there was binge-reading. And back in 1976, San Francisco residents got hooked on something magical appearing in their morning newspaper, a serialized story about the wonderfully weird, deeply human lives unfolding at 28 Barbary Lane. Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City didn’t just chronicle queer life in San Francisco; it …

Tales of the City: Maupin's San Francisco ChroniclesRead More

Let’s talk about a book that changed the game for gay literature before most of us even knew what the game was. Published in 1988, The Swimming-Pool Library arrived like a beautifully tailored suit at a beach party, sophisticated, unexpected, and absolutely unforgettable. This wasn’t just another coming-out story or AIDS crisis narrative (though it’s …

The Swimming-Pool Library: Alan Hollinghurst's MasterclassRead More

Sometimes the most important books are the ones that piss everyone off. Larry Kramer’s 1978 novel Faggots wasn’t just controversial, it was practically radioactive. The gay community didn’t just dislike it; they tried to bury it. Manhattan’s only gay bookstore banned it. Critics begged people not to buy it. The New York Times called it …

Faggots: Larry Kramer's Controversial SatireRead More

Before the plague years. Before the grief. Before everything changed forever, there was a moment in gay history that burned so bright, it practically incinerated the page. Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance, published in 1978, captured that incandescent pre-AIDS world of New York City gay life with such raw beauty and honesty that it’s …

Dancer from the Dance: The Peak of 70s Gay LiteratureRead More

Picture this: It’s 1948, post-war America is in full swing, everyone’s trying to be as “normal” as possible, and suddenly a 23-year-old writer drops a literary bomb that would change gay literature forever. Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar didn’t just crack open the closet door, it kicked the damn thing off its hinges. …

The City and the Pillar: Gore Vidal's Bold LeapRead More

Some books don’t just tell stories, they reach into your chest and squeeze. James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, published in 1956, is one of those books. It’s a masterpiece of gay literature that still hits like a freight train seventy years later, exploring the devastating cost of living in the closet and the tragic beauty of …

Giovanni's Room: James Baldwin's Heart-Wrenching ClassicRead More

Imagine writing a love story so honest, so raw, that you lock it away for 57 years, not because it’s bad, but because telling the truth could destroy you. That’s exactly what E.M. Forster did with Maurice, a novel that wouldn’t see daylight until after he was safely dead and buried. Talk about the ultimate …

Maurice: E.M. Forster's Hidden MasterpieceRead More

Before we had Kindle Unlimited filled with steamy MM romance and beautifully crafted gay love stories, before Call Me By Your Name graced movie screens, and before queer bookstores became community hubs, there were the pulps. Cheap, lurid, and often tragic paperbacks sold in drugstores and bus stations, tucked behind more “respectable” reading material. These …

The Lavender Menace: Mid-Century Gay Pulp FictionRead More

Let’s talk about the OG queer icon, the poet who was writing sapphic love poems before “sapphic” was even a word. We’re diving into the life and legacy of Sappho, the ancient Greek poet whose verses about desire, passion, and longing between women literally changed the course of LGBTQ+ literature forever. Born around 630-620 BCE …

Sappho's Legacy: The Poetic Roots of Queer LoveRead More

Here’s something wild to think about: queer love stories aren’t some modern invention. They’re not even a Renaissance thing. Nope, gay literature has roots that stretch back thousands of years, all the way to the marble columns and sun-drenched symposiums of ancient Greece and Rome. Long before we had pride flags, coming-out stories, or MM …

The First Lines: A Glimpse into Ancient Gay LiteratureRead More

Let’s talk about pop divas and the gay community, because honestly, the connection is as iconic as glitter at Pride. From Judy Garland to Madonna, there’s always been something magical about the relationship between LGBTQ+ fans and certain larger-than-life performers. But when it comes to pure, unwavering, decades-long devotion? Nobody does it quite like Cher. …

Believe in Cher: The Eternal Godmother of the Gay CommunityRead More

Let’s be real: the LGBTQ+ community has always had our icons, our divas, our voices who spoke truth when the world wanted us silent. But when Lady Gaga burst onto the scene in 2008, something fundamental shifted. She didn’t just support us, she claimed us as her family, and we claimed her right back as …

The Mother Monster: How Lady Gaga Revolutionized Queer AdvocacyRead More