A Very Gay Book: An Inaccurate Resource for Gay Scholars

by Jenson Titus, Nic Scheppard

From the creators of @verygaypaint, the immensely popular comedy design brand, A VERY GAY BOOK paints a cheeky and satirical portrait of the world where everything—from sports to science to soup—is gay.
Trees are gay. It’s why their branches brush up against each other so softly. Right-handed people are gay because that’s the first hand you use when you do the Macarena. Left-handed people are also gay. Magnets. Palindromes. All gay. A satirical textbook—including sections on history and heroes, customs and traditions—celebrating a very gay world, A Very Gay Book is an invitation to revel in the (both real and absurdly fictional) iconic successes of the LGBTQ+ community.

Genres: Queer, LGBT, Humor

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: From the creators of @verygaypaint, the immensely popular comedy design brand, A VERY GAY BOOK paints a cheeky and satirical portrait of the world where everything—from sports to science to soup—is gay.

Trees are gay. It’s why their branches brush up against each other so softly. Right-handed people are gay because that’s the first hand you use when you do the Macarena. Left-handed people are also gay. Magnets. Palindromes. All gay. A satirical textbook—including sections on history and heroes, customs and traditions—celebrating a very gay world, A Very Gay Book is an invitation to revel in the (both real and absurdly fictional) iconic successes of the LGBTQ+ community.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I don't know if everyone will "get" this very, very gay duo's sense of humor. Here's their pinned tweet from their Twitter account:

Very Gay Paint Retweeted
Nic Scheppard @Nicschepp


Gay porn is so obsessed with guys being broke. I can’t see a financially-stable stud get wrecked?? The system is so broken.
10:16 PM · Aug 4, 2022

I myownself about had an aneurysm from laughing at that. Follow the links! These guys are hilarious!

Like all humor, it's not universal...the French still think Jerry Lewis is a scream, and the Brits and Aussies love them some men in drag, among other utterly inexplicable tastes...and it's unwise to read the hole thing straight through. Humor is like Aperol spritzes or Negronis...one or two, delicious...more than that gets yucky.

I doubt this would be anywhere near as hilarious to someone straight, but I sure as heck don't understand that much about why humor even works.

A lot of the humor in here is barbed, so be aware that you're not necessarily going to be comfortable with the things they're taking aim at:

It's really up to the individual to decide how much is too much at one sitting, but I really hope some of y'all will try this truly howl-worthy collection of rude, thought-provoking, not-always-truthful snippets of prose this Pride Month.

I know I laughed!

[jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

welcome to 202-Queer 🌈✨

50 in February: 6/50


this book, as the title suggests, is a list of things, events, people, etc. that are gay. and also everything and everyone is gay, including bears who - many won't know this - don't actually hibernate but instead have gay sex for three months "straight" - you wish you were them.


this might work as a joke gift for your gay friends which they can ironically display on their bookshelf but never actually read.

as an ebook there's definitely like half the fun taken out of it (the fun being in having this a a display piece).

it's also definitely not meant to be... well, read. at least not from first page to last page, maybe flipped through until something catches your eye.

the humour is very terminally online, so you have to be into that.

overall, i didn't enjoy reading it but if someone got me a physical copy that i could put on my shelf and laughingly point at when people come over, i wouldn't be mad.


i received a digital copy through Edelweiss, all thoughts and opinions are my own

[Rebecca Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many people are going to hate this hilarious, irreverent look at history, and I am here for it. Putting a gay spin on historical events, how-tos, and everyday culture, I was laughing all the way through!

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

While reading this book, I kept feeling the urge to edit it. Parts of the book is hilarious, full of references to popular culture, and surprising takes (e.g. the chapter on the Cold War has an amazing premise - and the graphs at the end of the book are just absurd and funny). Some chapters are fantastic, others are just ok. Many chapters could do with a sharpening so it wasn't just making absurd claims and putting the word "gay" in a few times, but had an internal logic. I love the absurdity of the book in general, but just being absurd and calling it gay isn't always funny enough.

The book is best read one chapter at a time and not in any specific order, but I would have loved more cohesion between the chapters, more repeat jokes and a generally sharper pen, which would have lifted this from promising to great. But, as the authors write: they learned to write to write this book. I'm looking forward to their next one, as it will probably be even better.

I'm giving it 2.5 stars, which is maybe strict. But it's not a bad book by any means, and I'll probably read parts of it again.

[Anika (Encyclopedia BritAnika) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y’all, I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was when I heard Nic and Jenson announce their upcoming book. I love love love Very Gay Paint, their company where they paint the very best murals but also have the funniest and most ridiculous captions. Follow them immediately if you aren’t following them already.

This book was an “inaccurate” reference for gay scholars. This book is like their account by times 75000. There’s gay explanations of history, culture, food, sports. I loved the sections on cakes in drag, reservation seekers, secret gay holidays (lolllll), and what’s in a black hole. I also loved the gay word problems. And the graphs at the end. There’s one on Meryl Streep which is perfect. Ok, now I’m just listing everything in the book lol.

This book is best read like their account, one at a time and not in one long binge. And while I was given the digital arc to review I actually am going to buy the physical book too because it’s so pretty! And I want that on my coffee table.

An absolute fun time. Follow their account and red their book. A Very Gay Book is out May 30, 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Instagram.Com/encyclopedia_britanika

[Charessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an eGalley to review!

I'm not quite sure what I expected when I picked up this book and I'm honestly not quite sure how to review what I just read. This can really only be described as the sassy answer to "Does everything have to be gay with you?" It was so incredibly goofy and absurdist to the point of it being cringe-y sometimes. It was definitely a fun read, though, that's for sure. I especially enjoyed the science section, particularly the black hole part and the statistics/charts at the end. The "How to come out" quiz really made me laugh out loud too.

Some parts could be a bit more sensitive regarding the people they reference, however, particularly when it comes to Black women (the part about enjoying Lizzo being "retracted" from what's acceptable, for instance) and customs that really belong to queer BIPOC that have been appropriated (anything regarding ballroom culture and Black queer culture in general). Just because it's all utterly ludicrous, that doesn't excuse microaggressions, no matter how small. The writing gives it a "this was written by a white gay" vibe sometimes. Other than that, it was hilarious to read these absurdist claims about some celebrities.

I'd give this book a casual read sometime if you're in the mood for a chuckle, especially if you're queer and get the inside jokes.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not expect much from this book and it pretty much lived up to my expectations. More a book to dip into now and then. The joke is about being Gay and the gay attitude to life and everything else, alas a joke that fairly rapidly becomes old. About half way through I was skim reading the book because my interest was declining. Fortunately a short book, with lots of pictures, but it does not work particularly well on an e-reader as the illustrations are in black and white and sometimes over a couple of pages.
Some references went over my head , though there are moments when I laughed out loud too .
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Sam Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

YALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS BOOOOK! I was so ecstatic to receive an advanced reader's copy of A Very Gay Book by Jenson Titus from Andrews McMeel Publishing. This incredible collection of "Curriculum"-based essays, stories, and diagrams is enough to make you laugh and smile, given the many pop-culture references and real-life scenarios that set the queer community as leaders on the pyramid of people. There's humor, satire, and good ole-fashioned content that had me cackling with every turning page.

A Very Gay Book is set to hit shelves on May 30, 2023 and yall NEEDDDDD to pre-order this book, like I'm not kidding pals!

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love gay and queercentric stuff and this does not disappoint in that department.. It is indeed a very gay book. It reads like a long buzzfeed article, so if you're terminally online -this is just for you. I did flip through it and read what interests me. It would make a great coffee table (physical) book.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to review this Arc!

[Shayla Moffatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so fun, sometimes I forgot it wasn't a real history book. The way it was written made it sound entirely plausible. I enjoyed all the illustrations that went along with the stories, and while I know it's untrue, part of me wishes it were historically accurate. My one issue was that I found some of the articles a little over-detailed or too long. But overall it was a great and fun read.

[Amanda K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a spoiler – in this book everything is gay. It’s fun, tongue firmly in cheek, the same kind of humor as Very Gay Paint, but extended to book length. This gets a bit repetitive after a few pages, but would be fun enough to leaf through.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publishers for the DRC, all opinions are my own.

[Elizabeth Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book delivers on its promise of an inaccurate look at gay history, and at times it can be funny. The art included is well done. However, it relies a lot on you understanding all the cultural references, which not everyone will. It’s also intrinsically the same joke repeatedly, so it got old fast.

[Anne Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the tongue-in-cheek discussions in the book, and I laughed out loud several times. That being said, I would recommend reading the book in short bits, maybe a chapter at a time. I read the whole thing at once, and it was a bit like chewing a piece of gum for hours — after awhile the wit lost its delicious flavor.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really funny to start and I actually really enjoyed most of it. However, some of the jokes got a bit repetitive and I was bored with some of them. Otherwise, still enjoyed most of it. Very quick read!

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun: irriverent and humourous. Read it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Mathea Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! Love the illustrations. Very funny and fun coffee table book.

[Jackson Salasky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious.

[Kandace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did laugh out loud once, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into. If you are a fan of "Gay Science" by Hearthrob Rob Anderson on TicTok, this is for you.

[Daria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Epiphany of a coffee table book, not meant to be read. The best thing about it is the title

[AP · Rating 5 out of 5]

a knowing prank masquerading as a textbook WE LOVE TO SEE IT !!! more of these please

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book from the publisher.

You know that one friend you have who when they're on they're hilarious and have everybody in hysterics but then sometimes they say something and it's awkward, lame, or inappropriate and everyone just goes silent? That friend is this book.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off really strong and hilarious, but by the middle of the book started to really drag. I wish it had been edited better or overall been a bit more snappy instead of padding the book to make it longer.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you go in expecting a ridiculous look at history in line with how ridiculous the Very Gay Paint instgram is, you'll have your expectations met. And that's a compliment.