Likely a ferret cursed into human form โข Gay Shoes bookseller
@bardsalley
, comma curbstomper, author of THE PRACTICAL MANโS GUIDE TO CHEATING DEATH (
@kithbooks
)
I missed THE PRACTICAL MANโS GUIDE TO CHEATING DEATHโs one month anniversary but thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read it. I wasnโt sure this one would ever find a home and to have not only that but a delightful readership warms my heart ๐ฅบ
Today two kids who couldnโt have been more than fifteen asked me for queer book recs at work and bought four of my handsells because โyou had gay shoes so we thought youโd be safe to askโ
Kid in the bookshop today: โthis dragon looks like a fish, itโs a fish dragon, A FAGGIN!!!โ
Every adult in the vicinity of the register โhey kiddo why donโt we call that a Dishโ
Today a couple came in to B&N and the cashiers immediately pulled me off the register because they โneeded my specialty.โ Turns out, they were parents shopping for their newly out trans son and while they admittedly didnโt know much, knew they wanted to get him trans YA for xmas
Okay Iโm gonna have to mute this just because my notifications are something else :โD I never expected this to resonate with yโall so much and I love it. Dont have anything to promote unless yโall wanna help me find a home for short story Ive been trying to publish. Love yall โ๐ป
I didnโt expect this to blow up but Iโm so happy that it did! It was touching to see people willing to learn & improve themselves to make their kidโs life better, & hearing them say โwe NEED to learn proper termsโ & even just get better with he/him as the convo went on proved it
My queer studies class is talking about how only writing happy gay love stories is problematic because it's "unrealistic that everyone'll get a happy ending" and like I get that but shit man, let me write my happy gay stuff. My characters deal with a lot but it ain't queer pain
(Reposted so I could be sappy)
I just Overheard a customer tell their mom โevery time I come here I look for the books with recommendations by someone named Allyโ and got to go โhi, Iโm Allyโ to their delight
(1/3)
@pauljcoccia
They took home symptoms of being human which I said really resonated with my trans boyfriend, and mask of shadows when they said he liked SFF! They added a bunch more to their list too, they wanna bring him to the store so we can talk in person!
I muted this & have no idea why it blew up but clarification: I work in a tiny indie store so there were about three customers in at the time, & it was less โevery adult spoke out to correct the kidโ as much as โwe all exchange a low key horrified lookโ before someone goes โheyโโ
@MicheleLugiai
The one had to ask for their friend because โsheโs too nervous to talk to the staffโ and the friend piped up with the gay shoes comment, so Iโm glad I could be there
I donโt know why this got so many likes but hey get your books this holiday season from the store that brought you everyoneโs new favorite fish-dragon lmao
@mcapriglioneart
I always get so panicky in artist alleys when people ask me if I want to take a closer look at their art/book, I panicked this past weekend and started saying like โIโll try to come back I have to find my mom firstโ
I am 26, an adult, & my mom is at the celebrity autograph table
2017: I tricked a cute girl into wanting to date me! What do girls like? FALL OUT BOY TICKETS!
2023: That same cute boy now wants to marry me, and once again see Fall Out Boy
Additionally I didnโt get a good look at which dragon the kid picked up, it was long like this one but less fluffy and silver, had almost scaly metallic spots on it and the wings were smaller. It did in fact look rather fishy
12 years ago today my mom dragged me to a teen writing seminar I didnโt wanna go to because I thought people would think I was weird
Shout out to the blonde kid in the back row who looked like Avril Lavigne & wanted to be my friend
12 years & some genders later I married him ๐ฅฐ
Just now I watched a customer read my shelf talker for The Scapegracers and add it to their already enormous pile of lgbt+ books.
Work has been bonkers busy today, but times like this are why I do this job and what I love about it ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ (3/3)
@EJLevy
*Hero, as a queer woman very involved in the queer community and trans issues, seeing James Barry referred to with female words is a bit distressing, it's things like that that lead to interpretations like Rachel Weisz playing him in a movie and claiming he was gender-fluid.
Look I donโt have a huge following or anything but I work at an indie bookstore and I have a cute cat Iโm allowed to post on the Instagram: if your book got review bombed in this debacle and youโve got a cover already and want to be in a โbooks to preorderโ post, lemme know!
About a minute after that, a customer was joking โI just want the gay shitโ and ended up leaving with two of my recommendations when I directed them to my queer books endcaps (2/3)
Authors, convince us to read your book with your favorite line and absolutely no context. One line only.
"What if I'm never done searching?"
"Then perhaps one day you will come searching for me."
UMBRA ๐๐๐
@theneonvulture
The only thing I can think is that sheโs saying โoh ouch thatโs relatableโ like the โIโm in this picture and I donโt like itโ meme
A customer yesterday said that a manga about wheelchair users was too high on a shelf for them to reach from their chair, so I was able to get it moved to a more accessible display. Itโs a small thing, but I KNOW my boss thinks itโs pointless & it made me feel like I MATTER here
This is the last time Iโll get to make a national boyfriend day post about AJโฆ
Because weโre getting married at the end of the month ๐ฅฐ
I got the best damn one
Also Twitter I need help:
Iโve taken it upon myself to do the Autism Month post for my work, whatโre your fav books with good autistic rep? I have a couple in mind but I know thereโs more Iโm forgetting
Okay I gotta mute this because RIP my notifications but if you liked this story then please go follow some trans authors, especially up and comers like
@heedgmon
@ZREllor
@mjbeasi
and my wonderful amazing boyfriend
@AJWhiteAuthor
!
TWITTER I NEED YOUR HELP: the sweetest trans lady came into my store looking for historical lesbian romance novels. She LOVED Ladiesโ guide to celestial mechanics, I need some recommendations we can order for her but I donโt read much romance. Please help me!
Booksellers are offering to blurb books across my tl and Iโm here to remind you I would LOVE to blurb your stuff AND I just got a promotion so โSenior Barnes & Noble Booksellerโ would look pretty sweet on those blurb pages ๐
@DamianneTweets
This is an old picture, I was wearing Menโs cargo pants and a blouse that laced up the back covered in flowers and ouija planchettes and a button that said โsomeone I love is transโ
So the sweetest thing happened at work tonight. I asked this girl if she needed any help (she looked about 13) and she quietly asked me โIโm looking for books with *whispers* lesbians. Do you know any good YA books?โ (1/3)
Since I turned in my notice and handed the paperwork to the new people I think I can talk about it, yah girl-adjacent is gonna be an indie bookseller starting later this month!
@simone__kern
This reminds me of the time I wrote a short story about a nonbinary cryptid scientist trying to get a possum from hell out of the vent. Everyone in class wanted to talk about their gender and how "why doesn't she have a gender if it's not relevant to the plot" (Yep, she ยฌ_ยฌ)
I just rung up a transaction where the service dog gave me the money by hopping up to the counter with a little baggie in his mouth, and then I put the receipt in his bag and he took it back. This is the best thing, sending the year out on a good note. I cannot stop smiling ๐ถ
Remember when I posted about the girl who asked me โdo you know any good YA books about Lesbians?โ
Well she came back today & got 1 of the ones I recommended & she said โI saw your button last time, so I made you this to matchโ & it was this little trans flag ribbon Iโm sOBBING
They go through hell but it's 'cause of things like "My mom is really overprotective" "My shitty boyfriend has been using me for my magic to summon cthulhu" "my ex-wife is the Russian mafia and is trying to ruin my life because I didn't let her murder me" not 'cause they're queer
@karigrafia
I had someone (several someones actually) say the same thing in a writing workshop. My prof basically told me "there's not enough at stake plot wise because Janus' identity is never addressed in story, we're just supposed to take it at face value!" Yes, yes you are!
At the risk of this blowing up like my gay shoes tweet, I do love days when I can be THE bookseller for queer teens who need recs as they follow me around the YA section like a gaggle of goslings
So Iโve had people ask to see the endcaps in question and here yโall go. The adult sf/f endcap got picked over yesterday so I had to fill gaps with recs from coworkers, but here yโall go
@EJLevy
@AegisImmemorial
This isnโt Mulan, he specifically stated he wanted to be buried in his bedsheets so not to be outed in death: if he was a woman adopting a male identity to get a leg up, that wouldnโt matter in death
Three years ago today my best friend kissed me after a final exam and things have just kept getting better since. Happy anniversary babe, I love you so much ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ
Almost a decade of friendship, but today officially marks five years together. Happy anniversary you absolute dork, I never thought I could be this happy ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ
@RoseeKerstin
The friend said โIโm asking for her shes too nervous to ask for helpโ so I hope it was just general anxiety and not specifically for the gay recs but yeah
Happy
#LGBTWIP
yโall! Iโm Alice (she/her) youโre wonderfully queer cohost for the month because my boyfriend created this hashtag! Iโm currently working on a witchy YA urban(?) fantasy and am plotting an equally witchy NA-ish thing Iโm just excited to make new friends!
I'm up at midnight because apparently it's
#NationalBoyfriendDay
and since I have the best one in the entire universe I had to make a sappy tweet because dammit he's so cute and makes me so happy ๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐ณ๏ธโ๐ love you babe, thanks for being so absolutely wonderful
ITโS THAT TIME OF YEAR:
#LGBTWIP
is back for pride month, and this year Iโm your official cohost!!
@AJWhiteAuthor
and I will take turns posting questions so be sure to follow us both, and to like/rt/comment on tweets to make friends! ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
#AMwriting
#WriteLGBTQ
#QWriters
Just fyi bookseller Alice put together a list of books by autistic authors and/or featuring good autistic rep on our Bookshop for Autism Acceptance Month! Check it out here -
(3/3) She said she loved to read but books run super expensive so when I told her she can save 10% if her parents get a B&N membership, she was thrilled & said she was gonna beg for one because she buys so many books. It honestly made my day, this is why I wanted this job โบ๏ธโบ๏ธโบ๏ธ
To the people who come into the
#LGBTWIP
hashtag up in arms about all the โextra letters special snowflake bullshitโ just for you it now stands for โlesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender: weโre invading, people!โ
Happy Trans visibility day! Iโm nonbinary in a way that Iโm not sure feels/counts as trans (I didnโt cross anything I just DLCโd a gender in addition to the one I already had) but Iโm not cis and I have cool buttons
So I posted the other day that good things might be happening and to cross your fingers for me?
Good things happened. I now have a job at Barnes & Noble!
EXCITING NEWS BTW YALL! My short story The Practical Manโs Guide to Cheating Death is gonna be physically published through
@KithBooks
! I was starting to lose hope on this one and I canโt wait for you all to meet my terrible Edwardian Demiboy!
@beyondthebinary
The author is gay, and Iโve heard interpretations that the narrator is supposed to be a bit in love with Tyler in his idolization, soโฆ (I thought if nothing else itโd get people to stop and look)
Just asked Aj if he could turn on the overhead light and he looked at me like Iโd just punted his parentsโ geriatric dog lmao I love having an autistic fiancรฉ
I pointed to my โask me for LGBT+ YA recsโ button and said โyou found the right girl!โ Her face lit up & I found F/F books for her & gave her some more recs for ones we didnโt have in stock. (2/3)
@EJLevy
@QuinnSimpson18
@AegisImmemorial
There is a diffference between โmob decreeโ and the community of people that the individual in question belong to pointing out harm. Trans people pointing out harmful representation =\= angry mob
#ThisIsWhatAsexualLooksLike
The last year has been confusing and a little rough for figuring things out, but these days I can firmly say how happy I am with myself, existing on the ace spectrum
Stas is out in the world today! My Say in the Matter and with it, my story SPITE, or: More Human in the Grave. If you follow me on insta you may have seen this already, but Iโm gonna talk for a minute about what this story means to me:
(1/5)
@karigrafia
I did my best! If I hadn't had to leave class early I would've asked everyone else workshopping that day "so why do you're characters HAVE to be cis? How is it relevant to the plot, we're just supposed I take it at face value!"