March 2023

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This month we will be discussing Memorial by Bryan Washington. We will be meeting a week early this month on March 3rd at 7:30 pm in an online video chat. You can find the link in the sidebar to the right (or the bottom of the page if you're on a phone browser).

Bryan Washington is a writer from Houston. He’s also a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 winner, a New York Public Library Young Lions Award recipient, an Ernest J. Gaines Award recipient, an International Dylan Thomas Prize recipient, a Lambda Literary Award recipient, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Fiction award, the James Tait Black Prize, the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, a PEN/Robert W. Bingham prize finalist, a National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize finalist, the recipient of an O. Henry Award, and was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30. He is a columnist for the New York Times Magazine. ​

He is the author of our book club book, Memorial, as well as Lot, which was his first book. His third book, Family Meal, will drop on October 10. You can preorder that with us here!

So, what's the book about?

Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson's a Black day care teacher, and they've been together for a few years -- good years -- but now they're not sure why they're still a couple. There's the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other.

But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Texas for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation, discovering the truth about his family and his past. Back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates, an absurd domestic situation that ends up meaning more to each of them than they ever could have predicted. Without Mike's immediate pull, Benson begins to push outwards, realizing he might just know what he wants out of life and have the goods to get it.

Both men will change in ways that will either make them stronger together, or fracture everything they've ever known. And just maybe they'll all be okay in the end.

A funny and profound story about family in all its strange forms, joyful and hard-won vulnerability, becoming who you're supposed to be, and the limits of love.
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via GIPHY

If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: in-store, online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. Our booksellers will be happy to help you get the book in the format that you prefer!

Buy Online!

Paperback
Audiobook
​eBook

We are open to the public for in-store shopping & you can pickup your orders at the register. Our winter hours are:
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri - 11am to 1:30pm & 2pm to 6pm
Sat - 11am to 6pm
Wed & Sun - Closed

However, you can also pickup your book using the pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We offer free media mail shipping for orders $30+ and can ship anywhere in the United States. Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us!

Finally, you can RSVP & add this event to your personal calendar--do that here! We hope to see you at our next meeting!
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Reviews & Interviews

'Memorial' Is A Debut Novel That Feels Like The Work Of A Master -- NPR.org
Memorial -- Harvard Review Online
In Bryan Washington’s ‘Memorial,’ a Young Gay Couple Is Divided by Race, Class and Culture -- The New York Times
Talking About Care and Craft With Bryan Washington -- The Atlantic
Author Talks | Bryan Washington, Memorial -- Atlanta History Center