Happy August Eventsapalooza, book peeps! We have a plethora of author events for you this month, from local romance writers to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day on August 9th, to the return of Gabriella Buba on August 23rd, who brought us such an exciting FilAm queer romantasy book last year, to kid-friendly events with Wendy Gorton and Kobina Commeh, to new fiction from Jennifer Givhan, Winnie M. Li, and one of our literary heroes Elaine Castillo.
We’ll also be featuring some great beach reads in store, perfect for enjoying these last long days of summer like the 50th anniversary edition of JAWS, the new paperback edition of COLORED TELEVISION, and signed copies of Elise Bryant’s THE GAME IS AFOOT.
Our Thursday 10am “Tiny Tales with Louie” free Storytime returns for two sessions on August 7th and 21st, along with early market-friendly shopping hours at our 4th Street location from 10am to 6pm.
One of the things our book clubs is known for is our round of “What’s Bringing You Joy?” during our group introductions. This has been a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our book club members, share in their happiness, and discover new places and experiences that we might enjoy (at least vicariously). As we continue to resist the tyranny of this administration and the complicity of our local officials, I’ll be sharing my moments of joy, hoping that they bring you some comfort and delight. Here goes:
EXPERIENCE: We had a wonderfully relaxing trip to the Boston area to see family and friends, where many joyful things happened, including 1) trying candlepin bowling, 2) eating so much good seafood and French pastries on Cape Cod, and 3) getting to visit the new location of Belonging Books in Hyannis MA, founded by the incredibly kind and funny Erica Tso Haidas.
MEDIA: We recently watched the first part of “And So It Goes,” the fantastic Billy Joel documentary, and it made me love and appreciate his music even more.
FOOD: One of our Burning Issues book club members just opened Dedo Coffee in Long Beach’s Wrigley neighborhood, and it is such a comfortable, relaxing place to have delicious coffee, meet friends, and listen to their amazing hi-fi setup.
JOURNALING: I switched to a passport sized Travelers Company notebook and picked up ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear from our local library to read for #OneBookJuly (keep supporting your local libraries!). Turns out I love this more compact size and have been (bullet) journaling up a storm. It helps that I also treated myself to a Kodak pocket printer which makes it so much easier and more fun to include photos in my journal.
BOOKS: I read/listened to a whopping nine books in July (the happy product of chill beach/poolside reading days). My faves were DUCKS by Kate Beaton, THE BERRY PICKERS by Amanda Peters, STAY TRUE by Hua Hsu, and THE WHITE HOT by Quiara Alegría Hudes (out November 11th)
Read on for more info and signup links to our exciting roster of August author events and book clubs.
Here’s to books, laughter, and joyful resistance!
Jhoanna
Head Booknerd + Owner of Bel Canto Books
We’re proud to host these amazing authors and artists this month! Bel Canto Books events are free to attend, unless otherwise noted. Please join us in supporting our authors by RSVPing in advance and purchasing their books from us (or requesting them from your local library)!
Friday 8/1, 6-9pm @ KUBO LB
First Fridays
Thursday 8/7, 10am @ 4th St Farmer’s Market
“Tiny Tales with Louie” Storytime
Saturday 8/9, 4pm @ KUBO LB
Bookstore Romance Day Panel with Jayci Lee, Falon Ballard + Sabrina Sol
Sunday 8/10, 4pm @ KUBO LB
Jennifer Givhan, SALT BONES
Tuesday 8/12, 5pm (virtual)
Kapwa Bookstores Collective presents Elaine Castillo, MODERATION
Saturday 8/16 @ KUBO LB
12pm - Wendy Gorton, 50 HIKES WITH KIDS: CALIFORNIA
1:30pm - Kobina Commeh, KWESI AND NANA RUBY LEARN TO SWIM
Sunday 8/17, 4pm @ KUBO LB
Winnie Li, WHAT WE LEFT UNSAID
Thursday 8/21, 10am @ 4th St Farmer’s Market
“Tiny Tales with Louie” Storytime
Friday 8/22, 6-9pm @ BCB Retro Row
Fourth Fridays
Saturday 8/23, 4pm @ KUBO LB
Gabriella Buba, DAUGHTERS OF FLOOD AND FURY
with audiobook narrators Krys Janae and Ferdelle Capistrano
Sunday 8/24, 4pm @ KUBO LB
AAPI Mental Health + Healing with Dr. Helen H. Hsu
+ Linda Yoon and Soo Jin of the Yellow Chair Collective
Tuesday 8/26, 7pm @ KUBO LB
Kaila Yu, FETISHIZED with comedian Jenny Yang
Saturday 8/30 + Sunday 8/31
“Clear the Shelves” Sale
Book clubs are free to join and attend. We greatly appreciate your support of our work and our featured authors and encourage you to buy from our stores, Bookshop.org, Libro.fm, and/or request books from your local library. Learn more and kindly RSVP here.
Bel Canto Book Club
I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai
Thu 8/21, 6:30pm at Union @ Compound
Graphic Novel Book Club
THE IMPENDING BLINDNESS OF BILLIE SCOTT by Zoe Thorogood
Sat 8/16, 10am PT / 1pm ET (virtual)
Burning Issues Book Club
THE HEAT WILL KILL YOU FIRST by Jeff Goddell
Sun 8/21, 12pm PT / 3pm ET (virtual)
Movies N’ Books Club
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN by Patricia Highsmith
Wed 8/27, 7pm at the Art Theater LB
Queer Book Club
THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL ANGRY PLANET by Becky Chambers
Sat 8/16, 7pm at BCB Retro Row
The Conscious Tea Book Club
SAVING FIVE by Amanda Nguyen
Sun 8/24, 11am at BCB Retro Row
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