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Finally, it’s beach time and if that means taking the long trek over the sand dunes to the Boy’s Beach in Provincetown then you need to be prepared for a day in sun. When you are not swimming or cruising (!) you may need other entertainment/distractions. NO not that. We meant having a book: nothing too serious but something a tad frothy. You’ll not only enjoy it but potential ‘new friends will be impressed that you can read too. ….LOL
Here are Queerguru’s picks of some of the best beach queer books this summer
After his relationship with his girlfriend of 5 years ended, Harry Nicholas realized he was a single adult for the first time – not only that but a single, transmasculine and newly out gay man.
Despite knowing it was the right decision, the reality of his new situation was terrifying. How could he be a gay man, when he was still learning what it was to be a man? Would the gay community embrace him or reject him? What would gay sex be like? And most importantly, would finding love again be possible?
In this raw, intimate, and unflinchingly honest book, we follow Harry as he navigates the sometimes fraught and contradictory worlds of contemporary gay culture as a trans gay man, from Grindr, dating, and gay bars, to saunas, sex and ultimately, falling in love. Harry’s brave and uplifting journey will show you there is joy in finding who you are.
A Trans Man Walks into a Gay Bar: A Journey of Self (and Sexual) Discovery by Harry Nicholas Published by Jessica Kingsley
Discover your queer hero and learn something new every day with 365 Gays of the Year, an accessible and fun introduction to LGBTQ+ history through the people that made it. Carefully curated and thoughtfully researched, author Lewis Laney assigns a person or group of note to each day of the year to form the ultimate LGBTQ+ hall of fame.
Legendary queer icons such as Marsha_P._Johnson and Freddie Mercury sit alongside lesser-known but equally important names such as activist Renée Cafiero, blood donor Barbara Vick, and Sappho the lesbian poet.
Each month also features one ally – inspiring heterosexual people who have all contributed something significant to the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. People like Elizabeth Taylor who “brought AIDS out of the closet and into the ballroom – where there was money to be raised”. This witty, unique celebration of queer history promises to inspire and empower readers with its wealth of bright stars.
THIRSTY: CONFESSIONS OF A FAME WHORE. Joel Creasey is one of Australia’s most-popular, acclaimed, and charmingly controversial stand-up comedians and television presenters. In this memoir, he pulls back the curtain on his journey to comedy stardom. From reigning tyrant at his private school and working in radio, to getting dropped in the African jungle and doing the comedy circuit, Joel has SO many stories to tell, and you can tell that some are only scraping the surface with the amount of tea he’s spilling. Here he is in his element unfiltered, unscripted and unencumbered by the dump button regaling you with tales from his life in and away from the spotlight. It will get messy ‘cos, like all of us, he really is a Messy Bitch!Thirsty: Confessions of a Fame Whore by Joel Creasey Publisher Simon & Schuster
Luc O’Donnell is tangentially—and reluctantly—famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.
To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately, apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.
But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don’t ever want to let them go.
P.S. If you love this fun, frothy quintessentially British romcom, then yiu may want to read Husband Material next
34-year-old Tyler Oakley is a pop-culture phenomenon, social rights advocate, and the most prominent LGBTQ+ voice on YouTube. He is also cute as a button. For someone who made a career out of over-sharing on the internet, Tyler has a shocking number of personal mishaps and shenanigans to reveal in BINGE his first book: he experienced a legitimate rage blackout in a Cheesecake Factory; he had a fashion stand-off with the White House secret service; he crashed a car in front of his entire high school in his fast food restaurant server’s uniform; he projectile vomited while bartering with a grandmother.
Binge by Tyler Oakley Published by Gallery Books
