LLTB was founded as
a radical celebration ✹
of marginalized voices.

We are dedicated to centering identities and experiences that have been silenced and devalued by our current systems. This means that we focus on queer, BIPOC, disabled, neurodivergent, immigrant, and other voices that have been historically (and continue to be) marginalized.

We believe in books as windows and mirrors, opportunities to see yourself and see others. Ezra Hyland said it best, “It’s not until we know the stories of each other that we embrace our humanity. When I know the stories of my people and my culture, that’s when I become human myself.”

Reading as an act of resistance, but also as an act of being hot and cool!!

We are proudly queer and neurodivergent owned.

Queer as in abolish prisons, free Palestine, fuck TERFs, LANDBACK, physical media forever.
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The (small but mighty) crew

A person (Beck) standing against a large tree smiling (decorative)

¹ Meet Beck

they/she, double Leo, AuDHD, shitty (but trying their best) plant parent, outstanding cat parent, non-fiction freak, INFJ

Favorite book: Cactus Country by Zoe Bossiere

I've always loved reading. Grew up with my neck at a 90-degree angle perusing the library shelves and frequently dumpster dove at Half Price Books. But I never really knew what reading could do until I entered college. That's when I started reading books where I really, truly saw myself, and saw people whose lives were nothing like mine, and suddenly, the entire world opened up to me.

A person (Ty) eating corn on the cob against a blue sky background (decorative)

² Meet Ty

he/they/any, music lover, Virgo, big "gardener," ADHD, proud cat dad, lifelong learner

Favorite Book: James by Percival Everett

My reading story is that I never enjoyed reading and always felt forced and now I realize that reading can be fun and also, like, sticking it to the man.

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Click through the tabs to learn about our commitment to community and mutual aid. None of us are free until all of us are free!

Anti-ICE Work

Anti-ICE Work

In the throes of Operation Metro Surge during the early months of 2026, bookselling was put on pause. We spent every waking minute using our platform to educate our customer base, connect folks with resources, and activate our incredible followers to raise funds for those impacted by the occupation. A few highlights:

  • Distributed hundreds of whistles, know your rights cards, and legal observer zines
  • Offered and organized ride shares to legal observer trainings
  • Did a "100% of profits to mutual aid week" and ending up selling out our inventory and donating over $3,000
  • Activated our customer base to raise over $20,000 for mutual aid and subsequently kept 10 families housed

You can read more in this AutoStraddle article we were featured in!

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Resource Library

Resource Library

When we launched in 2024, we erected a little library with a coded lock in front of The Clay Pit in South Minneapolis to use as an online order pickup box. In November 2025, when SNAP benefits were put on pause, we quickly pivoted and transformed the little library into a little free pantry.

  • Activated our online following and raised nearly $1,000 for supplies
  • Stocked the pantry with pantry essentials and turned it into a self-service free pantry

Once SNAP benefits were reinstated, the need did not suddenly disappear. Since then, we've maintained our little library as a resource hub, and keep it stocked with food, cold weather gear, books, literature, COVID tests, masks, and more.

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Miscellaneous Highlights

Miscellaneous Highlights

  • Organized a fundraiser raffle in recognition of Trans Day of Visibility and raised over $2,500 for Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid
  • Since our inception, we have distributed hundreds of free books and pieces of leftist literature to our community.
  • Collaborated with Little Free Library to distribute over 300 free children's books at TC Pride's annual Trunk-or-Treat event
  • Served on Little Free Library's Read in Color selection committee
  • Sold handmade art prints to benefit Palestinian mutual aid and donated nearly $500 to families in Gaza
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Two masked people (Beck and Ty) standing behind a display table filled with books in a brewery (decorative)

Our Guiding Lights

CURIOSITY

We live in a big, beautiful, messy, confusing, miraculous world, and we want you to be inspired by it, moved by it, connected to it. We believe in books as windows and mirrors, seeing yourself and seeing others. Curiosity keeps us moving forward, it keeps us engaged, and it keeps us kind.

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COMMUNITY

We believe in community as resistance. We've leveraged this tiny bookstore as a tool in service of our community--pouring thousands of dollars we wouldn't have had without this business back into local mutual aid, activating our customer base to donate their time and money to local service and direct action efforts, and establishing free and low-cost community services such as Poetry for the People and our Free Little Pantry. We love our community, and not just in the weird, buzzword-y way, but in the "Your liberation is bound up with my liberation" way.

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SOLIDARITY

We stand in solidarity with all oppressed people of the world. That includes our queer siblings, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and People of the Global Majority, disabled people, immigrants, incarcerated folks, and everyone whose existence is at odds with empire.

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Thank you for shopping small!

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Thank you for shopping queer!

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Thank you for shopping secondhand!