Hi book peeps,
When I started this newsletter earlier this week, our biggest struggle was how to complete, in one week, a reorganization of our KUBO bookstore space, packing and returning hundreds of unsold books, inventory of KUBO and our 4th Street store, and creating January book displays at all three of our locations - all before a surprise trip to Japan on Sunday with Mr. Bel Canto.
The good news is that we have managed to complete a big chunk of this massive and physically daunting to-do list, with some key help from our BCB team and fellow stationery fanatic and Queer Book Club organizer @loganslovelynotebooks. The bad news is that the bad news keeps on coming: the violent oil grab of Venezuela, the murder of Renee Nicole Good and at least 32 others detained by ICE, and closer to home, the possible closure of Casita Bookstore and Planet Books. It seems silly now to worry about a to-do list in the face of so much fear and anguish.
What I take solace and inspiration from is the countless relationships that we’ve cultivated through this tiny but mighty bookstore: all the amazing authors and activists, librarians and community organizers, book club folks, stationery friends, ardent readers, and family and friends who’ve been touched by our work and whose laughter and presence have helped brighten the sometime lonely work of being a bookseller and small business owner.
As one of our heroes, Ijeoma Oluo says in BE A REVOLUTION: HOW EVERYDAY PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING OPPRESSION AND CHANGING THE WORLD–AND HOW YOU CAN, TOO, “We need one another–to keep us well, to keep us going, and to keep us accountable. So be intentional in cultivating and maintaining loving and supportive relationships. Give them the time and energy they need. Treat your relationships like the essential component to our collective survival that they are.”
Instead of my normal Moments of Joy recap, I wanted to encourage you to get in community, to intentionally seek out gatherings and spaces where you can be with others in the coming months. Here are a few good places to start:
MOLAA, the Museum of Latin American Art, here in Long Beach has some great upcoming events and art workshops
Crucial Comix has a ton of free or sliding scale online classes and workshops
Sari Sari Store zine making workshop at KUBO LB
Trauma-informed, restorative yoga at KUBO LB
Yoga on the Bluff daily classes
Listen to poet and #AuthorCrush Ross Gay read Inciting Joy while walking around a local park
Search for local art, coffee shops, movement classes, music venues, community organizers, and more in your area
Lastly, I want to recommend starting a daily writing habit (aka journaling). You don’t need a fancy notebook or art supplies - just some paper and a pen or pencil and 10 minutes to jot down what’s on your mind. Some things you might ask yourself are: What am I grateful for today? What’s something that surprised me today? How does my body feel right now?
Read on for more info and signup links to our upcoming book clubs (our events calendar is paused until February). Thanks for sticking with us and for reading (if you made it this far) this overlong missive. I hope it brings you comfort to know that we’re with you, that we’re wishing you the best this year.
Here’s to books, laughter, and joyful resistance!
Jhoanna
Head Booknerd + Owner of Bel Canto Books
We’re starting 2026 with a big reset at KUBO LB, which reopens on Thursday 1/8!
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
We love being part of the community at KUBO and being able to serve readers in the #bixbyknolls and greater Long Beach/LA area. The friendly support staff, flexible event space, and easy parking have made it so conducive to hosting most of our events here.
However, our overall sales the past few years haven’t come close to covering our annual expenses (bookselling has notoriously low profit margins), so when our sublease came up, we decided it was time to realign our footprint in a way that is more sustainable for the future.
THE GOOD NEWS
Our new, smaller footprint at KUBO means that we get to stay open and continue to host events here, while ensuring that we are keeping our expenses in line with what sales can support. A win-win for all!
We have paired down our curation, but you’ll still see our major focuses in the space (Pinoy Pride, book club books, kidlit, staff picks, fiction and narrative nonfiction), maintaining our mission to highlight great books by historically marginalized authors.
Our beautiful mural table (lovingly painted by beloved friend of the bookstore @rboronowsky) will feature a rotating display centered around the theme of the month. This January is Mentorship Month, so expect great fiction and nonfiction about mentoring, friendship, and trying (if not always succeeding) to do better.
Stop by and let us know what you think of the new setup!
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 (meets monthly)
GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE
Thu 1/22, 6:30pm at BCB Retro Row
Burning Issues Book Club (virtual; meets monthly)
READ THIS TO GET SMARTER
Sun 1/25, 12pm PT
Graphic Novel Book Club (virtual; meets monthly)
MAKING NONFICTION COMICS
Sat 1/24, 10am PT
Queer Book Club (meets monthly)
THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA
Sat 1/24, 7pm at BCB Retro Row
Marigold Death Collective Book Club (meets bimonthly)
UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR
Thu 2/12, 6:30pm at BCB Retro Row
TIMPLA Cookbook Club (meets quarterly)
MY CAMBODIA meeting + potluck
Sun 2/22, 12pm at KUBO LB
AI Ethics Book Club (meets quarterly)
CARELESS PEOPLE
Wed 3/26, 6:30pm - Location TBD
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