#ReadProud

#ReadProud is a hashtag and reading challenge created by the author Julia Ember in order to celebrate LGBTQ+ books! The challenge is four weeks long and explores various genres. It has two levels of participation:

• GOLD: Read two books per week, one from each category, totaling eight.
• SILVER: Read one book from one category a week, totaling four.

Those who complete the gold challenge will be entered in a drawing for a $100 gift card to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Waterstones, while those who complete the silver challenge have the opportunity to win a $50 gift card.

You can find further rules about the challenge on Julia’s blog!

Although I would love to read eight books so that I can cross more off my TBR list and win a larger gift card so I can buy ALL OF THE BOOKS, I have chosen to participate in the silver challenge instead because I recognize that I do, in fact, have limits. I’ve said before that I have not been as motivated to read for fun lately as I used to, and besides, my summer classes keep me plenty busy: I often spend upwards of eight hours a day reading and/or listening to audiobooks in order to keep up with the accelerated pace of my courses.

But that’s enough rambling from me. Here are my choices for #ReadProud!

Week 1: May 29 – June 5

Category A: Trans YA (fiction or nonfiction)

What I’ll be reading: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

This is sitting in my crate of library books, waiting to be read! It’s written by a trans author, and the girl on the front cover is transgender too, so I have high hopes that this book will be awesome!

Category B: Gay contemporary (NA or adult)

What I’ll be reading: N/A

I want to explore the new adult genre – or NA for short – eventually, but haven’t found very many NA gay contemporaries that interest me. So I’m going to pass on reading something from this category.

Week 2: June 5 – June 12

Category A: Lesbian speculative

What I’ll be reading: N/A

Not reading anything from this category, but I’ll content myself by thinking about how my choice for Week 3, Category A technically falls into this category as well!

Category B: LGBTQ+ middle grade (or younger)

What I’ll be reading: Gay & Lesbian History for Kids by Jerome Pohlen

I asked the library to buy this and so they did! I think much of society’s prejudice and mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people would be reduced if we raised children to treat everyone with respect and understanding. It’s so important for kids to know that LGBTQ+ people exist, and we should be teaching them about LGBTQ+ history as well!

Week 3: June 12 – June 19

Category A: Authors of color

What I’ll be reading: Huntress by Malinda Lo

I actually started reading this a month or so ago for #AuthorAThon but I wasn’t able to finish it before that reading challenge ended! I’ve been meaning to pick it up again, though.

Category B: Lesbian contemporary

What I’ll be reading: N/A

I really, really wanted to read something from this genre (or the other lesbian genre below), because… LESBIAN PRIDE, YAY. However, as I said earlier, I don’t have a lot of time to read for fun this month – and I ended up filling all the other categories first. That’s OK.

Week 4: June 19 – June 26

Category A: Gay YA

What I’ll be reading: N/A

Ditto here. I may try to read more than four LGBTQ+ books this month, and whatever I read may end up fitting here, but I’m not going to set any definite goals because I don’t want to put any more pressure on myself.

Category B: Wildcard

What I’ll be reading: Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

This book has a genderfluid protagonist… and has been waiting patiently for me to read it. It’s sitting on top of my bookshelf, and I love the minimalist cover!

-~-

I encourage all of who you read this post to participate in #ReadProud! Use this month as a way to catch up on your LGBTQ+ TBR list, find new and important queer voices to enjoy, and take pride in our literature! I’ll be tracking all the LGBTQ+ books I read this month with the hashtag #ReadProud and I can’t wait to see what you read this month too!