Beautiful Women in Bookstores: Andre

All photos by the incredible Victoria Smith

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

Our store this time is Green Apple Books. A legendary shop for books, music and more. Founded in  1967, it was bought by its current owners, two Kevins and a Pete, in 1997. My favorite thing about this labyrinthine store is that when you think you’ve explored all of it, you always find one more room.

Name: Andre Shakti

Occupation: Sex Worker, Educator, & Activist

Where are you from?: Oakland via Baltimore via New Jersey

Who are your favorite authors?: Haruki Murakami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen King, Ivan Coyote

What are you reading right now?: “Natchez Burning” by Greg Iles

Where is your favorite place to read?: In bed next to someone I love who’s doing the same thing.

Who are some women who inspire you?: Any woman stepping out her front door every morning as a proud and “out” sex worker, person of color, and/or trans woman is an inspiration to me in this day and age. The persecution is real; it takes bravery, conviction and intellect to get through every single day.

Do you have a favorite bookstore?: The Center for Sex & Culture in San Francisco!

What’s the last book that really moved you?: Brave New World. I don’t know why I took so long to read it!

Who is your favorite literary character?: At present moment it’s Lisbeth Salander, but there have been many!

Which book have you read the most times?: I actually can’t read books twice! No matter how much I love it, if I already know how it ends, it’s totally ruined for me. I crave that tension.

Is there anything sexy about good writing?: Are you kidding me? I get weak in the knees for writing the way I do when I find out someone’s a good lay. It’s a ladykiller. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.