Beautiful Women in Bookstores: Mia
Beautiful Women in Bookstores is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a celebration of reading, intelligence, independent bookstores, and of course, beautiful women. In a time when bookstores seem to be disappearing this is our effort to show how sexy books and reading really are. Each installment will have a different beautiful woman photographed in an independent bookstore and interviewed about what it is that makes reading so damn important.
If you’re interested in doing shooting your own pics for BWB and having us publish it, hit up alex@brokeassstuart.com
All photos by the incredible Victoria Smith
With three floors and over 50,000 new books, Alexander Book Company is without a doubt one of the best things about Downtown San Francisco. It’s the kind of place you can get lost is for hours, and considering how nice and knowledgeable their staff is, its honestly hard to leave. Their excellent kids section makes it so that they pretty much have something for everyone.
We are honored to have Mia as one of the Beautiful Women in Bookstores. Not only was she the first trans woman to participate in Emerge California, the premiere training program for women in politics, she’s also a San Francisco Pride Grand Marshal!
Name: Mia Satya, AKA Mia Tu Mutch
Occupation: Community organizer, Director of Young Adult Engagement at TAYSF, full time student at Mills College, and part time comedian.
Where are you from?: San Francisco is my heart and home, but my roots and boots are in Texas.
Who are your favorite authors?: I had a learning disability and didn’t really learn to read until the second or third grade, so I constantly feel underread. My favorite books in middle and high school were all postapocalyptic sci-fi and more specifically books in which the protagonist is railing against the totalitarian regime. Now I mostly read critical race and gender theorists like bell hooks, Paulo Freire, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Kate Bornstein, and Angela Davis.
What are you reading right now?: Rumi, public policy textbooks, and rereading A New Earth for the 3rd time.
Where is your favorite place to read?: I love cozying up with a good book, in my warm sunroom that overlooks the forest below and pretending I’m on vacation. It seriously makes me want to quit my job and be a stay at home book critic – why am I always doing too much?!
Who are some women who inspire you?: My fashion decisions are inspired by the Holy Trinity: Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj. I’m moved by the leadership of women leaders including: Malalala Yousefzai for her courage and humility, the pose and confidence of Hillary Clinton (although I’m not for private prisons and endless wars), and the boundary defying bravery of trans women pioneers like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Miss Major. I’m also moved by trans feminist heroes like San Francisco legends Cecilia Chung, Theresa Sparks, Tita Aida, Felicia Flames, and Clair Farley. Also I wouldn’t be here without the resiliency of my mama who loves to remind people “my initials are BSBS, and I’m not taking any!” I wonder where I get my sass from?
Do you have a favorite bookstore?: I love them all! Some favorites in San Francisco include Modern Times, Dog Eared Books, and Green Apple, but I’m obsessed with the flagship Half Price Books in Dallas, Texas, it’s 55,000 square feet, because you know what they say about Texas!
What’s the last book that really moved you?: Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness moved me because it discussed her experience growing up in Hawaii and Texas (where I’m from) as a mixed race Hawaiian and African American trans woman. Her vulnerability in discussing childhood trauma has inspired me to be courageous in sharing my truths publicly.
Who is your favorite literary character?: Reading Ishmael the first time in middle school expanded my consciousness more than perhaps any other book. Spoiler alert: Ishmael was a gorilla that was held captive by humans for many years and he telepathically offers powerful insights to his captor on how he views human history and society. Ishmael prompted me to question my own role in consuming products made from scarce resources with unfair labor on stolen land, the human race’s superiority complex over other species, and the legacy of America’s global military domination. Ultimately Ishmael taught me to question authority, much to my parents dismay. When we remain apathetic, concerned more about up and coming brunch spots than the increase in anti-black murders, we are consenting to injustice. I know as a society we can do better.
Which book have you read the most times?: Probably a three way tie between The Bible (recovering Christian), Ishmael (let’s liberate the animals), the Tibetan Book of the Dead (I’m Buddhist and no Mom, I don’t want to die), and A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving (because it combines a dash of Buddhist philosophy with policy analysis).
Is there anything sexy about good writing?: When I get that first message on Tinder that says “wyd hmu dtf” I’m reminded how sexy compete sentences can be. A book that tantalizes my imagination and expands my consciousness is more arousing than sexting any day.
Follow Mia on FB, Twitter, Instagram, or contribute to her campaign to cover travel expenses for Emerge a political training program for Democratic women!
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