Blank Inside. A7 size (5" x 7").

Printed on 110lb Pure White recycled, archival and acid-free paper.

Comes with Kraft envelope and protective sleeve.

Blank Inside. A7 size (5" x 7").

Printed on 110lb Pure White recycled, archival and acid-free paper.

Comes with Kraft envelope and protective sleeve.

Our meeting will be on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at 7:00 PM CST at KINDRED STORIES. Be sure to RSVP and show up with the book read (or mostly read).  If you haven't read the book at all, that's ok too.

Please support the space and opportunities we create by purchasing your book from our store. 

About the Book

This bookclub meeting is on June 27 at 7 PM. We're be in the Kindred Stories Reading. Be sure to show up with the book read (or partially read) but you are always welcome to just come and take up space. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

On the night of her husband Matt’s fortieth birthday, Rachel Abbott receives a sexy, explicit text from her husband that she quickly realizes was meant for another woman. Divorce is inevitable, and Rachel is determined not to leave her thirteen-year marriage empty handed. Meanwhile, Matt, a rising star mayor with his eye on the White House, can’t afford a messy split in the middle of his reelection campaign. They strike a deal: Rachel gets one million dollars and their lavish house in the wealthy DC suburb of Oasis Springs, as long as she keeps playing the ideal Black trophy wife until the election.

Then Rachel meets Nathan Vasquez, a very handsome, very lost twenty-six-year-old artist, and their connection makes Rachel forget about being the perfect politician’s wife. As Rachel reawakens Nathan’s long-dormant artistic aspirations, their attraction becomes impossible to resist. But secrets are hard to keep in a town like Oasis Springs, and Nathan has a few of his own. With the risk of scandal looming and their hearts on the line, they’ll have to decide whether the possibility of losing everything is worth taking a chance on love. 

The Art of Scandal is a sizzling, conversation-starting debut about rekindling passion, the transformative power of art, and finding love in unexpected places. 

We're meeting to discuss Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Joy Degruy!

BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

When: Tuesday, JUNE 17 @ 7PM CST

Where: Kindred Stories (2304 Stuart Street, HTX, 77004)

How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you plan to attend and RSVP WITH BOOK to purchase your book and support Fiction Book Club!

ABOUT POST TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME

A lyrical picture book about our newest national holiday, Juneteenth follows the annual celebration in Galveston, Texas—the birthplace of Juneteenth—through the eyes of a child coming to understand their place in Black American history in a story from three Texan creators.

A young Black child experiences the magic of the Juneteenth parade for the first time with their family as they come to understand the purpose of the party that happens every year—and why they celebrate their African American history!

The poetic text includes selected lyrics from “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the unofficial Black National Anthem, and the vibrant art illuminates the beauty of this moment of Black joy celebrated across the nation. This vibrant adventure through the city streets invites young readers to make a joyful noise about freedom for all.

An intimate look at Juneteenth, this story is a warm exploration of a family and a community. 

Juneteenth is the smell of brisket filling the air. Juneteenth is the sounds of music, dancing, and cheering ringing from the parade outside. It is love. It is prayer. It is friends and relatives coming together to commemorate freedom, hope for tomorrow, and one another.

This book is an ode to the history of the Black community in the United States, a tribute to Black joy, and a portrait of familial love. With poignant text and vivid illustrations, Juneteenth Is offers a window and a mirror for readers, resonating with kids who will see themselves reflected in its pages and those who hope to understand experiences beyond their own.

CELEBRATES BLACK JOY: At its root, this is a story of family and community. Vibrant illustrations capture the warmth and unity of Black families and Black communities in a portrait of beautiful joy.

REMEMBERING A LEGACY: Both a story of celebration and a commemoration of freedom, this book honors a past of struggle, resilience, and triumph. It recognizes Juneteenth not just as a holiday but as a cultural legacy. An author’s note also explains the significance of the color red to Juneteenth—its use as a symbol of African American endurance and the ways Black communities weave the color into modern-day celebrations through food and clothing.

BLACK HISTORY IS AMERICAN HISTORY: Juneteenth marks an undeniable truth of American history and remains a cultural touchstone for many Black Americans, making it important for all Americans to understand. Much-needed in this time of growing representation and discussion about equity and social justice, this book is a strong resource for parents and educators seeking to introduce Black history and encourage respectful conversations.

Perfect for:
* Anyone looking for diverse picture books
* Teachers and librarians
* Gift-giving for Juneteenth celebrations, Black History Month, or classroom bookshelf

Join us to celebrate the release of Juneteenth with Houston based author, Van Garrett

EVENT DEETS

WHEN: Saturday, May 6, 2023

WHERE: Kindred Stories (2304 Stuart Street, HTX, 77004)

HOW: RSVP ONLY to reserve your littles seats or RSVP WITH BOOK to support our programming and the author. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

A lyrical picture book about our newest national holiday, Juneteenth follows the annual celebration in Galveston, Texas—the birthplace of Juneteenth—through the eyes of a child coming to understand their place in Black American history in a story from three Texan creators.

A young Black child experiences the magic of the Juneteenth parade for the first time with their family as they come to understand the purpose of the party that happens every year—and why they celebrate their African American history!

The poetic text includes selected lyrics from “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the unofficial Black National Anthem, and the vibrant art illuminates the beauty of this moment of Black joy celebrated across the nation. This vibrant adventure through the city streets invites young readers to make a joyful noise about freedom for all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Van G. Garrett is the author of Kicks, his debut picture book. An acclaimed poet, he won the Poetry Question National Chapbook Contest for Scrap and the Best Book of African American Poetry from the Texas Association of Authors for 49: Wings and Prayers. He is a musician and visual artist.

Grab the homies for our 1st annual Juneteenth Trivia Night! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Sunday, June 18th at 6PM CST

Where: Kindred Stories (2304 Stuart Street, HTX, 77004)

How: Purchase your ticket here TODAY! Each ticket comes with entry and one drink!

ABOUT THE TRIVIA NIGHT

We are hosting a pub style trivia night! Each person is a participant. You can bring your friends or family be apart of your team or be prepared to join a team when you get here. There will be five rounds of questions around Juneteenth, Black History, Black music & culture, prominent Black history figures etc. You and your team will work together to correctly answer as many questions as possible. Put prepared for a few twists during the night! 

This is a great alternative to observe Juneteenth! 

*Ships in 7-10 business days*

“Tell me what happened while there’s still time,” demands the dying Senator Adam Sunraider to the itinerant Negro preacher whom he calls Daddy Hickman. As a young man, Sunraider was Bliss, an orphan taken in by Hickman and raised to be a preacher like himself. Bliss’s history encompasses the joys of young southern boyhood, bucolic days as a filmmaker, lovemaking in a field in the Oklahoma sun. And behind it all lies a mystery: How did this chosen child become the man who would deny everything to achieve his goals?

With new material by John F. Callahan, who first compiled Juneteenth out of thousands of manuscript pages in 1999, and an updated introduction by National Book Award-winning author Charles R. Johnson, this brilliantly crafted, moving, and wise novel is the work of an American master.

A young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost, navigating truths about love, friendship, and power as the Civil War looms in this moving debut.
 
Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. Her daydreams are filled with poetry and faraway worlds, while she spends her nights secretly roaming through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie.
 
When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave, tethered to this world unless Junie can free her. She enlists the aid of Caleb, the guests’ coachman, and their friendship soon becomes something more. Yet as long-held truths begin to crumble, she realizes Bellereine is harboring dark and horrifying secrets that can no longer be ignored.
 
With time ticking down, Junie begins to push against the harsh current that has controlled her entire life. As she grapples with an increasingly unfamiliar world in which she has little control, she is forced to ask herself: When we choose love and liberation, what must we leave behind?

*ships in 7- 10 business days*

Hardcover

At last, the Academy, Tony, and three-time Emmy Award-winning actor and trailblazer, Cicely Tyson, tells her stunning story, looking back at her six-decade career and life.

*ships or ready for pick up in 7- 10 business days*

A sharp and scintillating summer novel that will make readers laugh out loud and cry happy tears from the New York Times bestselling author of Yours Truly.

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work. 

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

LIMITED EDITION Permanent Vinyl Sticker

This is our limited edition fall sticker. Quantities are limited and we will not be doing another run of these. Once they sell out, they are gone!  Permanent vinyl sticker measuring 3x3 inches    Q: Are they waterproof??A: They sure are! These are high quality outdoor grade sticker with high quality laminate as well. They are made to last 3 - 5 years in all weather conditions Q: Are your stickers dishwasher safe? A: All of our laminated stickers will work great in the dishwasher!   fall, fall decor, greeting cards, stickers, pumpkin, Thanksgiving

*Ships in 7-10 Business Days*

New York Times bestseller. From one of the country’s most visionary legal thinkers, social justice advocates, and MacArthur “genius,” this is an intimate and unforgettable narrative journey into the broken American criminal justice system.

When Bryan Stevenson graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988, he headed south to Alabama, a state on the verge of a crisis: the state was speeding up executions, but many of the condemned lacked anyone to represent them. On a shoestring budget he started the Equal Justice Initiative, a law practice dedicated to defending some of America’s most rejected and marginalized people. Among the first cases he took on was that of Walter McMillian, a black man from Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case would change Bryan’s life and transform his understanding of justice and mercy forever. Just Mercy is the story of the education of a young lawyer fighting on the frontlines of a country in thrall to extreme punishments and careless justice. It follows the suspenseful battle to free Walter before the state executed him, while also telling other dramatic and profoundly moving stories of men, women, and children, innocent and guilty, who found themselves at the mercy of a system often incapable of showing it. This is a exquisitely rendered account of a heroic advocate’s fights on behalf of the most powerless people in our society and a powerful indictment of our broken justice system.

*ships in 7 - 10 business days*

In Just Us, Claudia Rankine invites us into a necessary conversation about Whiteness in America. What would it take for us to breach the silence, guilt, and violence that arise from addressing Whiteness for what it is? What are the consequences if we keep avoiding this conversation? What might it look like if we step into it? “I learned early that being right pales next to staying in the room,” she writes.


This brilliant assembly of essays, poems, documents, and images disrupts the false comfort of our culture’s liminal and private spaces―the airport, the theater, the dinner party, the voting booth―where neutrality and politeness deflect true engagement in our shared problems. Rankine makes unprecedented art out of the actual voices and rebuttals of others: White men responding to, and with, their White male privilege; a friend clarifying her unexpected behavior at a play; and women on the street expressing the political currency of dyeing their hair blond, all running alongside fact-checked notes and commentary that complement Rankine’s own text, complicating notions of authority and who gets the last word. Funny, vulnerable, and prescient, Just Us is Rankine’s most intimate and urgent book, a crucial call to challenge our vexed reality.

Peace.

That's what Synovi now had and cherished more than anything. Free from all the disturbances his chaotic life once ensued, he wanted nothing more than to keep it that way. With a thriving business and relationship, almost nothing could take him back to that dark place of no love. His Love didn't reside there.

His world is still hers, and she is still his.

Without warning, Torin inserted herself into Synovi's life and remained. She's the person he can run to when everything begins to fade, but there's a price to pay when you have a good heart. It's costly, depending on the circumstances, and Torin isn't sure her light is enough for the both of them to make it through the tunnel again.

Is keeping her to himself all in vain, or is their bond strong enough to prove otherwise?

Please note: Keep Giving Me Love is book #2 in the Unorthodox Loves series with no cliffhanger. It is best to read the interconnected standalone books in order.

*Ships in 7-10 business days*

Filled with reproductions of Kehinde Wiley’s bold, colorful, and monumental work, this book encompasses the artist’s various series of paintings as well as his sculptural work—which boldly explore ideas about race, power, and tradition. Celebrated for his classically styled paintings that depict African American men in heroic poses, Kehinde Wiley is among the expanding ranks of prominent black artists—such as Sanford Biggers, Yinka Shonibare, Mickalene Thomas, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye—who are reworking art history and questioning its depictions of people of color. Co-published with the Brooklyn Museum of Art for the major touring retrospective, this volume surveys Wiley’s career from 2001 to the present. It includes early portraits of the men Wiley observed on Harlem’s streets, and which laid the foundation for his acclaimed reworkings of Old Master paintings by Titian, van Dyke, Manet, and others, in which he replaces historical subjects with young African American men in contemporary attire: puffy jackets, sneakers, hoodies, and baseball caps. Also included is a generous selection from Wiley’s ongoing World Stage project; several of his enormous Down paintings; striking male portrait busts in bronze; and examples from the artist’s new series of stained glass windows. Accompanying the illustrations are essays that introduce readers to the arc of Wiley’s career, its critical reception, and ongoing evolution.

New paintings from Wiley that examine how nature is depicted and symbolized in Japanese art

This striking volume presents a new body of work by American painter Kehinde Wiley, who is best known for his vibrant portraiture of Black people that subverts the hierarchies and conventions of classical European and American portraiture. Drawing inspiration from Japanese nature paintings of the Edo period (ca. 1600–1868), Wiley parallels traditional techniques and materials in these monumental works. Exposed linen in the background of the paintings highlights the natural elements of the scenes while also preserving a delicate balance of untouched picture space. In recontextualizing the naturalist landscape genre from a non-Western perspective, Wiley activates diverse ways of thinking about man’s relationship to nature.
Following the artist’s sixth solo show at Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, this amply illustrated catalog includes commissioned essays placing Wiley’s work within the historical context of Japanese painting as well as contemporary Black art. In Wiley’s own words, “In this new turn, I’m trying to break open the conversation again toward what nature really means in the 21st century, in an era of widespread ecological disasters. Our relationship with nature is increasingly in a perilous position. It invites a reinterpretation of not only an incredible opportunity to explore the vastness and the beauty of nature, but also the astonishing fragility and sadness that surrounds us, and lost opportunities.”
Kehinde Wiley (born 1977) was the first Black artist to paint an official US presidential portrait for former US President Barack Obama. Wiley has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, and his works are included in the collections of over 40 public institutions worldwide.

“That is the archaeology I am unearthing: the specter of police violence and state control over the bodies of young Black and brown people all over the world.” –Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence features a new body of paintings and sculptures by American artist Kehinde Wiley confronting the legacies of colonialism through the visual language of the fallen figure. It expands on a subject the artist first explored in his 2008 series Down—a group of large-scale portraits of young Black men inspired by Wiley’s encounter with Hans Holbein the Younger’s The Dead Christ in the Tomb (1521–22) at the Kunstmuseum Basel. Holbein’s painting triggered an ongoing investigation into the iconography of death and sacrifice in Western art that Wiley traced across religious, mythological and historical subjects. An Archaeology of Silence extends these considerations to include men and women around the world whose senseless deaths, often unacknowledged or silenced, are transformed into a powerful elegy of global resistance against state-sanctioned violence. The resulting paintings of Black bodies struck down, wounded or dead, all referencing iconic historical paintings of slain heroes, martyrs or saints, offer a haunting meditation on the violence against Black and brown bodies through the lens of European art history.
Kehinde Wiley (born 1977) is a world-renowned visual artist. Working in the mediums of painting, sculpture and video, Wiley is best known for his vibrant portrayals of contemporary African American and African-diasporic individuals that subvert the hierarchies and conventions of European and American portraiture. Wiley became the first African American artist to paint an official US Presidential portrait for former US President Barack Obama. Wiley has held solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally, and his works are included in the collections of over 40 public institutions worldwide. He lives and works in Beijing, Dakar and New York.

The latest in the World Stage series of portraits by Kehinde Wiley (born 1977), this volume presents 13 new paintings, the result of the artist's trip to Haiti―a nation that is often presented as a place of chronic poverty, corruption and deprivation. In Haiti Wiley actively went looking for beauty, staging pageants to cast his portrait subjects and advertising with open calls on the radio and posters put up in the streets of Jacmel, Jalouise and Port-au-Prince. Wiley worked within the tradition of pageant culture native to the Caribbean but also subverted it, choosing his winners at random. The paintings draw on the artistic traditions of France and Spain (the colonial rulers of Haiti before the Haitian Revolution), as well as Haiti's varied religious traditions and local crafts, creating a composite portrait of contemporary Haiti through its people, history and culture.

Notes: Tropical stone fruit, black tea, caramel
Region: Mutunduri, Embu, Kenya
Altitude: 1,300-1,900 masl
Process: Double-washed, sun-dried on raised beds

This roast is our take on the "Take the A Train" classic composition made famous by Duke Ellington. AA is the highest tier of coffee produced in Kenya, and AA beans are regarded for their “big band” feel with a light body, bright mouthfeel, and intense floral taste. Like the music of Duke, and the famous NYC train line—this coffee will take you on a ride that’s unique and delightful.

Origin Story

Mwiria Factory, named for the Kikuyu word meaning “huge”, lives up to its name with the big, flavorful punch of stone fruit, black tea and chocolate it packs in the cup.

Three permanent employees operate Mwiria Factory and hire an additional 30 people during the peak of the season. Smallholders selectively handpick only ripe cherry and deliver it to Mwiria Factory. At intake, the Cherry Clerk oversees meticulous visual sorting and floating, accepting only dense, ripe cherry.After intake, cherry is pulped and wet fermented in Mwiria’s fermentation tanks for 12 to 28 hours. Following
fermentation, coffee is washed clean water and graded in grading channels. Parchment is laid to dry on raised beds. During the busy season when the beds are in
constant use, parchment may be soaked in clean, circulating water for up to 24 hours before being dried. Workers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 14 to 21 days for parchment to dry.

In order to improve their environmental impact, Mwiria has 9 water soak pits that filter and drain waste water from processing. By planting Napier grass and plenty of trees around the pits, excess nutrients and other processing byproducts are filtered from the water, keeping water sources cleaner & safer for nearby communities and helping to return nutrients to the soil and plants.

*Ships in 7-10 business days*

The definitive monograph on contemporary African American painter Kerry James Marshall, accompanying a major traveling retrospective. This long-awaited volume celebrates the work of Kerry James Marshall, one of America’s greatest living painters. Born before the passage of the Civil Rights Act, in Birmingham, Alabama, and witness to the Watts riots in 1965, Marshall has long been an inspired and imaginative chronicler of the African American experience. Best known for large-scale interiors, landscapes, and portraits featuring powerful black figures, Marshall explores narratives of African American history from slave ships to the present and draws upon his deep knowledge of art history from the Renaissance to twentieth-century abstraction, as well as other sources such as the comic book and the muralist tradition. With luscious color and brushstrokes and highly detailed patterning, his direct and intimate scenes of black middle-class life conjure a wide range of emotions, resulting in powerful paintings that confront the position of African Americans throughout American history. Richly illustrated, this monumental book features essays by noted curators as well as the artist, and more than 100 paintings from throughout the artist’s career arranged thematically by subject: history painting; beauty, as expressed through the nude, portraiture, and self-portraiture; landscape; religion; and the politics of black nationalism.

Keyana is heading back to school in this exciting picture book written by bestselling author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (I Love My Hair!) and illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow!

Keyana has come up with the perfect idea for a class project, and getting it done is pretty fun! All she has to do is pick the people and places she loves around her school. But when the teacher asks Keyana to present the project in front of everyone, she’ll have to find a little bit of confidence and a big way to share.

Praise for the KEYANA series: 

Tarpley's pleasant, relatable text and Barlow's vivid soft-pastel illustrations combine here to create a heartwarming story...This book is a beauty to behold.―Booklist

A celebration of big ideas, teamwork, and family...A loving depiction of a warm, affectionate Black family. 
 ―Kirkus

In a delightful story about Black child joy and family, Tarpley gives us an adorable and dynamic main character in Keyana, who has presence and confidence aplenty... A recommended purchase for collections needing a little more Black joy on the shelves.―School Library Journal

A comprehensive look at the early career of a rising star in contemporary Black portraiture

This is the first monograph on the practice of young American painter Khalif Tahir Thompson (born 1995), who will receive an MFA from the Yale School of Art in the spring of 2024. With several solo exhibitions and artwork in museum permanent collections, Thompson is already prolific. His paintings are populated by Black figures set in colorful, shimmering environments that sometimes resemble patchworks verging on abstraction. They incorporate multiple materials apart from oil and acrylic, including handmade paper, pearls, fabric, velvet, newspaper and leather. Whether isolated or in a group, candid or posed, each figure is imbued with an innate identity. Says Thompson of his work: "I believe painting can be a tool in considering the emotional, psychological complexity of an individual's story and identity ... I alter perception and invoke empathy towards my subjects, depicting their reality across a visceral lens."

A fun, lyrical debut picture book, Kicks is an essential read for sneaker fans of all ages, from award-winning poet Van G. Garrett and New York Times bestselling illustrator Reggie Brown.

“A brilliantly written and illustrated ode to sneakers and sneakerheads, young and old. A gift to us all.” —Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times best-selling author

This is a love letter to sneakers. But not just any sneakers. Only the flyest, floatiest, you-est kicks you can get—the ones that let you soar!

This colorful, rhythmic adventure has something to offer anyone who prizes a great pair of shoes and any reader who loves to play with words.