We’re Alyx(they/them) and Annie(she/her), owners of Thistle & Nightshade: a bookstore for weirdos and others. We are based in Nevada and aim to provide a quality selection of diverse books with a special focus on independent publishers and authors. We believe that the stories we tell and choose to engage with matter.

The dream began as wishful thinking in December 2022. It was the very end of the year when Annie and I whispered something into existence: What if we owned a bookstore? This was a silly dream we shared between ourselves to give us a break from our jobs and the chaos of the world. Every time work became too stressful, we could run away into the fantasy of a bookshop that was a safe place for queer people, that centered minority voices, that shared the magic of good books.

Early 2023, we turned it into a hobby. Books make us happy and we have a tendency to acquire a giant pile of dead, tattooed trees. We both went through our collections to see what we could part with and sell online. Initially we ended up with three large, black and yellow tubs. We photographed every one and listed it online just to see what would happen.

The first book we ever sold was Citizen by Claudia Rankine and we were absolutely ecstatic. This was one out of Annie’s collection, and she had been meaningfully impacted by the book. We wrapped it up and they wrote a heartfelt note on it before we sent it off to a new home.

After that, it felt more tangible. We browsed yard and estate sales and took in generous donations from friends and families. And it quickly became apparent that we needed more space. Plastic tubs weren’t going to cut it anymore. So we got a little office and began to stuff it with bookshelves laden with books, all the while selling them online.

Now we are looking at the possibility of opening the space up to in person shopping. This is a big step for us and we are excited to see what changes it brings for our little business.