I loved reading this so much! It's so nice to read about Queer icons especially with what is going on these days. I can't imagine why anyone in the world would want to ban or cancel gay culture, drag, or trans people. I only wish some of the people who could really learn a thing or two from reading this book would actually read it!

This book may lack the depth of other queer historical texts, but it makes up for it in its approachability and breadth of coverage of LGBTQ+ figures. The individuals included span various time periods, geographies, professions, and sexualities. I learned about so many individuals by reading this book that, previously, I had either not encountered before or had not known were LGBTQ+. I would gladly re-read it again.

One minor criticism I have of the book is that certain individuals included are not confirmed as being LGBTQ+ (example: Mary Anning). The text acknowledges when that occurs, as well as the way queer expression varies based on time-period, culture, and geography. However, it still feels misleading to label them as 'Gay' in those circumstances. Fortunately, these entries are rare.

Beautiful book and a great addition to any shelves for anyone that wants to learn more about people.
This book has one entry per day of the year featuring one person that is either an ally or a known (or even not as well known gay person) and gives a small overview of that person.
I liked how it gives a nice overview and i really liked learning more about different people that i didn't know about.

I think it would be fantastic book for libraries, schools or any kind of place where a lot of people can flip through this book and read a few entries or a book where one can read through in an entire year (or a few years) and just focus on one day and one person.

Very well done book, worth the look and read!

I LOVE this book so much. The history and facts shared about each person is so enlightening and I loved the idea about using it as a calendar. The people vary from very long ago to very recent. Would highly recommend.

Thank-you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group — White Lion, and Lewis Laney for the eARC.

First and foremost, the title itself is not accurate as 12 of the 366 spots are taken by allies. Though I understand that allies are an important part of the community, it's always disappointing to go into something expecting it to be 100% queer, only to find part of it specifically dedicated to the cisheteros. It's like, why can't we have something that's wholly our own, you know? Especially since the author made it a point in the beginning to acknowledge that the people chosen are only a small percentage of a huge community. If spots were already limited, why would you give some away to people who are not part of the community?

I also have a bit of an issue with some of the choices. Several times, the queer icon of the day is described as having lived a relatively heteronormative life, and it's only speculation (and at times a bit far-reaching, at that) that considers them part of the queer community. Don't get me wrong, I am an EXPERT at digging into historical context and the like to make the argument of someone being queer but, once again, why give a spot away to speculation when spots are already so limited? I actually think the 12 ally spots should've maybe been reserved for these situations. Also, in a weird little turn of events, one of the "allies" was described as having been intimate with both men and women in the past, but (presumably due to them having married a member of the opposite sex and had children), they're only considered an ally to make room for those "truly living a bisexual lifestyle." Although I understand that's how they themselves chose to frame themselves, it really left me feeling icky.

I know I'm sounding like a total downer, but overall I do think this book was enjoyable and informative. I will likely purchase a physical copy once it comes out, and I look forward to further researching many of these incredible queer icons.

[3.4~3.5] i had some difficulties reading this due to the file/formatting so i can't speak for all selections, but this has the potential to be a fun thing to pick up daily and learn something new. the info i gleaned from the few random entries i could view was admittedly bare bones, and you'll likely need to consult google for more details, but it piqued my curiosity enough to motivate me to do my own research.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book - this is my honest review :)</i>

I loved this book. I have quite a range of knowledge around famous people who identify as LGBTQIA+ as I run a pride club in my school. But this book revealed more people, facts and stories. I would love that book to be on my desk. The illustrations in this book are brilliantly pictured. I also like the attempt to tie-in as many of the people and the key dates in their life stories with the days of the year that that specific person's date page.

365 Gays of the Year is structured so that each page is dedicated to a day of the year. Laney gives a few paragraphs of introduction, and the rest of the page shows a portrait of the individual (or an imagined portrait for premodern individuals). It could be read as part of a daily practice, but would also be an excellent coffee table book to pick up and flip through at random.

Laney selected a wide range of individuals representing many time periods and cultures. I was pleased to see that he included younger people, like Lil Nas X, Jojo Siwa, and Jazz Jennings, in addition to the "elders." While I had heard of most of the American, British, and Canadian figures, I learned about Xian (a lesbian Chinese activist), Luiz Mott (a gay Brazilian anthropologist), and Mima Simic (a lesbian Croatian politician).

Laney's biographies are concise but informative. Since the focus is on the art almost as much as the information, their brevity does not detract from the book overall. He does add a "Discover More" section at the end, which contains recommendations for books, articles, podcasts, and even Youtube videos.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with it and learned a lot. I can see myself coming back to 365 Gays when planning my recurring "This Month in History" book display.

What a brilliant concept, I loved it! And I especially loved the bright illustrations; perfect for the bold and bright people who feature in this book. This would be a great to have on your coffee table. I'm surprised the publishers didn't decide to publish this in the winter given its calendar-like nature, as it would make a great Christmas present to the LGBT+/ally members of friends and family. I'll definitely be gifting it to some of my circle.

Search no further! Here's the perfect Christmas/birthday/Pride gift for your favourite gay! Just like its title suggests, 365 Gays of the Year (Plus 1 for a Leap Year) provides a short bio on the impact of a gay icon for each day of the year, with relevance to each date. A great education for gays of all generations (I had no idea WH Auden was gay!), this collection provides a fabulous review of celebs and activists who have worked toward acceptance and equality for 2SLGBTQIA+ folx.

Some of the artwork is great (Wachowskis, Lily Tomblin), but some is iffy (Queen Latifah, they did you dirty). The bios are short and usually hit the highlights, thought others miss the mark. Unfortunately, I must protest the lack of a few key players (TS Madison and Lady Bunny, where are you!?). Otherwise, this is a solid entry into any rainbow library.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

365 Gays of the Year (Plus 1 for a Leap Year): Discover LGBTQ+ history one day at a time will be published on April 18, 2023.

3.5 stars but rounded up bc ya know, queer. I think this would be a lot more enjoyable if you actually did read one each day and had it out as a coffee table book or something. The art and colors are beautiful. They include the classics, a lot of lesser known people, and then the allies which really threw me sometimes. "The mostly straight" comments included never sat well with me. Also I found that some of the information was already a bit outdated ie Madonna.

<i>I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

366 LGBTQ icons are gathered together in this fun and enlightening daily guide to trailblazers, game-changers, inspirations and rewriters of the rules. While there were many well-known celebrities, such as the likes of Elton John and Freddie Mercury, there are also many lesser-known pioneers, making for an educational read.
More tenuously, there are also some non-LGBTQ allies. While I understand they've been included for their impact on the LGBTQ community and the positive changes for which some of them have been a catalyst, to be their inclusion felt a little jarring, as they naturally remove another potential person from the LGBTQ+ community that this books is here to celebrate.
A small point but one that did bother me. So I removed one star! Otherwise an insightful and fun read.

This book achieves what it promises. It gives the reader one brief lgtbq+ biography for reading each day of the year. It is not a deep analysis of this people’s stories but that is not what this book promised!
I really enjoyed getting to know people of the community and even more this dynamic of reading just one of them each day. This way, it isn’t a heavy reading and you don’t get bored at all.
All in all, I highly recommend this book, so as to introduce yourself into the real lgtbq+ stories because we do exist and need spaces like this to be known and recognised. Thus, have you got the opportunity, get this book and embrace our pride.

This book provides a queer person a day and provides a brief explanation on their works. Some are activists, some are celebrities, and some are historical figures. I do want to emphasize that while the title is "Gays of the Year" this book does include those who identify as trans, lesbian, bi, pan, gender non-conforming, etc. I understand the idea of including historical figures, but there is a difference between including historical figures we know were queer and including those who may have been queer. Given the community's current emphasis on letting people identify themselves how they would like to be identified, it feels weird to force identity on those who cannot speak for themselves. I do not get why they author felt the need to include allies in the book. There are more than enough queer people in the world to fill more than 365 days without needing to include straight allies. I honestly laughed when I got to the Dan Reynolds page. As someone who lives in Utah and is involved with he queer community here, Dan and the organization mentioned in his section, Encircle, are considered very problematic and disliked by those in the community. If they wanted to include a Mormon they could have chosen David Archuleta who is also in the music industry and is actually queer.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy to review.

I was very impressed with the variety of different people from around the world who are focused on and the different sexual orientations and gender identities covered including a couple straight allies from history. The drawings might not be for everyone, a couple of the people that I know where drawn in an unfamiliar way to me, but that may be a very personal issue for me.

such a great book with a wide variety of LGBT representation and allies
the art was beautifully done and the additional resources/discoveries at the back of the book were interesting and fun

Lovely 'coffee table' style book, easy to dip in and out of or read from cover to cover.

The link to dates is a little tenous, but a nice device to get a large amount of short bios of queer people (and a couple of carefully chosen allies). I enjoyed the artworks accompanying the text (though would argue that a few aren't quite as good as some of the others!).

If would say I'm reasonably well versed in queer history, but there were a good hanndful of new names/face to me included, and several that I want to learn more about. This isn't an indepth look at any of the people featured (and it doesn't seem to include if/when they may have been problematic), but it is a good starting point for those after a quick overview

Definitely one to buy for newly out friends/family, or to have hanging about for a 5 minute browse

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

I am frustrated by authors who feel the need to “out” people who have not shared their rainbow sexuality or gender with the world. Or when they deadname someone as if by sharing one fact they need to share all of the person’s information. Lewis Laney does both in 365 Gays Of The Year.

It begins in January. There is a politician that Laney infers is a lesbian because of their lifestyle. They could have been, but as Laney states they never came out publicly or privately for that matter. So they could have just been friends or asexual or anything! I am beyond frustrated by people needing to throw a label on someone because they see them living a lifestyle that they feel a need to define.

Like Harry Styles says, “It’s outdated to put a label on it.”

Still in the month of January, Laney deadnames one of the featured days partners. Why? It makes no sense to me. The book doesn’t say who edited it, but they should be retrained in LGBTQ+ sensitivity training. White Lion Publishing owes the community an apology. Lewis Laney…I don’t even know.

Did I learn anything from this book? I actually did. I learned about some authors and humans to add to my #TBRPile to learn more about. If an editor or sensitivity reader had gone through this book, this could be an awesome learning and reference tool for the community.

I am beyond disappointed.

This is a fun gift/coffee table book. I really loved how there were entries spanning not just decades but centuries! It was an easy, informative read and the illustrations are gorgeous. The information is pretty “wiki entry” basic but this book is not meant to be a total deep dive into the lives of each individual. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I love the art style and the diverse group of queer icons! This book was a fun quick read, I already know of a few people in my life that this will make a perfect gift for!