Bay Windows columnist Judah Leblang, author of the memoir “Finding My Place: One Man’s Journey from Cleveland to Boston and Beyond,” will have a book reading at the store Friday, Feb 12 at 7PM. Leblang is a Medford – based writer and storyteller, who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. His essays and commentaries have been broadcast on NPR and published in various newspapers and magazines throughout the country. His column, “Life in the Slow Lane,” appears regularly in Bay Windows.
“From wearing a ‘WWJD’ cap around Jacksonville, Florida (assuming it was the moniker of a local radio station) to an unfortunate car accident on the first day of kindergarten, to trying to fill out a muscle T-shirt at age 51 in Provincetown, Leblang’s journey of discovery blends comedy and drama. In this episodic memoir, Leblang sketches the world he comes from, a world of poppy seed kuchen, Indians baseball, and the great industrial city of Cleveland, Ohio, which seemed to be imploding in the 1960’s and ’70’s-and the world he inhabits today, as a hard of hearing man with a funny name, navigating middle age.”
Jamaicaway Books & Gifts’ J’Way Cafe opened last weekend to rave reviews from many of our store’s supporters. From pulled pork to Jamaican jerk chicken to sweet potato pie, J’Way Cafe is quickly becoming Jamaica Plain’s one stop for food for the soul. Our hours of operation are Fridays 5PM-9PM, Saturdays 10AM-9PM and Sundays Noon – 6PM. Check out our menu to see what will satisfy your palate.
Store Highlights
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and what better way to get into the mood than with some good literary loving! In addition to the great choice of romance novels in our store window display, we also carry Zora Neale Hurston’s classic Their Eyes Were Watching God. “One of the most important works of twentieth-century American literature, [this book] is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty, and heartfelt wisdom. Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. A true literary wonder, Hurston’s masterwork remains as relevant and affecting today as when it was first published — perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature.”
Black History Month continues at Jamaicaway Books & Gifts, and if you haven’t had a chance yet, check out our Black History Month Book List, which has a wide selection of resources for adults, children and teachers. A popular children’s book is Elizabeth Yates’ Amos Fortune: Free Man. Amos Fortune was “born the son of a king in the At-mun-shi tribe in Africa. When Amos was only fifteen years old, he was captured by slave traders and brought to Massachusetts, where he was sold at auction. Although his freedom had been taken, Amos never lost his dignity and courage. He dreamed of being free, and of buying freedom of his closest friends. By the time he was sixty years old, Amos Fortune began to see those dreams come true.” Ages 8-12
