‘Detroit Punk Fest’ at Book Beat Opens; Friday, July 30th   7-10 PM

A massive celebration of Punk Rock opens at Book Beat 7 -10 PM on Friday, July 30th. There will be author signings, readings, and a photo exhibition.  Author and punk rocker Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, founders of Touch & Go, will sign copies of their zine collected into one massive volume, Touch and Go; The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83. Tony Rettman, author of Why Be Something You’re Not: The History of Detroit Hardcore 1979-1985, will be here, as well.  Nicholas Rombes, author of  A Cultural Dictionary of Punk, will sign and comment on vintage 7″ records he will be spinning.  Local contributors Ryan Cooper and Nicole Lucas to the book How Punk Saved My Ass will also read and be present.

SUCH A DEAL: And Tesco Vee has killer Touch and Go t-shirts for sale for $5 if you purchase the Touch and Go Fanzine book!!!

Photographers S. Kay Young, Katie Hait, Nicole Lucas, Sue Rysnski and Leni Sinclair will also be represented in a Punk Rock photo gallery spanning four decades, yet concentrated in the early Detroit years 73-77. The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park, MI – please call 248-968-1190 for more information.

Local Detroit Punk rocker’s TYVEK will perform a  short set at Book Beat, outdoors between 9-10 PM.

Detroit Free Press journalist Rachel May breaks it all down in Metromix: ROCKIN’ IN THE D.

‘Damn THAT was Fun’, part 2: Photography of Detroit Punk

An exhibition in the Book Beat gallery will explore some happenings from the Detroit Punk scene from the 70s until now.  The show features classic vintage images by S. Kay Young, Katy Hait, Joe Sposita, Leni Sinclair, Nicole Lucas and Sue Rynski.

Opening July 30th, yo coincide with ‘Punk Fest’ the exhibition will continue through  September 7th, 2010. Images in the show include iconic shots of Iggy Pop, The Ramrods, Johnny Thunders, The Dead Boys, New York Dolls, MC5, Lester Bangs, Destroy All Monsters, The 27, Tribe 8, Coldcock, Lance Loud, the Mumps, the Sillies and many more. The exhibition is an expansion of ‘Damn it Was Fun’ – shown in 2004 at the Majestic Cafe in Detroit. The exhibit displays the raw punk flavor of  Midwest punk, undiluted by the UK. This exhibit is curated by Cary Loren.

Tesco Vee and the TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79–’83 @ Book Beat July 30, 7:00 pm

Bazillion Points Press is releasing Touch and Go: the Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83, and original zine creators and label founder Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson will be here to talk, introduce the book and sign copies.  On Saturday Tesco Vee will be playing a show with a line-up of other bands including Negative Approach, original members of Necros, and more at St. Andrews Hall.

‘A Cultural Dictionary of Punk’ by Nicholas Rombes

Here in one volume is an eclectic raw collection of articles on some of the seminal groups, figures and cultural landmarks that have come to dominate the punk rock genre. The book is written by Nicholas Rombes who is a cultural critic and educator now living in Ann Arbor.Rombes comes up with some fascinating and often overlooked links to the punk phenomenon. His blog THE CULTURAL DICTIONARY OF PUNK explores punk in further multi-media detail. Nicholas Rombes will be available for signing books and will be bringing a selection of  his rare vintage punk singles to play at the event.

Fact 1. It is made up of discrete entries, scores of them, ranging from “Destroy All Monsters” to “Neat, Neat, Neat” to “Sixties, punk as a rejection of” to “Mo-Dettes” to “Brando, Marlon” to “The Dils.” Some entries are as short as 26 words, and others are as long as 18,533 words.

Fact 2. Several entries take the form of short stories. Some (“Patti Smith”) are sort of creepy love stories. Some (“Frankie Teardrop”) are weird stories of terror and wonder. And at least one features the demented, wild-haired ex-professor Ephraim P. Noble.

Fact 3. Many entries are directly about punk, and many are about the strange correspondences between punk and other forms and forces, such as movies, politicians, TV shows, philosophers, novelists, poets, inventors.

“Rombes launches arguments and counterarguments . . . that make the selections of his ‘dictionary’ as provocative as Jon Savage in England’s Dreaming . . . A challenging lexicography.” — The Record Collector

Why Be Something You’re Not: The History of Detroit Hardcore 1979-1985 by Tony Rettman…

Tony Rettman will be there at 7 PM sharp to sign copies of his heavy Detroit hardcore history — already generating large acclaim:

...Tony talks first person to the people who you idolize: this from Steve Miller of The Fix on the D.C. scene and straight edge: “all those kids in those hardcore bands were throwing out their Aerosmith and AC/DC records. It all seemed fishy to me.” This, Barry Hensler, Ian Mackaye, Dave Stimpson, Tesco Vee, and John Brannon chatting like they’re at a sleepover. Tony’s gift as a writer is not what he knows, which borders on the obsessive, but his ear for the language and music he loves, and his gift for capturing rhetorical pratfalls. This is his head and his heart. Now will someone please pay him to write about Abba and/or Roger Nichols? –Elisa Ambrogio, Arthur Magazine

A previously under documented small and insular scene’s story is now legend for good reason; the music. The Necros, The Meatmen, Negative Approach… “WBSTYN” unfurls in insightful and often hilarious dialog from it’s participants. Consider this the mid-west ‘Please Kill Me’. –Dave Markey, Director: ‘1991 – The Year Punk Broke’

Punk Rock Saved My Ass

“Punk is the only music genre I know that consistently opens its mouth about taboo social and economic subjects in our society. Nothing is more honest or relevant to me than that.” – Mic Schenk

“Everything that makes my life better is an offshoot or direct result of my having gotten into punk music.” - Chestnut

“That was one of my lessons; you don’t have to fly your colors to be a punk or have a punk attitude.” – Dick Wizmore

Here are the true stories from people whose lives were transformed and empowered by the frenetic, questioning, creative energy of punk rock; stories and poems written by punks from the USA and Europe, who share their unique vision on what it means to be punk. Written by musicians, teachers, artists, librarians, nurses, bakers, parents, and social workers, the stories are funny, sometimes tragic, and always surprising. Punk Rock Saved My Ass explores the strength of the punk movement to positively impact an individual’s life by providing a community to those who feel lost, by rousing a person to “do it herself,” and by inspiring all to push the boundaries of their own creativity. You may never listen to a punk rock album again.

Local Detroit contributing author Ryan Cooper will read an excerpt of his from the book. Cooper also produces a PUNK ROCK BLOG for about.com.  Photographer Nicole Lucas from Ann Arbor, MI, also contributed to the book and will have her images on display in the Book Beat gallery.

August Reading Group Selection

The Book Beat Reading Group will meet Wednesday, August 25th at 7pm at the Goldfish Teahouse in Royal Oak to discuss Angela Carter’s “Wise Children”.  Meetings are free and open to the public, reading selections are discounted 15% at Book Beat.

Wise Children (1991) was the last novel written by Angela Carter. The novel follows the fortunes of twin chorus girls, Dora and Nora Chance, and their bizarre theatrical family. It explores the subversive nature of fatherhood, the denying of which leads Nora and Dora to frivolous “illegitimate” lechery. The novel plays on Carter’s admiration of Shakespeare and her love of fairy tales and the surreal, incorporating a large amount of magical realism and elements of the carnivalesque that probes and twists our expectations of reality and society.

Book Beat will be Closed for the Fourth of July

Book Beat will be closed on Sunday, July 4 for Independence Day. We will re-open on Monday, July 5 at 10 am. Thank you and have a great holiday weekend!

Hunger Games available in Paperback July 6!

One of our favorite young adult titles of recent memory is now available in paperback.  “Hunger Games” takes place in a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

A thrilling series that has delighted adults and kids alike, book two “Catching Fire” is available in hardcover, while the final book in the series “Mockingjay” is set for a August 24th release. Sign up to pre-order your copy of what is sure to be an explosive finale to this fantastic series.

Wimpy Kid Ice Cream Truck Visits Book Beat!!!

Join us as the Diary of  Wimpy Kid Summer Reading Ice Cream Truck visits us here at Book Beat on Wednesday August 25, 2010. Starting at 4:00 pm come get a free purple popsicle to celebrate the upcoming publication of Diary of a Wimpy Book 5, which is on sale Tuesday November 9, 2010. Other free goodies will be handed out. PLEASE NOTE: JEFF KINNEY WILL NOT BE MAKING AN APPEARANCE OR SIGNING BOOKS AT THIS EVENT.

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John Sinclair Presents Sun Ra Book; Thursday, August 5th

Poet and blues scholar John Sinclair will be at The Book Beat on Thursday, August 5 from 7-8:30 pm to sign and discuss his newest book Sun Ra- Interviews and Essays.

This new book collects interviews with Sun Ra, his friends, associates, and contemporaries, regarding his prolific output, mystique, and philosophy. It includes essays by Wayne Kramer, Amiri Baraka, Sadiq Bey, and others. This book is in a series of titles that Sinclair has edited for Headpress publishers in London, England.

Composer, bandleader, pianist and space philosopher, Sun Ra was a unique individual and one of the most colorful and enduring of musical legacies, transcending time, place and culture. From the mid 1950s until his death in 1993, Sun Ra led The Arkestra , a fluid collective that lived and played together under the despotic tutelage of their leader, who claimed to hail from Saturn. Their music was jazz, but avant garde compositions in which players were instructed to adhere to a space key improvising without regard for conventional tonal centers was symptomatic of an altogether different direction in sound: electronic music, space music and free improvisation. But Sun Ra s legendary status was earned as much for his eccentricities as for his unique artistic vision. He developed and propagated a mystifying sci-fi mythology which he weaved into both the music and Dadaist performances of The Arkestra (performances which inspired artists as diverse as George Clinton and MC5). This book collects together for the first time interviews with Sun Ra, the people that knew him, and his contemporaries, alongside illuminating essays and conversational pieces regarding his prolific musical output, mystique, philosophy, fans, and much more.

About the Author

EDITOR BIO: In 1969, the poet-provocateur, MC5 manager and White Panther John Sinclair found himself the victim of that decade s draconian American drug laws, and facing a twenty-year jail sentence for the possession of two joints. The counterculture Sinclair helped create came to his rescue, however, when John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Phil Ochs and others performed at a successful benefit gig to petition for his release. Since that epochal moment, Sinclair has travelled the globe and performed with some of the world’s finest musicians. He interviewed Sun Ra in 1966.

Also available at this sigining will be a reprint facsimile of the “Poetry is Revolution” poster from 1967 by Leni Sinclair produced in a limited edition of 75 copies, and a reprint of Sinclair’s 1966 book Fire Music: A Record. Both editions have been printed by Book Beat.

The Book Beat reading group will be meeting Wednesday, June 30th at 7 PM at the Goldfish Teahouse in Royal Oak. Meetings are free and open to the public, reading selections are discounted 15% at Book Beat

“Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature.”
-Haruki Murakami

June’s Book Group Selection is “Kokoro” by Natsume Soseki.  Called by many the ‘father of modern Japanese literature,’ “Kokoro” was the final novel he completed before his death in 1916.  The work deals with the transition to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls “Sensei” (Or teacher).

We are pleased to present photographer Andrew Moore appearing at the Oakland Community College Theater at the Royal Oak Campus on  Friday, April 30th at 7:00 PM to autograph and talk about his latest large format photography book Detroit Disassembled. This controversial new book is one of the first to focus extensively on the ruins of Detroit. It raises important questions concerning all of us who live in the Detroit area. This event is co-sponsored by Oakland Community College and the Book Beat. Oakland Community College is located at 739, South Washington in Royal Oak. For more information please contact: Book Beat at 248-968-1190. Books are  now available for purchase at  Book Beat or at the event.

Andrew Moore is a fine arts photographer, educator, cinematographer and producer. His previous book, Russia: Beyond Utopia, was published by Chronicle Books. Moore was executive producer and cinematographer for the Award Winning documentary on artist Ray Johnson, How to Draw a Bunny. He currently lives and works in New York City.

Moore ventures well beyond the typical shoot-and-run exploiter, yet I cannot shake the disturbing feeling I get when I view these photographs. I think I understand Moore’s intent, and I even accept that he may have achieved his artistic purpose. Yet I find his photographs unremittingly bleak. – Read More: John Gallagher, The Detroit Freepress

The primary signs of life in Moore’s photographs come not from humans, but from nature: mossy grass grows in buildings, trees crawl from warehouses, and houses are swallowed whole by reaching vines. Moore’s postscript—and more quietly but importantly, his photographs—invoke Detroit’s motto, Speramus Meliora, Resurget Cineribus: “We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes.” –Read More: The New Yorker

Is Detroit America’s Rome?… Moore’s vision is more lyrical, almost optimistic. The sight of fluorescent moss carpeting a floor or birch trees sprouting from a bed of rotting books signifies for him not — or not only — a boomtown’s tragic collapse but an occasion to devise a new urban paradigm, one that incorporates vast swaths of woods and farmland. Moore’s Detroit, though sparsely populated, is not a ghost town.    -from a recent review in: the New York Times: Ruin With a View

Beyond their jawdropping content, Moore’s photographs inevitably raise the uneasy question of the long-term future of a country in which such extreme degradation can exist unchecked. -Publisher’s website blurb for Detroit Disassembled

“Andrew Moore’s images, by contrast, transcend politics….his photographs comprise an other­worldly calculus of a profoundly troubled nation eternally uncertain of its place in the world.“ – Boris Fishman on Russia: Beyond Utopia

Andrew Moore is best known for his complex and painterly images of Cuba, Russia, and New York City. He has had nine solo shows in New York as well as numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and internationally. His photographs are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Library of Congress, the Israel Museum, the High Museum, the Eastman House and the Canadian Centre for Architecture amongst others. Moore has been the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, The New York State Council on the Arts, and several private foundations.  His photographs have been published by Wired, The New York Times Magazine, Departures, Conde Nast Traveler, Art and Auction, Geo, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Harpers, Esquire, Fortune, New York Magazine, and The New Yorker.

Book Beat reading group meeting April 28th

There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales (Paperback) Masterworks of economy and acuity, these brief, trenchant tales by Russian author and playwright Petrushevskaya, selected from her wide-ranging but little translated oeuvre over the past 30 years, offer an enticement to English readers to seek out more of her writing. The tales explore the inexplicable workings of fate, the supernatural, grief and madness, and range from adroit, straightforward narratives to bleak fantasy.

The Book Beat reading group meets the last Wednesday of every month. Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 28th at 7:00 PM at the Goldfish Teahouse, 117 W. Fourth Street  in Royal Oak.  Meetings are free and open to the public. Book club books are discounted 15% at Book Beat. Please call 248-968-1190 for more information.

Find out more on Ludmilla at:  SCARY FAIRY TALES blog

Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day April 30th:El día de los niños / El día de los libros

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration EVERY DAY of children, families, and reading that culminates every year on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

International(click here): Save the Frogs Day is April 30th!

SAVE THE FROGS! is America’s first and only public charity dedicated exclusively to amphibian conservation. Our mission is to protect amphibian populations and to promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife.

Celebrate (click here): National Arbor Day on Friday, April 3oth!

Arbor Day is a nationally-celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care. Founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872, it’s celebrated on the last Friday in April.

Perfect book for Arbor Day April 30th: & illustrated by local Artist Cyd Moore!

Arbor Day Square (Hardcover) Katie and her papa are among a group of settlers building a town in the middle of the dusty, brown prairie. Every week the trains bring more people and more lumber to build houses, fences, and barns. New buildings are erected: a church with a steeple, a store with glass windows, even a schoolhouse with desks for seventeen children.

But one thing is missing: trees.

When the townspeople take up a collection to order trees from back east Katie adds her own pennies and Papa’s silver dollar. When the tiny saplings finally arrive, Katie helps dig holes and fetch water. Then, in a quiet corner off the public square, Katie and Papa plant a flowering dogwood in memory of Mama.

Although set in the past, Kathryn O. Galbraith’s gentle story of community building, the timelessness of love, and the power of ritual will resonate with young readers today. Cyd Moore’s full-color illustrations reflect the simplicity of the story and life in a new prairie town, while evoking the complexity of its themes.

“An attractive introduction to the celebration of Arbor Day.”

Booklist

“Moore’s gentle pencil and watercolors lend a classic “storybook” feel to the story…”

Kirkus

Sunday, May 2nd, Fantasy Author Patrick Rothfuss at Baldwin Library

New York Times Best-Selling Author Patrick Rothfuss will be at the Baldwin Public Library, (300 West Merrill Street, Birmingham) on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 2:00 pm.

His debut fantasy novel, The Name of the Wind has received high praise in the world of fantasy fiction and his fans are eagerly waiting for his next title to be released.  Rothfuss will be there for a reading, signing and Q and A session.   Come out to meet this exciting new fantasy writer.   Books will be available for purchase at the event from Book Beat.

“The Name of the Wind marks the debut of a writer we would all do well to watch. Patrick Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous.”

Thank you for your continued support.

Happy Earth Day, April 22!

“There is no substitute for books in the life of a child” – Mary Ellen Chase

Book Beat and  The Berkley Area PTSA Council are proud to present the Read in the Park on Sunday, March 21, 2010 at Berkley High School in the Collaborative Center, 2325 Catalpa Drive, Berkley, MI 48072-1897.  The Collaborative Center is on north side of the building, facing the courtyard and Catalpa.  March is Reading Month and in celebration five Michigan authors and illustrators have been invited to speak and autograph books for children and families.  The event is free and open to the public.   Books by the participating authors will be available at the event, also we will be sending out an order form for people who cannot attend but would like to purchase books and get them signed.  Your purchase of these author’s books at the event, through the book-order form or at the Book Beat is important because it makes these events possible.  We thank you for your support in the salute to reading!

Here’s the schedule for the day:

Schedule

1:00 Doors open and reception table is available

1:15 General welcome to the event, summary of activities, thank you to our guests, vendors, administration, PTSA Council etc.

1:30 Author and Illustrator Amy Young

2:00 Author Michael P. Spradlin

2:30 Illustrator Kathryn Darnell

3:00 Author John Perry

3:30 Author Renée Hand

4:00 End of event and clean-up

Amy Young Bio        

I grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts. I always loved to draw and to make things, and wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. I was pretty good at writing and other academic subjects, but I never really liked math.

After high school I went to lots of different schools. I went to the Cleveland Institute of Art for two years, then I transferred to Yale University. A few years after graduating, I went to Indiana University and got a Master of Fine Arts in painting. Then, for something completely different, I went to Harvard Law School and proceeded to practice law for seven years. I “retired” in 1995 to illustrate full-time.

During and between all those years of schooling I had a lot of different jobs. I have been a waitress, a kitchen worker, a construction worker, a farm hand and a teaching assistant. My least favorite job was waitressing. My best boss ever was Danny, the foreman of my construction crew.

Once I became a full time illustrator, I worked in as many areas as I could. You can see samples of my work in the different sections of this website.
I had wanted to illustrate a children’s book for years before I got the chance to actually do it. My first picture book, which I wrote as well as illustrated, is Belinda the Ballerina; it was published by Viking in 2003. I have written and illustrated lots of books since then.

I live in Spring Lake, Michigan with my charming husband Paul and my darling dog Sophie Rose. I love animals, and I used to serve on the board of  Harbor Humane Society. That’s where we got Sophie. For fun, I like to play music (I play fiddle and Irish whistle, and Paul plays guitar and concertina), read, take walks and nap with Sophie. I also like to spend time with my friends.

Amy Young’s latest title: The Mud Fairy

other books: Moi and Marie Antoinette: By Lynn Cullen, illustrated by Amy Young. Hardcover only

Belinda, the Ballerina: Hardcover and paperback

Belinda in Paris: Hardcover

Belinda and the Glass Slipper: Hardcover

Belinda Begins Ballet: Hardcover

Michael P. Spradlin Bio        

Michael P. Spradlin is the author of more than a dozen books for children, some of which have actually been published. He grew up in a small town in Michigan not far from the Indiana border, which may explain his irrational fear of Hoosiers. (Both the inhabitants of the state of Indiana and the movie starring Gene Hackman).

Surrounded by books in his formative years, he grew up loving to read, imagining himself the hero of numerous epic battles and indulging in his favorite pastime, which was smuggling fireworks across the Ohio border so that he could blow up his collection of Plastic Green Army Men and Matchbox Cars.

His first book for children,  The Legend of Blue Jacket, was called by School Library Journal “a well-researched labor of love.” His first novel,  Spy Goddess: Live and Let Shop, was a 2006 Edgar Award nominee by the Mystery Writers of America for Best Young Adult Mystery. The second book in the series,  Spy Goddess: To Hawaii, With Love, was given a starred review by  VOYA. His newest project is The Youngest Templar Trilogy. The first book  The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail was published by G.P. Putnam Sons in September 2008. An international sensation, rights to The Youngest Templar have sold in ten countries, and it is also available as an  audio edition from Listening Library. The second book in the trilogy  The Youngest Templar: Trail of Fate was released in October, 2009 and called by School Library Journal ‘brilliant’ and ‘riveting’. The third book The Youngest Templar: Orphan of Destiny will be released in fall 2010.
Michael’s first book for grownups  It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Zombies, was a five week New York Times Bestseller. Published in fall 2009, the book recieved raves from The New York Daily News, The Baltimore Sun and many other media outlets.

Michael is also the author of several picture books including the award-winning  Daniel Boone’s Great Escape. Check the Coming Soon page for all of the latest updates on his new books including Baseball From A to Z and Off Like the Wind: The First Ride Of The Pony Express, both of which will be published in spring 2010.

Upcoming projects include a novel called The Raven’s Shadow which will be published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in 2011. The Raven’s Shadow is set in Washington DC in 1825 and features a teen age Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin and Edgar Allan Poe who must band together to defeat an evil the modern world will come to know as Count Dracula. Teaming up with illustrator Ard Hoyt again, Michael will publish The Inch High Samurai, a retelling of a Japanese Folk Tale which will also be published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in 2012.

When not writing, he enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with his family and worrying over the fact that he really should be writing instead of doing other stuff. He lives in Michigan with his wife Kelly, son Michael, daughter Rachel and two dogs Willow and Apollo.

His latest titles: Off Like the Wind: The First Ride of the Pony Express: Hardcover only & Baseball From A to Z: Hardcover only

Daniel Boone’s Greatest Escape: Hardcover only

Texas Rangers: Legendary Lawmen: Hardcover only

Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail: Hardcover and paperback

Youngest Templar: Trail of Fate: Hardcover

Renee Hand Bio        

My love for reading and writing started when I was a child. I always had a passion for it. I remember frequently wearing out the stone steps to the local library. When in a bookstore I would sit in the middle of an aisle perusing a novel that I was eagerly going to purchase but couldn’t wait to read. Often, when I had extra time, I would write stories that would pop into my head locking myself in my room for hours. Now that I am older my love for reading and writing has not diminished. In fact, it has only become a bigger part of me. It is because of this that I chose to share my interests with other readers who love books as much as I do.

My goal in writing is to entertain, but more importantly it is to build a connection with my readers. If I make another person feel some kind of emotion while they read my books, whether it be love, anger, compassion, or curiosity,  then I did my job as a writer and that makes me feel good about what I write about.

I am not only a romance author but a children’s author of an amazing mystery series that encourages children to read by incorporating several topics of interest. The reader must participate into the story in order to solve the case.

I am an award-winning author, educator, tennis coach and various other things. I have been writing for over twenty years and have been a published author for five years with five works published. I write for various chronicles and newsletters, as well as write reviews for various authors of children´s books on my blog.

In my writing career thus far, I have been in over 40 newspapers and blogs. I have been interviewed on ABC channel 12 and on various radio stations and blogs, including Blog Talk Radio and The Children’s Author Show. I have participated in over 100 events, which include book signings, libraries, book stores, charities, schools  and festivals all over the United States. I am a member of the SCBWI (Society of Children´s Book Writers and Illustrators). I am available on Facebook and I have two videos created for my series which can be seen from the homepage.

For me, it is all about my readers. I write for them and hopefully create a love of reading that will last a lifetime. My family has encouraged my talents and creativity and I couldn’t have gotten this far without their support and love.

I have also received awards for my works. For Magic Hearts I won a Best 2006 Fantasy Romance award. My second romance novel Seduction of the Lonely Heart won a National Literary Award for Best Romance of  2007.  I am thankful for these two awards. Book 1 of my new children’s series, The Crypto-Capers in The Case of the Missing Sock, won a preferred choice award for 2009 by Creative Child Magazine.

Check out the various books that I currently have available and coming soon, a new mystery series for lower elementary. All of the information is throughout the site.

If you would like me to review your children’s book, I can be contacted at thecryptocapersseries@gmail.com I love being an author! Thank you for all of your support.

Her latest title: Crypto-Capers: Case of the Golden Monkey: Book 3 Paperback only and Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut & Biscuit Bill Case #1: The Great Pie Catastrophe: Paperback only

Crypto-Capers: Case of the Missing Sock: Book 1, Paperback only

Crypto-Capers: Case of the Red Rock Canyon: Book 2, Paperback only

K. L. Darnell Illustrator Bio        

Artist Kate Darnell has been drawing for as long as she can remember and even after 20 years of doing it, is thrilled each day to be making her living at what she loves most to do — drawing pictures. She earned her BFA studying drawing and painting at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design. In addition to her freelance career as an illustrator and calligrapher, she is a part-time instructor of art at Lansing Community College.

Her art has been described as “making you want to slow down and look.” Her intricate drawings are achieved through many layers of tiny colored pencil marks on vellum paper. She lives in East Lansing with her husband and daughter.

The American Reader: By Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrated by Kate Darnell, Hardcover only

The Michigan Reader: By Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrated by Kate Darnell Paperback only

Fibblestax: by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Kate Darnell, Paperback only

John Perry Bio

John Perry is a native Michigander and currently lives in Ann Arbor.  After spending  most of his youth tromping through swamps somewhere North of Howell, Perry eventually found employment in the advertising industry.  These days he is a happily married Dad with two young girls, a cat, two hermit crabs and several houseplants.

The Book That Eats People is his debut book and has garnered rave reviews from critics and kids who have survived this hungry title.  Children who enjoy the humor of John Scieszka will “eat this book up” as well.  Also, The Book That Eats People has been chosen as one of five finalists for the Children’s Choice Book Awards Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year. The awards, to be announced May 11, are sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, in association with Every Child a Reader, and the finalists were voted for by thousands of young readers.  Congratulations John!  One of the bookstore’s favorite titles of 2009.

His latest title:

The Book That Eats People

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Andre Williams Signing at

Book Beat – March 20, 5-6 p.m.

R & B legend Andre Williams will be at Book Beat, March 20, 2010 to speak and autograph copies of his debut book of fiction entitled Sweets and other stories from 5 to 6 p.m.   Williams sang or spoke on some legendary singles for Detroit’s Fortune Records in the 50’s and 60’s including hits such as Bacon Fat, the Greasy Chicken and Jail Bait. Sweets and other stories is a rough and gritty collection of tales of tragedy and perseverance from the mean streets of Chicago and beyond.  Sure to be a memorable occasion.  @ the Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield Road, Oak Park, MI 48237.  248 968 1190.

Free Recycling Workshop @ the Oak Park Community Center, Tuesday March 16  6-7:30 p.m.

SOCCRA Community Partners in Recycling and Waste is offering a free 1 and 1/2 hour recycling workshop for residents in Oak Park.  Kathy Hyde from SOCCRA is hosting this fun and informative seminar.  Please bring a friend if you are interested in attending.  The seminar will be on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 from 6-7:30 at the Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Boulevard (West side of the Oak Park Library )  Please call 248-288-5150 to reserve your spot.

Book Beat Reading Group March Selection

The Book Beat Reading Group will be meeting on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 @ 7 pm to be discussing Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, the 2009 National Book Award Winner.  The reading group meets at the Goldfish Teahouse, 117 W. Fourth Street in downtown Royal Oak.

We are sorry to announce the SHARON FLAKE event has been canceled by the author due to a personal emergency. We are sorry for any inconvenience and will schedule a new date and time soon, thank you.

CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR SHARON FLAKE AT THE OAK PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Book Beat is pleased to announce that award-winning children’s and young adult fiction writer Sharon Flake is visiting the Oak Park Library on Saturday, February 20, 2010 where she will speak and autograph books. THIS EVENT IS CANCELED & POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: The event begins at 4:00 p.m. and coincides with Sharon Flake’s latest young adult title: You Don’t Even Know Me: Stories and Poems About Boys.

Sharon Flake gained immediate acclaim with the release in 1998 of her first book, The Skin I’m In, for which she won the Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe Award for New Talent. This book continues to be on required young adult reading lists for schools and libraries around the country and has reached classic status in the YA publishing world. Flake has also received the Coretta Scott King Honor Award for Money Hungry and Who Am I Without Him. Flake’s first book for a younger audience, The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street has also received much critical praise and is a title on the list for this year’s popular Southfield Public Libraries’ Battle of the Books contest.

Her latest book, You Don’t Even Know Me: Stories and Poems About Boys, is a collection of poems and stories concerning the thoughts, fears and realities faced by young African American men in today’s world.  This is written for boys aged 11 and up.

This event is free and open to the public and promises to be a fun and thought-provoking visit from an exceptional author. Mark this event on your calendars and arrive a bit early for a great chance to meet and listen to one of today’s top Young Adult and Children’s literary talents.

Leonard Pitts Jr. at the Detroit Public Library

Leonard Pitts, Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the Miami Herald and author of several books, will be visiting the Detroit Public Library Main Branch as their special guest author for African American History Month.  His debut novel, Before I Forget, concerns an ailing soul singer as he tries to make amends with the young son whose life he has neglected.  Pitts Jr. is also the author of Becoming Dad, Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood.

Book Beat will be selling books for the event and the author will be on hand for autographing copies and a special afternoon discussion.  The event occurs at Saturday, February 27, 2:00 p.m. at the Main Library – Friends Auditorium, 5201 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202.  Call 313-833-4042 for more information or directions.

Valentine’s Day – Book Lovers Know What They Want

Valentine’s Day is upon us and Book Beat is packed full of gifts like a decadent chocolate full of some undetermined nougat.  Stop by for a fantastic selection of romantic art and photography books, novels and quality Valentine’s cards.  And you already know that gift certificates are an excellent choice, too.  Happy Valentine’s Day!!

UPDATE ON THE BOOK BEAT READING GROUP

The Book Beat reading group meeting was canceled for January.  The book discussion on Herta Muller’s (this year’s Nobel Prize winner) THE LAND OF GREEN PLUMS will be on Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00.  Meetings are at Goldfish Teahouse, 117 West 4th Street Royal Oak MI 48067.

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2010: February 15-21

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is the United States delegate to the World Kindness Movement, an organization that includes various nations. People in these countries promote kindness within their countries’ borders and are creating a global network of kindness and compassion.

Some helpful ideas can be found in the Random Acts of Kindness revised edition.  With stories, quotations and suggestions for inspiration.

One local organization that would be an excellent recipient of a random act of kindness is the Canticle Cafe in downtown Detroit.  The cafe is a hospitality ministry of the Saint Aloysius Parish helping homeless and low-income individuals in Detroit.  They sell and serve delicious organic, fair-trade Michigan roasted coffee beans with proceeds helping their patrons.  You can purchase ground or whole beans at the location of the Cafe downtown, 1209 Washington Blvd, Detroit, or call their Coffee order HotLine at 313 309 1276.  The coffee is $10 for a 1-pound bag, a good price for their high quality coffee.

Also, the people at Canticle Cafe have mentioned that they can always use new white athletic socks for their homeless patrons.  If you’d like to help out with this you can drop off new white socks at Book Beat, we’ll have a box here that we will be bringing to the Canticle Cafe downtown February 22.  A small expense that makes a big difference.

The ALA announced the Children’s Book Award winners on Monday, January 18.  This was an exciting year for Book Beat because of the quality of the titles chosen, particularly this year’s Newbery Award Winner Rebecca Stead for her book, When You Reach Me. Also, one of our favorite local author/illustrators, Herbert Wong Yee won a Theodore Geisel Honor Award for Mouse and Mole: Fine-Feathered Friends.   Check out the list of 2010 winners from the winners.  Congratulations Authors and illustrators!

We have many of the ALA winners on hand in our store; if you are interested in any of these titles please consider purchasing them from Book Beat, your local independent book seller.

DETROIT READS! One Book One Community Program

The Detroit Public Library Invites you to read and discuss: BEFORE I FORGET YOU by Leonard Pitts, Jr., on Saturday, Feb., 27th at 2:00 PM. Book Beat will be selling books at this event.

Random Acts of Kindness Week 2010: February 15-21

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is the United States delegate to the World Kindness Movement, an organization that includes various nations. People in these countries promote kindness within their countries’ borders and are creating a global network of kindness and compassion.

Some helpful ideas can be found in the Random Acts of Kindness revised edition.  With stories, quotations and suggestions for inspiration.

One local organization that would be an excellent recipient of a random act of kindness is the Canticle Cafe in downtown Detroit.  The cafe is a hospitality ministry of the Saint Aloysius Parish helping homeless and low-income individuals in Detroit.  They sell and serve delicious organic, fair-trade Michigan roasted coffee beans with proceeds helping their patrons.  You can purchase ground or whole beans at the location of the Cafe downtown, 1209 Washington Blvd, Detroit, or call their Coffee order HotLine at 313 309 1276.  The coffee is $10 for a 1-pound bag, a good price for their high quality coffee.

Also, the people at Canticle Cafe have mentioned that they can always use new white athletic socks for their homeless patrons.  If you’d like to help out with this you can drop off new white socks at Book Beat, we’ll have a box here that we will be bringing to the Canticle Cafe downtown February 22.  A small expense that makes a big difference.

Rashi’s Daughters’ Author Maggie Anton Signing at Congregation Beth Shalom

The author Maggie Anton, writer of the popular Rashi’s Daughters series will be speaking and signing Wednesday, February 3rd at 7:30 p.m at Congregation Beth Shalom.  The Rashi’s Daughters’ series is set in 11th Century France and concerns a Jewish scholar who teaches his daughters the Talmud.  This event is open to the public and is being sponsored by the Sisterhood of Congregation Beth Shalom at 14601 W. Lincoln Road, Oak Park, MI 48237.  For more info call 248 547 7970.

Improve your relationships with DR. TERRI ORBUCH AT BALDWIN LIBRARY, Wed, Jan. 20th, at  7:00 PM

Join Dr. Terri Orbuch author of 5 SIMPLE STEPS TO TAKE YOUR MARRIAGE FROM GOOD TO GREAT at the Baldwin Public Library 300 W. Merrill, Birmingham.  How do you manage successful relationships in stressful times? Dr. Terri Orbuch, Detroit Free Press columnist, author of 5 Simple Steps to Take your Marriage from Good to Great and featured guest on Fox 2, will help us restore our romantic relationships during these stressful times. The Book Beat will be selling books at this event.

We have signed copies now available of the book, it would make an excellent Valentine’s gift for any couples out there.  Also, we have Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-seller Committed, another great Valentine’s gift idea.

UPDATE ON THE BOOK BEAT READING GROUP

The Book Beat reading group meeting will be canceled for January. The book discussion on Herta Muller’s (this year’s Nobel Prize winner) THE LAND OF GREEN PLUMS is now moved to Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00 – sorry for any inconvenience.

Henderson’s Light: Drinking, Driving and a Deadly Encounter

Written by local  author Jack Torry about a tragedy that occurred in 1965.  This book was recently featured in the Detroit News.  Copies are available at Book Beat.

It started out as a post-swim meet pizza date. Five teenagers in a mid-sized Buick, out for an evening of fun. All too soon, the evening turned into one of screams and death, four lives lost, two kids terribly injured, the Buick smashed beyond recognition by the impact of the heavier convertible, whose driver was the fourth fatality. But it didn’t end then. Forty years later, aftereffects of the crash were still reverberating among the survivors – siblings, parents, friends, neighbors, and teachers – who were left to deal with the follow- on realities of a terrible tragedy, one more episode in the continuing American story of drunk driving and its consequences.

DONATE TO THE AMERICAN RED CROSS

In light of the recent tragic earthquake in Haiti we hope you will consider a donation to the American Red Cross.

The Kwame Sutra “The Kwame Sutra,” is “a one-stop shop for all of Kwame’s best BS,” says top-rated morning radio show host Drew Lane. This new book from Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters M.L. Elrick and Jim Schaefer captures Kwame Kilpatrick as no one ever has. In his own words, including never-before-published quotations, the former mayor of Detroit reveals himself in many ways: Liar, Lothario and, yes, leader.

Life in the Boreal Forest “Gorgeously intricate illustrations perfectly complement equally evocative text in this introduction to the great northern, or boreal, forest, which sprawls across the entire northern hemisphere…Guiberson and Spirin manage to successfully convey the beauty and majesty of this forest and its denizens in two dimensions, and a list of organizations devoted to preserving the forest provides further information. An author’s note adds urgency to the message about the importance of preservation.”—Booklist, Starred Review  Ages 4-8

A Family Secret paperback, $9.99While searching his grandmother’s attic for likely items to sell at a yard sale, Jeroen finds a photo album that brings back hard memories for his grandmother, Helena. Helena tells Jeroen for the first time about her experiences during the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War, and mourns the loss of her Jewish best friend, Esther. Helena believes that her own father, a policeman and Nazi sympathizer, delivered Esther to the Nazis and that she died in a concentration camp. But after hearing her story, Jeroen makes a discovery and Helena realizes that her father kept an important secret from her.

An Eye For Color: The Story of Josef Albers * “Spare, engaging text paired with striking gouache illustrations make this book a perfect choice for aspiring young artists.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“An accessible and lively introduction to this artist and to color theory.”—Publishers Weekly

“An expanded biographical spread and comprehensive glossary with a color wheel greatly enhance this unusual effort, which closes with hands-on projects that explore color theory.”—Booklist  Ages 9-12

The Magician’s Elephant What if? Why not? Could it be?

When a fortuneteller’s tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller’s mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician’s touch. Ages 9-12

Forest Born A brilliant addition to the Books of Bayern, this book is a treat for fans of this series, and stands alone for readers who might be discovering the joys of Shannon Hale’s writing for the first time.

“One doesn’t need to have read the earlier books to become enraptured by this one, but doing so adds to the richness of these very satisfying tales.”—Kirkus Reviews

Ages 13 and up

Midnight Charter (Hardcover) In a society based on trade, where everything can be bought and sold, the future rests on the secrets of a single document-and the lives of two children whose destiny it is to discover its secrets. In this spellbinding novel, newcomer David Whitley has imagined a nation at a crossroads: misshaped by materialism and facing a choice about its future. He has brought to life two children who will test the nation’s values-and crafted a spellbinding adventure story that will keep readers turning the pages until the very end.

For readers who love Philip Pullman, THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER combines great storytelling with a compelling vision – a many layered adventure with powerful and timely implications.

Liar (Hardcover) “Larbalestier creates and sustains a marvelous tension, as readers ponder what part of Micah’s narrative is true. Micah is wonderfully complex, both irritating and immensely likable. The unresolved ending will certainly provoke discussion, sending readers back to the text for a closer rereading.”—Booklist
Age 14 and up

Sotah Set against the exotic backdrop of Jerusalem’s glistening white stones and ancient rituals, Sotah is a contemporary story of the struggle to reconcile tradition with freedom, and faith with love.

“The pleasures of Ragen’s book arise… from thought-provoking comparisons of Israeli Orthodox and American Jewish life.” –Publishers Weekly

Louisa: The Life of Louisa May Alcott When Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women was published in 1868 it was an instant success. Louisa drew on her experiences in writing the novel, but there’s a lot more to her rags-to-riches story. Louisa came from a family that was poor but freethinking, and she started teaching when she was only seventeen years old. But writing was her passion. This informative biography captures the life of a compassionate woman who left an indelible mark on literature for all ages.  Ages 9-12

Eidi: The Children of Crow Cove (The Children of Crow Cove Series) (Hardcover) “Like the previous book in the Children of Crow Cove series, this unassuming yet compelling story is notable for the simplicity and power of the storytelling, the clarity of description and characterization, and the humanity of the ideas at the novel’s heart.” —Starred, Booklist

“[A] heartfelt story of love and belonging.” —Kirkus Reviews

Everything for a Dog (Hardcover) This parallel novel to Martin’s A Dog’s Life (Scholastic, 2005), about a stray named Squirrel, tells the tale of Squirrel’s brother and his search for a home. Unlike Dog’s Life, only part of the story is told from Bone’s perspective. Instead, it is also narrated by Henry, a boy desperately in want of a dog; and Charlie, who is dealing with the aftermath of his brother’s recent death. Though it follows the standard “boy and his dog” story line, Martin’s gentle tale also touches upon growing up, facing hardship, and the importance of companionship, no matter its form. The interconnected stories, told in alternating chapters, are thoughtfully written and crafted to a satisfying convergence. This is a touching and ultimately happy story that will appeal to fans of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Shiloh (S & S, 1991) and Fred Gipson’s Old Yeller (HarperCollins, 1942), as well as to a wider audience.—Nicole Waskie (School Journal) Ages 9-12

Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Volume 3 (Hardcover) $19.95, “[Jansson’s] work soars with lightness and speed, and her drawings only echo her writing: delicate but precise, observant yet suggestive . . . Jansson was exceptional, an exuberant explorer of emotional independence and interdependence, a liberating force.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

Moomin has been swiftly making its way into the hearts of North Americans ever since Drawn & Quarterly began collecting the strip in 2006. It debuted in the London Evening News in 1954 and has become the fastest-selling D+Q series to date. Fifty years ago, Tove Jansson’s observations of everyday life—whimsical but with biting undertones—easily caught the attention of an international audience and still resonate today.

The True Deceiver (paperback) “…Jansson crafts an unsentimental – often mischievous – novel of ideas that asks whether it is better to be kind than to be truthful, especially for an artist. Ali Smith’s excellent introduction expresses shock and delight that there is still fiction by Jansson untranslated into English. After reading this gem, who could disagree?” —Financial Times

“I loved this book…understated yet exciting, and with a tension that keeps you reading. I felt transported to that remote region of Sweden and when I finished it I read it all over again. The characters still haunt me.”–Ruth Rendell

The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My (Hardcover) In a delightful, curious game of what come next, Moomintroll travels through the woods to get home with milk for Moominmamma. A simple trip turns into a colorful adventure as Moomintroll meets Mymble who has lost her sister Little My. Along the way, they endue the hijinks of all teh charming characterse of the Moomin world including the Fillijonks and Hattifatteners. Will Moomin ever make it home safe and sound? A beautiful and boisterous story by internationally acclaimed children’s author Tove Jansson, this picture book is sure to tickle the fancies of parents and kids as well as Moomintroll fans everywhere!

Weezer Changes the World (Hardcover) “Weezer is a cute little dog who does normal cute little dog things until one day he gets struck by lightning and everything changes. Suddenly Weezer can do extraordinary things. Then Weezer gets sick and it is up to everyone in the world to show him what they can do to change. The watercolor illustrations are comical and engaging.

Weezer Changes the World is not so much about how one person can change the world but how everyone together can make a difference if they really want to. This simple story grabs the great big scary world by the horns and tames it for young readers. It is meant to be read again and again as young children will gain more insight with each repetition.” — Advice From a Catapiller. online

Only One You (hardcover) This is a story about a deep love that is shared between parents and their child. Sharing wisdom from one generation to another is so important.

As parents, our hope is that our words will be embraced and stored away until they are needed. I wanted this colorful story to be a springboard that allows families to talk about memories and life lessons with their children. There is certainly no more enjoyable close to a busy day than sharing a special story with your child.

By visually seeing these simple thoughts, together with fun, lively characters, children will make a meaningful connection and understand that they, in their own way, can truly make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of those around them. They will celebrate their own uniqueness.

Ancient Gonzo Wisdom Bristling with inspired observations and wild anecdotes, this first collection offers a unique insight into the voice and mind of the inimitable Hunter S. Thompson, as recorded in the pages of Playboy, The Paris Review, Esquire, and elsewhere. Fearless and unsparing, the interviews detail some of the most storied episodes of Thompson’s life: a savage beating at the hands of the Hells Angels, talking football with Nixon on the 1972 Campaign Trail (“the only time in 20 years of listening to the treacherous bastard that I knew he wasn’t lying”), and his unlikely run for sheriff of Aspen.

Oy Vey: More! The ultimate book of jewish jokes part 2 Hanukah Quizzes Matzo Ball Humor A Real Kosher Treat!

From rabbis to relationships, latkes to lawyers, and marriages to miracles, here is a feast of more than a thousand old and new Jewish jokes and witty anecdotes—and you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy them!

David Minkoff’s Web site, www.awordinyoureye.com, has attracted attention and contributions from around the world. Containing jokes to tell children, a compatibility test for couples, and humorous quips for special occasions, his book is a truly unique collection.

“This clever kosher compilation generates giggles galore.” —Publishers Weekly

“Terrific and addicting . . . guaranteed to make you laugh.” —The Reporter (New York)

Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art of the VHS Box Harken back to those thrilling days of yesteryear when the advent of rental videos astonished the movie-going consumer who could only feed his addiction by going to the theater or watching chopped up movies in between commercials on TV. Like vinyl, here is the revenge of another analog cast-off: the VHS is once again insinuating itself into American culture, and this book celebrates the anarchic design art of those early VHS boxes.

The Art Student’s War In The Art Student’s War, his sixth novel, Brad Leithauser has brought off a double feat of imagination: a keen and affectionate rendering of an artist as a young woman and a loving historical portrait of a now-vanished Detroit in its heyday.

The story opens on a sunny spring day as a pretty woman, in a crowded wartime city, climbs aboard a streetcar. She is heading home, where another war—a domestic war—is about to erupt.

The year is 1943. Our heroine, Bianca Paradiso, is eighteen and an art student. She goes by Bea with friends and family, but she is Bianca in that world of private ambition where she dreams of creating canvases deserving of space on a museum’s walls. She is determined to observe everything, and there is much to see in a thriving, sleepless city where automobile production has been halted in favor of fighter planes and tanks, and where wounded soldiers have begun to appear with disturbing frequency.

Generosity: An Enhancement (Hardcover) What will happen to life when science identifies the genetic basis of happiness? Who will own the patent? Do we dare revise our own temperaments? Funny, fast, and finally magical, Generosity celebrates both science and the freed imagination. In his most exuberant book yet, Richard Powers asks us to consider the big questions facing humankind as we begin to rewrite our own existence.

“Powers can write lovely and heartfelt stories (he won a National Book Award in 2006), but he also has a well-deserved reputation for brainy fiction (he won a MacArthur “genius” grant in 1989), and “Generosity” may be his most demanding novel yet. It’s told in a series of moments that run from just a paragraph to a few pages long, involving a triple-helix plot.” – Washington Post

There Once Lived A Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby The literary event of Halloween: a book of otherworldly power from Russia’s preeminent contemporary fiction writer

Vanishings and aparitions, nightmares and twists of fate, mysterious ailments and supernatural interventions haunt these stories by the Russian master Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, heir to the spellbinding tradition of Gogol and Poe. Blending the miraculous with the macabre, and leavened by a mischievous gallows humor, these bewitching tales are like nothing being written in Russia—or anywhere else in the world—today.

Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do What are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is the free market fair? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? Do individual rights and the common good conflict?

Michael J. Sandel’s “Justice” course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day, and this fall, public television will air a series based on the course. Justice offers readers the same exhilarating journey that captivates Harvard students. This book is a searching, lyrical exploration of the meaning of justice, one that invites readers of all political persuasions to consider familiar controversies in fresh and illuminating ways.

Death of Bunny Munro At turns dark and humane, The Death of Bunny Munro is a tender portrait of the relationship between a boy and his father, with all the wit and enigma that fans will recognize as Nick Cave’s singular vision.

“Put Cormac McCarthy, Franz Kafka and Benny Hill together in a Brighton seaside guesthouse and they might just come up with Bunny Munro. As it stands, though, this novel emerges emphatically as the work of one of the great cross-genre storytellers of our age: a compulsive read possessing all of Nick Cave’s trademark horror and humanity, often thinly disguised in a galloping, playful romp.” —Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Hardcover) From the author of the #1 bestseller Three Cups of Tea, the continuing story of this determined humanitarian’s efforts to promote peace through education

In this dramatic first-person narrative, Greg Mortenson picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off in 2003, recounting his relentless, ongoing efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan; his extensive work in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan after a massive earthquake hit the region in 2005; and the unique ways he has built relationships with Islamic clerics, militia commanders, and tribal leaders even as he was dodging shootouts with feuding Afghan warlords and surviving an eight-day armed abduction by the Taliban. He shares for the first time his broader vision to promote peace through education and literacy, as well as touching on military matters, Islam, and women-all woven together with the many rich personal stories of the people who have been involved in this remarkable two-decade humanitarian effort.

The Wild Things The Wild Things, based loosely on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screenplay co-written with Spike Jonze, is about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can’t control. His father is gone, his mother is spending time with a younger boyfriend, his sister is becoming a teenager and no longer has interest in him. At the same time, he finds himself capable of startling acts of wildness — he wears a wolf suit, bites his mom, can’t always control his outbursts. During a fight at home, Max flees and runs away into the woods. He finds a boat there, jumps in, and ends up on the open sea, destination unknown. He lands on the island of the Wild Things, and soon he becomes their king. But things get complicated when Max realizes that the Wild Things want as much from him as he wants from them. Funny, dark, and alive, The Wild Things is a timeless and time-tested tale for all ages.

Sweets The first fiction effort from the legendary Andre Williams! Sweets is a narrative which takes you for a wild ride from Chicago to Houston, New Orleans, and New York City, as a teenage girl finds herself in a family way, without a family. Forced to fend for herself, she is taken under the wing of a local pimp who entices her into prostitution. The adventures that follow are a free-for-all foray through the fantastic world of pimps and their women, funeral directors, gangs and drug running, with sidebar anecdotes that are guaranteed to appall, alarm and astonish. Extreme entries remain unedited, and none of Williams’ raw drawl storytelling style has been tampered with in this standout fiction debut.

Go-Monster, Go! MONSTER MANIA!

Rat Fink Wacky Wobbler by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth

“Like Wow Man, a Bouncin’ Rat Fink Wacky Wobbler!”

During the hot rod craze of the 60’s, no one made more of an impact on popular culture than the legendary car customizer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth! RAT FINK, Big Daddy’s fly-infested alter ego and trademark was Roth’s most popular monster. This is a special limited edition in metallic groovy green!

Cameron Jamie: silkscreen/ (unsigned) Destroy All Monsters exhibition poster designed by artist Cameron Jamie – a limited number of these are available from an edition of 100. This three color poster has a secret message scrawled in glow-in-the-dark green – just turn out your lights and turn on to a mystical light show that will liven up your secret cave.

Destroy All Monsters ‘Monster Masher’ Trading Card Set Each card deck consists of a complete set of 40 thick glossy double-sided 3×4″ trading cards, two buttons, two stickers, one Japanese monster toy, and two postcard checklists with descriptions and titles for each image, all designed for the 2009 Printed Matter exhibition “Hungry for Death.” -each deck is numbered from an edition of 250 copies.

Also available is the 1975 Destroy All Monsters LP ‘Double Sextet’ and a reissue of the ‘original primal stew’ – the 3x CD set: Destroy All Monsters 1974-1976 . – also available is a new eco-friendly packaged reissue CD of Monster Island’s first acid-folk release “From the Michigan Floor”

Flatwoods Monster Figurine (terracotta, votive candleholder) A wonderful artifact and folk art piece from the Flatwoods West Virgina UFO incident. This figurine and candle votive measures about 12″ tall and about 4″ wide at the base, it is fired clay and brightly painted. There are holes to emit light should you want to use this as an elaborate candle votive, by placing a candle underneath the sculpture and watching the light shoot through it.

Book Beat and the Oak Park Public Library present three new books by Michigan authors and illustrators at the Oak Park Public Library on 14200 Oak Park Blvd on Saturday December 5 from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm.

This event brings together author James Tobin and illustrator David Coverly for Sue MacDonald Had a Book, author John Perry with his book The Book That Eats People, and Philip Christian Stead, author and illustrator of Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast.

REVIEW: “When asked about the inspiration for his first children’s book, Ann Arbor author Jim Tobin tells a story parents everywhere will recognize immediately: Settling his kids into bed with those consistent rituals all the experts recommend, he would sing them a song to send them off to the land of Nod. And in an excellent example of consistency having an effect, his youngest latched onto one in particular as her preferred soundtrack, requesting a seemingly endless loop.

“I got so sick of ‘Old MacDonald,’” Tobin laughed. “It was like, ‘How many verses are we gonna do?’ But eventually, some part of my brain said, ‘You know, it’s amazing nobody ever put the vowels in place of the e-i-e-i-o….’”

Well, we can’t say that anymore. -Source: the Ann Arbor News; Kid’s Songs Driving you Nuts?

Illustrator Dave Coverly is also a nationally syndicate cartoonist well known for his panel cartoon “Speed Bump,” that appears in more than two hundred newspapers, including The Washington Coat, The Chicago Tribune, and Parade magazine.  Coverly has won several Reuben Award’s for his artwork.  This is his first children’s book.

INTERVIEW: What a pleasure to leave the solitude of the studio and connect with real, live, human beings via the Internet. My name is Philip Stead. I live in Ann Arbor, MI, though much of the work from my first book, Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast (Roaring Brook Press, Fall 2009), was created while living in Brooklyn, NY. Like many artists, I’ve fled the city to make room for those better equipped to manage the ballooning rent prices.

I feel very fortunate to work with Roaring Brook Press. My experience with Roaring Brook has been one that most artists only dream of these days. My early book dummy was approved by a single editor. I was then left almost completely alone for the eighteen months it took to create Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast. In my opinion, the chance that a piece of artwork has of retaining its integrity diminishes with each set of hands that touch it.

Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast is based on a strange but true Stead-family story. In the mid-1950s, in a fit of rage, my Grandpa Jack buried his least favorite meal (creamed tuna fish and peas on toast) in the yard, even carving a headstone for the vile dish. All of the characters in the book are my real family members—my Grandpa Jack and Grandma Jane and their five children. Source: Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

“This is a cautionary tale about a voracious book that may eat an unfortunate equally voracious and naive reader.  The Book That Eats People by John Perry chronicles the horrific history of a book that, as the title says, eats people. This is that book.  The book warns you not to read, as it’s a particularly nasty-tempted book. If you do, you’ll learn the fate of poor Sammy Ruskin, who was devoured by the pages, and the book’s other two (so far) victims.

Book Beat is pleased to announce that National Book Award winning author Gloria Whelan will speak and autograph books at Book Beat on Sunday, November 22nd from 2 – 3:30 p.m.

Gloria Whelan is a local author born in Detroit who has written over forty children’s chapter and picture books since her first title was published in 1978, including Friend on Freedom River, Night of the Full Moon, and Homeless Bird, a National Book Award winner.  Whelan will be talking about her latest children’s books, Waiting for the Owl’s Call and The Listeners. Books will be available for purchase at the event or can be ordered in advance.

Waiting for the Owl’s Call is the fictional but realistic story of an eight-year-old named Zulviya, a girl from Afghanistan whose female family members have been weavers for generations. Whelan presents an educational and thought-provoking introduction for young readers to the cultures and traditions of Afghanistan through the perspective of one child, as well as a compelling look at the global carpet industry and child labor

In The Listeners, Whelan tells the story of Ella May, a young slave girl who lives on a plantation in the American South before the Civil War. During the day Ella May must pick cotton in the plantation fields, but for her the important job comes at night when she goes to listen outside the slave owner’s house for secret news that could affect everyone. Brightly illustrated by Mike Benny’s paintings, this new picture book is part of the Tales of Young Americans series.

Whelan has also written three books in the Tales of the World series by Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Press.  For teachers and media specialists looking for books with “personal narratives,” these are highly recommended and any of her titles would be an excellent holiday gift idea.  Please forward this information or tell your friends and colleagues about this event in support of a local author whose work has inspired young readers for many years.

Book Beat Book Club: Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury

The Book Beat Book Club usually meets on the last Wednesday of the month, but since this day falls on the night before Thanksgiving the book club will be held on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:oo p.m. at Goldfish Tea House in Royal Oak. For more information call Book Beat at 248-968-1190.

The Sound and the Fury, published in October of 1929, was Faulkner’s fourth novel–and clearly his first work of genius. Now considered to be one of the strongest American contributions to the fiction of high modernism, it has generated countless critical interpretations. In writing the novel, Faulkner experienced a creative absorption and passion that he was never to forget; he said of The Sound and the Fury, “It’s the book I feel tenderest towards. I couldn’t leave it alone, and I never could tell it right, though I tried hard and would like to try again, though I’d probably fail again.”

Coming December 6th: Three Authors of YA Fiction at Baldwin Public Library.

The Book Beat and Baldwin Library are pleased to present an afternoon at Baldwin on December 6th from 2:00-3:30 PM with three distinguished authors of Young Adult fiction.

Helen Frost will be signing her new book Crossing Stones that takes place in Michigan, for ages 12 and up. She is also the winner of the 2009 Mitten Award for Diamond Willow.

Pearl North is a local author from Royal Oak, Michigan whose first book Libyrinth has just been published (also for ages 12 and up).

Amy Huntley is from East Lansing and is the author of The Everafter (ages 12 and up).

Southfield Public Library Battle of the Books Kick-off Meeting Thursday, November 19

The Battle of the Books for Southfield Public Library has a kick-off meeting on Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. in the library auditorium for team managers.  The Book Beat will be there to sell the battle books.

Nov., 23, 24th: Spiritual Guide Amma to Visit Detroit

Amma the “hugging saint” from India will again be available at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dearborn for a public gathering which is free and a special retreat which is available by registration. There is also the lure of great vegetarian Indian food and music. Amma is the recipient of the 2002 Gandhi-King  Award, for non-violence.

Burton Theater: New Cinema in Detroit

The Burton Theatre is an exciting, new, independent cinema in the Chinatown/Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit that features classic art house, independent, LGBT, foreign and cult films. Responding to the shortage of art house venues in the city, the Burton Theatre aims to help Detroit rival Chicago and New York as a center for independent film.  SUPPORT INDIE CINEMA NOW!

Please join us at the Book Beat on Thursday, October 22nd at 7 pm for the rock n’ roll presentation; Travelin’ Man: On the Road with Bob Seger with author’s Gary Graff and Tom Weschler.  This is one of very few published books on the reclusive rocker Bob Seger. Please call to reserve a signed copy if unable to attend.

“Weschler plied his trade as a rock photographer before, during and after his stint as Seger’s road manager from 1969 until ‘73, and his access led to a wealth of photographs published in a book, “Travelin’ Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger” (Wayne State University Press, $27.95), written with longtime Detroit music journalist Gary Graff.” — Source: Susan Whitehall, New Book ‘Travelin Man’ offers rare view of Seger, The Detroit News.

Author Michael Zadoorian Talks at Local Libraries October 21st, & October 28th

Michael Zadoorian will speak at the Farmington Hills Community Library Main Branch 32737 W. 12 Mile Rd. in Farmington Hills on Wednesday, October 21st at 7:00 PM and at the Rochester Hills Public Library located at 500 Olde Towne, in Rochester Hills on Wednesday, October 28th at 7:00 PM.  Book Beat will supply books at both events.

Detroit author Michael Zadoorian will talk about his recent works THE LEISURE SEEKER and THE LOST TIKI PALACES OF DETROIT — both highly acclaimed works with strong Detroit area roots. If you haven’t read Zadoorian yet, we highly recommend you do!

His prose is chock-full of well-placed details and observations couched in language that makes them irresistible. He returns to themes of memory and loss, to free will and destiny, melancholy and romance with a deceptively easygoing, plain-spoken style. Just as he did in Second Hand, Zadoorian shows us that it’s often the overlooked, the forgotten and the marginal in life where you often find the most fascinating stories. -Metro Times, review of The Leisure Seeker.

Friday, October 23rd: Poet Mark Nowak & John Jeffire at Book Beat

Friday, October 23rd from 7:00 – 8:00 PM, poets Mark Nowak and John Jeffire will read and talk about their latest works at Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park. This evening event has been curated by Detroit poet ML Liebler.

Mark Nowak is the author of the critically acclaimed debut book of poems Revenants, the editor of Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics, and the co-editor of Visit Teepee Town: Native Writings After the Detours. He has received two Jerome Foundation grants and a McKnight Foundation grant for his journal, Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics, as well as a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. He grew up in Buffalo, New York and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he teaches at the College of St. Catherine and is active in the labor movement.

“Nowak is a highly gifted and conscious artist, carrying, like the oldest bards, a group narrative which must be told if his listeners are to understand who they are and on what their lives depend —and this, in our time, means all of us.”

“John Jeffire is one of Detroit ’s finest working class fiction writers with his excellent novel Motown Burning.  In this new collection of poems he burns the earth down to the ground with his raw, gritty images that take his readers deep into the sublime regions of urban understanding and blue collar reality.”  –ML Liebler

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Sunday October 25th: Susan Messer at Book Beat

Join us Sunday afternoon at Book Beat from 2-3:30 PM for a discussion and reading by Susan Messer from her first novel GRAND RIVER AND JOY, a book that reflects on the racial tensions between Blacks and Jews set in 1967 Detroit.

Susan Messer grew up in the Detroit area and now lives in Chicago.

“About four years ago, I began to think that one of my unpublished stories had novelistic potential, so I upped my time commitment to writing. I had two residencies at Ragdale, an artists’ colony, and at home, I began working on the novel every evening. That novel, called Grand River and Joy, is about a Jewish man whose small business ends up in the path of the Detroit riots of 1967, and it will soon be published by University of Michigan Press as part of their Sweetwater Fiction Series. Meanwhile, I have written over 300 pages of a second novel.”  — from the author’s website

Listen to an interview with Susan Messer recorded on WDET’s Detroit Today show.

In the backroom gallery we will have a small selection of Detroit images by photographer Bill Rauhauser, whose photograph of Detroit graces the cover of GRAND RIVER AND JOY.

Monday, October 26th: Baldwin Library Presents Writers Live with Laura Kasischke

Meet noted Michigan author Laura Kasischke at the Baldwin Public Library, 300 W. Merrill St. in Birmingham on Monday, October 26th at 7:00 PM. She will speak on “What Doesn’t Kill You: Notes on the Novel-Writing Process”. There is limited seating for this event and advanced registration is required. The Book Beat will supply books at this event. Please call 248-554-4650 for more information or visit The Baldwin Public Library.

Laura Kasischke is the author of seven novels and seven volumes of poetry. She currently teaches English at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and lives in Chelsea, Michigan with her husband and son.

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Wednesday, October  28th: Book Beat Reading Group Meeting

The Book Beat Reading Group will meet at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, October 28th, at the Goldfish Teahouse in Royal Oak to discuss The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.  This winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize,  was praised in a New York Times Review: “Junot Díaz’s “Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” is a wondrous, not-so-brief first novel that is so original it can only be described as Mario Vargas Llosa meets “Star Trek” meets David Foster Wallace meets Kanye West. It is funny, street-smart and keenly observed, and it unfolds from a comic portrait of a second-generation Dominican geek into a harrowing meditation on public and private history and the burdens of familial history.”  If you were having problems with the pop-culture references or Spanish language, check out this amazing page of annotations for the book. This discussion group is free and open to the public. Reading group books are available from Book Beat at a discount. The Book Beat reading group meets the last Wednesday of the month (except December) to discuss quality world lit that merits attention. For questions call: 248-968-1190

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Bill Rauhauser: Street Photography October 2st- November 15th

The Book Beat will be exhibiting a small selection of the vintage Detroit street photography of Bill Rauhauser beginning on October 3rd and continuing through mid-November. This exhibition is geared to coincide with the annual “Detroit Art Now” exhibits and to celebrate the publication of Grand River and Joy, the novel and signing by Susan Messer (see above) and the location where Bill Rauhauser sold newspapers as a young boy.

Bill Rauhauser, born in Detroit in 1918, received a bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering in 1943 from the University of Detroit.  He spent 18 years in the engineering field before a career change into the field of education.  Over the next 30 years, Bill taught photography at The Center for Creative Studies (now College for Creative Studies), with 5 years as guest lecturer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and Wayne State University.  He was appointed Professor Emeritus by CCS and is currently serving as Artist Advisor for the Board of Directors of the Graphic Arts Council of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Book publications of his photographs include: Detroit Revisited (2000); Bob-Lo Revisited (2003); and Detroit Auto Show Images of the 1970s (2007).   He has also co-curated a number of exhibitions for the Detroit Institute of Arts, including “The Car and the Camera” in 1996.

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Unite on October 24th: 350.0rg: A Day of Global Climate Action

“350.org is an open-source campaign: it’s your ideas, input, and energy that will make October 24 and this movement for change a success.  Have something to contribute?  Contact Us.

350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. 350 the safe limit to of carbon dioxide in the world, and we need to make sure that our solutions to the climate crisis meet the 350 test.

We’re planning an international campaign to unite the world around the number 350, and we need your help. The movement to spread that number needs to be beautiful, creative, and unstoppable. It needs to make sure we take the big, bold, and equitable steps needed to actually solve this crisis.

What we need most right now are on-the-ground examples for how to take the number 350 and drive it home: in art, in music, in political demonstrations, in any other way you can imagine. We don’t have all the ideas and all the inspiration. We need you to act on yours.” — source 350.org,   Tell our leaders we need action now! Video link:

350. org Climate Action

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Climate Action Concert Oct. 24th:

Jim and the Unified Eye at Hazel Park Community Center, 620 Woodward Heights, 1 block E of 75, 1/2 mile N of 9 Mile. Doors open 8 pm; show starts at 9.

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October 29-31st:  Living Green: Art, Design & Cuisine

A unique Eco Event at Arkitektura/In-Situ presented by Linda Ross Contemporary/Art + Projects, Janice Steinhardt MDG Design/the green kitchen project and Kathleen O’Neill & Mary Rembelski/The Canapé Cart. More info on Facebook/Living Green.