Books make excellent holiday gifts, but instead of going to Amazon to purchase them, consider visiting a local bookstore first. We have several great bookstores in our area that are still somehow holding on despite most folks shopping for books online these days. Some of these stores are having special holiday hours, events and offers this month:

• Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave)

Bindlestiff Books will be open daily through Sunday, Dec. 24, from Noon – 7 p.m., except on Sundays (Noon – 5 p.m.). Gift certificates are back in stock, and special orders received on or before Tuesday, Dec. 19 will be available by Friday, Dec. 22. Bindlestiff Books will also be tabling at an upcoming Benefit for Jewish-Muslim Solidarity Work on Sunday, Dec. 17, 4 – 7 p.m. at Kol Tzedek, Calvary United Methodist Church, 48th and Baltimore. Admission is on a sliding scale $5 to $25, but no one will be turned away. There will be latkes, a potluck dinner, a Bindlestiff book sale, a craft fair, candle lighting, blessings, desserts, a Klezmer concert by the Simcha Band, and dancing.  Continue Reading

In the current political climate and the rise of the alt-right movement, Islamophobia is growing more widespread. A number of public education efforts have surfaced, but there’s one particular effort that aims to nip Islamophobia in the bud while children are still in school. Meet Melanie Bartlett, a parent who heads the education committee at the West Philly Coalition Against Islamophobia (Facebook page). Bartlett is spearheading the “Kids Books That Fight Islamophobia” campaign, which has one simple mission: to get more books featuring Muslim kids into elementary school class libraries. Currently, the campaign is seeking out funding through their GoFundMe page and has already raised over $3,600 of its $5,000 goal.

Bartlett was driven by creating a better world for her daughter, who is being raised Muslim.  Continue Reading

Each holiday season, we encourage folks to do more of their gift shopping locally. You can buy some unique gifts here, from arts and crafts to clothing to jewelry to locally made food and drinks to gift cards from a variety of local businesses. We also want to remind that books make wonderful holiday gifts, and we have several great, independently-owned bookstores in the area that need your support.

This piece, written for West Philly Local by award-winning writer Emma Eisenberg almost four years ago, might persuade you to buy books at local stores instead of Amazon. Many stores have special holiday hours and are holding holiday sales this month, so when doing your holiday gift shopping please don’t forget to stop by and check them out:

• Penn Book Center (130 S. 34th St.) is offering 25% off selected Random House titles, including new fiction, biography, history, cookbooks and more. Become a frequent buyer and get a $10.00 credit every time you spent $100.00. Open Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave) is open daily, Noon until 7 p.m. (except Sundays when it closes at 5) through and Thursday, Dec. 24. The store will be receiving new shipments twice weekly (generally Tuesday and Friday), and special orders are welcome. Special orders received by the end of the day on Dec. 20 (Sunday) will be available for pick-up on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Feel free to call 215-662-5780.

• House of Our Own (3920 Spruce St) – Open Mon-Thu 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. E-mail: hooo@verizon.net or call 215-222-1576.

• The Last Word Book Shop (220 S. 40th St) – Open daily 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. For more info call 215-386-7750.  Continue Reading

Here are two chances to meet and support West Philly-based authors who will be presenting their new books this week.

• Anna Badkhen, a journalist, world traveler and writer, is inviting neighbors to the Penn Book Center (34th and Sansom) on Tuesday, Aug. 4 for the launch of her new book, Walking with Abel. Named a top summer reading pick by the Los Angeles Times, Playboy and Mental Floss, the book takes readers on a journey with a family of Fulani nomads, as they embark on their annual migration across the African savanna. Badkhen spent much of 2013 living with the nomads in the Sahel region of Mali in Western Africa (read our earlier post about Badkhen and her book here).

“[Badkhen] mak[es] Fulani culture come alive as she follows the herders’ daily efforts to cope with drought, disease, and death in an often unforgiving landscape…,” reads a review by Library Journal, and Playboy calls the book a “vivid, memorable nonfiction.”  Continue Reading

Asali Solomon (Photo from haverford.edu)

West Philly native and Haverford College professor Asali Solomon will read from her highly-acclaimed novel “Disgruntled” and sign copies at two local venues this Thursday (June 11).

First, Solomon will be at Bindlestiff Books at 4530 Baltimore Ave. for a signing from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Copies of “Disgruntled” have been available in the store for a few weeks now, and will be available at the event.

Then, starting at 7 p.m., Solomon will be reading from her novel at Little Earthquakes, as part of the “Still Untitled” series. Little Earthquakes is a group house at 4710 Warrington Avenue that hosts many events.

In addition to Solomon, New York City poet Ely Shipley will be a guest at Thursday’s salon at Little Earthquakes. Shipley’s first book, “Boy with Flowers,” won the Barrow Street Press book prize, the Thom Gunn Award, and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. His chapbook, “On Beards: A Memoir of Passing,” is forthcoming from speCt! books. The event is free and open to the public. Please email littleearthquakesphilly@gmail.com for more information.

As a reminder, “Disgruntled” is a coming-of-age novel set in West Philadelphia. Solomon invites readers into the journey of protagonist Kenya Curtis, an African immigrant, as she navigates childhood in West Philly. We meet Kenya as a fourth grader at Henry C. Lea School where she tries to fit in but is confronted with her and her family’s Afrocentric identity. The novel is partly autobiographical. Here is a great review of “Disgruntled” in the Los Angeles Times. By the way, Solomon still lives in West Philly.

The annual One Book, One Philadelphia programming kicks off today, and here is some information on what will be happening at West Philadelphia public library branches. In their 13th season, One Book, One Philadelphia will have events through March 19, including book discussions, children’s craft workshops, historical presentations, panel discussions, and film screenings. Please note that a time capsule letter workshop will take place this afternoon at the Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek Library (see more below).

One Book, One Philadelphia is a joint project of the Mayor’s Office and the Free Library of Philadelphia. The goal of the project is to promote literacy and encourage Philadelphians to come together through reading and discussing a single book. The One Book, One Philadelphia Selection Committee chose Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline for reading and discussion in 2015. Here’s more information about the book from the Free Library of Philadelphia website:

“Orphan Train is the compelling story of Vivian, a 91-year-old widow once orphaned as a child, and Molly, a troubled teen who has been shuffled from one unstable foster home to another. The two women develop a bond, with Vivian treasuring her Irish immigrant roots and Molly finding comfort in her ancestral Native American tradition. The novel sheds light on an era when thousands of orphaned children were taken from crowded cities to face uncertain futures in the rural Midwest and connects with the importance of heritage and memories in shaping who we are, the value of intergenerational relationships, and the fundamental power of family.”  Continue Reading