Month: April 2021

Why Independent Bookstores?

As we celebrate Independent Bookstore Day this weekend – on Saturday, April 24 – we decided to take a moment to reflect on some of the things that make independent bookstores such special places. What makes independent bookstores, and in particular the little corner of the world we call home at Bookbug & this is a bookstore, such comfortable places to shop, empowering places to work, and integral parts of a community? Here are a few of our favorite things.

Our shelves are filled by people with brains and hearts, not by computer algorithms.

At big chain bookstores – so we’ve heard – purchasing decisions come from way up high. Someone in an office looks at projections of what will sell and orders huge quantities of books by authors with famous names. At an indie bookstore, every book you see on our shelves and tables was chosen by one of our team members. We get to think not only about what the publishers believe will be popular, but also what we each, individually, feel excited about and want to hand-sell. We get to decide what to curate, carry, and uplift. We get to create displays that feature voices and stories that might otherwise go unheard or unseen. This makes for a more interesting, diverse collection, and also booksellers who feel empowered to put our hearts onto the shelves and into your hands.

“Why do I love working here? I’m surrounded by books!”

— Steph

It’s good to be where everyone knows your name.

Because of our Gratitude Rewards Program, we start each transaction by asking for shoppers’ names. After not too long, many booksellers start to remember regulars’ names and automatically pull up their accounts right away without asking. The same goes for frequent patrons of the Cafe. We love being able to greet someone with “Welcome back! Can I get your regular started for you?” It feels good to be known, and it feels good to give the gift of being known.

Sometimes customers are surprised, and they’re often quite tickled, to be known by their local bookstore. As we like to say, there are probably worse places to be a “regular”!

Book people are special people.

People shop at independent bookstores because they care about books, because they want to raise kids and grandkids who care about books, because they want to be part of a wold where books and ideas matter. Indie bookstore shoppers know that books might cost more here than at those online giants, and they’re willing to make that investment not only in the pages they take home, but in the store itself, and its people. Book people are excited about new releases and equally thrilled to discover an old favorite among the stacks. Book people are our people, forever.

“I love people, I love kids, I love books, I love community. To work at the intersection of things I love is a true joy.

— Shirley

We’re part of the community. We are community.

Being an independent bookstore means that we are part of this place, and no other. It means that we celebrate authors and unique products that are specifically from HERE. It means that we get to count our neighbors, our dentists, our kids’ teachers, and our friends among our shoppers. It means that we understand, in a way that a larger entities cannot, the unique gifts and challenges of our city. When Kalamazoo celebrates, we celebrate. When Kalamazoo mourns, we mourn. When Kalamazoo strives for a vision, a promise of a better future, we add our voice to the striving.

“The sense of ownership in the community. Comfort, feelings of home, curated inventory, personal connection in all aspects of the job… Lovely piles of books…”

— Cheryl

We get to bring our wholes selves to work, every day.

Bookstore employees are weird and wonderful people. Among our team of booksellers and baristas, you’ll find grandparents and recent college grads, a mural artist and a published children’s book illustrator, full-time teachers and three people with PhDs, popular local musicians, and an immensely broad wealth of knowledge and unique expertise. Not only does this diversity mean that we are better able, as a team, to help shoppers find their new favorite book or the perfect coffee, but it also makes this a pretty rad place to work.

Knowing that your coworker may not share your same specific nerdiness, but they definitely have their own — that’s pretty great.

Knowing that your manager, Kim or Kasey, is going to get to know the specific parts of your job that bring you the most joy and make sure you get to do those things as much as possible — that’s pretty great.

Knowing that your experiences, your boundaries, your pronouns, and your whole self will not only be accepted but whole-heartedly embraced — that’s really great.

Indie Bookstores – Now and Always

The last year has been hard for everyone, and small local businesses like bookstores have certainly seen our share of challenges. We have also been overwhelmed by the generosity, care, patience, enthusiasm, and genuine support of our community. We are here because you are here. And on Independent Bookstore Day, as on all days, we are grateful.

Staff Picks – April 2021

April has showered us with a plethora of great new books! Here are several of our booksellers’ recent favorites.

Best Friend in the Whole World

by Sandra Salsbury

I was a quiet child who was prone to having more imaginary friends than real ones. This beautiful book deeply spoke to that child and told her that it was okay – wonderful even! – to have both. With impeccable, delicate illustrations that melt my heart, this is a tender story about friendship and doing the right thing, even if it’s hard sometimes. I connected immediately with the protagonist Roland and fell absolutely in love with his friend Milton. I know everyone else will, too. 
— Amy

Broken (in the best possible way)

by Jenny Lawson

If you’ve ever lost the shoe on your foot, struggled with depression, or said the weirdest possible thing to a stranger, this is a book for you. Jenny Lawson knows how to make us laugh and cry, despite our insecurities, despite the insurance companies. Above all, Jenny Lawson knows how to make us feel more human than ever.
—Syd

Bruised

by Tanya Boteju

Daya relies on her tough exterior to push down the trauma of losing both her parents in a tragic car accident, throwing herself (literally) into skateboarding and using the bruises and sore muscles to distract from difficult feelings. As her emotional pain becomes harder to control, she hopes to up her bruise game in roller derby. What she finds instead is undersanding, friendship, support, and a new definition of strength.
— Kim

Caul Baby

by Morgan Jenkins

Centered around the Melancons women and their crumbling brownstone in Harlem during the late 1990’s. Everyone knows (and whispers about) the women for their secret caul, a thin layer of extra skin that protects its bearer. Some believe. Some do not. It’s not a public discussion. That is, until Laila Reserve, who is desperate for a baby, loses yet another pregnancy, very publicly, after attempting to buy a piece of caul from the Melancons. The neighborhood witnesses her breakdown. Can you sell anything that is yours? To anyone? (At any price?) Can you refuse? We are taken through the next 20 years of this Harlem neighborhood as their families grieve loss and question tradsition. They stand together in Black motherhood, push forward in ambition, face gentrification, and feel the painful tearing apart of family that is the unique destruction from generations of secrecy. This is a gorgeous novel of feminist folk magic.
— Amy

Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story
Remaking a Life from Scratch

by Erin French

Founder of the unique and wildly successful Lost Kitchen restauerant, Erin French provides a brutally honest narrative of the determination, against all odds, to build a distinctive restaurant in rural Maine. This is a page-turning memoir that reads like a novel. An amazing story!
— Mary

I’m Waiting for You
and other stories

by Kim Bo-Young

Melancholy leads to hope. Isolation leads to connection. Rebellion leads to understanding. In this collection of science fiction novellas, South Korea’s Kim Bo-Young uses the eternal expanse of the universe to ask and contemplate the most intimate of human questions. A compelling and delightful read.
—Rod

The Night Always Comes

by Willy Vlautin

Second chances are hard to come by. Lynette has worked her ass off to save enough money to buy her family’s home. When the bottom falls out of her plan, we watch her increasing desperation to find another way. Haunted by past events that keep crawling into the light, Lynette’s determination is something to behold. Gritty, realistic fiction for fans of Ottessa Mosfegh and Raymond Carver (also Breaking Bad).
— Beverly

The Upstairs House

by Julia Fine

A white-knuckle commentary on the taboos of new motherhood, but in turn also a ghost story of sorts with fear and desire always bubbling just beneath the surface. I truly cared and worried for these characters until the end and beyond. Fine’s powerful and acerbic voice shines a light that is oftentimes blinding.

This book was actually pretty difficult for me in the beginning as a mother, so there may be some trigger warnings there (post partum, mental health etc). But after the first 2 chapters it really took off for me. Shirley Jackson-y at times but very much its own thing. Definitely kept my heart in my throat and a blistering page-turner.
— Karly

When the Stars Go Dark

by Paula McClain

This will get your heart racing! Missing persons detective Anna Hart is on the run from her own life. While grieving in Mendocino, she gets involved in a missing person case which might or might not be related to an unsolves crime from when Anna was a teen. Can she solve the crime? This psychological thriller explores the effects of trauma on individuals and communities.
—Shirley

And finally, a small collection with a musical theme…

Booksellers Christine and Sally were chatting recently and realized they were both reading (and loving!) books that had been dubbed as “this year’s Daisy Jones and the Six.” Readers have loved Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “Daisy Jones” since it debuted in 2019, and it seems that publishing reps are eager to help Daisy’s fans find their next favorite book.

Enter Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton. Mary Jane, like Daisy Jones, is coming of age in the 1960s/70s, in a world of “drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll.” Opal & Nev, like Daisy Jones, is told as an oral history, crafted from snippets of interviews and “editors notes” from the novel’s characters. Two books as different from each other as they are from “Daisy Jones,” yet all united by a spirit of self-discovery and young women’s empowerment through music.

Mary Jane

by Jessica Anya Blau

I went into Mary Jane cautiously; Daisy Jones and the Six had been such a fun summer read that I doubted this could hold up. I was wrong. Daisy was fun, Mary Jane is going to stay with me for a lot longer.

Set in the mid 70s, 14-year-old Mary Jane becomes the summer nanny for Dr. and Mrs. Cone who live down the street. At first, she is aghast at how they live — messy, unconcerned with appearances, and never cooking meals. But as the summer goes on, she falls in love with the whip-smart 5-year-old, becomes friends with Dr. Cone’s rock star patients, and starts to envision a life different from the one she’s seen her parents live. The book is full of life, fun, love, and music. I can’t wait for it to release in May so I can start gleely shoving it into people’s hands!
— Christine

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

by Dawnie Walton

When Opal, a young Black woman from Detroit, starts performing with Neville Charles, a British musician still waiting to hit it big, both of their lives are changed forever. Four decades later, after Nev has gone on to a successful solo career and Opal has faded into obscurity and cult popularity, journalist Sunny Shelton seeks out the duo to tell the story of their unlikely partnership and the 1971 rock festival performance that left their drummer (and Sunny’s father) dead. Opal, Nev, and Sunny are joined by an exquisite cast of supporting characters (I swear Virgil LaFleur will be portrayed by Titus Burgess in the inevitable future film adaptation), and the full-cast audiobook is a particular treat.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a novel intimiately grounded in real music history. Recommended pairing: Hanif Abdurraquib’s A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance — an intimate, personal reflection on Blackness, art, and survival.
— Sally

We love picture books!

A smattering of recent favorite picture books!
Read more about these and other new titles on our front table
https://www.bookbugkalamazoo.com/newest-picture-books-bookbug

Meet a Bookseller: Shirley

Hello, friends!
Hello, friends!
Hello, friends!
It’s time to read a book.

If you happened to stop by Bookbug on a Thursday morning in the last 8 years or so, there’s a good chance you’ve witnessed the magic that is Storytime with Miss Shirley.

Every Thursday at 10am, from March 2013 until March 2020, Shirley Freeman, better known to many as Miss Shirley, has hosted a special storytime gathering for local kids and caregivers. In the last year, of course, Storytime has had to move online, but Miss Shirley has faithfully kept up with her devoted followers on our this is a youtube channel.

Summer Storytime

Each week, Miss Shirley chooses a theme – inspired by an important holiday, the changing seasons, or just something nice like “hugs” or “birds” – and reads books that talk about that theme. One of her favorite themes, which she revisits each summer, is “blueberries,” featuring Blueberries for Sal and a special snack for each child.

There are songs, like “Hello, Friends” and “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon!” and usually a craft or activity. She has even welcomed special guests, like the Very Hungry Caterpillar!

In “normal” times, the Storytime crowd has tended to be made up of some of the very youngest kiddos — pre-preschoolers, often with a Grammie or Papa in tow. During summers and school breaks, older siblings love to come back and see Miss Shirley again. And you’d better bet she remembers all of their names.

Miss Shirley dressed up as the Little Blue Truck for a Storytime event in Bronson Park

Shirley started working at Bookbug in September of 2012. After her own three children had grown up and “flown the nest,” she was thrilled to see a job post looking for someone to join the team for a couple of evenings each week. She jumped at the opportunity to work at one of her favorite local stores and be around books and kids – two of her favorite things!

A visit from Elephant and Piggie (wait, is that Derek with hair?!)

Miss Shirley is an avid reader of books for grown-ups too, reading broadly among new fiction releases, as well as memoirs and books on social justice issues. Some of her recent favorites include:

Caste (adult non-fiction)
The Bad Muslim Discount (adult fiction)
Love is the Way (adult non-fiction)
How to Mars (adult fiction, due out in May)
Morningside Heights (adult fiction, due out in June)
Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame (middle-grade)
Just Like That (middle-grade)

In addition to reading, Shirley loves being outdoors – hiking, biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing. She and her husband, Jim, even made the trek to-and-from South Haven on the KalHaven Trail last fall!

Shirley and Jim also love traveling – from hiking in the Adirondaks to biking in Portugal, and a memorable family trip to Australia. One small up-side to the last year, Shirley said, was that she can record Storytime from anywhere, including while visiting two of her favorite kids (her granddaughters!) last summer.

Reading books about libraries in front of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, summer 2020

We are so glad that Miss Shirley is part of our Bookbug family! We are grateful for all the wamrth, kindness, and joy she has shared with the families of Kalamazoo over the years. Here’s to many more Thursday Storytimes (in person again as soon as it is safe and wise to do so) in the years to come!

National Poetry Month

by Bookseller Sally, a non-poetry person

I have a confession to make — I often feel like I’m not very good at reading poetry.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading poetry from time to time, and I even took a class or two back in undergrad (with local legend Diane Seuss, no less!) But somehow I think I internalized the idea, a long, long time ago, that there are “poetry people” and “non-poetry people,” and I guess I’m just the latter.

Of course this is ridiculous, and the longer I work in a bookstore, the more opportunities I have to explore the beautiful variety of poetry that is available for readers young and old. Poetry takes so many forms – long or short, wide or narrow, rhyming or free-verse, silly or melancholy, concrete or etherial – and different readers will connect with different things.

So, just in case you think you are also a non-poetry person, here are some things I’ve discovered that have helped me realize that maybe – just maybe – I could be a poetry person too.

1. I love kids’ books that rhyme

Kids love rhymes and rhythm, and with good reason! Rhyming is fun! It’s silly! It makes language playful, creative, and engaging. Whether it’s one of Sandra Boynton‘s extensive selection of board books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Josh Funk’s Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, or so many more, I find that rhyming books are some of my favorites among our collection in Bookbug.

2. I love structured poems

I don’t even care what the structure is, necessarily. Take, for example, Nikki Grimes’ “golden shovel” poems (like this one, above, in One Last Word). Grimes chooses a source poem, highlights a line, and then builds her own poems with that source line cascading down the right side of the page.

The Lost Spells (below) is another beautiful example of structured poetry, inspired by words from the natural world.

Whatever the structure, I love imagining this little window into the poet’s process – how she chooses a form and finds new freedom within constraint.

3. I love novels in verse

This is an especially popular genre among middle grades and young adult books, in which whole novels are written as free-verse poems, with line breaks and stanzas, making the text lyrical and inviting.

Authors such as Elizabeth Acevedo (Clap When You Land, above; The Poet X), Kwame Alexander (e.g., Solo, Swing, The Crossover series), Jason Reynolds (Long Way Down), Sharon Creech (Love that Dog), Jacqueline Woodson (Brown Girl Dreaming, Before the Ever After), and Jasmine Warga (Other Words for Home) (and many more) have used this form with great success.

4. I love poems that play with shape

Poetry is such a versatile medium that invites creativity both in word choice and in the physical presentation on the page. Take, for example, these two poems (above) from How to Love the World, or the two below from Shelter in Place: Stories and Words from the Socially Distant Front Lines of HOME by the youth of Read and Write Kalamazoo.

I love how the shape of a poem affects how I read it – slowly or quickly, smoothly or sharply – and how I get to feel, again, that connection to the poet as craftsperson, guiding me to their truth.

5. I love when poetry makes me pause

Above: “Brand New Clothes” by Langston Hughes (in The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes) and “The Tradition” by Jericho Brown (in The Tradition)

“Exile of Memory” by Joy Harjo (in An American Sunrise)

“Some Questions You Might Ask” by Mary Oliver (in New and Selected Poems, Volume One)

I love the power of poetry to bring life to a stop, even just for a moment.
Sometimes it’s a breathless pause, sometimes contented.
A pause of recognition, of resonance.
A pause of wonder or grief.
A moment with myself and another soul, somewhere in time.

Whether you consider yourself a “poetry person” or still feel like a novice, you can browse our featured National Poetry Month selections here: https://www.bookbugkalamazoo.com/national-poetry-month-2021