#queer bookstore

[rainydaypaperback]

My mother recently passed away after a long period of fighting several chronic issues. She was 84. I lived with her as caregiver while also running my bookstore.

That took rather a toll on finances because I often needed to close unexpectedly on short notice to care for her. Plus her final expenses. Everything will be fine in six months once estate is settled but right now, OOF, that is a cash crunch on me. It's basically drained all my savings so if one more thing goes wrong, keeping store running becomes difficult.

I've run this store for 23 years, come February 1st. While I carry all types of books, my specialty is queer books. That Pride flag flies year round!

So I could use some support right now and as all The Everything is happening.

Come visit me in person! I'm at 81 Greenwood Ave. (route 302) in Bethel, CT. 11-6PM Tuesday through Friday. 10-5PM Saturdays (exvept Sat. feb. 8th 2025) I'm also within walking distance of the NYC Metro-North train station, Danbury line. There's two other bookstores within walking distance, so you can spend a whole day looking at books!

If you're not local, but have friends in the Southwestern Connecticut or New York/Connecticut border area, please let them know I exist!

If you want to recommend me to a friend or family member in area that doesn't use Tumblr I also have a Facebook account and an Instagram. I also send out a weekly email with some featured books, events going on in the Bethel & Danbury area, and a featured adoptable pet. See a sample email and signup.

If you're not local, I have my inventory online and you can get lots of weird, out of print queer books from small presses. Order some books!

If you need audiobooks, I also have a Libro.fm account. I get a small commission when you get your audiobook downloads or subscriptions through the link. If you're doing a new subscription, you get two additional books through the affiliate link.

I also am on Bookshop.org if you want to buy new books that I don't have. If you go through the link, OR set me as your "local" store, when you buy new books I get a little commission.

I run the book club for Pride here and you can see the upcoming picks on either the front page of the store or on the Bookshop.org page with the club picks. We alternate fiction and nonfiction each month and do a hybrid model where you can either come to in person on 3rd Saturday of month OR do a text only chat on that 3rd Friday & Saturday via Bethel Pride's discord. For text chat, just hop in and post in bookclub whenever your schedule allows! and respond to other folks.

I also host a monthly plant swap with Pride here on the second Saturday. EXCEPT THIS FEBRUARY 8th. I am away at a conference for running Pride events! I am off working on the gay agenda! So plant swap resumes in MARCH.

For plant swap, you can bring plants or take plants. You can drop off without taking more home and pickup without having brought any. It's indoor plants only til May, and then its time to get wild with outdoor pals.

And I really appreciate reblogs! you never know where your followers live and this may make them shriek like a pterodactyl because they never realized how close by a queer bookstore was to them! ROADTRIP TIME.

[our-trans-punk-experience]

Im going to a queer punk show with my friends!! It’s completely free and at a bookstore! I’m so stoked

that sure is a trans punk experience!! have a great time!!

[submissivefeminist]

I forgot to post these but Teddy and I went to a queer bookshop that was like 90% smut, it was beautiful.

[polyamorouspunk]

What a Beautiful Day for a Wedding

So excited to be helping behind the scenes to marry queer couples here in the heart of Florida

[actual-changeling]

Still in London (and stuck in the heat rip me) and there is a bookstore called Gay's The Word that is filled to the brim with all kinds of queer books and queer books ONLY.

As one does, I had to put myself on a leash on only buy 5 new books I am incredibily excited about. So in case anyone is looking for new reading material, here's the list:

The Story of Silence by Alex Myers about a nonbinary knight "finding the courage to be who they are"

The Butch Monologues by Laura Bridgeman which is a collection of contemporary real-life stories exploring, well, butch and gender experiences

No Modernism without Lesbians by Diana Souhami, a collective biography about Sylvia Beach, Natalie Barney, Bryher, and Gertrude Stein and the Modernist movement

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, which I think many people already know–time travelling, science fiction, queer love, and existential crises

It Came From the Closet is a collection of twenty-six essays under the theme of queer reflections on horror, and I think that really tells you everything you need to know about it; critical, humorous, historical, and defined by personal experiences

They also have a website where you can browse and buy said books, pins, and more! It's a great way of buying queer books from queer people.

[disbabeled]

[Image Description: A pink and black poster. Big white text reads: Save Glad Day From Eviction. The top and bottom borders are black and say 'Help' over and over. End ID.]

For those outside of the Toronto area, Glad Day Books is a staple in the queer community. They're a small, independently run bookstore and event space that specifically carries books and stories written by queer and local authors with a focus on intersectionality. Throughout the community they're known for their many inclusive and accessible events including Drag Brunch, many speed dating events for all identities, Neurodivergent Queer Trivia, and so so many others.

Glad Day is the oldest queer bookstore in the world and so important for the community. It also has a special place in my heart. It's the first place where I was openly queer after moving out of my homophobic household. It's the place where I brought my boyfriend for his very first drag brunch. It's the place where I want to publish my first book. The staff there are so kind and helpful and the space is fully accessible - which, unfortunately, is a rarity.

If you want to find out more about their situation and how the money will be used, I've attached their link tree here. The first link has some information about this.

I've already donated what I can right now but if anyone is able to spare some money or even just able to share this, it would be greatly appreciated. We don't want to lose Glad Day.

[sweetreadsict]

We updated our print flyer design today (though it works well enough on the screen as well). Folks who want to help us out with some community advertising are welcome to get in touch for copies; otherwise, you might see them at your local queer hangout before too long :3

[whilereadingandwalking]

Fabulosa Books is smack in the middle of the very queer Castro District in San Francisco. It was formerly a Dog Eared Books branch, and before that, A Different Light Books. 

The bookstore branch was going to close, but a 20-year employee of Dog Eared bought the store and reopened it as it is today in 2021! “We were determined to survive because a neighborhood without a bookstore is like a day without sunshine,” he said. 

Going into such a richly queer bookstore is such a genuine joy and felt really gratifying and affirming.