Hello, hello! I had grand plans for my blog this month. I was going to post a fun story about library arch-nemeses and an ode to my old car that I had to sell, but alas, a Summer Cold caught me off guard and sent my mind on vacation, leaving my ailing body to pick up the pieces. Spoiler Alert: My body didn’t do that well taking over my thinking and acting functions while also fighting off illness. 

So! I’ve come not quite empty-handed to this post at the end of Pride Month with another TBR Playlist. This is something fun and easy for me to put together, plus I can hype up some openly LGBTQ+ (or LGBTQ+-adjacent) musical artists and authors in the process, so it’s as much of a win-win as we’re going to get at this point. I will try to focus on queer artists that are still currently making music (to the best of my knowledge) so that you can give them all the love they deserve!

My vehicular ode and library story are still going to make an appearance, but in the meantime, please enjoy this Pride version of my TBR Playlist. 

“Nobody Really Cares” by Baby Queen: Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett

Baby Queen’s anthem about being yourself because it doesn’t matter what people think (if they even care about how you look/act) goes really well with Camryn Garrett’s book. The main character, Mahalia, is too late to have the Sweet Sixteen party of her dreams, so she decides to have a big Coming Out Party. She’s really just doing what she wants, unapologetically, because it’s not hurting anyone and makes her happy. Though, of course, not everything goes to plan. 

“Sappho” by Frankie Cosmos: Like Water by Rebecca Podos

In this book, the main character, Savannah, gets stuck in her small town when her father becomes ill and she has to help care for him. She does everything she can to distract herself from the stagnation in her life… until she meets the badass and interesting Leigh. But the part that really connects with Frankie Cosmos’s song is that Savannah is now worried her feelings for Leigh will shatter all the barriers she put up to protect herself. 

“Sappho” is all about missing and loving a friend who you really want to know better but being unable to express those feelings without potential negative consequences (basically, isolation as a coping mechanism): “Is it cool when I don’t care? / Can you feel me in the air? / Under the crack in the door, / Can you tell I have no floor?”

“Kool” by Meet Me @ the Altar: Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni 

This is a song more people need to listen to, just saying… But onto the book-song combo! “Kool” is about looking at your partner and loving their confidence, their loyalty, and their beauty. This is how Nar comes to feel about her new friend Erebuni in Sorry, Bro. Both are Armenian, and Nar loves how much Erebuni helps her feel connected to their shared culture. She’s beginning to love all the parts of her identity and is determined to be braver about embracing herself—with the help and encouragement of super-cool Erebuni. 

“Pink Panther” by Scene Queen: The V-Word: True Stories About First-Time Sex edited by Amber J. Keyser

Okay, I love this song. Not only is it punny, it’s also super gay. It gives lesbian fuckboi vibes unapologetically and I love it. So I thought it fitting to pair this with a book also about sex. While this book isn’t a queer-focused book, it is an LGBT-inclusive look at people’s experiences with having sex for the first time. As someone who’s not super into the sexy times, I always find it interesting to hear other people’s perspectives. 

“Honey” by Kehlani: Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

In Light From Uncommon Stars, the main character, Shizuka, makes a deal with the devil: to escape damnation she must bring the devil seven souls of violin prodigies. (Oddly specific, but alright.) She meets a trans violinist and is like, “Yes! My seventh soul! I’m almost done!” Then she falls in love with a refugee mother of four, and her goals change. They set off across the galaxy to protect their little chosen family and escape the devil’s curse. 

The line in Kehlani’s song that made me pair it with this book is this one: “I came to find, my fire was fate with you / My heartache would stay with you / Escape with you.” How perfect is that? Plus, this book is all about searching for the warm fuzzy things that make life worth it, and Kehlani’s song, in a way, is about reminiscing on the warm fuzzy feelings that make love worth it. 

“My Own Person” by Ezra Williams: Double Booked by Lily Lindon

While this song is more about feeling like you lack a sense of self and are just trying to fade into the background, this book is about what happens after you’ve realized you might not be the person you pretend to be. Georgina has what seems like a perfect life—long-term boyfriend, great job, etc—until one day she accidentally steps into a lesbian indie-pop band’s concert and realizes that… one of those women is kind of cute? While she’s discovering her place in the LGBT+ community, she decides to live a double life so as to keep her “straight” life in tact as a fallback. (Note: Like with a few of these, the sad tone of the song does not match with the supposedly “lighthearted” atmosphere of the book.)

“Take Me to Church” by Hozier: Angels Before Man by Rafael Nicolás 

Angels Before Man is a queer retelling of the fall of Satan. ‘Nuff said. 

Okay, I’ll say more. Basically, the premise is that Lucifer, a beautiful angel, is struggling with his identity and emotions, along with his love/lust for his God. Then the angel Michael comes around and shows Lucifer how to love himself. It’s billed as “part cozy coming of age and part fast-paced tragedy, with a little love story in between.”

Both the song and the book involve a desire for God, forbidden love, and flipping Christian imagery on its head. This song fits so well with this book it’s crazy!

“Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus: She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick

I recently became reacquainted with this song because it was playing on the speakers before a Fall Out Boy concert. And let me tell ya, we moved on from this absolute national treasure too quickly…

Anyyywwwaayyy, pansexual queen Miley Cyrus’s song “Wrecking Ball” goes with She Gets the Girl because both are about on-again, off-again relationships in which one person falls super hard for the other one. While one of the main characters is usually the one doing the “wrecking” in her relationships, and the other is the one who falls hard for someone else, their reluctant friendship still might turn into something more. 

“Would You Be So Kind” by Dodie: Never Kiss Your Roommate by Philline Harms

I can’t remember where I heard this, but I became aware of Never Kiss Your Roommate when someone described it as “if Paris and Rory fell in love in Gilmore Girls” and I was hooked. This song by Dodie fits the book both because of the seemingly unrequited love but also the general vibes. “Would You Be So Kind” is upbeat and hopeful, despite the lyrics imploring the other person to love them back, and that’s the vibe I get from the book as well. 

At an exclusive boarding school, Evelyn finds herself falling for her prickly roommate, Noelle, but she’s intimidated by the threat of rejection along with the potential of the school’s rumor-filled blog (creepily called The Watcher) sharing her secret. (Side note: School-related gossip sites were super prominent in 2010s books. Were these really so widespread, or was it just a YA storytelling trend? I think my school had some Twitter account like this that I was vaguely aware of, but I don’t think it was ever that intense.)

“King for a Day” by Green Day: All Princesses Die Before Dawn by Quentin Zuttion & translated by M.B. Valente

And of course, no LGBT+ music list made by Ryn PB would be complete without Green Day! Not only does this song have the line “King for a day / Princess by dawn,” but Billie Joe Armstrong also sings about sneaking into his mom’s room to try on clothes, which the main character of this book does (only with lipstick not clothes). Both are about boys wanting to take part in feminine things, being in the closet, and having secrets. 

All Princesses Die Before Dawn is about a not-straight boy who has a crush on his neighbor (who is also a boy), his teenage sister who sneaks her boyfriend into her bedroom, and their mom who awaits their recently absent father, all on the day of Princess Diana’s death. The tones of the song and book are quite different, but I still think the pairing fits!

Bonus Tracks

• “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” by Against Me!: Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
• “Manada” by Pansy Division: The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass
• “Woman” by Kesha feat. The Dap-Kings Horns: Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano
• “girls” by girl in red: Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry
• “Ice Cream” by MIKA: Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan

Conclusion

Well, there you have it! Yet another TBR Playlist, but even better, because it’s gay. Wait a second… it’s gay²! I paired gay songs with gay books… amazing. *Pats self on shoulder.* What a good way to commemorate the end of this beautiful month. 

Happy reading, and happy listening!

-Ryn PB