Every second Friday of the month, the new queer book club, Genre Nonconforming, comes together in the warmly lit event room of Flyleaf Books to discuss the month’s chosen book.
On Friday, the group gathered to discuss “You Exist Too Much,” a novel by the Palestinian-American author Zaina Arafat.
“The first goal, first and foremost, is just to be a fun book club,” book club facilitator Charlie Monroe said.
The book club covers many different genres, hence the name, in order to give its members a mix of light, fun reads such as murder mysteries, and heavier stories covering relevant themes in the community.
“The idea is that we want books that are written by queer authors, inhabiting queer stories, but that aren’t the kind of heavy, trauma-focused stories that are so prominent in queer spaces,” Monroe said.
Flyleaf had already hosted multiple book clubs before Genre Nonconforming was tossed around as an idea, back in the spring of 2024.
Events Coordinator Emma Holland said that the book clubs offer spaces for people to engage with their hobbies and meet people with similar interests.
“It creates a bridge of common ground,” Holland said.
Monroe said that the club blossomed from a desire to feel more present in the local queer community. Flyleaf strongly advertises that they are a safe space for queer readers. Genre Nonconforming only reinforces that.