Take a Peek Inside the World of Trope Bookshop: a Romance Reader’s Dream

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell

What’s cooler than smutty books on wheels? Trope Bookshop stands out as a romance focused mobile bookstore operating in Charlotte, NC. 

Founder Katie wasn’t always a romance book-slinging bus driver. She grew up in Arkansas and moved to Charlotte after graduating from the University of Arkansas. Katie worked some corporate jobs before getting COVID and experiencing burnout. This weight encouraged her to kick the corporate scene to the curb and find her way to the world of bookstore ownership. 

Katie’s been enjoying the ride, and she recently announced her plans to put down roots with a brick and mortar location—Trope HQ opening March 1. The green gal on wheels will still continue to bop around Charlotte once the new location opens. We spoke with Katie about her journey so far and the love she carries for the genre. Maybe we can convince her to take a road trip to Kansas City? 

Continue reading →
Catcall's 2025 Books to Look For

Must-Add Books for Your 2025 Reading Wishlist

By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Art by Maddy Best

As we take on the next four years, many will turn to books for distraction and connection. This is the perfect time to pick up more titles with diverse voices or an LGBTQ+ focus. 

January has already brought new releases like The Three Lives of Cate Kay, How to Sleep at Night, Black in Blues, Holy Ground, Give Her Credit, Single Player, and Onyx Storm. We Do Not Part was first published in 2021, but was recently translated from Korean to English and published in January too. There are so many other titles left to get excited about.

If you’re looking for new reads to stack onto your TBR, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you lean towards romance, smut, true crime, or sci-fi, there’s something for you. These new releases will be hitting bookstore and library shelves near you in 2025! 

Continue reading →

We’re launching a Kansas City resource guide to reproductive health services, crisis care, LGBTQ+ organizations, & other community programs

Leave a comment

By The Catcall Team

In the days since Donald Trump has returned to the Oval Office, we have unequivocally witnessed Elon Musk’s violent inauguration salute, pardons for roughly 1600 insurrectionists from the January 6th, 2021 riot, the immediate freeze on health organizations’ public communications, rollbacks on decades-old policies meant to create equity, and other treacherous fuckery. The never-ending onslaught of dread with each passing day since January 20th feels intentionally harmful to our diverse communities that actually make America great. As our newest administration attempts to control us with fear, we respond with the only logical response: community. 

That’s why Catcall has created a guide for accessible and affordable national and Kansas City-area community resources. Our team has been working on organizing resources for a while, but it felt important now more than ever to get this list up ASAP as we face the next four years. This guide will grow with us as we gain more information about the changing political climate. We also welcome our community of readers to inform us if we are missing any pertinent services in the Kansas City metro and beyond our state lines, any of which can be submitted to our Resource Guide Submission form. By coming together to offer support, information, and resources we can create solidarity through conscious actions and combat the isolation this presidency is attempting to foster. 

Visit the Resource Guide
Continue reading →
Good Grief

Good Grief

2 Comments

Mourning and moving on after cutting off an abusive parent.

By Ashley Carey
Art by Maddy Best

CW: Mention of domestic abuse by a parent and childhood trauma.

This is for every person whose parent(s) did not love them in a way a parent is supposed to. For those of you who had a “parent” who was a charming narcissist or abuser or just plain toxic, I see you. And you deserve a life filled only with the people who can appreciate all that you are.

It’s a deeply strange experience to grieve the living. Much like any other form of grief, it’s also quite lonely, though in a profoundly different way.

So much has been written and understood about grieving those we’ve loved and lost. It’s certainly not an easy thing to do, which is why I believe so many people avoid grieving once the funeral dies down (woof that pun was terrible. I’m kind of a walking dad joke despite not having a dad. SICK BURN, DAD).

Grieving someone who is alive is super weird, and mercifully is something many people don’t seem to understand.

Continue reading →

Chasing Chasing Amy, a Documentary Exploring LGBTQ+ Belonging in Film, Showing in Theaters

1 Comment

By Kelcie McKenney

Director Sav Rodgers’ documentary Chasing Chasing Amy is coming to select theaters on November 1st. 

The theater release comes just over a year after debuting at Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023 and an award-filled stretch on the festival circuit—Best Documentary at FilmOut San Diego, 2023 Popcorn List Selection at Festival Favorite Films, and Grand Jury Prize Winner at Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival, to name a few amidst the 76 different festival showing.

Continue reading →