Poetry Open Mic Night
Starting May 21st and happening every third Thursday of the month, Talha Kahf will be hosting a welcoming, low-pressure space for poets of all ages and experience levels. Whether you’re looking to share your work, try out something new, or just connect with other poetry-loving humans, this is for you.
Come read, listen, experiment, and be as poetic as possible.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (June)
Discussing
The Lilac People: A Novel
Written by: Milo Todd
In 1932 Berlin, a trans man named Bertie and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond. But everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The Institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.
In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation is to flee to the United States.
Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an unknown moment of World War II and trans history.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Curious Creators
Join us for a monthly story and craft night.
Each month, kids will enjoy a story time followed by a hands-on craft inspired by the book. Led by Artsy ALPS, this fun and welcoming program encourages kiddo to create and connect through stories and art.
When: Last Wednesday of each month, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Cost: $10 per crafter (Family maximum of $25)
Ages: 4 and up
Please note: Adults must remain on-site during the program.
Craft instruction is provided by Artsy ALPS.
Learn more at www.artsyalps.com.
Safe Space Night
A quiet space. No expectations. Just somewhere to be.
We’re opening the shop after hours for a Safe Space Night—not as a shop, but as a third space to just come to and chill.
Come read, sit, play a game, have a conversation, or just exist quietly.
- All are welcome
- Come and go as you need
- Be yourself, take up space, or keep to yourself
We’ll be here.
Paws to Read
Do you love dogs? Want to practice reading to a specially trained Paws & Think dog who loves listening to stories? Paws to Read is a program that makes therapy dogs available for anyone wanting to practice reading with a non-judgmental listener. These therapy dogs are specially trained family pets ready to sit with those who might need extra practice or who just love reading and dogs.
Visits occur the 4th Saturday of the Month from 11:00am - 12:00pm
Nonfiction Book Club Discussion (July)
Discussing
"Prisons Make Us Safer": And 20 Other Myths about Mass Incarceration
Written by: Victoria Law
An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals.
The United States incarcerates more of its residents than any other nation. Though home to 5% of the global population, the United States has nearly 25% of the world’s prisoners—a total of over 2 million people. This number continues to steadily rise. Over the past 40 years, the number of people behind bars in the United States has increased by 500%.
Journalist Victoria Law explains how racism and social control were the catalysts for mass incarceration and have continued to be its driving force: from the post-Civil War laws that states passed to imprison former slaves, to the laws passed under the “War Against Drugs” campaign that disproportionately imprison Black people. She breaks down these complicated issues into four main parts:
1. The rise and cause of mass incarceration
2. Myths about prison
3. Misconceptions about incarcerated people
4. How to end mass incarceration
Through carefully conducted research and interviews with incarcerated people, Law identifies the 21 key myths that propel and maintain mass incarceration, including:
• The system is broken and we simply need some reforms to fix it
• Incarceration is necessary to keep our society safe
• Prison is an effective way to get people into drug treatment
• Private prison corporations drive mass incarceration
“Prisons Make Us Safer” is a necessary guide for all who are interested in learning about the cause and rise of mass incarceration and how we can dismantle it.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (July)
Discussing
Blob: A Love Story
Written by: Maggie Su
The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel where she greets guests, refills cucumber water samovars, and tries to evade her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. Little does Vi know her life is about to be permanently transformed when she agrees to a night out with Rachel. In the alley outside the bar, Vi discovers a strange blob—a small living creature with beady black eyes. In a moment of concern and drunken desperation, she takes it home.
But the blob is no ordinary pet. Becoming increasingly sentient, it begins to grow, shift shape, and obey Vi’s commands. As the entity continues to change, Vi is struck with a daring idea: she’ll mold the creature into her ideal partner. Feeding it a stream of sweet breakfast cereals and American pop culture, the creature grows into a movie-star handsome white man. But when Vi’s desire to be loved unconditionally threatens to spiral out of control, she is forced to confront her lonely childhood, her aloof ex-boyfriend, and the racial marginalization that has defined her relationships—a journey of self-discovery that teaches her it’s impossible to control those you love.
Blending the familiar with the surreal, Blob is a witty, heartfelt story about the search for love and self and what it means to be human.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nonfiction Book Club Discussion (August)
Discussing
Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore
Written by: Char Adams
Longtime NBC News reporter Char Adams offers a deeply compelling and rigorously reported history of Black political movements as told through the lens of the Black-owned bookstore, which have been centers for organizing movements from abolition to Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter.
Black-Owned celebrates the history of Black bookstores and their role as centerpieces of resistance and liberation. Drawn from the author’s in-depth research and reporting, Black-Owned is a story of activism, espionage, violence, and perseverance. Char Adams details Black bookstores’ battles with racist vigilantes, local law enforcement, and federal agents as they fueled Black political movements throughout American history.
This history begins with David Ruggles, the abolitionist who founded the country’s first Black-owned bookshop in New York in 1834, as well as the Black bibliophiles who carried the cause after the bookshop’s violent demise. In the twentieth century, a Black bookstore boom led to the rise of many hubs for Civil Rights and Black Power activism. Malcolm X and W.E.B. DuBois would deliver speeches at the doorstep of National Memorial African Bookstore in Harlem, a place soon dubbed “Speakers Corner.” Soon many bookstores in the 1960s became targets of the FBI and local law enforcement alike. Amid these struggles, bookshops were also places of celebration; Eartha Kitt and Langston Hughes held autograph parties at their local Black owned bookstore, and Maya Angelou even became the face of National Black Bookstore Week. Now, a new generation of Black activists are joining the radical bookstore tradition, with rapper Noname opening her Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles, and several stores hit national headlines when they were overwhelmed with demand in the wake of the brutal death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter movement.
Today finds Black-owned bookshops in a position of strength—and as Adams will make clear, in an era of increasing division, their presence is needed now more than ever. Populated by vibrant characters, and written with cinematic flair, Black-Owned will be an enlightening story of community, resistance, and joy.
Story Locale:New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Oakland, Denver, Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Detroit, and more
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (August)
Discussing
Purple Hibiscus
Written by: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja lead a privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They're completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating.
As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city, where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father’s authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins’ laughter rings throughout the house. When they return home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together.
Purple Hibiscus is an exquisite novel about the emotional turmoil of adolescence, the powerful bonds of family, and the bright promise of freedom.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Sip, Stroll, & Shop
Event by Main Street Zionsville
Stroll the Main Street Zionsville district, step into welcoming shops and experience treats, specials and surprises along the way. Each shop offers its own unique touch, creating a perfect night out with friends. Sponsored by Duke Energy and Angstadt/Lindsay.
Thursdays 4/9, 6/11, & 9/10 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm
Get more info about Main Street Zionsville’s Sip, Stroll, and Shop event
Nonfiction Book Club Discussion (September)
Discussing
The Library Book
Written by: Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean’s bestseller, New York Times Notable Book, and Reese’s Book Club Pick is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post).
On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?
Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.
“A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (The Minnesota Star Tribune), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (September)
Discussing
The Dream Hotel
Written by: Laila Lalami
Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days.
The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes. With every deviation from the strict and ever-shifting rules of the facility, their stay is extended. Months pass and Sara seems no closer to release. Then one day, a new resident arrives, disrupting the order of the facility and leading Sara on a collision course with the very companies that have deprived her of her freedom.
Eerie, urgent, and ceaselessly clear-eyed, The Dream Hotel artfully explores the seductive nature of technology, which puts us in shackles even as it makes our lives easier. Lalami asks how much of ourselves must remain private if we are to remain free, and whether even the most invasive forms of surveillance can ever capture who we really are.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nonfiction Book Club Discussion (October)
Discussing
Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains
Written by: Alexa Hagerty
New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • An anthropologist working with forensic teams and victims’ families to investigate crimes against humanity in Latin America explores what science can tell us about the lives of the dead in this haunting account of grief, the power of ritual, and a quest for justice.
“Absorbing . . . multifaceted and elegiac . . . Still Life with Bones captures the ethos that drives the search—often tireless and against the odds—for truth.”—The New York Times
WINNER OF THE JUAN E. MÉNDEZ BOOK AWARD • A NEW YORKER AND BOOKPAGE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
“Exhumation can divide brothers and restore fathers, open old wounds and open the possibility of regeneration—of building something new with the ‘pile of broken mirrors’ that is memory, loss, and mourning.”
Throughout Guatemala’s thirty-six-year armed conflict, state forces killed more than two hundred thousand people. Argentina’s military dictatorship disappeared up to thirty thousand people. In the wake of genocidal violence, families of the missing searched for the truth. Young scientists joined their fight against impunity. Gathering evidence in the face of intimidation and death threats, they pioneered the field of forensic exhumation for human rights.
In Still Life with Bones, anthropologist Alexa Hagerty learns to see the dead body with a forensic eye. She examines bones for marks of torture and fatal wounds—hands bound by rope, machete cuts—and also for signs of identity: how life shapes us down to the bone. A weaver is recognized from the tiny bones of the toes, molded by kneeling before a loom; a girl is identified alongside her pet dog. In the tenderness of understanding these bones, forensics not only offers proof of mass atrocity but also tells the story of each life lost.
Working with forensic teams at mass grave sites and in labs, Hagerty discovers how bones bear witness to crimes against humanity and how exhumation can bring families meaning after unimaginable loss. She also comes to see how cutting-edge science can act as ritual—a way of caring for the dead with symbolic force that can repair societies torn apart by violence.
Weaving together powerful stories about investigative breakthroughs, histories of violence and resistance, and her own forensic coming-of-age, Hagerty crafts a moving portrait of the living and the dead.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (October)
Discussing
Sour Cherry
Written by: Natalia Theodoridou
Book Summary
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nonfiction Book Club Discussion (November)
Discussing
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
“I give daily thanks for Robin Wall Kimmerer for being a font of endless knowledge, both mental and spiritual.” —RICHARD POWERS, NEW YORK TIMES
A New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller
Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
A New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Readers Pick
#1 New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post and Los Angeles Times Bestseller
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert).
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (November)
Discussing
To The Moon and Back
Written by: Eliana Ramage
In this dazzlingly powerful story of family, ambition and belonging, one young woman’s obsessive quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut irrevocably alters the fates of the people she loves most.
Steph Harper is convinced that only space—outer space—can save her. From a childhood of fearful running and alienation; from a family and community that threaten to suffocate her with their reverence for the past. Equal parts tender, funny, and heartbreaking, To the Moon and Back charts the course of Steph’s singular dream: to become the first Cherokee astronaut, no matter who or what she has to leave behind.
But despite her self-prescribed loneliness and reckless ambition, Steph’s story isn’t hers alone. To the Moon and Back also brings to life the vibrant, complex women—a celebrity activist younger sister, an ex-Mormon college girlfriend, and a devoted mother with a crushing secret—who insist on loving her…even when she least deserves them.
From a simulated Mars habitat on a Hawaiian volcano, to a house in the Ozark foothills in Cherokee Nation, to a pressurized research station on the floor of the Atlantic and beyond, Steph will stretch her bonds with each of these women to the point of breaking, driving them to reconsider their own deepest desires in her shadow. An awe-inspiringly epic novel of mothers and daughters, sisters and sacrifice, love and loss, terror and wonder, To the Moon and Back is the unforgettable story of one astronaut’s most surprising discovery: how deeply she loves life on earth.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Safe Space Night
A quiet space. No expectations. Just somewhere to be.
We’re opening the shop after hours for a Safe Space Night—not as a shop, but as a third space to just come to and chill.
Come read, sit, play a game, have a conversation, or just exist quietly.
- All are welcome
- Come and go as you need
- Be yourself, take up space, or keep to yourself
We’ll be here.
Sip, Stroll, & Shop
Event by Main Street Zionsville
Stroll the Main Street Zionsville district, step into welcoming shops and experience treats, specials and surprises along the way. Each shop offers its own unique touch, creating a perfect night out with friends. Sponsored by Duke Energy and Angstadt/Lindsay.
Thursdays 4/9, 6/11, & 9/10 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm
Get more info about Main Street Zionsville’s Sip, Stroll, and Shop event
Nonfiction Book Club Discussion (June)
Discussing
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex
Written by: Angela Chen
An engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that’s obsessed with sexual attraction, and what the ace perspective can teach all of us about desire and identity.
What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through life not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about gender roles, about romance and consent, and the pressures of society? This accessible examination of asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different needs in relationships—are the same conflicts that nearly all of us will experience. Through a blend of reporting, cultural criticism, and memoir, Ace addresses the misconceptions around the “A” of LGBTQIA and invites everyone to rethink pleasure and intimacy.
Journalist Angela Chen creates her path to understanding her own asexuality with the perspectives of a diverse group of asexual people. Vulnerable and honest, these stories include a woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that “not wanting sex” was a sign of serious illness, and a man who grew up in a religious household and did everything “right,” only to realize after marriage that his experience of sexuality had never been the same as that of others. Disabled aces, aces of color, gender-nonconforming aces, and aces who both do and don’t want romantic relationships all share their experiences navigating a society in which a lack of sexual attraction is considered abnormal. Chen’s careful cultural analysis explores how societal norms limit understanding of sex and relationships and celebrates the breadth of sexuality and queerness.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Safe Space Night
A quiet space. No expectations. Just somewhere to be.
We’re opening the shop after hours for a Safe Space Night—not as a shop, but as a third space to just come to and chill.
Come read, sit, play a game, have a conversation, or just exist quietly.
- All are welcome
- Come and go as you need
- Be yourself, take up space, or keep to yourself
We’ll be here.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (May)
Discussing
Our Beautiful Boys
Written by: Sameer Pandya
When the star players on a high school football team are accused of violence by another student, their secrets—and the secrets of their parents—threaten to shatter their entire community in a gripping novel of race, class, and privilege from the author of Members Only.
"Timely and timeless . . . here is a novel that carefully plays with assumptions, expectations, and subversions." —Nic Stone, The New York Times Book Review
Vikram Shastri has always been a good kid. He’s got a 4.6 GPA, listens to his parents, barely hits the parties, and is on track for a fancy college. But when he gets the chance to play on his high school football team, his world suddenly starts to shift. Basking in their recent victory, Vikram and his teammates, Diego and MJ, attend a party at an abandoned house in the Southern California foothills, located right below three ancient caves. They find themselves lost in the dark of night in one of the caves, carried away by male bravado, with a classmate who has annoyed them for years.
But when the kid emerges with injuries that prove to be more serious than the all-star boys intended, they are suspended for the rest of the season and the boys’ parents are brought in to manage the situation. As the parents try to protect their boys, they are also managing their own complicated family and professional lives. While the parents work with, and against, each other to figure out the truth about that night, the boys must come to terms with how much of their own secrets they’re willing to reveal to clear their names.
Insightful and deeply human, Our Beautiful Boys is about race and class, about parents trying to raise good boys in our fraught times, and the conflict we find when all of these slam together. It’s about the kids inside each parent, and the games the world makes each of us play.
-
Sameer Pandya is the author of the novel Members Only, a finalist for the California Book Award and an NPR “Books We Love” of 2020, and the story collection The Blind Writer, longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award. His cultural criticism has appeared in a range of publications, including the LA Review of Books, The Atlantic, Salon, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN. A recipient of the PEN/Civitella Fellowship, he is currently an associate professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Author Residence: Carpinteria, CA
Author Hometown: Mumbai; Bay Area
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Paws to Read
Do you love dogs? Want to practice reading to a specially trained Paws & Think dog who loves listening to stories? Paws to Read is a program that makes therapy dogs available for anyone wanting to practice reading with a non-judgmental listener. These therapy dogs are specially trained family pets ready to sit with those who might need extra practice or who just love reading and dogs.
Visits occur the 4th Saturday of the Month from 11:00am - 12:00pm
Poetry Open Mic Night
Starting May 21st and happening every third Thursday of the month, Talha Kahf will be hosting a welcoming, low-pressure space for poets of all ages and experience levels. Whether you’re looking to share your work, try out something new, or just connect with other poetry-loving humans, this is for you.
Come read, listen, experiment, and be as poetic as possible.
Safe Space Night
A quiet space. No expectations. Just somewhere to be.
We’re opening the shop after hours for a Safe Space Night—not as a shop, but as a third space to just come to and chill.
Come read, sit, play a game, have a conversation, or just exist quietly.
This first one of these is intentionally simple—no programming, just space.
- All are welcome
- Come and go as you need
- Be yourself, take up space, or keep to yourself
We’ll be here.
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (April)
Discussing
Between Two Moons
Written by: Aisha Abdel Gawad
It’s the holy month of Ramadan, and twin sisters Amira and Lina are about to graduate high school in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. On the precipice of adulthood, they plan to embark on a summer of teenage revelry, trying on new identities and testing the limits of what they can get away with while still under their parents’ roof. But the twins' expectations of a summer of freedom collide with their older brother's return from prison, whose mysterious behavior threatens to undo the delicate family balance.
Meanwhile, outside the family’s apartment, a storm is brewing in Bay Ridge. A raid on a local business sparks a protest that brings the Arab community together, and a senseless act of violence threatens to tear them apart. Everyone’s motives are called into question as an alarming sense of disquiet pervades the neighborhood. With everything spiraling out of control, how will Amira and Lina know who they can trust?
A gorgeously written, intimate family story and a polyphonic portrait of life under the specter of Islamophobia, Between Two Moons challenges the reader to interrogate their own assumptions, asking questions of allegiance to faith, family, and community, and what it means to be a young Muslim in America.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Paws to Read
Do you love dogs? Want to practice reading to a specially trained Paws & Think dog who loves listening to stories? Paws to Read is a program that makes therapy dogs available for anyone wanting to practice reading with a non-judgmental listener. These therapy dogs are specially trained family pets ready to sit with those who might need extra practice or who just love reading and dogs.
Visits occur the 4th Saturday of the Month from 11:00am - 12:00pm
Independent Bookstore Day & 3rd Birthday Celebration
Independent Bookstore Day + Our 3rd Birthday
This Independent Bookstore Day, we are celebrating THREE years here on Main Streeet! It’s a big day for us, and we’d love for you to be part of it.
Join us as we celebrate another year of stories, community, and special moments.
We’ll have a full day of fun planned… details coming soon.
For now, mark your calendar, spread the word, and stay tuned—we can’t wait to celebrate with you.
Safe Space Night
A quiet space. No expectations. Just somewhere to be.
We’re opening the shop after hours for a Safe Space Night—not as a shop, but as a third space to just come to and chill.
Come read, sit, play a game, have a conversation, or just exist quietly.
- All are welcome
- Come and go as you need
- Be yourself, take up space, or keep to yourself
We’ll be here.
Sip, Stroll, & Shop
Event by Main Street Zionsville
Stroll the Main Street Zionsville district, step into welcoming shops and experience treats, specials and surprises along the way. Each shop offers its own unique touch, creating a perfect night out with friends. Sponsored by Duke Energy and Angstadt/Lindsay.
Thursdays 4/9, 6/11, & 9/10 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm
Get more info about Main Street Zionsville’s Sip, Stroll, and Shop event
Paws to Read
Do you love dogs? Want to practice reading to a specially trained Paws & Think dog who loves listening to stories? Paws to Read is a program that makes therapy dogs available for anyone wanting to practice reading with a non-judgmental listener. These therapy dogs are specially trained family pets ready to sit with those who might need extra practice or who just love reading and dogs.
Visits occur the 4th Saturday of the Month from 11:00am - 12:00pm
Mr. Daniel Sings
Mr. Daniel Sings will be bringing the magic of music to the Curious Squirrel! Join us for a fun-filled morning of singing, dancing, and rocking out to catchy tunes!
"Whether on screen or in person, Mr. Daniel shares his love of music with children using singing, dancing, games, movements, and instruments. He plays traditional children's classics as well as popular music while exposing little ones to concepts like beat, rhythm, pitch, melody, and tempo. Mr. Daniel helps children explore their feelings, nature, numbers, friendship, humor, and all the other good stuff little ones should learn. And all while rocking out to some catchy tunes!"
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (March)
Discussing
The Lion Women of Tehran
Written by: Marjan Kamali
In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams for a friend to alleviate her isolation.
Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.”
But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.
Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.
“Reminiscent of The Kite Runner and My Brilliant Friend, The Lion Women of Tehran is a mesmerizing tale” (BookPage) of love and courage, and a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Indy Indie Book Crawl
Indy Indie Book Crawl (IIBC) is back for its third year in Indianapolis and the surrounding area March 19-22, 2026, with 36 independent bookstores and 7 literary organizations. The 2026 Indy Indie Book Crawl is generously supported by Indiana Humanities, Ross Bemis at Maywright Property Co., and Bottleworks Hotel.
Bookworms are encouraged to visit, or “crawl,” to as many of the participating book stores as possible - no purchase necessary - for the chance to win prizes like goodies from local businesses, gift cards, and merch from participating bookstores. IIBC welcomes everyone - from the casual browsers to those who exceed their annual reading goals - to explore the expanding number of independent book stores in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas with their fellow bibliophiles!
The format will remain the same as the first two years of IIBC: visit any participating bookstore and receive a stamp on your official bookmark (available at all book crawl locations starting March 19, as well as at the Book Crawl kickoff party hosted in partnership with Silent Book Club Indy at 8th Day Distillery in the Factory Arts District. More details will be announced on the IIBC Instagram). No purchases are required, but supporting independent bookstores is encouraged!
After the crawl, submit your information through the form at indyindiebookcrawl.com to be entered to win one of three Grand Prize packs. The more stores you visit, the better your chances of winning. There is also an optional Book Crawl Bingo which can be played to win additional prizes.
All information about the 2026 Indy Indie Book Crawl – including the participating locations – will be posted to the official Instagram page: @indyindiebookcrawl.
ABOUT INDY INDIE BOOK CRAWL
Indy Indie Book Crawl is an annual book crawl event in the Indianapolis metro area. The mission of IIBC is to shine a light on and support independent and local bookstores within a 45minute radius of downtown Indianapolis. The event connects thousands of Hoosiers to their local bookstore community, empowering readers of all ages to read, connect, and learn. The Indy Indie Book Crawl was created and launched in 2024 by Tomorrow Bookstore. The 2026 Indy Indie Book Crawl is generously supported by Indiana Humanities, Ross Bemis at Maywright Property Co., and Bottleworks Hotel.
PARTICIPATING BOOKSTORES
Independent Bookstores:
4 Kids Books & Toys
Black Dog Books
Black Worldschoolers Mobile Bookstore
Chapter Book Lounge
Curious Squirrel Bookshop
Dear Mom
Fables & Fairy Tales Bookshop
Garden of Readin'
Golden Hour Books
Indy Liberation Store
Indy Reads Books
Indy Type Shop
Irvington Vinyl & Books
Kids Ink Bookstore
Loudmouth Book
MacArthur Books
Midwest Leak Reading Room
Pen & Pink Vintage
Rose Romance Bookstore
Three Sisters Books
Tomorrow Bookstore
Turn the Page
Ujamaa Community Bookstore
Viewpoint Books
Viewpoint Chapter 2
Whispering Shelf Books
Wild Geese Bookshop
Bookstore Pop-Ups at The Stutz
Abstract Books
Books+
Each Other's Books
Lovers Corner Bookshop
Moonlit Vine Bookstore
Perasma Books
Poor Taste Books & Vintage
Local Books
The Book Fairy Indy
LITERARY ORGANIZATIONS:
Basile History Market at the Indiana Historical Society
Butler University MFA Program
Indiana Humanities (presenting partner)
Indianapolis Public Library
James Whitcomb Riley Home
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
Ray Bradbury Center
Mr. Daniel Sings
Mr. Daniel Sings will be bringing the magic of music to the Curious Squirrel! Join us for a fun-filled morning of singing, dancing, and rocking out to catchy tunes!
"Whether on screen or in person, Mr. Daniel shares his love of music with children using singing, dancing, games, movements, and instruments. He plays traditional children's classics as well as popular music while exposing little ones to concepts like beat, rhythm, pitch, melody, and tempo. Mr. Daniel helps children explore their feelings, nature, numbers, friendship, humor, and all the other good stuff little ones should learn. And all while rocking out to some catchy tunes!"
Mr. Daniel Sings
Mr. Daniel Sings will be bringing the magic of music to the Curious Squirrel! Join us for a fun-filled morning of singing, dancing, and rocking out to catchy tunes!
"Whether on screen or in person, Mr. Daniel shares his love of music with children using singing, dancing, games, movements, and instruments. He plays traditional children's classics as well as popular music while exposing little ones to concepts like beat, rhythm, pitch, melody, and tempo. Mr. Daniel helps children explore their feelings, nature, numbers, friendship, humor, and all the other good stuff little ones should learn. And all while rocking out to some catchy tunes!"
Paws to Read
Do you love dogs? Want to practice reading to a specially trained Paws & Think dog who loves listening to stories? Paws to Read is a program that makes therapy dogs available for anyone wanting to practice reading with a non-judgmental listener. These therapy dogs are specially trained family pets ready to sit with those who might need extra practice or who just love reading and dogs.
Visits occur the 4th Saturday of the Month from 11:00am - 12:00pm
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (February)
Discussing
Off-White
Written By: Astrid Roemer
Translated by: Lucy Scott & David McKay
It’s 1966 in Suriname, on the Caribbean coast of South America, and the long shadow of colonialism still hangs over the country. Grandma Bee is the proud, cigar-smoking matriarch of the Vanta family, which is an intricate mix of Creole, Maroon, French, Indian, Indigenous, British, and Jewish backgrounds. But Grandma Bee is dying, a cough has settled deep in her lungs.
The approaching end has her thinking about the members of her family she’s lost, and especially one of her favorite granddaughters, Heli, who has been sent away to the Netherlands because of an affair with her white teacher. Ultimately, there’s only one question Bee must answer: What is a family? If her descendants are spread across the world, don’t look similar, don’t share a heritage, and don’t even know each other, what bond will they have once she has died?
A moving portrait of a woman finding peace in the legacy that is her daughters and granddaughters, Off-White, keenly translated by Lucy Scott and David McKay, is also a searing and complex portrait of male violence, the legacy of colonialism, and a dismantling of what it means to be “white”. Written after a nearly 20-year break from publishing, Off-White is another masterpiece from the only Surinamese author to win the prestigious Dutch Literature Award.
Nutty for Novels is o meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Adult Book Faire with Four Fingers Distillery
📚 Community Book Fair at the Gathering House
Join us for a cozy, community-focused Book Fair benefiting the Lebanon Public Library and supporting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
This special event will be hosted by the wonderful team at The Curious Squirrel Bookstore, bringing their love of books, readers, and local stories to the Gathering House.
🎟 Tickets & Admission
Tickets are $5, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the Lebanon Public Library to help fund the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
We strongly encourage purchasing tickets in advance, as this helps us estimate attendance and plan the best possible experience for everyone.
That said, walk-ins are welcome, and no one will be turned away if they’re unable to purchase ahead of time.
🛍 What to Expect
A curated book fair experience led by The Curious Squirrel Bookstore
A relaxed, welcoming atmosphere perfect for browsing, chatting, and discovering your next great read
Additional local vendors will be joining us throughout the day to add to the fun!
The Curious Squirrel Bookshop
Boone Co Cakes
Wristful Thinking
Indiana Gifts
Wall St Treats
Berkeley Faith Designs
Chelle's Crochet Creations
Krys' Kakes
Georgie Porgie
The Garden Flower Bar
Whether you’re a lifelong reader, a casual browser, or just looking for a feel-good way to support literacy in our community, this event is for you.
Buy a ticket, bring a friend, and help us turn pages into possibilities.
Get your ticket here!
Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt
Join us at Curious Squirrel Bookshop for a Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt! Bring your partner, spouse, best friend, or favorite human!
Each pair will receive a scavenger hunt list filled with prompts for things that reminds you of them. This is not just for romantic couples. We’ll also have a friend-focused version of the hunt, because we celebrate connection in all its forms.
Expect good conversation, unexpected finds, and possibly learning something new about the person you brought with you (even if you’ve known them forever). There’s no competition, no rush, and no wrong answers — just a cozy, curious way to spend the evening surrounded by books.
Event Details
Date: Valentine’s Day | Saturday, February 14, 2026
Location: Curious Squirrel Bookshop
Time Slots:
• 6:00 – 7:00 PM
• 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Cost: Free (ticket required so we know how many to expect)
Extras: Light refreshments provided
Space is limited, so grab a free ticket to reserve your spot. → TICKETS
Nutty for Novels Book Club Discussion (January)
Discussing
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel
Written by: Satoshi Yagisawa
Translated by: Eric Ozawa
Twenty-five-year-old Takako has enjoyed a relatively easy existence—until the day her boyfriend Hideaki, the man she expected to wed, casually announces he’s been cheating on her and is marrying the other woman. Suddenly, Takako’s life is in freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into a deep depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru.
An unusual man who has always pursued something of an unconventional life, especially after his wife Momoko left him out of the blue five years earlier, Satoru runs a second-hand bookshop in Jimbocho, Tokyo’s famous book district. Takako once looked down upon Satoru’s life. Now, she reluctantly accepts his offer of the tiny room above the bookshop rent-free in exchange for helping out at the store. The move is temporary, until she can get back on her feet. But in the months that follow, Takako surprises herself when she develops a passion for Japanese literature, becomes a regular at a local coffee shop where she makes new friends, and eventually meets a young editor from a nearby publishing house who’s going through his own messy breakup.
But just as she begins to find joy again, Hideaki reappears, forcing Takako to rely once again on her uncle, whose own life has begun to unravel. Together, these seeming opposites work to understand each other and themselves as they continue to share the wisdom they’ve gained in the bookshop.
Nutty for Novels Book Club meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection.
New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.
Paws to Read
Do you love dogs? Want to practice reading to a specially trained Paws & Think dog who loves listening to stories? Paws to Read is a program that makes therapy dogs available for anyone wanting to practice reading with a non-judgmental listener. These therapy dogs are specially trained family pets ready to sit with those who might need extra practice or who just love reading and dogs.
Visits occur the 4th Saturday of the Month from 11:00am - 12:00pm
2025 Book Club Year-End Social
Whether you’re a regular or just curious about our Book Club, come hang out and kick back with us! Share a favorite book or reading memory from the year, grab a free ARC, and soak up some cozy, festive vibes.
Feel free to bring a snack, drink, or treat to share—but no pressure. No formal discussion here, just a relaxed way to celebrate books, reading, and community.
We’d love to see you there!
Seasonal Shenanigans
Join us at Curious Squirrel on Thursday, December 18th from 5–9 PM as you make your way through the town’s Holiday Crawl! Expect a lively evening filled with laughter, good drinks, and a bit of unfiltered fun—perfect for a grown-up (21+) night out.
Sip on our signature cocktail, jump into some delightfully silly games, and let loose with a crowd that’s ready to laugh. Don’t forget to hit the selfie station to capture the chaos, the joy, and the memories you probably will want to remember the next day.
Breakfast & Books with Santa
Join us for a cozy morning of pancakes, storytime, and Santa visits! Bring your family and friends for some holiday fun — it’s free and open to everyone. No need to sign up ahead of time, but RSVPs help us plan enough pancakes and seating for all.
Sip and Shop
Join us on December 11th from 5–9 PM for some after-hours holiday shopping! Be the first to grab a unique, beautifully curated Blind Date with a Book bundle, strike a pose at our festive photo booth, and soak in the magic of the season — all while sipping cider or a DORA drink from your favorite Main Street bar.
Happening alongside Main Street’s Ladies Night—but all the girls, gays, and theys are welcome to sparkle and shop with us.
November Book Club Meeting
November Pick:
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
Nutty for Novels meets monthly to discuss a range of fiction titles.
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All CSB book clubs are no-pressure clubs, open to everyone. You can skip months when you are busy or don’t like the selection. New participants are welcome at any time!
The current month’s selected titles are 20% off when you mention the book club.