It's Pride Month. What books should my bookstore stock?
Hello everyone,
Pride month is here, my bookstore has recovered largely from the slow-down and a month of complete shut-down, so now I'm capable of stocking new titles.
I'm aiming to fully stock my front display, which is the first thing customers see as they walk in. On Friday, I used that display to put out every book I had on anti-racism and civil rights. It's Sunday and I'm completely sold out, and every time I look on my wholesaler's website, the books I want to stock are amassing thousands of back-orders.
Anyway, I already have a separate display for LGBT authors and poets, everything from Oscar Wilde, to James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Walt Whitman, David Sedaris, etc etc. I'm looking for more overtly LGBT books, more modern books, and socio-commentary. As I mentioned in a post before, I've only owned the bookstore for a few months, and the previous owners and managers definitely leaned heavily conservative, and did not see value in having many socially-conscious or progressive books, so I have next to nothing stocked.
So far, I had an order of Untamed by Glennon Doyle Melton come in, but I sold out the day I put them on the shelf. I have another order on the way.
Any help would be very much appreciated everyone!
Posted May 31, 2020, 9:20 PM UTC
here's a few (picked these as most goodreads reviews agree they're really good), roughly in order of how well known they are!
aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin alire saenz (gay, young adult)
a little life by hanya yanagihara (gay adult fiction)
the song of achilles by madeline miller (gay romance)
call me by your name by andre aciman (gay romance)
carry on by rainbow rowell (gay, young adult, fantasy)
fun home by alison bechdel (lesbian graphic novel memoir)
this is how it always is by laurie frankel (trans adult fiction)
the heart's invisible furies by john boyne (gay, historical)
red white & royal blue by casey mcquiston (gay romance)
on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong (gay autobiographical fiction)
the prince and the dressmaker by jen wang (genderqueer graphic novel)
laura dean keeps breaking up with me by mariko tamaki (lesbian graphic novel)
lie with me by philippe besson (gay autobiographical fiction)
music from another world by robin talley (lesbian, 80s, has to do with gay rights movement - published this year)
all boys aren't blue by george m. johnson (personal essays/memoir by queer activist - published this year)
and adam silvera's books will probably be popular, he's well known for gay young adult. also becky albertalli, mackenzie lee.
i'm really glad you're stocking your bookstore with lgbt books! :)
+1 for the Prince and the Dressmaker. I bawled like a kindergartener who got told it's naptime at the scene where >!the king put on a dress and stood by his child!<. And the ending is so unabashedly happy; it's exactly what I needed from a book in these troubled times.
I’m reading The Song of Achilles right now and it’s amazing. I love Patroclus’ sensitivity and the descriptions of places and characters are beautiful.
+1 A Little Life. It's already amassed quite a fan base and it's such beautiful storytelling. Oh god I was bawling for 30 mins straight after I finished it.
Fun Home and Aristotle and Dante and both amazing books. Both are in my top ten books of all time.
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