BOOK NOTES Pear Street Books & Plants announces events
Full Circle Bookstore to host talk on Black history
Educator and author Rochelle Stephney-Roberson will speak on Black history in Oklahoma at 3 p.m. Feb. 10 at Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway. Her program, The Impact of Black People in Oklahoma, covers historical Black schools in Oklahoma such as Langston University, Douglass High School in Oklahoma City, and Booker T. Washington School in Tulsa. Additionally, she will discuss Brown v Board of Education, Rosenwald schools, and the legacy of figures such as Ada Sipuel Fisher, John Hope Franklin, and many more. For more information, go online to https://fullcirclebooks.com, or call 405-842-2900.
Best of Books to host book signings, blind date book shopping with drinks
Edmond independent bookstore Best of Books, 1313 E Danforth Rd, Edmond, has several local author book signings and special event nights coming up. For more information, go online to https:// www.bestofbooksok.com/ or call 405340-9202.
Book signing: Join Best of Books as h romance and thriller novels combine with Oklahoma author Heather Levy for a signing of her latest novel “Hurt for Me” at 6 p.m. Feb. 6. This event is free to attend. h Story time and author signings: Feb. 10 will see two free events. First, bring the kids for a special Storytime with the Author at 11 a.m. with local author Lauren Pestinger as she reads her book “Rory’s Magical Backpack.” Then, from noon to 2 p.m., meet four local authors for a come and go signing event. Participating authors are: Jackie Kraft, author of “Under a Sunflower Moon”; Julie Owen Morris, author of “Chronically in Christ”; Dee Dee Chumley, author of “Ron’s Unlikely Friend”; and Deepika Volquardsen, author of “NimBu PaAni.” Books will be available to purchase from each attending author to get signed during the event. h Blind date book shopping with drinks: Best of Books has teamed up with Ellis Island Coffee and Wine Lounge in Edmond to host a night of bookish drinks and blind date book shopping from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23. The book store will be selecting popular titles and books you may have missed to surprise guests. Ellis Island is mixing up a featured bookish drink to be revealed at the event. Event Tickets are available on the Best of Books website for $30 and include 1 Blind Date Book + 1 Drink voucher from Ellis Island. Pear Street Books & Plants, 918 N Hudson Ave, has the following upcoming book events. For more information, go online to pearstreetbooks.com or call 405-724-7328. h Feb. 10: Romance Book Swap. h 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 24: Poetry reading and signing featuring Durrell Carter, Brand Rackley and Tobias Wray.
Recent books in stores and coming soon with Oklahoma ties
•”Maggie: Trapped in the School for the Feeble Minded” by Lynn Phillips (Palmetto Publishing, 180 pages, in stores)
Phillips writes about a true story that takes place primarily in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl period. It is the story of how a normal, 6-year-old girl was mistakenly placed in the Oklahoma School for the Feeble Minded, sterilized at the age of 13, and remained confined in the institution for 50 years of her life.
•”In the Morning, the City Is the Prairie ” by Rob Roensch (Belle Point Press, 184 pages, in stores)
Matt Bennet, a soulful yet aimless 20something who has little more to offer than a Costco discount, lives with his parents in Oklahoma City. Confronted by a family health crisis, Matt becomes more attuned to the needs of those he loves, and how he can best fit himself into the world-largely inspired by the more passionate and ambitious young women in his life: his girlfriend, a public school teacher participating in the Oklahoma teachers’ strike of 2018, and his younger sister, a teenage idealist determined to make a difference.