Molly / 26 / Salt Lake City, UT
“Here is my favorite bookshelf that I made with my mom! (It is more structurally sound than it looks). It has four important sections: 1) Comics/Graphic novels/zines, 2) French literature, 3) Anthropology texts, and 4) literary theory and criticism. In this picture I’m holding my most exciting addition to the stacks – my M.A. thesis about the use of animals in comics to portray queer identities!”
Julie and Mickey / 32, 12 / Pacific Northwest
“I only have one bookshelf, so most of my books (including the ones behind me) are in totes or scattered throughout my apartment. This plastic unit usually contains a hodgepodge of DVDs and books. There’s no rhyme or reason to how this collection is organized, though if I hadn’t thrown these up in a hurry, I would have organized them by subject and then by author. I included my Nook e-reader to represent all of the e-books and e-audiobooks. Jillian Holtzmann and Aragorn round it out.”
Riese / 35 / MI
“I used to have all my work-related books in my office and all my other books on these bookshelves but last month I got rid of like 25% of my books because I am trying to GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE and then I consolidated ALL of my books onto the downstairs bookshelves so I can try and sell the upstairs bookshelves! I’m telling you all of this because I want you to know that it used to look way prettier and better organized than it does now, but what is this place if not a place for me to be super real.”
Carrie / 28 / Los Angeles, CA
“When I’m not being professionally gay here at Autostraddle, I am, in fact, a librarian. So these are bona fide library stacks! I’ve been on staff at the same school for about four years now, and in the library for two of those. I like that everyone who comes in here wants to learn something.
We use the Library of Congress classification system, and I spend a large portion of my time here each day making sure stuff gets put back just so. My favorite shelf is the one that holds all the nonfiction books (we’re technically a music library, so the non-musical selection is small but mighty). My boss crammed it with new stuff after the election because she cares about our republic.
I recently read that “libraries are never neutral” and could not agree more. It’s important that I’m visible here, as a queer person, dispensing knowledge.”
September’s theme will be announced Friday, September 8! Leave your theme suggestions in the comments!
Comments
Scrolling scrolling scrolling OMG JAY I LOVE YOUR GOODNIGHT MOON TANK TOP scrolling scrolling
Thank you >.< I honestly didnt realize I was wearing it until after I took the picture and then it felt like a great coincidence!
so good!!!
There are a lot of cute humans and good cats and delightful Malinda Lo books in this gallery!
Malinda Lo and JK Rowling
Hahaha! IT IS!
Because it’s fan fiction!
Yall are so good and cute.
Sally <3
Gillian is concerned that she won’t be able to leave the flat for being mobbed, now that she’s made the AS front page.
I never knew I needed a tardis bookcase, but, well, apparently I do.
The Last Unicorn!! Thank you for sharing Az!
This is so utterly charming! I wanted to contribute a picture of me in my work stacks but didn’t get it together. I’m so excited to see all the library workers and LIS students pictured (including a couple of UNC SILS students?)
I’m an LIS student at a different school in NC, and my heart is so full right now. SO MUCH REPRESENTATION!
YES I WAS HOPING THIS WOULD BE POSTED TODAY
boy i shoulda cleaned first
So many cuties! So much Harry Potter!
So many great books and cute humans from NC!!! This makes me happy :)
Me too!
I know, right??? HEY NC BOOK PEEPS please be my friend and let’s have a book club????
I haven’t lived in NC for 13 years but am always so excited to see other queers there!
PARDON ME, ARE YOU AARON PURR, SIR?
I’m really coveting the libraries of Emily from Boston, MA and Carissa from Milton, DE.
#GOALS
In case anyone was wondering, this is how my cat uses the bookshelf for snooping:
Please tell your cat I love them.
Hello cutie!
Not sure what I like best, the people that have the same books as I have or the people who have cats the same breed and colour as mine so it looks like the same cat.
I love this post! The collection of books, or the lack thereof, is usually the first thing I am drawn to when I am in someone’s house. I have a feeling I will be peering through this post occasionally to get more and more reading ideas.
I have 2 large, filled bookcases, and they still cannot hold everything. I’ve even purged the last couple of moves but still ended up with about 7 or 8 very large boxes. I can’t seem to make the switch to digital reading, but I have certainly been a friend of the library since I can remember.
Thanks for sharing ladies!
Last summer hurrah queers and their BBQ, & queers on a quest.
So excited for this! Also excited by seeing so many other southern queers representing. <3
Mine didn’t get in :( but you all look great!
So next photo gallery idea-Queers in the Library? Libraries are cool and a lot of them have neat designs of books or cute kid’s/teen sections and I wanna see them! And maybe some of you live near Presidential Libraries or other cool libraries in Europe or something that are super old and in super old buildings?
I love this idea! I work in a library. Also it feels like a lot queers come out first while sneakily browsing in the secluded gay sections of libraries.
Everyone here has such great taste in books, interior decorating, and knick knacks. I now have even more books on my already-bloated to-read list. I wish Eli Clare’s Exile and Pride was a better known book, because it’s fantastic. And I love Audrey’s pink bookshelf. It’s so cute. Plus I didn’t even know tin dollhouses were a thing, but I’m going to go do some research on them because those are relevant to my interests.
Exile and pride is totally amazing and totally on my shelf, and I just added his new book to the shelf and can’t wait to read it!
“My favorite book is anything by Jeanette Winterson.” I feel you, Jax, though I feel like Sexing the Cherry and/or Art and Lies is way more important to share than Written on the Body. Still- lovely books all! I loved seeing many of my favorites on so many people’s shelves- Virginia Woolf, Amy Tan, Gray’s Anatomy- brilliant!
Hello Mary Margaret Tickle and your wife who both live in my city and seem very cool based on this gallery!!!
this is my favorite!
Oh gosh
what a bunch of cuties (i’m talking about the books, obviously ;))
all of y’all with the floor to ceiling bookshelves in your houses are really living your best lives!!!
also I would LOVE recommendations from whoever listed “lesbian science fiction” as a category
There is so much inspiration seeing these pics– can’t wait to spend some more time working on my collection.
Themes: Queers in the (pumpkin) patch aka ‘what does your fall/upcoming season look like’. Or SPOOKY SKELLINGTONS (please have a Halloween gallery)
Seconded some sort of Queers in The Pumpkin Patch/fall attire/fall activities for the next theme!
Thank you for the nod to Southern Hemisphere folks with “upcoming season” ;)
Halloween gallery idea: Queer in Costume?
I love these so much. Thank you to everyone who included their cats, also!
I’m so behind that I didn’t even know this one was happening, but I’m excited to hear about the next one! I’m travelling at the moment so I’ve only got four books with me anyway.
Dear Laneia, that wasn’t a typo in mine, I did mean the HamiltoME (the book about the show!), not the HamiltoN :) Sliders are working great tho!
That said! Y’all have cool shelves (my favorites are the pink, the precarious wine crates, and the TARDIS) and display bits and bobs on your shelves. I wish to come to everyone’s house.
The Hamiltome seems like an excellent coffee table book!
Also, your Pokedex kindle case is the very best. :)
Like no case ever was? ;) Thank you! It has come in handy for cosplay.
managed to scroll through this without choking to death on my jealousy. my books are all in storage right now–one batch from when i moved in 2014, and another from when i moved last year. ana and kelly, very inspiring shelves! taking notes for my new place.
very interested to read about how other librarians organize their shelves at home. i like to organize mine by mouthfeel.
Molly / 26 / Salt Lake City, UT – your thesis sounds so interesting! Animals portraying queer identities – maybe you could do an Autostraddle article sometime!!?
Also I especially love all colour-sorted bookshelfs :)
Mati from MA: I was scrolling through this and realized we’re friends on Facebook, although I’m not sure how I know you, so hello.
Amanda from DC: I have a small shelf in my bedroom reserved for my *favorite* favorites too!
Mary Margaret from TN: I see and appreciate your copy of Rainbow Rowell’s “Fangirl.”
Trinica from CA/TX: BRB FOLLOWING YOUR QTPOCBOOKS INSTA
Francesca from London: I made a similar decision a while back re: not consuming books by and/or centered on straight, white, cis men, and it’s made a surprisingly big difference in my life. It’s been really cool to cultivate a space that’s pretty much exclusively inhabited by marginalized voices, characters I can see myself in, etc.
Launa from WA: I too have every Animorph book (except the Hork Bajir Chronicles, for some reason) and every BSC book. #TWINNING
Ana and Kelly from OH: Wine crate bookshelves!!! Also, the “nonfiction about women in rock and roll organized by the amount of Joan Jett featured” method of organization is iconic. Also, OBAMA SEEING A SOARING SPIRIT CAT omg I need this book immediately.
Sally and Gillian from Manchester: BYE I need to purchase the book about LESBIAN GANGSTERS IN MANCHESTER
Heather!!!! – I love the idea of buying a translation of a book as a souvenir from another country.
Riese: Your bookshelves are flawless and so is your face. I need a copy – possibly more than one – of “Sapphic Slashers” posthaste.
Carrie: “I recently read that ‘libraries are never neutral’ and could not agree more. It’s important that I’m visible here, as a queer person, dispensing knowledge.” <3 <3 <3
ah frick i can’t believe my big dumb face is there. adksjdhfgipf