Duck Prints Press

The Calm Before the Storm

...quite literally. A couple of minutes after this photo was taken, a heavy downpour and thunderstorm began.

Greek perfume bottle in the shape of a duck

6th century BCE

LGBTQ-owned bookstores have been around for decades. Founded in 1973 in the City of Brotherly Love, Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room—honoring James Baldwin’s queer classic—is perhaps the oldest surviving LGBTQ and feminist bookstore in America. Charis Books and More, in Decatur, Georgia, was launched a year later. A Room of One's Own has been a fixture in downtown Madison, Wisconsin since 1975, and Chicago’s Women and Children First was started in 1979 by two women who fell in love as students at the University of Illinois.

These stores are more than shops to browse for books; they are hubs for both entertainment and enlightenment, meeting grounds for hearts and minds. They are, above all, vital community spaces.

-Michelle Hart, "53 LGBTQ-Owned Bookstores You Can Be Proud to Support, published June 22, 2021

This awesome list includes 53 bookstores in 23 states across the USA. I don't know about Ya'll but I can't WAIT to check them out. The link has them sorted by state; here's a list of all of them, alphabetical.

1977 Books (Birmingham, Alabama)

All She Wrote (Somerville, Massachusetts)

Another Read Through (Portland, Oregon)

Antigone Books (Tuscon, Arizona)

Astoria Bookshop (Queens, New York)

Beausoliel Books (Lafayette, Louisiana)

Big Blue Marble Books (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Black Garnet Books (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Bluestockings Bookstore (New York, New York)

Bookish (Atlanta, Georgia)

BookWoman (Austin, Texas)

Burdock Book Collective (Montgomery, Alabama)

Bureau of General Services - Queer Division (New York, New York)

Charis Books and More (Decatur, Georgia)

Dog Ear Books (Russellville, Arkansas)

Dog Eared Books (San Francisco, California)

East End Books (Provincetown, Massachusetts)

Firestorm Books and Coffee (Asheville, North Carolina)

Foggy Pines Books (Boone, North Carolina)

Hello Again (Cocoa Village, Florida)

Here's the Story (Union, New Jersey)

The Irreverent Bookworm (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Kismet Books (Verona, Wisconsin)

King's Books (Tacoma, Washington)

Kona Bay Books (Kailua, Hawaii)

Kramers (Washington DC)

Lavender Library (Sacramento, California)

Left Bank Books (St. Louis, Missouri)

Left Bank Books (Seattle, Washington)

Lit. on Fire Books (Peoria, Illinois)

Loyalty Bookstores (Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington DC)

Montana Book Company (Helena, Montana)

Omnivore Books on Food (San Francisco, California)

One Grand Books (Narrowsburg, New York)

Philly AIDs Thrift at Giovanni's Room (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Outwords Books (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Rakestraw Books (Danville, California)

Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse (Baltimore, Maryland)

The Ripped Bodice (Los Angeles, California)

Rofhiwa Book Cafe (Durham, North Carolina)

A Room of One's Own (Madison, Wisconsin)

Rust Belt Books (Buffalo, New York)

The Salt Eaters (Inglewood, California)

A Seat at the Table (Elk Grove, California)

Tombolo Books (St. Petersburg, California)

Tubby and Coo's Mid-City Book Shop (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Unabridged Books (Chicago, Illinois)

Under the Umbrella (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Village Books (Bellingham, Washington)

Violet Valley (Water Valley, Mississippi)

W. Whitman Books (Middleburgh, New York)

Women and Children First (Chicago, Illinois)

Love & Pride🌈: Romance Recommendations

Celebrate love this Pride Month with these new romance recommendations!

When I Picture You by Sasha Laurens

Renee Feldman had hoped to rediscover her creative spark by taking time off from her MFA in documentary film. Instead, she’s stalled. Pop star Lola Gray is supposed to be the songwriter of her generation - but she hardly feels like it anymore. When Renee and Lola meet at a wedding, all that stress comes to a halt and sparks fly. As Lola and Renee connect, there’s no denying their feelings or the renewed creativity it inspires. But neither realizes how hard it will be to tell their love story in an industry that sets a narrative of its own.

Appeals: Contemporary romance, celebrities, & steamy

How to Fake It in Society by KJ Charles

It is 1821 and Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte is making a splash in London Society. The son of Jeanne de Valois de La Motte, infamous for stealing a priceless diamond necklace meant for Marie Antoinette, Nico hopes to restore his wronged mother's reputation, if only he can raise the funds. Meanwhile, Titus is a simple shopkeeper who unexpectedly finds himself with a family fortune. As word spreads of his fortune, Titus finds himself a target of every scammer in London...including one Nicolas-Marc.

Appeals: Regency romance, nobility, & well-developed characters

More Like Enemigas by Stephanie Hope

Isabella Valdes would do anything to keep her late father's restaurant open, including attending her estranged cousin's weeklong wedding. Because once Sofia's wealthy fiancé tastes the recipes Isa prepares from her father's journal, he's sure to invest. To Isa's annoyance, she'll be sharing a cabin with Val, the former friend turned rival who ruined her quinceañera. But Val is offering an unexpected deal - she'll help Isa unravel an old family secret in return for help sabotaging the wedding. But neither one can ignore the complicated connection between them.

Appeals: Romantic comedy, family secrets, & intricately plotted 

Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers

All his life, Sir Cameron has stayed as far away from danger as possible. He is, quite frankly, too handsome to die a violent death in battle. But when the Church hands down a prophecy to his fellow knights predicting that the only way to defeat their nemesis, the mad sorcerer Merulo, is to kill Cameron, he finds himself in a situation too sticky for even his considerable wiles. Short of ideas, Cameron throws himself on the mercy of the one person who now actually wants him to survive: the mad sorcerer.

Batty.About.Books' August Bookstagram Content Ideas 🔖

good morning, my fellow book lovers and bookish bats! now that we're entering a new month, it's time to prepare fresh, relevant content to ensure you're reaching and engaging other Bookstagrammers. save these and refer back for August Bookstagram content ideas! 🔖

Weekly Bookish Question #504 (August 9th - August 15th, 2026)

Maroallards!!

flick and bean!!!!!!!!!!

Batty.About.Books' Go-To Book Recs

Good afternoon, book lovers and bookish bats, and happy Pride Month! We're now halfway through the month, and I've seen so many readers exchange book recs, sharing their favorite books while discovering new authors and stories in the process. Exchanging book recs is one of my favorite aspects of the bookish community, but it's something I see more often on Book Threads than Bookstagram. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to exchange book recs when you have a character limit! To make the process a little easier, I've created this post: Batty.About.Books' Go-To Book Recs.

This post features not only some of my favorite books, but some of the books I love to recommend, knowing they'll appeal to a broad range of readers. Another beautiful aspect of the bookish community is how unique we all are as readers. We can come together to share our joy over a beloved book, then go our separate ways to discover a rare gem of a book that feels like our own.

Usually, these book rec posts are organized by genre or book trope, but I want to hear from you. What do you want to read right now? What type of book (genre, tropes, anything) are you in the mood for? Let me know, and I'll recommend a book from this list!