If you’ve been seeing more rainbow flags around town or in the news lately, that’s because June is Pride Month. All across the United States, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities have been celebrating their identities and sharing their love with the world.
We all love a good parade, but some of us also enjoy a quieter, more literary form of solidarity. So if you’re looking to dive into some of today’s most inspiring LGBTQ+ thought leadership, we recommend checking out the seven groundbreaking books below. Some are written by LGBTQ+ community members, and others chart a course toward greater inclusion for everyone—but all of them make for perfect Pride Month reading.
Girlhood
By Melissa Febos
Blending investigative reporting, memoir, and scholarship, Melissa Febos charts how she and others like her have reimagined their most personal relationships—and made room for the anger, grief, power, and pleasure women have long been taught to deny. View Our “Book Bite” Summary
Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age
By Annalee Newitz
Acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on a mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life by exploring the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization. View Our “Book Bite” Summary
Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old: A Highly Judgmental, Unapologetically Honest Accounting of All the Things Our Elders Are Doing Wrong
By Steven Petrow
Award-winning journalist Steven Petrow candidly addresses the fears, frustrations, and stereotypes that accompany aging. Getting older is a privilege, and this essential guide reveals how to do it with grace, wisdom, humor, and hope. View on Amazon
Building for Everyone: Expand Your Market with Design Practices from Google’s Product Inclusion Team
By Annie Jean-Baptiste
For years, Google has set the standard for innovative products and business practices. And now, their Head of Product Inclusion, Annie Jean-Baptiste, shows how any organization can cultivate inclusive teams where diversity becomes a source of strength and creativity. View Our “Book Bite” Summary
Better Boys, Better Men: The New Masculinity That Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resiliency
By Andrew Reiner
Rising rates of male unemployment, depression, and violence signal a pressing crisis for modern masculinity. In Better Boys, Better Men, cultural critic Andrew Reiner explains why the social norms around manhood are outdated and downright damaging, and he lays out a better, healthier vision for what it means to be a man. View Our “Book Bite” Summary
Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams
By Stefanie K. Johnson
In this groundbreaking guide, a management expert outlines the transformative leadership skill of tomorrow—one that can make it possible to build truly diverse and inclusive teams that value employees’ need to belong while still being themselves. View Our “Book Bite” Summary
Laziness Does Not Exist
By Devon Price
For too many of us, our self-worth has become a function of our productivity. In other words, we only feel good about ourselves by working harder and harder. But social psychologist Devon Price is here to explain why what we call “laziness” isn’t just natural—it’s something we should all strive to embrace. View Our “Book Bite” Summary
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