The BookstaGays

Today it’s just Sam and Alex talking about a whole mash up of things as we wind down our first season. We only have two episodes left of season 1 before we take a break and come back ready to knock season 2 out of the park. We talk about thanksgiving, a fun sexting accident Sam ended up in, how much Once & Future fucked Alex up, and some hot takes (tops vs bottoms, ranch on pizza, straight artists we think are gay, ugg boots, and more). Find us on Instagram at @thebookstagays or on our personal accounts at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Today we have one of our repeatedly talked about friends on our episode, JG! JG not only tells us the origin of their Instagram handle (truly a fantastic story and we want all of you to take part now) but also about a formative identity moment during a Jewish party holiday, and they throw in some Hebrew words for us! They also teach us a lot about Judaism and Jewishness and how that intersects with their queer identity. Be ready with a pen to write down all of the insanely quotable statements JG makes. We learned so so so much and we’re so appreciative of JG sharing so much of themselves, their identity, and queer Jewish spaces with us 🤗 also make sure to check out JG’s book recommendations - When The Moon Was Ours, The Groom Will Keep His Name, The Magic Fish, I Wish You All The Best, Here For It, and Written In The Stars. Go find JG on Instagram at @theroguerecommender, you absolutely need to follow them to continue learning from them (their insta posts? Fantastic). You can also find us at @thebookstagays and on our individual channels @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈

Today we sit down and give some recommendations for books that have a found family theme. We know that holidays can be difficult for many people in the queer community and with COVID. The LGBTQ+ community is incredible at creating found families to provide support and love and safe spaces. Sam’s recommendations include - Cemetery Boys, Once & Future, Six of Crows, and If You Want To Make God Laugh. Alex’s recommendations include - Cantoras, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, When We Were Magic, and Nevermoor. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Today we talk with our lovely friend Mel about so many amazing things. Her podcast - Shelf Acceptance (we’ve been guests!!), her new book club, her being a therapist and setting boundaries especially as she advocates for mental health, AND her coming out journey as “Q.” Mel shares with us about questioning her identity and feeling okay with not quite knowing everything right now as she continues exploring. Mel gives us some fantastic book recommendations for mental health AND that were important for her in exploring her identity. Make sure you follow her on Instagram at @shelf.acceptance and go look up her podcast where you’re listening to this! Follow us on Instagram at @thebookstagays and on our individual accounts @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

We are interrupting our normal book talk because this week is not a normal week. While the election was yesterday - we recorded this the week before and it felt wrong to not discuss our thoughts, nerves, fears, and feelings leading up to Election Day. By the time this posts, the outcome may be decided but when you listen, we were cautiously optimistic and incredibly afraid. We will always keep fighting for a better future for ALL people, no matter which candidate wins. There is always more to fight for, more to work towards, more freedom and equality to be won. Cheers queers 🌈🤗 if you need us we are here for you always.

Firstly - a content warning. We do discuss JKR and Harry Potter + the bathroom bans for trans people. Keep this in mind if these are triggering for you. We give a warning before we start the discussion so you can stop at that point if need be. We sat down and talked to Alex’s IRL friend Eli today! We talk about how Eli saved Alex’s life when they first met (just listen), Eli’s job in the medical research field, how much an affirming workplace is important when you’re LGBTQ+ even if you’re not out, tiktok advocacy, and more. Then we deep dive into JKR’s problematic and transphobic tweets/comments (see link in our linktree for a detailed account) and how these statements impact the trans community. Eli shares his thoughts and feelings about how these statements and other anti-trans policies directly harm trans people. We talk about authentic allyship and how to be better ally’s for communities whether they are around us or not. To continue to engage and confront homophobia, transphobia, racism, and more even when it’s uncomfortable and when no one is around to see it. Even if they’re our old grandparents. To hold your beloved authors and celebrities and books accountable when they cause harm and to not share content that can be triggering on our feeds. Diversify your feeds and friend groups. Be an ally for all communities. And everyone - GO VOTE! You can find Eli on tiktok at @trans_scientist and as always you can find us on Instagram and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual accounts @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Today we had the absolutely joy of talking to our queer literary icon, Emily Danforth. Author of Miseducation of Cameron Post and NOW, Plain Bad Heroines (which debuted yesterday 10/20). Danforth is an amazing writer and creates the most epic gay spooky book you can imagine. Does it have celesbians, queer characters all over the place, a gay bathtub scene, a curse, a story within a story within a story with a movie, and murder? Yes. So please order it wherever you buy books and tune in to hear us gush over being in Danforth’s virtual presence and asking her all of our burning questions about this book! You can find Danforth on Instagram at @emdanforth and you can find us at @thebookstagays or our individual accounts at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Today Sam and I chatted about our lives and National Coming Out Day and THEN we talked to Emily Judd - a very cool and popular lesbian tiktoker! In fact, we bet she’s popped up on your queer tiktok algorithm (and if you don’t have the algorithm WHAT are you doing?!). Emily is incredibly fun, kind, and creative. She is an avid reader - some of her favorite gay books include When Katie Met Cassidy, Ruby Fruit Jungle, and Everything Leads to You. She is ALSO a writer, working on transcribing hundreds of interviews with other queer folk for her book - From Come Out to Come Up! We talk a lot about her tiktok inspiration and her book inspiration, and she is absolutely leading the charge for some amazing future representation in our queer media! Follow her on Instagram at @emilyjudd13 and on tiktok at @emilyjudd20 and keep an eye out for her future book 👀 because we absolutely will be! As always you can find us on Instagram at @thebookstagays and on our individual book instagrams at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Today we had a relaxing recording session where we asked each other all kinds of questions that we got from YOU all! Sam gathered questions for Alex, and Alex for Sam. What was Sam’s college experience like? Does Alex want kids? What are our love languages? What in the world does the title of this episode mean? Laugh along with us today, send us YOUR answers to these questions, and enjoy! Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple podcasts, and to share a screenshot of you listening to our show 🤗 find us on Instagram and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🌈 cheers queers!

Today we also have a special author interview episode with Patrick Hjertén, author of Mr Pink - out now in US bookstores! Mr Pink is hell-bent on getting revenge but also enters a volatile relationship with Andreas, a Swedish journalist. Will Mr. Pink self reflect and do some soul searching or will he stay in his old, sociopathic ways? Patrick is a joy to talk to, so kind and fun, not to mention he has some amazing future book ideas (a royal spy novel? Sign us up)! We talk about representation for queer literature, advice for writing and publishing, and his royal lineage! You can find Patrick at @mr_pink_book on Instagram and on his website: mrpinkbook.com 🤗🌈 cheers queers!