Dear Readers,
As we celebrate Pride Month this June, we invite you to join us in embracing the vibrant diversity of voices and experiences within the LGBTQ+ community. At our bookstore, we believe in the power of literature to educate, inspire, and empower, and we’re proud to offer a curated selection of books that celebrate queer identities, history, and culture. Here are some of our in-store selections new old and available online at our Bookshop affiliate page.
Don’t forget Dad! Father’s Day is Sunday June 16th and to make things easy we’ve prepared a list of recommendations. These books can be found in-store or at our Bookshop affiliate page. For the latest gift ideas browse below.
As we commemorate Juneteenth this month, we invite you to explore the profound significance of this historic day through the pages of literature. Juneteenth marks a pivotal moment in American history, a day of liberation and resilience for black communities across the nation. Explore our collection of titles for african-american art, african-american children’s books, anti-racism books, non-fiction, and fiction titles available in-store or online at our Bookshop.org affiliate pages.
Our repost this month is Mellow Music: An Interview with Craig Maki from April 2022. Craig Maki’s book Tomorrow Brings Memories: Detroit’s First Underground Record Company is a unique and important history uncovering Detroit’s first independent recording studios, artists, and labels of the 1930s and early 1940s. Signed copies are now back in stock!
Our sale tables are now blooming with titles on a wide variety of subjects. Stop by soon for the best selection!
Read small press book reviews, author interviews, and indie recommendations from our resident bibliophile Tom Bowden in his column i arrogantly recommend…, as well as a special review this month, Three Books on Xi’s China.
Thank you for your continued support.
Happy reading!
-Cary, Colleen, and the Book Beat Staff
UPCOMING EVENTS
JUNE 1: FAB FEST
The Farmington Author & Book Festival (FAB) celebrates the diversity of Michigan’s stories and storytellers and is a collaboration between KickstART Farmington and the Farmington Community Library. FAB Fest takes place on June 1st, 2024, during Art on the Grand in Memorial Park near the Masonic Hall in downtown Farmington (33430 Grand River Ave, Farmington, MI 48335). The festival features author readings, book signings, discussions, workshops, and more, along with a book marketplace offering publications by over fifty area authors and publishers.
This years keynote speaker is poet and author Carolyn Forché. Other authors appearing at the festival include Joy Gaines-Friedler, Keith Taylor, Kathe Koja, Stephen Mack Jones. Find the full schedule here.
FAB Fest is generously sponsored by the Farmington Friends of the Library and The MacGuffin, a national literary journal produced at Schoolcraft College.
Book Beat is a vendor at this festival and will be providing books on-site. Read more about FAB Fest and the schedule here.
JUNE 1: SUB-ROSA READING GROUP
Sub-Rosa is a book group meeting once a month to discuss feminist and obscure fiction. Our selection this month is The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. We will meet on Saturday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the store. A reminder will be sent out the day before. If interested in attending please send us your email to bookbeatorders@gmail.com. Books are in stock and discounted 15%.
JUNE 5: ADAM HIGGINBOTHAM AT HENRY FORD CENTENNIAL LIBRARY
Wednesday, June 5 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. the Dearborn Public Library will be hosting an in-person/virtual discussion with author Adam Higginbotham about his newly published book Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. Higginbotham will be joining virtually for the discussion. This event is free and open to the public, and will also be available to stream via Zoom. Registration is available here. Books will be available to purchase at the event courtesy of Book Beat.
JUNE 23: JOSH MALERMAN AT ANT HALL
Sunday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. Josh Malerman will present his new novel Incidents Around the House at Ant Hall (2320 Caniff St, Hamtramck, MI 48212). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Find out more about this event at planetant.com.
Josh Malerman is a New York Times bestselling author and one of two singer-songwriters for the rock band The High Strung. His debut novel, Bird Box, is the inspiration for the hit Netflix film of the same name. His other novels include Daphne, Pearl, Spin a Black Yarn, and Malorie, the sequel to Bird Box.
Book Beat will be on-site selling books at this event. To reserve a signed copy of Incidents Around the House, please email bookbeatorders@gmail.com or call us at 248-968-1190.
JUNE 25: SARAH TOWLE AT HUNTINGTON WOODS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Tuesday, June 25 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. educator, activist, and author Sarah Towle will be presenting her new book Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands at Huntington Woods Public Library (26415 Scotia Rd, Huntington Woods, MI 48070). Copies of Crossing the Line will be available to purchase courtesy of Book Beat. Find out more information about this event at the Huntington Woods Public Library website.
JUNE 26: BOOK BEAT READING GROUP
The Book Beat reading group selection for June is Girl in White by Sue Hubbard. We will meet virtually online via Zoom on Wednesday, June 26 at 7 p.m. The Zoom link will be sent on the afternoon of the meeting to anyone interested in attending. Please call or Email bookbeatorders@gmail.com to sign up.
SLEEPER ALERTS, RECENT AND UPCOMING ARRIVALS
Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words
Boel Westin
University of Minnesota Press
Tove Jansson achieved fame as the creator of the Moomins, beloved by generations of readers around the world. Remarkably, the Moomins were only part of the prodigious creative output of this Finnish-Swedish writer and artist. Jansson’s work also includes short stories and five novels for adults, as well as paintings, murals, and book illustrations. In this acclaimed biography, Boel Westin relies on numerous conversations with Jansson and unprecedented access to her journals, letters, and personal archives to present an engrossing and comprehensive review of the life and world of Scandinavia’s best-loved author.
Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk
Kathleen Hanna
Ecco Press
An electric, searing memoir by the original rebel girl and legendary front woman of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre.
“Hanna’s book is raw, honest, poetic, insightful, and often funny. Her political evolution is particularly gratifying…An impressively perspicacious memoir from one of feminism’s most influential artists.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A fantastic journey into an unconventional life, pulsing with raw energy and vulnerability that I witnessed firsthand. It’s honest, funny, witty, and smart. And most of all, it’s important to the herstory of Kathleen’s place in blazing new trails.”—Joan Jett
SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE
The White Bonus: Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America
Tracie McMillan
Henry Holt & Company
A genre-bending work of journalism and memoir by award-winning writer Tracie McMillan tallies the cash benefit—and cost—of racism in America.
“The White Bonus buckles and snaps everything I thought I knew about race, space, place and bookmaking. This is what courage and absolute genius produce. We have never needed a book more than we need Tracie McMillan’s The White Bonus.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy
“A painful, calm, and clear-eyed excavation of white complicity, The White Bonus is stunning in scope. McMillan will make you re-examine everything you thought you knew about American health and wealth.”—Beth Macy, New York Times bestselling author of Dopesick and Raising Lazarus
SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE
Book Beat Hours, Contact & Ordering Info
• Book Beat store hours are: Mon – Sat 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Sun 12:00 – 5:00 PM.
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• Shop a selection of signed books, art, out-of-print rarities, and local authors at Book Beat Gallery.
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