Join us Thursday, November 13th at 7:00 PM for a presentation of the   Great Book of Detroit Sports Lists  by WDFN radio personalities Mike 'Stoney' Stone and Art Regner. This will be a fan-tastic opportunity to meet two of Detroit's sport radio stars and get yourself a signed copy of this years hot holiday gift for your favorite sports enthusiast. Hear the famed Detroit sports radio stars discuss the teams, banter in person and sign copies of their new book. The Book Beat is located at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park, call 248-968-1190 for more info.  

Sports talk in America has evolved from small-time barroom banter into a major media smorgasbord that runs 24/7 on TV and radio. With hundreds of billions of dollars generated annually by pro and college teams in major markets nationwide, sports fans across the country are more dedicated than ever to their teams. And when it comes to sports talk—especially all-sports radio—it’s all about entertainment, information, prognostication, analysis, rankings, and endless discussion.

Not only does Detroit host major pro sports teams—the Lions (NFL), the Red Wings (NHL), the Tigers (MLB), and the Pistons (NBA)—the area also includes prominent college sports programs such as the University of Michigan. Detroit’s fans are some of the most educated and fanatical in the country, thanks to the work of long-time commentators Mike Stone and Art Regner.  

Tuesday, November 25th: Artist Katie Yamasaki on Soichiro Honda

Join us Tuesday, November 24th from 7:00 -8:30 PM at the Book Beat, 26010 Greenfield in Pak Park, for a presentation by artist Katie Yamasaki on her first book about the Japanese motorcycle, automotive inventor and  entrepreneur Soichiro Honda. Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars is a brightly illustrated, imaginative and educational book about the power of dreams and invention for grades 1-6.  

One day in 1914 when Soichiro Honda was seven years old, an astonishing, moving dust cloud appeared in his small Japanese town. The cause was a leaky, noisy automobile—the first the boy had ever seen. At that moment Honda fell in love with cars, and a dream took hold. He would one day make them himself.

"This interesting book offers children a unique opportunity to learn more about the person behind the household name "Honda." Along the way, teachers and parents can use examples from Soichiro Honda's story to reinforce some useful lessons in economics related to entrepreneurship, innovation, and competition. "Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars" will appeal to readers who enjoy carefully-illustrated picture books that feature informative biographies of people we otherwise may not know much about." -- Yana Rodgers, Rutgers University   

Katie Yamasaki grew up in the Detroit area, earned her BA from Earlham college and received an MFA in 2003 from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, teaching art and specializing in mural painting. 

Book Beat Reading Group Discussion Monday November 24th at Goldfish Tea House:

The Book Beat reading group selection for November/December is Under the Glacier by Nobel Laureate Halldor Laxness »  We will meet Monday, November 24th at 7:00 PM at the Goldfish Tea House located at 117 West 4th Street in downtown Royal Oak, just west of Main Street.

Please note: our meeting date was moved to Monday to accommodate Thanksgiving holiday schedules. This will be the last reading group meeting of 2008.   

Nobel laureate Halldor Laxness’s Under the Glacier is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, a wryly provocative novel at once earthy and otherworldly. At its outset, the Bishop of Iceland dispatches a young emissary to investigate certain charges against the pastor at Snaefells Glacier, who, among other things, appears to have given up burying the dead. But once he arrives, the emissary finds that this dereliction counts only as a mild eccentricity in a community that regards itself as the center of the world and where Creation itself is a work in progress. The introduction by Susan Sontag is worth the price of admission. All reading group books are discounted 15%. 

"Laxness is a beacon in twentieth-century literature, a writer of splendid originality, wit, and feeling." --Alice Munro

"The qualities of the sagas pervade his writing, and particularly a kind of humor — oblique, stylized and childlike — that can be found in no other contemporary writer." -- The Atlantic Monthly

Book Beat Days are Here! Help Support the Temple Emanu-El Library and Celebrate Jewish Book Month November 1st - 30th. Mention Temple Emanu-El when you purchase books at Book Beat during the month of November and the Temple Emanu-El Library receives 20% of your total purchase. There are four whole weeks to shop
- so shop early... and often!

Suport Detroit's PuppetART Center  located in Detroit’s Theater District, just a few blocks from the Michigan Opera Theater, Music Hall and the Gem and Century Theaters. The Center includes an intimate 70-person theater, a museum that accommodates a growing collection of puppets and a studio featuring various workshops.The Japanese classic The Crane Maiden will be performed every Saturday,  November 8,15, 22 and 29 at 2:00 PM. PuppetART is located at 25 East Grand River Ave. - Detroit MI. - 48226 - 313.961.7777      What an amazing place!   

Conference on Michigan's Future: November 14-16th examines the challenges facing Michigan, examines strategies for turning things around, and seeks to create a new vision for the future of Michigan. The conference will have over 30 speakers and will be held at Crystal Mountain resort, Thompsonville, Michigan.

Traditional Dance & Music of India Sunday, November 16th, 2:00 PM at The Oak Park Public Library: featuring students of Guru Sudha Chandra Sekar, Artistic Director of the Hindu Temple Rhythms Dance Company. This is a FREE event! library location: 14200 Oak Park Blvd., Oak Park, MI (248) 691-7480

ARTISTS ALERT! Kresge Arts in Detroit   is a three-part effort designed to support and develop individual artists, arts and cultural organizations and arts-infrastructure groups in metropolitan Detroit's Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Kresge Arts in Detroit represents one of five strategic objectives set forth in the foundation's Detroit Program, a comprehensive community-development effort to strengthen the long-term economic, social and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding region.