Book Beat February ’22 Newsletter

Greetings for a Lucky Tiger year 2022.

Dear Friends and Readers,

To celebrate African American history month, we turn to reading relevant, new, and classic titles in the field. Through reading African American history we expand our knowledge and worldview. Learn, grow — and enjoy. Visit our catalog of recommended titles available instore or online at Bookshop.org (link below).

You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who ever had been alive. Only if we face these open wounds in ourselves can we understand them in other people. –James Baldwin

We hope you will consider celebrating and giving a book to a child on International Book Giving Day which, like Valentine Day, falls on Feb 14.

While Book Giving Day does not host large organized events, they instead encourage volunteers to act out of their own goodwill. Volunteers, or holiday celebrators, are encouraged to gift a book to a child. This book can be your favorite book, one you haven’t read, or one you think a child would love. This day is now celebrated officially in over 44 countries, with countries participating in six out of the seven continents!

Our newsletter includes an interview with author Fran Shor, whose latest book Soupy Sales and the Detroit Experience will be discussed in a live Zoom this Saturday at 6:30 PM. A link to the discussion is included on the interview page. Small press reviews by Tom Bowden can be read at: i arrogantly recommend… We have chosen The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, for our reading group selection this month. Meetings are open to the public and held virtually through Zoom on the last Wednesday of the month at 7 PM.

We hope you have plenty of good reading through the cold snowy weather. If not, and you’re looking for something special, we’ll be here. 

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, & Prosperous Lunar New Year!

–Cary, Colleen & the Book Beat staff

Eminent Artist Olaymi Dabls

We thank the Kresge Foundation for honoring Olayami Dabls, artist and creator of the MBAD African Bead Museum on Detroit’s Westside,  a very special corner of Detroit. Dabls was recently awarded the Kresge’s Eminent Artist Award of 2022.

“Detroit should be very proud of Olayami Dabls. … The beads in his museum represent so many cultures and countries and countless moments of beauty. Every bead has a story. If we treat them as metaphors for people, they would chant the diversity of Detroit.” –Rochelle Riley, from a Detroit Free Press profile on Dables

The PBS News Hour featured Dabls in this 2019 feature for their series CANVAS : This Detroit bead museum honors an African legacy while modeling revitalization

The Mitten tale for a Snowy day.

Our handmade cloth Mitten comes with eight small finger puppets, ready to hop inside for a cozy story time. The Mitten is a famous Ukrainian Folktale. Purchase a Mitten set in store or online at our Backroom Gallery. Only a few of these handmade sets remain! We have several Mitten Tale story books available. Let us know if you need one. One favorite version is Jan Brett’s classic retelling, available as a board book or hardcover.

Congrats to all the Michigan Notable Award Winners of 2022! A wonderful selection was announced on January 27. Most of the titles are in stock at Book Beat -stop by and check out our in store display. Many titles are available also on our Bookshop Page:

The Book Beat is open for indoor browsing: Mon-Sat 10 AM-6 PM, Sun: 12-5 PM, curbside pickup is available. Call us at (248) 968-1190 for more information or to place an order. Orders and inquiries can also be sent to: BookBeatOrders@gmail.com Visit our affiliate store online catalogs at Bookshop.org Thank you for reading and supporting indie bookstores, libraries, and museums.*It Matters.