Book Beat July Events
Hey Kids! Summertime Reading Alert! Tuesday, July 22nd 7:00-8:30 PM join Amy Goldman Koss in a YA/ Teen Book-group Meeting at Book Beat!
Join us for a discussion of THE GIRLS in a special young adult summertime book club meeting at Book Beat on July 22nd from 7-8:30 PM - (parents are welcome too) we will be joined by Amy Goldman Koss and will be discussing her acclaimed paperback novel THE GIRLS with the author in person -- how cool is that? Amy Goldman Koss is the author of Side Effects, Poison Ivy, Gossip Times Three, The Cheat, The Ashwater Experiment, Kaily, How I saved Hanukkah, Strike Two and The Trouble With Zinny Weston.
Amy Goldman Koss grew up in the Detroit area (way back when..) and now lives in Southern California with her husband and two children. She also has a myspace page. This is a free event and open to the public - please try to arrive on time and bring your toughest questions.
Poetry & "Works In Progress" with John Sinclair & James Semark: Thursday, July 24th from 7:30 -8:30 PM at Book Beat
Poets John Sinclair and James Semark (founding members of the Detroit Artist Workshop) will be presenting new works that will soon be released in the fall. The reading will take place on July 24th from 7:00-8:30 PM at Book Beat.
John Sinclair has been recently working on an extended prose-poem ode to the great Jazz masters -- a recording due out this fall and a new collection of writing "It's All Good" due from Headpress, UK also this fall. You can visit John's website ON THE ROAD to get updated on his travels, poetry, writing and music. Visit RADIO FREE AMSTERDAM PRESENTS THE JOHN SINCLAIR RADIO SHOW to hear his his live radio podcasts --"global alternative blues and news" for your non-commercial listening bliss.
Poet James Semark has been editing a new edition of WORK, NUMBER SIX for the newly ressurected Detroit Artists Workshop Press. James will read from and discuss the WORK project. Learn more about the Detroit Artists Workshop online. Photo above left: James Semark, John Sinclair and Ron English, photo by Jack Bodner from DAW website.
Book Beat Reading Group Meeting: Wednesday July 30th
Join us on Wednesday, July 30th at 7:00 PM at Gayles Chocolates in Royal Oak. We will be discussing the book AFTER DARK by Haruki Murakami. The reading group is free and open to the public. Reading group books are discounted 15% at Book Beat.
"A novel that takes place over seven hours of a Tokyo night, intercutting three loosely related stories, linked by Murikami's signature magical-realist absurd coincidences. The story takes place in a world between reality and dream, and was used to cement Murakami's reputation as the master of the surreal. Visit the Official Haruki Murakami Website. Coming out soon (at the end of July) will be Murakami's revealing memoir "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running".
"After Dark is a short book, hypnotically eerie, full of noirish foreboding, sometimes even funny, but, most of all, it's one that keeps ratcheting up the suspense. At times, the novel recalls those unsettling films of Jean-Luc Godard or Michelangelo Antonioni where something dire seems always about to happen, even as attractive young people, full of anomie and confusion, meander aimlessly through an ominous urban landscape." - Washington Post
In the Book Beat Gallery through July: Douglas of Detroit Masterworks of the Male Figure.
Historic Photos of Detroit (Hardcover) » From its birth to the present, Detroit has consistently built and reshaped its appearance, ideals, and industry. Through changing fortunes, Detroit has continued to grow and prosper by overcoming adversity and maintaining the strong, independent culture of its citizens. Historic Photos of Detroit captures this journey through still photography selected from the finest archives. From Detroit as pioneer of the motor vehicle to becoming the main hub for World War munitions, Historic Photos of Detroit follows life, government, education, and events throughout the city's history. This volume captures unique and rare scenes through the lens of hundreds of historic photographs.
Beauty on the Streets of Detroit: A History of the Housing Market in Detroit (Paperback) » Forgotten homes from neighborhoods that have been eliminated for modernization, city growth, and in more recent years from urban neglect, are remembered in black and white glossy full page photographs by the celebrated photographer Bill Rauhauser who is known for his street photography in Detroit. The history of homes built in this 300 year old city and its real estate market was written by Mary Desjarlais. This history covers the city's small houses, their owners and neighborhoods, architectural styles, construction methods, and the development of the real estate practice in the city. This book is a must for anyone interested in the city of Detroit or architectural history.
The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard (Hardcover) » Journalist and author Benjaminson (The Story of Motown) attempts valiantly, painstakingly to resurrect the reputation of founding Supreme member Florence Ballard, who left the group early on and descended into litigiousness and alcoholism. Then a reporter with the Detroit Free Press, Benjaminson interviewed Ballard a year before her death in 1976 and elicited a sad story of a starry-eyed, single-minded high school dropout whose dream, and fortune, was co-opted by Berry Gordy's Motown empire.
The Words of Peace Selections from the Speeches of the Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize » In a new up-to-date edition, an inspirational collection of excerpts from Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speeches since the award's inception in 1901--including 2007 winner Al Gore.
Selected by the world's foremost historian of the Nobel Peace Prize, this uplifting collection of excerpts from acceptance speeches and lectures given since the award's inception in 1901 includes recent laureates: Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Kim Dae-Jung, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Nelson Mandela, and Mikhail Gorbachev. Also included are the Dalai Lama, Elie Wiesel, Desmond Tutu, Lech Walesa, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others.