Brooklyn Book Lovers: Local Bookstore Events In February
With the closing of Cobble Hill’s beloved Bookcourt at the end of last year, it seems more important than ever to support local independent bookstores.
It’s not easy running a small neighborhood book shop—first having to compete with big-box chain stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble, then eBooks, then online behemoth Amazon which essentially closed the book on Border’s (and is now opening brick-and-mortar outposts of its own).
Show the mom-and-pop bookstores some love by stopping by one of the upcoming events listed below and purchase some reading material while you’re there.
Community Bookstore
The Forgetting Time Author, Sharon Guskin, in Conversation with Anna Solomon
What: Brooklyn writer Sharon Guskin’s first novel The Forgetting Time explores the lengths parents will go for their children. When 4-year-old Noah claims he has lived another life, his mother sets out to find the root of his strange memories.
When: February 9, 7:00pm
Where: Community Bookstore, 143 7th Avenue, Park Slope
Brooklyn By the Book Presents Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
What: New York Magazine’s Boris Kachka discusses George Saunders’s long-awaited first novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Set in a graveyard over the course of one night, it is centered around the death of Abraham Lincoln’s son in the early days of the Civil War. When Willie Lincoln finds himself in a purgatory where ghosts gripe, commiserate, argue, and perform bizarre acts of penance, a struggle erupts over his young spirit. Brooklyn By the Book is a collaboration between Community Bookstore, Brooklyn Public Library, and Congregation Beth Elohim.
When: February 15, 7:30pm
Where: Congregation Beth Elohim, 274 Garfield Place, Park Slope
How Much: $35 general admission, $32 for BPL and CBE members. Tickets include a copy of the book.
Greenlight Bookstore
Universal Harvester Author, John Darnielle, in Conversation with Donna Tartt
What: As Part of the Brooklyn Voices Series at St. Joseph’s College, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch) will talk to John Darnielle (writer and founder of the indie band Mountain Goats) about his latest book, Universal Harvester. Darnielle’s second novel is about life in a small Iowa town in the late 1990s taking a dark turn when mysterious footage begins appearing on VHS cassettes at the local video store. He will sign copies of the book after the discussion.
When: Monday, February 6, 7:30pm
Where: St. Joseph’s College, 245 Clinton Avenue, Clinton Hill
How Much: $28 includes a hardcover copy of the book. Tickets at: http://harvester.brownpapertickets.com/
The Impossible Fortress Author, Jason Rekulak, in Conversation with Austin Grossman
What: Local author (Crooked) and video game designer Austin Grossman will join Jason Rekulak for a conversation about The Impossible Fortress, Rekulak’s new book about a fourteen-year-old boy pretending to seduce a girl as part of a plot with his friends to steal the May 1987 issue of Playboy from the local convenience store. As Publisher of Quirk Books, Rekulak was responsible for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. A cocktail reception will follow along with a 80s costume contest.
When: Tuesday, February 7, 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton street, Fort Greene
Better Living Through Criticism Author, A. O. Scott, in Conversation with Vinson Cunningham
What: What is the point of criticism? What are critics good for? For A. O. Scott (New York Times film critic and PLG neighbor) these questions provide grounds for a thoughtful exploration of the role of criticism in the human experience. Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think About Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth examines criticism as a universal, intellectual, and creative undertaking. New Yorker writer Vinson Cunningham will join Scott in a conversation on art and the intellectual responses it demands.
When: Tuesday, February 7, 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore, 632 Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Pachinko Author, Min Jin Lee, in Conversation with Harold Augenbraum (A Greenlight First Editions Club Selection)
What: Greenlight Books’ pick for February’s First Editions Club, Min Jin Lee’s new release, Pachinko, follows a Korean family in exile from its homeland. It’s a testament to the long and troubled history of legal and social discrimination against Koreans living in Japan. Harold Augenbraum, former Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, joins Min Jin Lee in conversation about her book. A reception serving Korean food and beer will follow.
When: Wednesday, February 8, 7:30pm
Where: Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Fort Greene
powerHouse Arena
Book Launch: F*CK LOVE by Michael Bennett, MD and Sarah Bennett
What: An anti-Valentine’s Day event featuring Michael Bennett, MD and Sarah Bennett, authors of F*CK LOVE, an irreverent roadmap revealing what to look for when you’re through being suckered by the promise of true love and want a real, lasting relationship.
When: Thursday Feb 09, 7:00pm
Where: powerHouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, DUMBO
Book Launch: The Men in My Life by Patricia Bosworth
What: Patricia Bosworth retraces the steps that led her to achieve her dreams of being an actress and a writer during the 1950s, one of the most repressive yet pivotal decades in American history.
When: Wednesday Feb 22, 7:00pm
Where: powerHouse Arena, 28 Adams Street, DUMBO
powerHouse on 8th
Book Club on 8th Discusses The Sympathizer: A Novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen
What: A discussion of The Sympathizer, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction, about a communist double agent, a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who comes to America after the Fall of Saigon. While building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles, he secretly reports back to the Communist Party in Vietnam.
When: Thursday, February, 23, 6:30 to 7:30pm,
Where: powerHouse on 8th, 1111 8th Ave. (between 11th & 12th Streets), Park Slope
Unnameable Books
Resist! Book Club, 2nd Meeting Discussing Angela Y. Davis’ Freedom is a Constant Struggle
What: Unnameable Books’ Resist! Book Club is a monthly meeting that discusses books (critical, fictional, historical, etc.) with a focus on radical resistance, intersectionality, and historical and contemporary activism. This second meeting will discuss Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis, a new collection of essays, interviews, and speeches, by the activist and scholar, illuminating the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.
When: Thursday, February 23, 7 to 8:30pm
Where: Unnameable Books, 600 Vanderbilt Avenue, Prospect Heights
BONUS: 2 Literary Series Worth Checking Out
Ditmas Lit Reading Series
What: A monthly reading series showcasing emerging and established writers in all genres. On the third Tuesday of every month, December through March, lit lovers gather at Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop’s heated backyard Lodge for readings by poets, essayists, fiction writers, and storytellers.
When: 3rd Tuesday each month – next scheduled for February 21, 8 to 10pm
Where: 1118 Cortelyou Road (at Westminster Road), Ditmas Park
Franklin Park Reading Series
What: A monthly series held at the Franklin Park Bar and Beer Garden in Crown Heights featuring emerging and established fiction writers, memoirists, essayists, and poets, showcasing a wide range of voices and reflecting our community’s cultural diversity.
When: Info on February events coming soon.
Where: 618 St. Johns Place (between Franklin and Classon Avenues), Crown Heights