The international symbol for gay pride is the rainbow, but many LGBT people of color argue that pride celebrations this week will be anything but colorful. Pride is meant to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion, the drag queen uprising that marks the beginning of the gay rights movement, but many argue that the real meaning behind the pride has been lost. Kenyon Farrow says he’d rather stay home and read a book than join the pride parade:

If you’re a grumpy, anti-capitalist, nearing middle-aged queer like myself, the June Gay Pride festivities can be really annoying — especially in New York. Because there are five boroughs, the events seem to go on forever. Rainbow striped flags, key chains and booty shorts sprout all over the city, defying the drab earth tones of your camouflage shorts and black tank top. Cheesy dance remixes of even cheesier top 40 songs drown out your reflective folk tunes. Yep, June is no bowl of organic free-trade cherries for the political queers. What I do in these tough times, as the happy-go-lucky gays parade up and down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue this last week of June, is curl up with some good queer (non-fiction!) reading. Reading helps me get in touch with my inner, bitter queer, and I want to share some of the latest books I’m reading with my queer comrades out there who are throwing anti-Pride pity parties in our miserable little hovels across the tri-state this season.

Read Kenyon’s pride book reviews here. If everybody at pride is going to be wearing Marc Jacobs’ provocative pride t-shirt (H/T Popnography), I think I might spend my time reading, too.