'Tis the season! πβ
Welcome to the Season of Giving with The Nonbinarian Book Bike! Thanks to the support of our ever-expanding community, we've had an incredibly successful first season distributing free LGBTQIA+ books for all ages throughout Brooklyn, with a particular focus on neighborhoods where there are book deserts. In case you missed it, we recently celebrated our 1-year anniversary! It's been incredible to see this project grow from being the seed of an idea to a flourishing, blooming plant with deep roots in community-building and mutual aid.
As the weather cools, we'll be focusing on managing and building our inventory. You have made such a difference by donating books, money, and time to The Nonbinarian Book Bike and if you'd like to continue doing so while the bike itself is dormant, please consider shopping via Bookshop (details below!) or buying from our wishlists at Greenlight Bookstore and P&T Knitwear!
If you are in search of other literary resources this winter, consider renewing or acquiring a card at your local library. Libraries are, of course, a great resource for free books, as one of our community members wrote about in the September newsletter! Brooklyn Public Library recently launched a program to offer FREE e-cards to anyone in the country age 13-21, and others can pay a $50 fee for the same access. Supporting literary infrastructure in your community is integral to allowing readers of all ages to see themselves on the shelves, and the first step toward that future is making sure libraries not only survive but thrive.
BPL introduced its free e-card program during the first year of The Nonbinarian Book Bike and seeing literary access expanding in this way is so thrilling! We are grateful to exist alongside institutions and individuals fighting for the right to read, and we are so grateful to you for sticking with us for the past year. We can't wait to continue building the future of The Nonbinarian Book Bike together.
If you plan to purchase books for you or your loved ones this holiday season (or anytime of year, really), you can support the Nonbinarian Book Bike by purchasing through Bookshop.org! Bookshop is the Amazon alternative that supports independent bookstores throughout the US, and if you select the Nonbinarian Book Bike as your "store," all of your purchases will contribute to our ability to maintain the bike itself, pay for bike and book storage, acquire new inventory, and continue distributing free LGBTQIA+ books for all ages throughout Brooklyn.
Not only can you buy from curated lists featuring recommendations from friends of the Book Bike, but you can make your own wishlist for the holidays and select The Nonbinarian Book Bike to receive funds from purchases made from the list! All you have to do is search for the Nonbinarian Book Bike under the "Affiliates" dropdown when you create your list. Bookshop is a great way to tell everyone what you want to read and support the Book Bike at the same time.
Whether you're shopping or wishlisting, please consider staying away from the Evil Empire and supporting this incredible site instead! Not only do you bolster sales, which helps independent bookstores across the country, but you get your holiday shopping and/or wishing done while also supporting a queer- and trans-led mobile mutual aid initiative!
In addition to featuring book recommendations from Nonbinarian community members, we will also feature a selection of holiday gift suggestions both here and on our social media in the coming weeks!
π The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (π BUY)
In Vo's retelling of The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker is our narrator & this time she is Asian, queer, & an adoptee. Far more giving than our original narrator & by far more interesting, Jordan Baker is the perfect witness to the events this time around. Where a retelling has the potential to fall short of the source material's impact, The Chosen and The Beautiful soars, taking Fitzgerald's metaphors & turning them into literal magic. I found myself missing Vo's Jordan when I finished. Might even reread The Great Gatsby imagining this version of my favorite character instead. β K.
π Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (π BUY)
After reading The Death of Vivek Oji a few years ago, I read everything they've written, discovering their speculative fiction YA novel Pet. In a utopian abolitionist future where community care have rid the world of cops, Jam, our teenage protagonist, knows that monsters are still lurking, even if society only sees angels. I loved seeing a Black trans girl as the hero of the story, in which neither her race or gender are exploited, but normalized as she faces a battle of good & evil. This book will surely be regarded as a modern classic, in league with The Giver. β K.
π True Biz by Sara NoviΔ (π BUY)
The expression "true biz" in ASL slang means "real talk" & that's exactly what this novel is about. Inspired by a true story of a cochlear implant manufacturer that knew they made faulty devices & distributed them anyway, NoviΔ does a remarkable job of weaving deaf history, like language deprivation, eugenics, & the advent of sign, into a compelling narrative. The hearing CODA headmistress of a deaf school facing down the school's impending closure. The popular student who comes from a long line of deaf lineage has a new baby sister who is hearing. And a new student - one with a faulty cochlear implant - but she doesn't know it yet. One of my favorite contemporary reads of 2022. β K.
π This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (π BUY)
In Time War, two assassins on opposing sides of a centuries-long conflict exchange letters that move from taunting to painful to playful and back, in a steamy, evocative, haunting epistolary narrative co-authored by two wildly talented fiction writers. Once described to me as βa masterclass in sexting,β this sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance will grab you by the shirt and pull you in for a life-changing read. Itβs at turns devastating and delightful but always, always absolutely gorgeous. I recommend this book every time Iβm given the opportunity. Each time I read it, I discover something new. β Samantha
π Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens (π BUY)
This sapphic Western about a wild-hearted whore out for revenge is a delicious, action-packed drama. Give this to those who want to devour an adventure over a rollicking weekend: you won't want to walk away from it. β Nicole Brinkley, bookseller
π Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (π BUY)
It's the best fantasy of 2023. When she stumbles upon a young girl in need, godkiller-for-hire Kissen finds herself at the center of the mysteries and dangers of bonded gods and brewing revolution. Evocative, unique, and compulsively readableβif you loved The Witcher, American Gods, or Gideon the Ninth, this is the book for you. β Nicole Brinkley, bookseller
December 1 is World AIDS Day. In the lead-up to it, we will acknowledge and sit with the memory of our late ancestors in book club. This month's book club pick is It Was Vulgar & It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic by Jack Lowery.
The Nonbinarian Book Club is partnered with Bluestockings Cooperative, a worker-owner-run activist center, bookstore, and community space that offers mutual aid, harm reduction support, resource research, and a temperature-regulated safe place. People of all genders, cultures, sexualities, and identities are welcome at Bluestockings Cooperative, which is located at 116 Suffolk St, New York, New York, on the Lower East Side.
You can purchase this month's Nonbinarian Book Club book at Bluestockings to support their mission and ours! Click here to order online and make sure to mention the book club in your order comments!
The Nonbinarian Book Bike was recently featured in an article by Katie Robinson for Electric Lit, as well as the American Booksellers Association's Right to Read Toolkit (pages 40-43)! Don't miss Robinson's Q&A with our founder, K. Kerimian, or the ABA's dive into our summer community reading series, Riis Reads.
The Nonbinarian Book Bike is partnered with the following independent bookstores! Books purchased from our wishlists will be donated directly to the bike for free distribution.
π P&T Knitwear
The Nonbinarian Book Bike is also proud to partner with the following organizations for our community reading events! Please check out their mission statements and support them however possible.
π Bookworm Reads
π Reading 4 Black Lives Project
Finally, The Nonbinarian Book Bike is partnered with Trans formative Schools, "a progressive education community centering trans joy and social justice." The organization aims to uplift trans children and educators, as well as families "touched by transness," through the implementation of a free afterschool program for ages 9-15. Trans formative Schools' dream is to create a liberal middle school that employs rigorous academics, identity exploration, and more.
All books purchased from this Bookshop wishlist will go directly to Trans formative Schools. The Nonbinarian Book Bike receives a portion of each purchase, which helps us pay for storage, bike maintenance and upkeep, and more. By purchasing from this list, you directly support two trans-leg organizations and support indie bookstores through Bookshop.
If you'd like to partner with us for an event or for long-term association, please reach out via e-mail! In addition to subscribing to our newsletter, following us on social media, and participating in events, you can also support the Book Bike in the following ways:
π Donate a book (or books) to the Book Bike!
π Donate funds to help upkeep costs like storage and bike maintenance! You can make a one-time donation or set up a monthly one on Ko-Fi, or you can donate via Venmo.
π Buy a book from our wishlist!
π Buy a book through our Bookshop storefront!
π Support us with a Libro.fm subscription!
π Buy Nonbinarian merch!
Thank you to the Nonbinarian community for making our first summer so successful! It has been such a joy to meet you at pop-ups, interact with you on social media, and further get to know the Brooklyn community and its various neighborhoods.
We hope to continue book distribution during the bike's "off-season" by partnering for indoor school fairs and holiday markets. Stay tuned!
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Want to contribute to the Nonbinarian Newsletter?
If you have something you'd like to submit to the newsletter including events, mutual aid needs, book recs, or ideas you'd like to see us include, please email us at newsletter@thenonbinarian.gay.
Thank you for supporting the Nonbinarian Book Bike! Look for our next newsletter on the 1st of the month. In the meantime, follow us on social media for daily updates.