borikén books y más, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

08/05/2023

hey hey! in about a week we’ll be with the fam for a ✨Soulcial✨ on 8.13.23 from 6-11pm at

we’ll be selling our zines, books and hosting our first in-person zine making workshop!!!!! some materials will be provided, feel free to bring your own cute crafty materials like pens, scissors, markers, paper, your fave stickers, old magazines and the like :)

other awesome activities at the event include:

🌊immersive sound bath x with
🎤a special live performance x
🧘🏽‍♀️an inner-magic yoga flow with
💆🏽‍♂️mini reiki sessions, oracle/tarot, + human design at the 1 activation x
💆🏽‍♀️massages x
🍛vegan soul food x
☕️ matcha + chai x .co

RSVP only via www.platform1.life/soulcial in bio ❤️

see you there, abrazos!

06/20/2023

been thinking a lot about how the word discipline freaks me out— and how the concept of discipline feels impossible as an adhder who deeply despises structure while also neeeeeeding it bad!!

i talked to about this, and she said something that blew my brains: “discipline and consistency don’t always look like doing 100% every single time.” not only did this make the concept of having discipline feel infinitely less scary, i realized that discipline and consistency are FLUID.

as i practiced tuning in to my body in order to identify my inner creative desires over the last few months, i finally outlined this method with the hopes of helping us ride out our creative desires and return to our stories. also, i’m replacing the word discipline with ritual. feels more intentional and personal. if any of you try this out, i would love to know how it goes for you!!

if you don’t have a creative ritual yet/want to learn how to create one, check out the link to my upcoming consent, cuentos and creative rituals workshop in our bio!

workshop description:

It is tricky to relate to writing in positive, self-nourishing ways when we don't consider the role that embodied, consent-based practices have when it comes to storytelling.

Do you ever get the urge to write, but have a tough time getting to your laptop, notes app, or notebook to let the words flow? Does the idea of a blank page or doc make you feel uncomfortable? Do you ever think you're not a writer because you can't seem to get the words down, or it's been a while since you "actually" wrote anything? What creative rituals do you have in place to support your practice?

This workshop is for you if you want to build a deeper relationship with your body via consent teachings and physical and sensational engagement in order to connect with the words you want to share with the world.

hope to see ya there!!

06/14/2023

Alert! Alert!

Calling all LGBTQ+ bookworms and lovers of small owned businesses! Join us on Thursday, June 15th at Cuties Los Angeles' Pride market for an unforgettable night of fun, community, and literary delights! With over 20 vendors offering a mix of jewelry, food, art, clothing, tarot, and more, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

As an independent online bookstore and publishing house, we specialize in curating a wide range of used books and zines that are sure to tickle your brain and body in all the right ways. But that's not all! At borikén books, we're not just about selling books and zines – we're also about fostering a love for words and storytelling through engaging workshops that bring communities together. From writing sessions to storytelling circles, our workshops are designed to inspire and empower aspiring authors and avid readers alike. Stop by our table to learn more about us and our work!

Mark your calendars and grab your friends for an evening of shopping, music, and pure LGBTQ+ joy.

📍 Location: THE PLANT CHICA, entrances on Farmdale behind Mel's Fish Shack and on Jefferson next to Mel's!

PS: Borikén Books is actively seeking vendor and market opportunities, so if you think we’d be a good fit for your event OR you’ve been a vendor for an event you think we’d love, please reach out to us :)

05/20/2023

hi! i had a 1:1 session with a client this week and it was really cool! i could not stop grinning after this meeting. i was buzzing, excited, proud, and deeply grateful.

nothing, aside from doing *the* thing, can generate that feeling of doing what you love, trusting that you are good at it and having someone else partake in that joy/skill with you.

here’s what we did: intros/said hello. i asked this person some questions: why are you here with me? what is the premise of your work-in-progress? who is your story for? what does your writing/creative ritual look and feel like? i asked other things based on the flow of our conversation and took notes that will guide me for our next meeting. from our convo/these questions came a mini intake structure that i plan to use for other 1:1s!!

if you: are trying to create a writing ritual/practice that honors you based on capacity, desire and consent; are writing something in which you struggle to separate your sh*t from your character’s stories; want to learn to read your body and soothe it as you write hard, potentially triggering chapters; want personalized book/craft recs and writing prompts to help you look at your project through a different lens… check out the linkssss in our bio for more info!

meanwhile, enjoy a photo dump of the books i’ve read lately 💗

books without covers shown are: how to not drown in a glass of water by and braiding sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (both have changed my life. the structure & pov in cruz’s novel had me ENFERMA and the other day Kimmerer taught me about the animacy of grammar and i just….. wow. also polysecure has me in a chokehold but i think i need to do a whole other post on all of these books because this parenthesis is getting out of hand hahahaha).

03/16/2023

when showed me their zine the other day, i swear my cora grew three sizes like the fkn grinch and it felt really validating to know i helped a human connect with their creativity via mine. community really is everything.

tonight we’ll be at with some zines and things for ’s Nite Market! come by our booth, let’s talk about books and your latest cuento :)

*date for the cuentos and consent offering are tbd!!

12/09/2022

sometimes i get overwhelmed by all the options there are/that i have when it comes to starting a zine (adhd doesn’t make it any easier!) though i seriously also love the creative choices i have at my disposal. not having to answer to anyone but me and my gut is such a freeing, light sensation compared to past “workshop” experiences i’ve had. at least i can follow my ideas wherever they lead me and decide if where they/we end up is a place i want to inhabit. and i get to choose who is a part of my process!!

i’m hosting a zine workshop where we’ll talk about all this more in-depth. sign up in b!o :)

12/04/2022

calling all zinesters, new and long timers: i’m doing my first zine making workshop, woo! come be in community with fellow creatives that have stories in need of telling. we’ll share methods, ideas, and ultimately cocreate a space where beautiful, messy creation can take place.

[image description: green slides with black text superimposed over brown rectangles. slide 1 “ virtual: zine workshop sunday jan. 7th @ 1230pm-2pm pst with lex. what we’ll do: discuss what zines are, share zine-making methods (i'll walk you through my process and what has worked for me), create containers for creativity, brainstorm/start new projects! sign up link in bio :)”

slide 2: a picture of lex, a white human smiling past the camera. text reads “your workshop guide. hey! lex here, one of the humans behind bbym. i'm a writer, reader, cat parent, q***r that really f*cks with zines, books, self-publishing and storytelling (both telling my own and helping others unleash theirs). i'm the author of when you come home (a case for abolition) & from the diary of a part-time boricua (my love letter to puerto rico). currently reading: monstress vol. 6 as a warm-up for monstress vol. 7, which i didn’t even fkn KNOW was out!!!!” end image description.]

11/14/2022

aaaaand we’re back with ’s Holiday Nite Market! we’ll be there with smell goods, hot reads, and our cute ass faces. come talk to us about books, zines & our upcoming writing workshops👀 excited to be in community with y’all again 💗💗💗

08/24/2022

bueno día humans!

what are some books you’ve read featuring fat characters *by fat authors*??

i haven’t made a new book list or updated the ones we have in a very long time 😅(nervous sweat emoji) and this felt/feels really good. it is still in the works and i’ve added some really great picks imo. searching still for more/books with fat main characters that celebrate fatness; show fat love/romance (give me S**T); that talk about antifatness as death anxiety. send me your faves porfa📚 (book stack emoji)

also, this friday, we’re pulling up with this hot new list of books on our storefront. come by, say hi, let’s be cute and talk/shop books while we peruse yummy inclusive fashion ✨(sparkles emoji)

have you ready any of the heat in these slides? what did/do you think👀(eyes emoji)? let’s spill some book bonchinche over our cafecitos it’s still early

(update: i found the s**t THANK YOU 😩 ugh emoji face)

image descriptions:

slide 1: retro background of green, orange, brown and yellow waves with blue text over a faux embroidered cloud that reads”books by fat authors with fat main characters/ about fat politics:”

slide 2 yellow background with retro flowers and six books superimposed over. the titles are belly of the beast: the politics of anti fatness as antiblackness by Da’Shaun L. Harrison; fat change charlie vega by Crystal Maldonado; unashamed; musings of a fat, black muslim by Leah Vernon; bad fat black girl by Sesali Bowen; the body is not an apology: the power of radical self-love by Sonya Renee Taylor; love is a revolution by Reneé Watson

slide 3: deep blue background with retro flowers and six books superimposed over. the books are act your age eve brown by Talia Hibbert; Every Body Shines: sixteen stories about living fabulously fat edited by Cassandra Newbould; eat your heart out by Kelly Devos; harbor: beards and bo***ge by Rebekah Weatherspoon; the troublesome crush by Xan West; there’s something about Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

slide 4 and 5 description in the comments

08/18/2022

i am actively carving out a space for and helping folks to self-publish their stories.

this is what i want to do. this is what i DO. this is what i do WELL.

examples? i edited and published ’s livin’ la vida l***o: poems, notes and other things; an ode to black lesbianism. i used the concepts/practices i describe in my antiracist writing workshop to cultivate a beautiful creative relationship that resulted in a sexy ass zine that fellow humans love, buy, and read.

(the author recently told me she could not have done it without me. yea, i cried.)

i also literally studied/study this s**t and am GOOD AT WHAT I DO. double masters double bachelors, yup i’m serious about this - and if you are too, stop by TOMORROW from 6pm-10pm pst. bbym will be there at the nite market (with a bunch of other amazing vendors!!) and i want to publish your stories.

all caps means i am putting my imposter syndrome in the trunk of the whip and cruisin, a big F U to the publishing houses that told me no.because this is what i want to do. this is what i DO. this is what i do WELL. and i have told myself YES.

07/25/2022

inspired by ’s repurpose of .wizardry’s magic ✨

[description: slides with white text against a photo of green leaves and yellow flowers

slide 1: if you can’t take feedback from a creator about your workshop critique, then your writing workshop is nonconsensual. based on .wizardry’s 7/21 post

slide two reads: if you won’t take no for an answer, then your service is nonconsensual .wizardry

slide 3: an image of the feedback flow: consent-based creative workshopping model by borikenbooks. a wavy horizontal line with five segments that are olive green, light brown, dark mossy green and light sandy orange bisect the image.

curve 1: consenting beings exchange an artist/workshop agreement

curve two: responder makes statements of meaning

curve 3: artist asks questions

curve 4: responders ask neutral questions

curve 5: permissioned opinions

the path ends with an asterisk that leads to “check in with your body between each wave”

end description]

07/22/2022

“Ramiro leaves the British drizzle and his beloved fiancé Yoss to investigate his family history back home in Costa Rica. What starts as an innocent fascination with an old family photo album leads to conversations with the older generations and revelations he is not prepared for. Set on the idyllic Caribbean coastline of one of the most beautiful countries in Latin America, author Edo Brenes weaves together the heart breaking and humbling stories of three generations of the same family. Love and life is a struggle in paradise, welcome to Limón. A wholesome snapshot of reconnecting with generations of one's family history, Costa Rican illustrator Edo Brenes unearths a trove of stories in his graphic novel Memories of Limón. He recounts tales of everything from affairs to adventurous escapades, all while taking time to share a laugh over life's messier moments”- .storygraph

read the prologue yesterday and i am delighted. love an intergenerational story, especially as i’ve begun to ask my grandparents questions about their lives and trace my own family history.

haven’t read in a while and a comic is definitely the way to go when i’m trying to claw my way out of a reading slump. how do you get yourself back into it after time away from books?

borikén books y más

08/05/2023

06/20/2023

06/14/2023

05/20/2023

03/16/2023

12/09/2022

12/04/2022

11/14/2022

08/24/2022

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07/25/2022

07/22/2022

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