Busboys and Poets Books Presents Queer Book Club
Date and Time
Oct 30, 2022 6:00 pm
Location
Takoma
235 Carroll St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20012
Oct 30, 2022 6:00 pm
Takoma
Every last Sunday of the month we'll be hosting Queer Book Club led by Nathan, the Takoma Bookstore Supervisor, at Busboys and Poets Takoma. There we'll gather to discuss a specific book by a queer author or about a queer subject matter. This book club is for anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+ and wants to talk about queer books - you can also show up as an ally or if you're questioning! Show up for good food, good books, and good friends- plus, the more frequently you show up, the more goodies (in the form of discounts and priority book-pick) you can collect.
For the month of October, see another side of children’s stories and fairy tales- with a horrific, creepy, and feminist twist. Join us and Daniel M. Lavery for some spooky times in The Merry Spinster
"Pointing out the darker aspects of children’s stories and Disney movies has become as much a cliché as the original princesses and fairy godmothers were, but Lavery’s point of view is thoughtful, insightful, and unpretentious. Gender is entirely fluid, as characters debate “which of us gets to be wife,” there is a girl named Paul, a brother named Sylvia, and “daughters” who use “he/him” pronouns. One story that borrows from the Grimm stories “The Six Swans” and “The Twelve Brothers” comments on the different ways men and women are subjected to suffering. Riffs on Frog and Toad Are Friends, “Cinderella,” King Lear, and “The Frog Prince” reflect on abusive relationship dynamics. If anything, Lavery doesn’t twist the stories so much as illuminate how layered and complicated they really are.” - Kirkus Review, 2018
You can pick it up at any Busboys bookstore or wherever books are sold, including through our Bookshop.org page. This book is also available from our partners at Libro.fm as an audiobook- please choose whichever form is most convenient for you!
We can’t wait to see you at our second meeting, but if you can’t make it but still want to be involved visit us on Discord! We’ll keep the conversation going between book clubs, and this is the perfect way to stay in touch with other fans of queer authors and books.
The Merry Spinsters - Adapted from the beloved “Children’s Stories Made Horrific” series, The Merry Spinster takes up the trademark wit that endeared Daniel M. Lavery to readers of both The Toast and the bestselling debut Texts from Jane Eyre. Sinister and inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster twists traditional children’s stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief.
Unfalteringly faithful to its beloved source material, The Merry Spinster also illuminates the unsuspected and frequently alarming emotional complexities at play in the stories we tell ourselves, and each other, as we tuck ourselves in for the night. Please note that you may find copies of this book by Mallory Ortberg, Lavery’s former pen name prior to transitioning.
Nathan (they/them) is the Bookstore Supervisor at Busboys Takoma, and is thrilled to be moving and expanding their long-running Ace and Aro Book Club over to Busboys. They are an event organizer with Aces and Aros of the Mid-atlantic, which is cosponsoring this club. They are a life-long resident of Washington, DC and are most passionate about reading science fiction, horror, fantasy, queer theory, and queer romance - but this book club will not be limited by their tastes!
