From the New York Times,  “All this said, “Punching Out” is frequently rewarding. Mr. Clemens traces the colorful history of the Budd plant, which manufactured parts for a variety of car brands and which once employed nearly 10,000 people. He is a lovely, mournful observer of Detroit’s people.”

Books will be available for sale at the Baldwin Library, 300 W Merrill St, Birmingham, MI 48009. Call 248-968-1190 for more information.

Technorati Tags: Author Signing, Baldwin library, book beat events, Detroit book signings, Detroit literature, Paul Clemens

Book Beat

“Elmore Leonard can write circles around almost anybody active in the crime novel today.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Elmore Leonard is an awfully good writer of a sneaky sort; he is so good you don’t even notice what he’s up to.”
– Washington Post Book World

“A superb craftsman . . . his writing is pure pleasure.”
– Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Elmore Leonard is our greatest crime novelist… the best in the business.”
– Washington Post

Elmore is helping to promote the release of his latest novel (book #45!) Raylan (available for pre-order  now ) continues the story of US Marshall Raylan Givens, who previously appeared in Leonard’s books Pronto, and Riding the Rap, as well as his shorty story “Fire in the Hole,” and who currently is the central character in the hit FX tv show Justified. Played by the actor Timothy Olyphant, Raylan is one of Leonard’s most unforgettable characters. “Dark and droll, Raylan is pure Elmore Leonard—a page-turner filled with the sparkling dialogue and sly suspense that are the hallmarks of this modern master.”

The writers for the TV show “Justified” have blue wristbands that say WWED: “What Would Elmore Do”? -The Wall Street Journal

Elmore Leonard is the author of dozens of popular novels including Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, Hombre, Mr. Majestyk, Big Bounce, and 52 Pick-Up. Many of his novels have been adapted into films, including his short story 3:10 to Yuma. He is most well-known for his gritty crime novels- many set in and around metro Detroit- that feature break-neck pacing and strong dialogue. He has been called “the great American writer” by Stephen King.

Peter Leonard is the author of Quiver, Trust Me, All He Saw Was the Girl, and the upcoming Voices of the Dead.

Leonard’s previous novels have been jaunty crime capers similar to those of his father, Elmore. This one, set in 1971 and the first of a two-parter, has the same energy and precision but is much darker thematically, more painful and considered. On the surface it’s a cat-and-mouse thriller: scrap-metal dealer Harry Levin is determined to track down the German diplomat who killed his daughter when driving drunk. The police tell him the man has been afforded immunity and won’t face charges, so Harry travels back to Munich, where he was born, to dispense vigilante justice … Leonard’s handling of Harry’s wartime internment in Dachau proves he’s no one-trick pony. There are thrills here but also a desperate pathos. If you haven’t read Leonard before – and you must – this is a great place to start. –The Guardian

“Elmore Leonard is a tough act to follow, but son Peter is off to a terrific start. TRUST ME is fast, sly and full of twists. Clearly, great storytelling runs in the Leonard family’s DNA.”  -Carl Hiaasen

Technorati Tags: author lectures, autographings, Baldwin library, book beat events, crime writing, Detroit book signings, Detroit literature, Elmore Leonard, local signings Detroit, Peter Leonard

Book Beat is an independent locally owned bookstore serving the Metro-Detroit area since 1982. We are located at 26010 Greenfield (between  10 and 11 mile road) in Oak Park, just North (a few blocks) of the I-696 at Greenfield exit. Special orders are always welcome. We offer free gift wrapping, personal service and daily shipping within the USA or overseas at reasonable prices.

LINK HERE TO VIEW BOOK BEAT DECEMBER NEWS & EVENTS

This Hugo award-winning novel established Dick as a major science fiction writer and stands among his greatest work.

Dick’s alternative history considers the question of what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost WWII. Set in 1962- some 20 years after that loss- the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic states. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and this stress is playing out in the western U.S. Through a collection of characters in various states of posing (spies, sellers of falsified goods, others with secret identities), Dick provides an intriguing tale about life and history as it relates to authentic and manufactured reality.

On Saturday, May 21 @ 11:00 am D. E. Johnson will be at the Detroit Public Library Elmwood Park Branch (550 Chene Street, Detroit, MI 48207-3907, (313) 877-8014.) to read from, discuss and sign copies of his first book, The Detroit Electric Scheme.  The book has been receiving great reviews and this is an intimate location to meet the author who is a Michigan native. Both events are free and open to the public and Book Beat will have books available for sale at both event.

Detroit 1910: When Will Anderson finds the body of John Cooper crushed in a huge hydraulic press, he panics—for good reason. The body is in his father’s electric automobile factory, in the department Wil

l manages. Worse yet, Cooper is engaged to the woman Will loves, his ex-fiancée, Elizabeth Hume.

He runs, eluding the police but leaving behind his cap and automobile. Under threat from a blackmailer and with the police closing in, Will discovers that Elizabeth is in terrible danger. He follows her through the Detroit underworld, trying to save her and find the killer at the same time.

As the evidence mounts, Will gets closer and closer to the secret Cooper had been desperately trying to keep—a secret that could cost Will not only his life, but also the lives of the people he loves most.

“This is the lurid world of Nathanael West, as unremitting as it is unforgettable. Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust are his masterful expressions of stunted dreams. The novels unfold between the two American centers of opportunity and, West suggests, illusion: Miss Lonelyhearts in a dreary, relentless New York City; The Day of the Locust in a monstrously garish and overgrown Los Angeles. Both are populated by hacks and has-beens, cynics and dupes, failures and oddballs lurking at the urban margins.” –Ingrid Norton, review from “Open Spaces”

Written during West’s stay in Hollywood as B-movie screenwriter, The Day of the Locust stands as one of the greatest novels written about Hollywood and was ranked #73  by the Modern Library on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Time magazine included the novel in its list of 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

The Reading Group will meet Wed., April 27th at 7pm in the Goldfish Teahouse (117 W. 4th St., in downtown Royal Oak).  Copies of the reading group selection are discounted 15% at the Book Beat.  All are welcome!

Earth Hour 2011: 8.30pm, Saturday 26 March. This Earth Hour, go beyond the hour with a commitment to a positive action for the planet and celebrate that commitment with the people of the world by switching off your lights for Earth Hour 2011.

From its inception as a single-city initiative – Sydney, Australia – in 2007, Earth Hour has grown into a global symbol of hope and movement for change. Earth Hour 2010 created history as the world’s largest ever voluntary action with people, businesses and governments in 128 countries across every continent coming together to celebrate an unambiguous commitment to the one thing that unites us all – the planet.

Sign up to earthhour.org, switch off your lights for Earth Hour 2011, and share the positive actions you will sustain for earth beyond the hour.

Connect with Earth Hour
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Contributed by Earth Hour

2. Portraits of American Bikers: Inside Looking Out

3. John Coltrane’s Om button & The Music is Revolution /White Panther Party button

4. The Inn Season Cookbook: Vegetarian Traditions signed by the author !

5. Mutant Pop signed by the author

6. Keith Richards: Life

7. Funk & Soul Covers

8. The Birth of a Notion Or the Half Ain’t Never Been Told by Bill Harris copies signed by the author!

9. LED Cat “light & sound” meowing purple light up Cat’s Eye Pen or the Evil Laughing Skull Pen with Flashing Red Eyes

10. Detroit Disassembled by Andrew Moore signed by the artist !

11. Touch & Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83

12. MC5: Sonically Speaking

13. Impossibly Funky: A Cashiers du Cinemart Collection

14. Poetry is Revolution Silk Screen limited edition of 75 signed by John and Leni Sinclair

15. Susan Sontag Against Interpretation Silk-Screen, by James Hoff & Cary Loren, edition of 50 signed & numbered

16. Lost Detroit: The Stories Behind the Motor City’s Majestic Ruins

17. The Book Beat “Cool People Read” tote bag and the Book Beat “Cool People Read” tee shirt