Coming off a strong May, I started the month off really lazy.
The plan for this month was to put an emphasis on LGBTQ+ content since it’s Pride Month, in addition my Book of the Month pick and monthly genre goal.
Book of the Month: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre of the month: Romance
Let’s get it out of the way: I did not get around to my Book of the Month pick. Normally, I’d start with it; but, I was more interested in getting in some Pride reads that I prioritized those and let my BOTM slip through the cracks at the end.
I was able to satisfy the genre goal with Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, & Royal Blue – a feel-good read that finds the President’s son striking up an affair with the Prince of England. I couldn’t escape the book on social media; so, I figured if I were ever going to read it, a Pride Month with “Romance” as the genre challenge couldn’t be any more of a perfect time to dive into it.
Despite it being Pride Month, June saw me spend a weekend in an Oklahoma lake house with four straight, married men. The weekend in Oklahoma included a day trip to Tulsa – the setting of S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. Naturally, I picked up a copy to read on the trip. We decided to go visit the house where the movie adaptation was filmed. Afterwards, I got a tattoo (which you can read about here) inspired by my favorite passage from the book, and included a nod to the city of Tulsa.
My favorite read this month was John Paul Brammer’s Hola Papi, a book of essays chronicling Brammer’s journey through lessons learned growing up as a mixed-race queer in America. Also growing up a mixed-race queer in the midwest, I saw myself throughout much of the book. There were moments where I had stop and actively remind myself that this book was not about me, but about someone else who paved the way of shared experiences for me to walk on later. I felt seen. I felt heard. I felt connected to this total stranger. It was therapeutic. Published this month, the book went on to get ordered a second printing.
Books I finished:
1. The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman (2021) – 5/5
2. Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas (2020) – 4/5
3. Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019) – 4/5
4. Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington (2019) – 3/5
5. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton (1967) – 3/5
6. Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer (2021) – 5/5
Books I had planned on also finishing:
– The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. The United States of America by Eric Cervini (2020)*
– The Meaning of Mariah by Mariah Carey & Michaela Angela Davis (2020)*
– Yes, Daddy by Jonathon Parks-Ramage (2021)
– Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2021)
*I started these, but have yet to finish them
One Million Pages 