LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! Celebrate the history and literary contributions of LGBTQIA+ communities with these library titles.

This list was compiled by South Pasadena Public Library staff and members of the South Pasadena Public Library Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee.

Updated June 3, 2025
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Fun home : a family tragicomic
Bechdel, Alison
Paper Book
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, NATIONAL BESTSELLER  ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY Time Magazine #1 Book of the Year * National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist  Winner of the Stonewall Book Award * Double finalist for...
Manhunt
Felker-Martin, Gretchen
Paper Book
"By far the best book I've read this year." --Roxane Gay #1 Best Book of 2022 (Vulture) * A Best Horror Novel of All Time (Cosmopolitan) * One of the Best Horror Novels of 2022 (Esquire, Library Journal, Paste, and CrimeReads...
The pink line : journeys across the world's queer frontiers
Gevisser, Mark
Paper Book
One of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020. Longlisted for the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize. "[Mark] Gevisser is clear-eyed and wise enough to have a sharp sense of how tough the struggle has been, and how hard it will be now for those who have not succeeded in finding...
A psalm for the wild-built
Chambers, Becky
Paper Book
Winner of the Hugo Award! In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, bestselling Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk and Robot series, gives us hope for the future. It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools;...
Cantoras
De Robertis, Carolina
Paper Book
"Cantoras is a stunning lullaby to revolution--and each woman in this novel sings it with a deep ferocity. Again and again, I was lifted, then gently set down again--either through tears, rage, or laughter. Days later, I am still inside this song of a story." --Jacqueline Woodson, National...
Last night at the Telegraph Club
Lo, Malinda
Paper Book
Winner of the National Book Award A New York Times Bestseller A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century "The queer romance we've been waiting for."--Ms. Magazine Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the...
Oye : a novel
Mogollon, Melissa
Paper Book
A coming-of-age comedy. A telenovela-worthy drama. A moving family saga. All in a phone call you won't want to hang up on. "A portrait of love, heartache, and hilarity that transcends its medium."--Elle (The Best Literary Fiction Books of 2024, So Far) "Brilliant...
The guncle : a novel
Rowley, Steven
Paper Book
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits. However, tragedy strikes and Patrick suddenly finds himself taking on the role of primary guardian....
Greta & Valdin
Reilly, Rebecca K.
Paper Book
A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR "A heartfelt portrait of a complex family." --People * "Laugh-out-loud-funny." --Harper's Bazaar *...
Maurice : a novel
Forster, E. M.
Paper Book
Set in the elegant Edwardian world of Cambridge undergraduate life, this story by a master novelist introduces us to Maurice Hall when he is fourteen. We follow him through public school and Cambridge, and into his father's firm. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man...
Giovanni's room
Baldwin, James
Paper Book
Set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris, this groundbreaking novel about love and the fear of love is "a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction" (The Atlantic). * Presented here in stunning hardcover and with an Introduction by Colm Tóibín, New York Times...
Rubyfruit jungle
Brown, Rita Mae.
Paper Book
Rubyfruit Jungleis the first milestone novel in the extraordinary career of one of this country's most distinctive writers. Bawdy and moving, the ultimate word-of-mouth bestseller,Rubyfruit Jungleis about growing up a lesbian in America – and living happily ever after. Born a bastard, Molly...
The color purple
Walker, Alice
Paper Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that tells the story of two sisters through their correspondence. With a new Preface by the author.
The price of salt
Highsmith, Patricia
Paper Book
"A great American writer...Highsmith's writing is wicked...it puts a spell on you." --Entertainment Weekly Patricia Highsmith's story of romantic obsession may be one of the most important, but still largely unrecognized, novels of the twentieth century. First published in...
The picture of Dorian Gray
Wilde, Oscar
Paper Book
'A triumph of execution ... one of the best narratives of the "double life" of a Victorian gentleman' Peter Ackroyd Oscar Wilde's alluring novel of decadence and sin was a succès de scandale on publication. It follows Dorian Gray who, enthralled by his own exquisite portrait,...
Better living through birding : notes from a Black man in the natural world
Cooper, Christian
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER . Central Park birder Christian Cooper takes us beyond the viral video that shocked a nation and into a world of avian adventures, global excursions, and the unexpected lessons you can learn from a life spent looking up. "Wondrous . . ....
How far the light reaches : a life in ten sea creatures
Imbler, Sabrina
Paper Book
A fascinating tour of creatures from the surface to the deepest ocean floor: this "miraculous, transcendental book" invites us to envision wilder, grander, and more abundant possibilities for the way we live (Ed Yong, author of An Immense World). A queer, mixed race...
Hijab butch blues : a memoir
H, Lamya
Paper Book
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this "raw and relatable memoir that challenges societal norms and expectations" (Linah Mohammad, NPR). "A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on...
Reclaiming two-spirits : sexuality, spiritual renewal, & sovereignty in Native America
Smithers, Gregory D.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 Prose Award in Cultural Anthropology and SociologyFinalist for the 2023 Publishing Triangle Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction A sweeping history of Indigenous traditions of gender, sexuality, and resistance that reveals how, despite centuries of colonialism,...
Ace : what asexuality reveals about desire, society, and the meaning of sex
Chen, Angela
Paper Book
An engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that's obsessed with sexual attraction, and what the ace perspective can teach all of us about desire and identity. What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through life not experiencing it? What...
Gay bar : why we went out
Lin, Jeremy Atherton
Paper Book
National Book Critics Circle Award Winner NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: The New York Times * NPR * Vogue * Gay Times * Artforum * "Gay Bar is an absolute tour de force." -Maggie Nelson ...
Cemetery boys
Thomas, Aiden
Paper Book
Longlisted for the National Book Award! A New York Times Bestseller! A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten pick! "Goundbreaking." -Entertainment Weekly A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family...
Loveless
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
For fans of Love, Simon and I Wish You All the Best, a funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of a girl who realizes that love can be found in many ways that don't involve sex or romance. From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about...
Lark & Kasim start a revolution
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
From National Book Award-winner Kacen Callender, Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution is a contemporary YA that follows Lark's journey to speak the truth and discover how their own self-love can be a revolution. "A hilarious and bold love story...
Be gay, do comics! : queer history, memoir, and satire from The Nib
Bors, Matt
Paper Book
The dream of a queer separatist town. The life of a gay and Jewish Nazi-fighter. A gender reveal party that tears apart reality. These are the just some of the comics you'll find in this massive queer comics anthology from The Nib. Be Gay, Do Comics is filled with...
Detransition, baby : a novel
Peters, Torrey
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * The lives of three women--transgender and cisgender--collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires in "one of the most celebrated novels of the year" (Time) "Reading this novel is like holding a live...
Beyond the gender binary
Vaid-Menon, Alok
Paper Book
Winner of the 2021 In The Margins Award "When reading this book, all I feel is kindness."-- Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and songwriter "Thank God we have Alok. And I'm learning a thing or two myself."--Billy Porter, Emmy award-winning actor,...
Felix ever after
Callender, Kacen
Paper Book
A Stonewall Honor Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book of All Time From Stonewall and Lambda Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time. Felix Love has...
We the animals
Torres, Justin
Paper Book
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE An exquisite, blistering debut novel Three brothers tear their way through childhood-- smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the...
Call me by your name
Aciman, Andre.
Paper Book
Call Me by Your Nameis the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during...

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