June Reading Wrap Up

The beginning of July marks the year’s halfway point. With June being Pride Month, I have had a lot of fun! I have enjoyed working with Pop’n’Olly to put on LGBTQIA+-inclusive book and craft sessions at the library. I also ran a Read with Pride reading challenge at work to encourage my colleagues to get books out of our LGBTQIA+ section, and I put up a Pride Month display which seems to have gone down well with our visitors. If you want to learn more about my job as a library assistant, I wrote a blog post about that which you can read here.

I also made it to not one, but two queer musicals this month: After the Act and The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs. Intrigued? I was too. So, I wrote a blog piece with all my thoughts: Queer Theatre? Count Me In!

But just because June is over doesn’t mean we can’t continue to celebrate our queerness. I have read some wonderfully queer books this month (see book reviews below), and I would love to recommend five fiction books with asexual main characters, all of which are different from genres and so there really is something for everyone.

I also have some very exciting writing projects coming up, so stay tuned!

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Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a sapphic romance between Jordan Everwood, the lead carpenter for this televised renovation project, and Astrid Parker, the lead designer. Their first meeting is pretty disastrous, and so the story becomes a light enemies-to-lovers scenario. It's a fun read and I was curious to find out how they navigate the stakes of the TV show element.
What I loved about this story was its themes of societal/familial influences on our lives, specifically our dreams and the futures we imagine for ourselves. Astrid has a controlling mother who, without knowing it, pushes Astrid into a career she doesn't particularly enjoy and an all-round hetronormative life. Throughout the book, Astrid is coming to terms with her attraction towards women (specifically Jordan) and how she was able to miss her queerness for the first 30 years of her life.
Reading this reminded of the book Making It by Laura Kay, another one I really like! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed that one and vice versa.
My only warning is that there are longer spice scenes further along in the book. I like how these scenes were handled, but I understand that spice is not everyone's thing

We Can Do Better: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights edited by Amelia Abraham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is an essay collection of powerful, personal stories and actionable advice on how we can create a world that is kinder to LGBTQIA+ people (including asexual people!).
Writers include Yasmin Benoit, one of the most well-known asexual and aromantic activists, as well as Travis Alabanza, who wrote None of the Above, one of my favourite reads of 2024.
3 stand-out chapters for me are:
Kissing in Public by Shura
Know Thyself, or Don't by Naoise Dolan
When It Comes to Sex and Gender, You're Right by Kate Bornstein
I'm looking forward to discussing this book and all our thoughts at book club next month!

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a history book, but also a work that invites us to view (queer and gender) history as relative and to be shared by the groups that benefit from doing so, rather than needing to be claimed by one group alone.
I was intrigued, for example, by the section on Anne Lister, a figure I know as a lesbian and who wrote in their coded diaries about their attraction towards women. But Heyam points out Anne's choice of wearing masc clothing, and taking up a "man's" role in society, means their experience also reflects those who identify as non-binary or trans men today. AND that means their story fits into the history of both lesbians and trans people.
Heyam explores many examples of this, including the cross over between trans and intersex histories. I think it was done well and these concepts are clearly explained.
Alongside the physical copy, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kit Heyam. I think this helped me stay engaged, because at times it could get wordy or have lots of new names to get your head around. But listening to an author read their own work is always fun! You can hear the passion behind their words

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama and translated by Alison Watts ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This delightful and uplifting read is similar to Before The Coffee Gets Cold: Five short stories linked by the same premise and familiar characters.
We meet a range of characters each with a dilemma. On coming across what they think is the answer, they end up at the community centre library and talk to the librarian who asks them, "What are you looking for?". We know, as the reader, that they want to change their life, but none of them say this out loud. The librarian, though, can sense exactly what they need and slips a rogue recommendation in for each person along with a "bonus gift" - a tiny felted mascot which helps our characters stay on track.
It's not the most amazing book, and there are some fat-phobic descriptions of the librarian, but I really liked the stories and have been thinking about the positive messages they each have since I put the book down