Tag: feminism

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? 

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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! 

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Good Grief

Good Grief

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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.

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Things are getting hotter in Kansas City with VAMP KC

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By Nicole Mitchell
Photos by Travis Young

Kansas City’s newest LGBTQIA+-owned burlesque group VAMP KC welcomes you to its all-inclusive classes and performances.

Penelope Mais Oui isn’t from Kansas City, but since moving here from Colorado Springs, she’s been creating noise in the burlesque and LGBTQIA+ scenes. Before moving to the city, Penelope produced a series of classic and classic-inspired burlesque shoes at a locally-owned Colorado Springs art theatre.

“I spent the pandemic not working on a stage,” Penelope says about moving to KC. “When I decided to dip my toes into the burlesque waters again…,” which was first as part of a local troupe, “I found there was a space, a desire, even a need in Kansas City for classic-style burlesque.” By using her previous experience, Penelope knew just what Kansas City was missing. “I already had a vision of what that could look like,” she says.

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Marcia Biederman’s Newest True Crime Book Shows Why Outlawing Abortion Doesn’t Work

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By Sophia-Joelle McDowell
Art by Maddy Best

Former journalist Marcia Biederman, has a knack for finding stories that need to be told. As a former journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, Crain’s New York Business, and New York magazine, Biederman has three mystery novels under her belt and a story in the anthology Sisters in Crime 3. 

Marcia considers herself a reformed fiction writer, but in recentrecent years, she’s returned to her journalism roots and written four non-fiction, woman-centric books about people whose stories should be better known. Her new book The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England is no exception.

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