Alphabet Book Club was founded in 2021 and is owned and operated by the Book Master, Chelsea (they/them), with a lot of the help from friends and family. Chelsea reads every title that is stocked, which means that they have a deep understanding of the representation in the books and allows them to answer any questions about suitability for gift giving and reading age. It also means that Chelsea can provide excellent recommendations for any TBR!
Remus (he/him) looks great in a bandana! He generally gets in the way, steals packing peanuts, and alerts Chelsea when the courier arrives. He’s a very good boy.
Chelsea is a bibliophile, and for Christmas 2020, they requested only books as gifts. They were gifted The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - a beautiful story about found family and written to perfection in a way that only TJ Klune is able to. Chelsea was so taken by the story, they started recommending it to everyone and tried to find copies to purchase, only to discover that it was very difficult to get not only this story, but many other queer titles (not considered 'mainstream') in New Zealand. Having to wait for weeks, sometimes months, to receive titles from overseas, or joining a waitlist of over 100 people at the regional libraries, seemed to be the only option.
The more Chelsea looked into it, the more it became apparent just how difficult it is for our New Zealand community to gain access to incredible stories that reflect who and how we are. Chelsea began brainstorming their dream company— a bookstore focused on providing LGBTQIA+ titles that could be delivered promptly with a bit of rainbow magic!