In the cool shade of trees on a hot Seattle summer day, strangers came together to share their love of reading in a safe space.
On July 12, in Volunteer Park, the Queer Silent Book Club hosted “Gays Reading in the Park.” While not very silent, strangers became friends as they chatted about their favorite books and what connected them.
The book club, founded in February by Ronan Leshley and Dani Shull, was established following Donald Trump’s reelection. Shull explained the reason behind it.
“How can we create an environment where happiness and enjoying books [can be fostered] and also be angry and scared?... So many things are under threat right now. Bills are being passed that are threatening so many aspects of life.”
The event, Leshley explained, is intended to serve as a safe space where people can reset and regain some energy for the coming week. While it’s a Queer book club, no identities will be checked, so anyone is welcome to join.
Everyone brought the books they are currently reading. Shull is listening to the audiobook Necrobane, the second in the Sapphic Warden series by Daniel M. Ford, which follows a female necromancer in a small village that seemingly holds powerful secrets; she must use her magic to save the world from evil.
Leshley is reading Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid, a Sapphic Hunger Games-esque book about a twisted game in which the indebted are hunted to death. Two fates of two girls, one hunter and one hunted, become intertwined as they slowly fall in love against all odds.
For Tara Rayres, a freelance book editor, it was their first time attending a Queer Silent Book Club event, having heard about it through a friend.
“I think the Queer-specific part of it was like a big thing for me,” Rayres said. “I feel safer and more at home. People are not going to inaccurately perceive me or have frustrating situations [occur].”
Rayres brought along the book they are currently reading, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, which follows a white woman who steals the work of her dead rival, a Chinese woman who dies in her prime. She rebrands herself with an ethnically ambiguous name and author photo and becomes a rising success.
Rayres found this book appealing, because, working in the publishing world, they are interested in the way people of color have been or haven’t been allowed in editing spaces.
“I love connecting through books and literature in Queer spaces,” Rayres said. “I’m from Louisiana, and it has its strengths and flaws, but people talk and engage more with each other [there]. It’s kind of been a journey finding community in [Seattle], and I feel this space is super welcoming.”
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