This book is a great coffee table book just just flip through. At first going in I thought it was going to be just the pictures and nothing else. However each person has a page describing who they are, what they’ve done in life or are currently doing, then of course there was the explanation of the cats. This book definitely introduced me to new people and showed some I didn’t realize were part of the community. It was a nice quick read and these photos are so nice to look at.

I will say the one bad thing about this book is the inclusion of Sharon Needles. They’re blatantly racist and it just feels off when you put them right before Sylvia Rivera. I’m sure there was someone else they could’ve found so I kind of wish they had. Besides that I did enjoy this book, made me want to look into more of these people and read and watch their work.

Thanks to the publisher, authors, photographers, and Netgalley for access to this book in exchange for honest feedback.

Pros: cats, informative blurbs, and a range of people chosen. Cool and unique idea. I didn't know most of these people, but maybe that's my own fault rather than the book's selections. Photography was pretty cool, felt like looking into the personal lives of these "icons". This would make a good gift to someone who was into this sort of thing or perhaps part of a collection / coffee table style book? Otherwise, I'm not sure the price is justified.

I loved this book. I wanted to rip out the photos, frame them and hang them on my walls. I learned a lot about queer icons that I wasn’t familiar with. Anohni’s picture was one of my favorites along with Holly Woodlawn.

I feel like this will turn out being a “coffee table” book - a pretty book with nice pictures and little blurbs about some very amazing LGBTQ+ people. I was left wanting more. I felt like the book read like a long Wikipedia article: soulless and dull. The topic was so interesting, and had so much to offer! I’m queer, and I heckin’ love cats. I’m pretty much the target audience for this book but overall, it was... meh. Not a fan of this one. I wanted so much more from it.

This book is joyful, fun, and as a queer-identifying cat-fan, totally necessary. A great gift idea, coffee table book, and discussion starter!!

This is most wholesome, sweetest book about people and their pets that I've read in a while. Anthony Perkins is my favorite! <3

I just loved the cover photo of Jujubee! And I expected a lot more photos of that same caliber. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be the case. I was somewhat disappointed.

As for the queer icons, there were what I considered only a handful such as Freddy Mercury, George Michael, Chaz Bono, and Elton John. I did like the bio's that were provided for all of the people featured in the book as I got to learn more about them and their love of cats.

Not much else to say except that I would have loved more cat photos. Two stars. It was okay.

To clear my head, I'm flipping through an album of photos of queer icons with their cats, kindly provided by the publisher, as they say in such cases. The personalities range from E.M. Forster and Marlena Dietrich to drag queens and porn stars. Each photo is accompanied by a page of text about the role cats have played in their lives. The most powerful photo is of Judith Butler with her cat Pluto. And the cutest one is of Anthony Perkins in a barrel.

I loved this book! A collection of photographs and brief biographies of LGBTQ people and the cats they have known and loved. I appreciated the wide spectrum of people chosen, while there were somewhat obvious (but no less beloved) iconic choices -- Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Anthony Perkins -- to LGBTQ people who were really unknown to me. I learned a lot and was inspired to go research more about them and their accomplishments. The photos, both posed and candid, are striking, especially the cover photo of Jujubee which drew me in immediately. If I were to complaint, it would be that the book should have been longer, and that we only got one photo per biography... after all, who doesn't want to see more pictures of cats?

What I thought would be simply a humorous compilation of pictures ended up being an informative book on queer history and the connection between LGBTQ+ folks and our cats.

I learned about so many different icons who I never realized were LGBTQ+. I also learned there are statistics to somewhat backup the stereotype of queers and cats.

Overall this is was such an enjoyable read with photos and stories that brought the biggest smiles to my cat-loving lesbian face.

I received an ARC copy of this tile courtesy of #netgalley, Alison and PJ Natasi and the publishers in exchange for an honset review.

As the title would suggest, this is a book choc-full of images of members and icons of the LGBTQ+ community posing with their cats or cats on trips to the zoo. The picture range in style and include some famous faces ypung and old. It was great viewing candid shots of a young Elton John, Freddie Mercuy, Josephine Baker, and Covergirl Jujubee.

The little except given on each model is a bonus. All in all, this is a lovely coffee book to flick through at the hairdressers, the cafe, a modelling studio. I would be interested to see more work from these talented photographers. A 5/5 stars from me.

Queer Icons and Their Cats is amazing. I enjoyed the little blurbs about each queer icon and how while it did focus on their queer contributions, focused more on their cats and their relationships with animals. So often, when you find a non-fiction book on the queer community, it focuses solely on what they mean to the community. This book focuses on that meaning while also allowing us to see something else: their relationship with that the most regal of beasts, the cat.

I cannot wait to purchase this book for my bookshelf so that I can look at the beautiful pictures any time that I wish. I have a few friends I want to gift this book to as presents. The pictures are absolutely beautiful. The antecdotes on the relationships with cats - especially the ones from the page on Freddie Mercury - made me smile.

This book is a purrfectly warm snuggle.

Book 10 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

Queer Icons and Their Cats
by Alison Nastasi and PJ Nastasi

Summary (excerpt from Goodreads)
published 2021

This book is a celebration of queer icons of the past and present and their furry feline friends. From images of lost legends such as Josephine Baker and James Baldwin, to snapshots of contemporary trailblazers like comedian Tig Notaro and fashion designer Jason Wu—these charming and eccentric photographs capture what it truly means to be a cat purr-son.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover
The title and cover photo of Jujubee (a drag queen I recognize from RuPaul's Drag Race) made this an immediate grab for me when I saw it on NetGalley (disclaimer for receiving a free copy below).

Since I'm writing this before downloading it, my only concern is that books with pictures don't always translate well on e-readers. That wouldn't be the book's fault and I would note that in my review but I really hope that's not the case because I'm really looking forward to this book.

My Opinion
4 stars

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/of publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

I enjoyed this book. It's very clear what to expect so it's always a little tough to review...if the book looks interesting to you, you won't be disappointed because the authors do a good job with the concept and material.

There was an interesting statistic about pet ownership in LGBTQ households vs. straight households. A 2007 survey found that 71% of LGBTQ households owned pets compared to 63% of straight households, and that LGBTQ are more likely to own cats (63% vs. 52%). I don't want to draw too many conclusions from that stat alone but the theory that pets bring unconditional love and that's something that LGBTQ people may be less likely to receive from humans did make sense to me, unfortunately.

The pictures were good and clear with a mix of color and black/white. The icons weren't all familiar to me, with a range from different ages and time periods, and the authors were respectful and gave lots of information about their accomplishments. The 'queerness' may have been the reason for their inclusion in the book but it wasn't exploited or told in a salacious way. The spin about the pets made it more than "Wikipedia" entries and it really showed the research by including quotes when possible. I will note that most interviews and photos were not specifically for this book so I can't speak on if 'experts' would feel the same as I do about the information being new and unique but I think the tradeoff of being able to include such a wide range of people is worth it.

As a note since I mentioned it in my 'First Impressions', there were 2 mistakes with my copy that I'm not factoring into my rating but am noting. The photo of Clifton Webb was missing/omitted and the information about Ossie Clark was unfinished (it still had editing notes in the text).

This is about LGQBT people and their cats. There is a picture of each person with their cat and a small bio about the person.

This was a really coffee table book and would make an excellent gift for LGBTQ Cat lovers! Super interesting stories and amazing photos.

An interesting book!
So many people in the book that I knew already had cats! and some new faces too! the cats are always so pretty, and the one I was impressed with the most was Josephine Baker's pet cheetah!

This book is so fantastic! The photos are stunning and I loved the insights into the people in this book and their feline friends. It's filled with so many queer icons- from Freddy Mercury to George Michael, to James Baldwin.
Many thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I love this book! Gorgeous images and lovely stories about these icons and their cats.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am grateful to have received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is a coffee table book of what it says on the cover: queer icons and cats! I thought this book would be pretty, but wasn't necessarily expecting a lot from it. However, I really enjoyed it! The photos range in artistry, with some of them being carefully composed, professional shots, and some of them being quick snaps from old film camera. The text varies in interest, sometimes focusing on the bare bones of the individuals' life, sometimes including important quotes from the subject or their family members. At its best, it remembers it's supposed to be mentioning cats and discusses the subjects' specific relationships with the cats in their lives, which lends a wonderful humanity to some of these folks.

The subjects range from famous individuals to people I've never heard of (but probably should know), so I was pleased to learn a lot. And of course, is the book was this pretty as a digital copy, I have no doubt it will be gorgeous as a hardback!

I requested this book for it's title alone, but I really enjoyed it! I learned a lot about some major LQBTQ icons and their pets, the photography was lush, and the concept was unlike anything I've seen. A lot of fun.