Next Saturday April 24 is the annual national celebration of Independent Bookstore Day. While things are looking very hopeful this spring, we’re still not quite ready to throw a big in-store party as we usually do--but we do want to mark the day with a few special activities. So we invite you to:
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Join our “Friends Don’t Let Friends Buy Books from Amazon” campaign
If you’re cheering us on in the Amazon lawsuit, we want you to help us make this a movement! On Independent Bookstore Day, the first 10 people to purchase a copy of the book How to Resist Amazon and Why will get a second copy free to give away to someone else. These 10 copies were donated by Downtown Evanston, which supports all the merchants in your downtown area and wants to encourage everyone to shop locally.
And anyone who buys two copies of this neat little $12.95 manifesto will get $2 off the purchase. So then you can still have an extra to give away, to help spread the word about those less-visible consequences of Amazon shopping involving labor practices, data privacy, local economies, and the damage done to the book publishing industry.
These offers are only good in-store--not for online orders!
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Shop our unique Independent Bookstore Day 2021 merchandise.
These are items produced uniquely for the IBD celebration, and include: Signed copies of Jeff VanderMeer’s new novel Hummingbird Salamander; copies of In the Tall Grass, a short story by Stephen King and Joe Hill never before published in book form; special edition Blackwing pencils created just for IBD; and this year’s limited edition IBD tote bags.
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Browse our outdoor Used Book Sale
We’ll have a great selection of books out on the sidewalk in front of the new shop at 1716 Sherman Avenue, including lots of art books, cookbooks, and general interest books.
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For more information on these and other store events, read on in the newsletter.
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And, as always, read on!
Yours,
Nina
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Upcoming April Virtual Events
Thursday, April 24: Independent Bookstore Day!
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Thursday, April 22, noon – 1 pm
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The half-century before the Civil War was beset with conflict over equality as well as freedom. Beginning in 1803, many free states enacted laws that discouraged free African Americans from settling within their boundaries and restricted their rights to testify in court, move freely from place to place, work, vote, and attend public school.
But over time, African American activists and their white allies, often facing mob violence, courageously built a movement to fight these racist laws. They countered the states’ insistence that they were merely trying to maintain the domestic peace with the equal-rights promises they found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Masur’s history delivers this pathbreaking movement in vivid detail. Activists such as John Jones, a free Black tailor from North Carolina whose opposition to the Illinois “black laws” helped make the case for racial equality, demonstrate the indispensable role of African Americans in shaping the American ideal of equality before the law. Without enforcement, promises of legal equality were not enough. But the antebellum movement laid the foundation for a racial justice tradition that remains vital to this day.
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Rev. Dr. Michael Nabors is senior pastor of the historic Second Baptist Church in Evanston, Illinois, one of the oldest African American congregations on the North Shore. Dr. Nabors also teaches Homiletics and Qualitative Research and Theological Writing at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.
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Thu, Apr 22, 2021 12:00 PM CST
Kate Masur & Rev. Dr. Michael Nabors: Until Justice Be Done
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Independent Bookstore Day!
Saturday, April 24
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It's that time of the year again! Come by and check out our used book sale, join our “Friends Don’t Let Friends Buy Books from Amazon” campaign, and shop for the exclusive independent bookstore merch!
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Thursday, April 29, noon – 1 pm
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The Social Graces, by Renée Rosen: 1876. In the glittering world of Manhattan’s upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry, and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence—what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor—the Mrs. Astor.
But times are changing.
Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America’s richest families. But what good is dizzying wealth when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.
Spanning three decades and based on true events, this is the mesmerizing story of two fascinating, complicated women going head to head, behaving badly, and discovering what’s truly at stake.
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The Last Night in London, by Karen White: London, 1939. Beautiful and ambitious Eva Harlow and her American best friend, Precious Dubose, are trying to make their way as fashion models. When Eva falls in love with Graham St. John, an aristocrat and Royal Air Force pilot, she can’t believe her luck—she’s getting everything she ever wanted. Then the Blitz devastates her world, and Eva finds herself slipping into a web of intrigue, spies, and secrets. As Eva struggles to protect her friendship with Precious and everything she holds dear, all it takes is one unwary moment to change their lives forever…
London, 2019. American journalist Maddie Warner, whose life has been marked by the tragic loss of her mother, travels to London to interview Precious about her life in pre-WWII London. Maddie has been careful to close herself off to others, but in Precious she recognizes someone whose grief rivals her own—but unlike Maddie, Precious hasn’t allowed it to crush her. Maddie finds herself drawn to both Precious and to Colin, her enigmatic surrogate nephew. As Maddie gets closer to her, she begins to unravel Precious’s haunting past—a story of friendship, betrayal, and the unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
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Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels, including the Tradd Street series, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean, and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband and two dogs near Atlanta, Georgia.
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Thu, Apr 29, 2021 12:00 PM CST
Renée Rosen & Karen White: The Social Graces and The Last Night in London
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Thursday, April 29, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
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This month, the Sci-Fi Book Club will read The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey.
Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.
And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.
Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.
Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.
Anyone is welcome to join our Science Fiction Book Club, led by Brooke, who is excited to share her passion for diverse science fiction books. If you haven't looked at the science fiction or fantasy shelves in a while, you may be surprised at the influx of talented women, POC, and LGBTQ+ writers that are writing some of the most interesting and compelling works in the genres. Brooke's goal is to highlight these traditionally underrepresented groups. Each month, we'll explore a new read from a diverse SF/F author. Stop by the store to chat with Brooke if you want more info about the club, or send her an email at brooke@bookendsandbeginnings.com.
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Thu, Apr 29, 2021 6:00 PM CST
Sci-Fi Book Club: The Echo Wife
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What Are We Reading?
Whether you're curious about what we read, need a recommendation, or just want to scoff at our taste, here's a list of what your favorite booksellers are reading! If you see something that interests you, let us know! We're more than happy to talk about these titles.
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Nothing like some light reading to get into the spring mindset! Hegel's brilliant and exhaustive study of the mind is as wildly fascinating as it is wildly dense. A challenging read to be sure, but I find that there are many treasures to be discovered when the text is explored with the care and attention it deserves.
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This is the first installment of Gene Wolfe's four-volume opus The Book of the New Sun, which may be a lesser-known series nowadays but stands as one of the very best works of speculative fiction from the 20th century. A crown jewel of the "science-fantasy" milieu, Shadow takes you to a world near the end of its lifespan where ruins of eons past loom over a civilization sliding into decay and decrepitude. Much of the fun I have reading this novel comes from piecing together the details of the setting as they are revealed, which all come together to form a hallucinatory far-future panorama tinged with grim, gothic mystique.
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A beautifully diverse collection of trans* stories and essays on love, sex, and intimacy from all corners the gender spectrum. Loving the scope of this collection and the fact that no two stories/experiences are the same.
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A wild romp through burgeoning lesbian love complete with eating disorders, gender bending fantasies, overbearing mothers, and a lot of anxiety. While the ending left me desiring a little more, I was really impressed with Broder's lively prose and the way she immerses the reader in the experience of anxiety and obsession.
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A captivating look into the lives of stewardesses during the height of the jet-setter era. It's a compelling book so far; Cook's journalistic writing cuts through much of the romanticized notions of the past to tell something memorable, honest, and intimate.
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This is a beautiful debut romance novel full of poetic verse, deep thought, and witty conversation. I can't put it down!
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Between the bread baking and the hunky next-door neighbor, this book makes me want to curl up on a cozy couch every time I open it. Definitely a good rainy day read.
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Books You Could be Reading...
...and Buying from Us!
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Pre-order these books and get them when they're released!
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Bookends & Beginnings is a community-centered and community-sustained, full-service, general-interest independent bookstore, now in our sixth calendar year. We are a member of the Chicago Independent Bookstore Alliance (ChIBA), the Great Lakes Independent Bookstore Association (GLIBA), and the American Booksellers Association (ABA). Show your support by shopping in our store (and other Chicago-area independent bookstores), by trading in or donating books of quality and in good condition, by bringing your local and out-of-town friends and family to shop with us, by attending our events, and by "liking" us on Facebook and posting reviews on other social media. Remember that you can always see event photos and news updates on our Facebook page, which is updated almost daily. There you can also subscribe to our events feed with a single click.
Above all, keep reading good books!
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Bookends & Beginnings
1712 Sherman Ave Alley #1
Evanston, IL 60202
224-999-7722
RSVP for events to
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