Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away
by June Cross
This book is really about secrets and the havoc they cause. Former PBS producer and now Columbia professor June Cross is the child of a white woman and a black man. She told part of this story in her 1997 Emmy Award–winning documentary of the same name. Her father was a well-known comedian, James Cross, of Stump & Stumpy. Financial problems and other issues caused her parents to part. Eventually, her mother sent her to live with a traditional, very middle class black couple in Atlantic City because June, as a small child, couldn’t pass for white. But her mother could not fully let her go and they remained in contact. She spent summers in Hollywood where her mother had married actor Larry Storch of The F Troop (remember that show?). Watch for a mid-October event.

Baby Brother’s Blues
by Pearl Cleage
Pearl demonstrates her fine skills in this ambitious book with many characters. It is set in Atlanta’s West End. Formerly a safe area cut off from much of the city’s, the West End is changing. Bad things are happening. Blue Hamilton has been the area’s self-appointed enforcer. His wife Regina is pregnant and very worried about Blue’s safety. Cleage’s tight writing, great dialogue and excellent plotting makes this complex book work. It is populated by spirits, folks with past lives and visions. Cleage’s book is a fast-paced thriller with intersecting stories. Pearl was once press secretary for Maynard Jackson and she provides an inside look at Atlanta’s dealmakers and their coziness, sometimes with the wrong folks.

Update: Jon gave a grand presentation Saturday: playing a number of songs, reading from the book & taking questions. For those who could not attend, we have signed books. Just stop in or call. United managed to misplace Jon’s bag full of CDs and we were not able to sell them, so for those please visit Bloodshot Records. If you are interested in paintings or prints, Jon suggests Yard Dog as the gallery with the best selection.

Just to show my age, I first saw the Mekons some 20 years ago at the old 9:30 Club on F street with my wife and my best pal. From the first song, we knew this band was special. Pints of Guinness needed to be drunk. They did an awesome cover of Money (That’s What I Want) for an encore–folks threw dollar bills at them. These people were my age! (I was feeling old even then.) And they were still rocking out! And you could tell they were having a good time. That show started my last great rock group obsession–you know, hunting down obscure 45s or EPs or flexi-discs from equally obscure punk mags, exploring side projects (someone really needs to reissue those Three Johns records), making cuts tapes to send to friends, checking the indexes of books for any mention of Mekons, The. (more…)

Pick 3: buy 2, the third is FREE.
Here’s your chance to choose from our great selection of full price paperback and hardcover adult fiction: beach reading, science fiction, mysteries, graphic novels, classics, world literature and the season’s best new books.

Take advantage of the sale and pick up something for a graduate, Father’s Day, a favorite teacher or upcoming birthdays. Whether you have travel plans this summer or just plan some down time at home, take this opportunity to save.

Pick 3: buy 2, the third is free during June. The lowest priced book is free. Not applicable to special orders, textbooks, your Vertigo Reader Card or previously discounted books.