• Log in
Treatment GuideJust DiagnosedSex & DatingAfrican AmericanStigmaAsk the HIV DocPrEP En EspañolNewsVoicesPrint IssueVideoOut 100
ADVOCATEOUTPrideOut TravelerADVOCATE CHANNEL
Subscribe
CONTACTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
HIVPlusMag.comHIVPlusMag.com
Scroll To Top

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.

Accept

Check Out These Great HIV Reads of 2019

Desirée Guerrero

Editor

Read Full Bio
Desirée Guerrero
| 10/18/19
Desirée Guerrero

Check Out These Great HIV Reads of 2019

So Lucky by Nicola Griffith

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The award-winning author of Hild, is a fascinatingly intense, semi-autobiographical novel about a woman facing down her demons. The profoundly personal narrative reads much like a memoir, and readers can’t help but empathize with protagonist Mara Tagarelli. In the space of a single week, her wife leaves her and she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In the professional world, Mara is the head of a multi-million-dollar AIDS foundation (a career inspired by someone very close to her living with HIV) and in her personal life, she is a committed martial artist. But when her life is turned upside down overnight, Mara finds herself feeling completely lost and alone. She can’t rely on family, her body is letting her down, and friends and colleagues are distancing themselves, treating her like a victim. Just when all seems lost, she finds an inner strength to fight back against a system that often savagely mistreats the disabled and chronically ill—though her actions unleash new enemies. (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)

In the Shadow of the Bridge, a memoir by novelist Joseph Caldwell

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

At its core a love story. But this is a love story that is bittersweet as it comes to fruition in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic. Much of the memoir focuses on the young bohemian’s life in 1950s-’60s New York, a place he migrated to in order to live freely as an out gay man. Living on a street and neighborhood under the Brooklyn Bridge that would soon cease to exist, Caldwell rubs elbows with greats like James Baldwin, finds moderate success as a playwright, and ends up writing for TV soap operas like Dark Shadows and The Secret Storm. Amid it all, he also falls madly in love. However, the fiery affair quickly fizzles and Gale, the man he loves, leaves Caldwell heartbroken and longing. Years later, through a serendipitous twist of fate, the author is reunited with Gale in the darkness of the AIDS epidemic, where Caldwell has become a caretaker for the dying. (Delphinium Books)

Bloodflowers by W. Ian Bourland

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

examines the photography of Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955–1989), an artist whose work created a cultural touchstone for conversation around gender and queerness, race and diaspora, and the enduring legacy of slavery and colonialism. Born in Nigeria, Fani-Kayode migrated through the art and culture scenes of Washington, D.C., New York, and London, where he produced much of his overall body of work—the majority of which consisted of his provocative, often surrealist, homoerotic photographs of Black men. Bourland brilliantly describes Fani-Kayode’s work in a period of global transition, and how it created and responded to profound social, cultural, and political change. In addition to his expert analysis of Fani-Kayode’s portraits, Bourland ties together the unique intersecting elements that made the art of this era incredibly original: surrealism, neo-Romanticism, Yoruban religion, the AIDS crisis, experimental film, loft culture, and house and punk music. (Duke University Press)

Trending stories

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The Tryst Puerto Vallarta is the perfect destination for gays to embrace their worst behavior

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Kelvin Gemstone and Keefe Chambers are TV's favorite gay Christian couple—here's why

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The 'King of Drag' teaser trailer is here — and we are royally impressed

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Cobblestones, castles, and culture: Your LGBTQ+ guide to Edinburgh

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Met Gala 2025: 7 not-so 'Superfine' looks

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Zane Phillips breaks down his steamy 'Mid-Century Modern' scenes with Matt Bomer

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

My magical and affordable escape to Portugal

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Maine Gov. Janet Mills beats Donald Trump, gets school meal funds restored while defending trans kids

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

BREAKING: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to enforce transgender military ban

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The queer men of Alcatraz: the hidden history of the prison Trump wants to reopen

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Who could succeed Pope Francis? We look at 10 possibilities, both LGBTQ-friendly and not

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Bruno Alcantara is stripping down & giving sensual massages on his new show

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

11 sultriest lesbian and sapphic femmes in TV and film history

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

'Boys! Boys! Boys!' debuts new podcast

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Meet all 39 queer players in this season's WNBA

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

EDC Weekend Desert Days hits Sin City with Ultra Load

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Night Court's Marsha Warfield on living out and proud later in life

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Lorde elaborates on gender identity at the Met Gala: 'I feel like a man and a woman'

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Jelani Alladin & Zane Phillips sizzle in 'Strangers on a Beach' trailer

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Met Gala 2025: Dramatic hats steal the show

Illuminations on Market Street by Benjamin Heim Shepard

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

covers the AIDS epidemic, nothing new for the author. As the writer and editor of six books, including White Nights and Ascending Shadows: An Oral History of the San Francisco AIDS Epidemic and From ACT UP to the WTO: Urban Protest and Community Building in the Era of Globalization, Shepard is well-versed on the topic. But what is new to the Ph.D.-holder and former social worker is writing fiction—which he does brilliantly with his first novel, Illuminations on Market Street, “a story about sex and estrangement, AIDS and loss, and other preoccupations in San Francisco.” Shepard expertly uses his real-life experience to fuel this exciting tale of a recent college grad and budding activist in early ’90s San Francisco. Between punk shows and protests, protagonist Cab learns how to navigate life, love—and loss. (Ibidem Press)

The Journalist of Castro Street: The Life of Randy Shilts by Andrew E. Stoner

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

is the new biography of one of the most iconic—and controversial—figures of the AIDS epidemic. After Shilts penned the best-selling exposé And the Band Played On, which revealed uncomfortable truths on why HIV was allowed to spread unchecked during the early ’80s, he was considered the voice of the movement. But his success was not without controversy. It was later discovered that the idea of a “Patient Zero” was bunk. The book focused on a promiscuous Dutch flight attendant who supposedly brought AIDS to the U.S. and infected thousands—a theory now thoroughly discredited via scientific analysis. Behind the scenes, Shilts struggled with alcohol and substance abuse—partly in order to cope with the secret HIV diagnosis that had begun to take his own life. (University of Illinois Press)

I’ve Seen the Future and I’m Not Going: The Art Scene and Downtown New York in the 1980s by Peter McGough

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

is a must-read for the modern art lover—or anyone who wants to learn more about the fascinating, and often tragic, life experiences of queer Baby Boomers. From growing up gay in the rigid and sexually repressed American 1950s, to the frolicking freedom of the Studio 54 1970s, and finally, to the heartbreak and loss of the ’80s AIDS epidemic, McGough vividly takes you on a journey through time. The author is half of McDermott & McGough, a talented art duo known for their paintings, photography, sculpture, and film work—as well as for choosing to live, right down to their clothes, as though they were in the Victorian era (even living without electricity and other modern conveniences). I’ve Seen the Future and I’m Not Going is also a poignant peek into the wondrous lives of many queer artists, including Keith Haring, Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Jeff Koons, whose lives were cut short. (Pantheon Books)

Viral by Ann Bausum

Great HIV Reads of 2019
    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The award-winning author of Stonewall: Breaking Out for Gay Rights, is the first history of the AIDS pandemic created just for teen readers. Bausum beautifully captivates this demographic with her exciting narrative style—while never insulting the politically savvy generation’s intelligence. Viral is told with compassion yet unflinching honesty through the stories of the activists, allies, loved ones, long-term survivors, and even those who lost their lives during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. But offering more than a history of that particular era, the book brings readers through the ’90s, 2000s, today, and beyond in efforts to share the message that the fight against HIV continues. Already adopted as a vital history text in classrooms across the country, Viral is a must-read for anyone, especially teens, wanting to educate themselves on a crisis that affects us all. (Viking)

Recommended Stories for You

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Ts Madison's new podcast to feature Chappell Roan, Tina Knowles, and more celebs

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Supreme Court sellout: Trump's transgender military ban approved

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art abruptly postpones LGBTQ+ exhibit

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Take a bite out of Netflix's new Las Vegas restaurant

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Insomniac & Tomorrowland unite to make EDM history in Las Vegas

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Gay Democratic rising star Robert Garcia eyes House Oversight Committee leadership role

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

J.K. Rowling says she wouldn't fire pro-trans 'Harry Potter' actor if she had the power to

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The LGBTQ+ must-sees of Charleston, S.C.: a curated guide 2025

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Two series from The Advocate Channel launch on Hulu

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Nicole Paige Brooks just spilled piping hot tea on who dropped out of 'All Stars 10'

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

From small-town charm to big city Pride: exploring LGBTQ+ Ontario

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Lawrence Chaney spills the tea on the Grindr hookup that led to her current relationship

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Celebrities unite for brain health at Power of Love gala in Las Vegas

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

The menthol diaries: Taking back pride from tobacco

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

15 wildest moments from the 2025 Met Gala that happened *off* the red carpet

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Cisgender woman says her gender was questioned in a Boston hotel restroom

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Election season got you down? This crisis line is soothing LGBTQ+ mental health

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Supreme Court gives OK to Trump's transgender military ban

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Isabela Merced says 'experience in queer relationships' helped her 'Last of Us' role

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

First, do no harm—unless you're intersex or trans

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

LGBTQ+ demonstrators reenacted historic White House protest

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Here's why 'Last of Us' star Bella Ramsey supports gendered award categories

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Bad Bunny fans are convinced his tour dates are a middle finger to Trump

    • Share using fb
    • Share using tw
    • Share using pt
    • Share using tl
    • Share using em
  • Close sharing options
  • Show sharing options

Joe Biden launches ‘Out for Biden-Harris’ campaign initiative to engage & woo LGBTQ+ voters (exclusive)

Latest Stories

Human Rights Campaign Stages Die-In in front of the Department of Health and Human Services to Protest Trump Health Care Cuts
Politics
Badge
gallery

HRC holds 'die-in' to protest Trump health care cuts

April 28 2025 2:11 PM
Before AIDS, gay artist Rex drew hot men on the prowl — then he disappeared
Art
Badge
gallery

Before AIDS, gay artist Rex drew hot men on the prowl — then he disappeared

April 11 2024 3:15 PM
35 Years of World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
Badge
gallery

35 Years of World AIDS Day

December 01 2023 8:35 AM
The Most Amazing HIV Allies & Advocates of 2023
Print Issue
Badge
gallery

The Most Amazing HIV Allies & Advocates of 2023

November 03 2023 12:51 PM
Liz
News
Badge
gallery

Paris Jackson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Evan Ross Stun at AIDS Gala

September 20 2022 3:05 PM
Slide-3-outbreak_1
News
Badge
gallery

2022's Monkeypox Outbreak: Everything You Need to Know

July 12 2022 11:32 AM
Alc2022reddressday00_750x422_creditonimage_0
Photography
Badge
gallery

39 Photos from AIDS/Lifecycle Red Dress Day 2022

June 10 2022 3:22 PM
Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes
Slideshow
Badge
gallery

Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes

April 03 2025 7:15 PM
Ricky Martin performing live at World AIDS Day concert for AIDS Healthcare Foundation
World AIDS Day
Badge
gallery

Ricky Martin delivers showstopping performance for 2024 World AIDS Day

December 05 2024 12:08 PM
Getty Museum blood exhibit
Art
Badge
gallery

Scarlet fever: exploring our fascination with blood

March 13 2024 1:47 PM
Broadway Flea Market & Auction Raises $1.2 Million for HIV Causes
Slideshow
Badge
gallery

Broadway Flea Market & Auction Raises $1.2 Million for HIV Causes

November 17 2023 2:52 PM
David Furnish and Queer Eye castmembers
Fundraiser
Badge
gallery

The Glamorous Scene at Elton John's Oscar Party/HIV Fundraiser

March 20 2023 4:28 PM
Web_lead_amazing_hof_0
Print Issue
Badge
gallery

The Most Amazing People Living With HIV: 2022 Hall of Fame

November 10 2022 8:30 AM
00-shutterstock_1008812092_0
Sex & Dating

24 Oral Sex Tips: Because Less Partners Doesn't Need to Mean Less Fun

September 02 2022 1:19 PM
The science behind U=U has been liberating people with HIV for years
Treatment
Badge
gallery

The science behind U=U has been liberating people with HIV for years

June 04 2024 3:31 PM
Manila Luzon Elton John Orville Peck Michaela Jae Rodriguez Academy Awards Oscars Viewing Party
Entertainment
Badge
gallery

LGBTQ+ celebrities speak up and show out at Elton John's annual Oscars party (exclusive)

March 11 2024 2:49 PM
pedro-zamorax750.jpeg
Activism
Badge
gallery

Meet the 2022-2023 Pedro Zamora Scholars

January 03 2023 10:39 AM
Web_lead_plus151_amazing_people_0
Print Issue
Badge
gallery

The 10 Most Amazing People of 2022 Living With HIV

November 02 2022 3:02 AM
Rimmingslideshowmain
Sex & Dating

21 Rimming Tips Everyone Should Know

August 18 2022 4:10 PM
00-lead_broadwaybares2022_750x422_creditsonimage
Entertainment
Badge
gallery

19 Broadway Bares Images Too Hot to Handle

July 11 2022 5:49 PM