There’s no better time to read than a cruise, when you can kick off your shoes, grab a drink of choice, and settle in with whatever book you’ve been saving for just this opportunity.
Does this sound like a good idea to you? We have some recommendations perfect for all you June cruisers (and everyone else, too)! Pack one or two of these books in your suitcase or on your tablet for your next vacation.
June is the month of PRIDE - a celebration and recognition for LGBTQIA+ people. All the books on our list for this month are written by a member of the queer community, and tell some kind of related story. I’d love to hear in the comments which book you chose, or if you have a favorite read for PRIDE Month that wasn’t mentioned!
Fiction
- The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall: A classic, banned for obscenity when published in 1928, but one of the most famous of lesbian novels. Stephen is a war hero and a writer, a child of aristocratic parents, but she is a woman, and so are her lovers and so she is forced into desperate actions.
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin: Another often banned classic. David has a passionate love affair with Giovanni in Paris, but when his girlfriend returns, he pretends nothing has happened. Giovanni’s life is devastated.
- Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee: Great for fans of YA! Mattie is cast as Romeo in her school’s Shakespeare play, and wonders…is it possible to crush on both guys, and her Juliet too?
- The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai: Two overlapping stories combine in this incredible history of the AIDS epidemic. We see the devastating carnage of the 80s as a group of friends succumb to the virus one by one. Thirty years later, the sole survivor still grapples with the grief as she tries to find her daughter in Paris.
- It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian: Regency Romance fans should look no further than Cat Sebastian for their next favorite series. In It Takes Two, Vicar Ben is asked to look after a naval captain’s children, and finds himself head over heels with these kids. When their father comes home, he is impatient to be back at sea again, but can the Vicar show him what family truly means?
Nonfiction
- Buffering by Hannah Hart: Youtube superstar Hannah Hart shares a very personal memoir about coming to terms with her sexuality, her mother’s mental illness, and other life experiences.
- They/Them/Their by Eris Young: This book is here to break down definitions and misconceptions, as well as provide the history of nonbinary identities and gender-neutral language. How does living outside the gender binary affect one’s relationship, sense of identity, use of language, etc?
- Naturally Tan by Tan France: Netflix addicts will recognize France from Queer Eye, but here we get a memoir of what it was like to grow up gay in a Muslim family in a culturally white town in the UK.
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M Johnson: Check out the memoir from Queer Activist and Journalist George M Johnson, as he explores his coming of age. His story covers topics of gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, consent, and Black Joy.
- TOMBOYLAND by Melissa Faliveno: My personal favorite book so far that I’ve read in 2022! A collection of essays told of growing up in the American Midwest, and what it is like to not fit into the “norm” of the deeply ingrained traditional culture that can be found here.
Are you someone who likes to read when you get on board your vacation cruise? How many books do you usually pack? What are you reading for PRIDE Month? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!
Happy Pride!
