The BookstaGays

Hi everyone and welcome back for this week’s episode with Cristina! We recorded on bisexual visibility day so we were extra blessed to have Cristina with us to share about coming out as bisexual, why that label fit for her, and things she wishes more people knew about the Bi community. Cristina also talked with us about Latinx Heritage Month and gave us a ton of fantastic book recommendations that are queer and Latinx - Fiebre Tropical by Juli Delgado Lopera, Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis, Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin and so many more. We share our love of Megan from @booksnblazers, drinking wine, and so much more. Make sure to follow Cristina at @2bookornot2book and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @thebookstagays 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

We had the pleasure to sit down and interview Natalie Zina Walschots about her debut novel Hench! You’re going to be rooting for the bad guys, questioning all the heroes you’ve ever been told to idolize, and really wanting to nerd out with math and data and statistics. This book is perfect for superhero/villain fans, comic fans, and anyone who loves some horror and sci-fi elements! Not to mention Natalie is incredibly cool and had so many fantastic things to say about video games, the superhero realm, morally grey characters, and normalizing queer representation in all of our books! Hench is out now wherever you buy your books and you can find Natalie on Twitter at @nataliezed and you can find us on Twitter and Instagram at @thebookstagays and on our individual accounts @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

We were able to sit down and talk with Robin and Jaimie, fellow podcasters of If These Ovaries Could Talk, about their debut novel by the same name! They created transcripts of interviews and sections for the book to address all your questions, thoughts, fears, and hopes about creating a family when you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community. Robin and Jaimie are hysterical, incredibly cool, and so down to earth and open about their own family journeys. We basically grilled them for advice about all aspects of the family process. Truly, everyone should buy their book, gift it to a queer friend, and subscribe to their podcast. This information is invaluable and we are honored to have received copies of the book and to have spoken to Robin and Jaimie! Their book If These Ovaries Could Talk is out now wherever you buy your books! You can find Robin and Jaimie on all social media at @ovariestalk and on their website www.ovariestalk.com and as always you can find us on Twitter and Instagram at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams at @staxsonstaxs and @thebookadvocate 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

We were so thrilled to finally get to chat with our girl Janai (and yes we finally learn how to pronounce her name)! She is so intelligent and funny and cool. She talks about being bisexual, misconceptions and harmful microaggressions the bi community faces, and more! We talk napping, how to grow your bookstagram and start getting advanced readers copies of books, and all of her current favorite queer reads! We love Janai so much and are so grateful to have had her with us. Check her out at @janaireadsbooks and follow along on her book reading journey. Find us @thebookstagays on twitter and Instagram and on our individual accounts @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

We last minute recorded a bonus episode for today due to Becky Albertalli’s coming out post. We asked Dom to step in and talked a bit about his friendship with Alex, his coming out moments, and his Catholic Roman Guard gay realization. Onwards to Becky’s article, we wanted to discuss the fine line between queer #ownvoices narratives and forcing authors to come out to prove authentic queer representation. We grapple with coming out experiences and how to be inclusive in creating safe spaces for people to have their coming out journey’s on their own timeline. #ownvoices is an important tool, not a weapon, in helping marginalized people identify a story/author that has similar experiences to your own. It should not be used to force people to disclose information. We felt this was an important topic to discuss, and one we plan to KEEP discussing and learning from 🌈 cheers queers! Find us on Instagram and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs

Welcome back to another episode of the BookstaGays where we talk with our lovely friend Maddy about all of her queer book recommendations (she loves a good gay sports trope novel) such as Check Please by Ngozi Ukazu, The Avant-Guards by Carly Usdin, and Wow No Thank You by Samantha Irby. Maddy teaches 3rd grade and works to instill a love and appreciation for reading in her students by teaching them to use books as a mirror and a window. We discuss being queer in the classroom, creating inclusive classrooms, and some gay Tswift theories! Find Maddy on Instagram at @maddysreads and find us on Instagram and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Sam and Alex discuss fill you in on our lives and current reads - as well as our deep dive into Felix Ever After. We loved this book. We loved Felix and Ezra. We loved how this representation was so essential for queer youth. We talk a lot about coming out, identifying and questioning labels, how important it is for teens to be written as teens and not perfect angels, and more! Find us on Instagram and Twitter @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

We had the ABSOLUTE pleasure of talking to our friend Sara from @agradstudentreadsforfun. Not only does she have the best pre-gay journal entries, but she’s super brilliant and in a PhD program and going to change student’s lives (We know it. We manifest this truth). Maybe she ruined a library book with coffee, told a funny story about her girlfriend looking up Miley pics, and travels with her pothos Luna belted into her car (safety first), but we can’t really say for sure. Listen to the episode and find out. Sara recommends Felix Ever After by Karen Callendar, Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey, Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus, The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels, Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, and The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante. Follow her for more amazing books and bookstagrammer recommendations - she’s really great at hyping everything and everyone up! As always, you can find us on insta and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our individual instagrams at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗🌈 cheers queers!

Finally we are talking about Sam’s favorite read - Cerulean Sea. What’s TJ Klune’s twitter name? Is Sam back on Twitter? Does Alex have a sex education moment for people with vaginas? What characters will Sam and Alex die for in this book (hint, Alex has cried 5x at least over a particular green blob bellhop baby)? How does this book speak to discrimination and prejudice and trauma in children? Jump in and discuss with us - light spoilers but nothing major. We LOVE this book and couldn’t recommend it more. Find us on insta and Twitter at @thebookstagays and on our own insta accounts at @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs 🤗 cheers queers! 🌈

This week we have the honor to chat with our great friend Quinn. She is the best hype woman, smart, funny, incredible thoughtful, and more! Quinn gave us so much insight into the asexuality spectrum and recommended some amazing books (all will be in our book list on our linktree): Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, Ace by Angela Chen, Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand, Loveless and Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, and more! Quinn is also a librarian and had some amazing tips for helping to diversify your library and promote diverse books! You can find Quinn on Insta @theromanticace and on her blog, www.theromanticace.com 💕 you can find us on Insta and Twitter @thebookstagays and on our individual Insta accounts @thebookadvocate and @staxsonstaxs! Cheers queers 🌈