she is speaking at the a liberty form rum of silicon valley in california. wednesday, look for us at barnes & noble in new york city. where darnell moore will detail his life and journey in becoming a social activist. then on thursday, in friday will be in las vegas, at the paris hotel and casino for the annual libertarian conference, freedomfest. that's a look at inthf what booktv will be covering this week many of these events are open to the public. look for them to air in the near future on booktv on c-span2. ...

and then we ten years later, we went with a group of three women owned businesses in a collective and now we're in our own brick and mortar space, across the street from where we were and selling books more and more. so we have had three separate incarnations. >> how many years haveow been in brick and mortars. >> 16 years in the same neighborhood. >> did you get started with your mother when this book idea -- >> yes.

>> how did you get started in 1989. >> we're family and she was going and i was going, selling books across the table, and then when we had a location, just takes more people to order and to keep event going. so -- >> host: what made you get into books to begin with why not some other industry. >> guest: well, my grandmother has a librarian, and so we spend a lot of time in the library, and so i our love for books was cultivated since i was little some my sauer was stall. >> host: your mother was a librarian. children's librarian for the detroit public library. say i was born on the tabletop at the library, but actually, no. the opportunity to sell books -- never really thought about it but i had traveled to egypt on a study tour with some other people, about 30 people, and when we came back there were people that wanted to know what we did and what we learned.

so it happened i was at a church, one time, talking but the trip and showing them the books we had learn about and so on, and they said to me, you're always bringing these books. why don't you get some books and bring them to our bazaar, we'll buy them. and from then it started, the vending business and it's just grown so opportunity and courage took us into the back industry. >> what kind of books sell? >> guest: well, we're -- we sell primarily nonfiction. we have little selection of poetry for people interested in poetry, and best selling fiction. but -- >> guest: a little science fiction. >> guest: we focus mostly on nonfiction. a strong category of history and culture, health and well-being is another.

>> guest: by and about women. >> host: local interests. >> host: books on detroit. >> guest: and michigan, they sell well, yeah. >> guest: gauze now we get people coming in from other place inside the united states, other countries, and we're sort of on the list for the tours, visiting tours, the welcoming center. so we get people from all over coming in and they usually have an interest in the detroit books in particular. >> host: if somebody wants to learn but detroit, what's one you rem to them -- recommend to them? >> guest: hmm, i like the "the dawn of detroit" we have more than 300 years of hit in july, and it's good to know the beginnings. >> host: the dawn of detroit. what do you recommend.

>> guest: "once in a great city." another time period when detroit was flying high. we have had lot of ups and downs and this particular in particular talks about the time period of 18 months between. 62 and '63, when i didn't remember that we had won out for the olympics in mexico -- mexico get it at that time in '68, and so he talked about these major players in detroit at that time so sort of reminiscent of the time we're in now, having another resurgence. and detroit coming along again. seem is look we go to sleep for a little while and then wake up and start it again. then we have 0 more recent book called the detroit anthology, which is a small book with a number of essays in it by people who live in detroit right now, a lot of young people, writing bit u about their life experiences, young and middle aged people

writing but their experience thursday detroit and what detroit means to them. >> host: what is on your summer reading list? >> guest: well, there's a book called cocktails across america, and they stop in detroit, too. but it's really a wonderful host -- travel with post cards and drinks and a little history woven in there cocktails across america. that's a fun read. i'm also hoping to finish this summer "the color of money," the history of black banks. black banks and the wealth gap. >> guest: the wealth gap. >> host: janet jones, what's on your summer reading list. >> guest: we're having a feature about water because water is so important now, and i have to get

alison to help me remember the anyway. one is the death and life of the great lakes, just coming out in paper now. dan eagan's book. and then i think you have had him on the show. >> i think we have had him on booktv. >> guest: so that's right important. and then "still waters." another book i have a special interest in, called "down the watershed" and it is the book about the watershed and it's a real book by a young man who was fascinated with water and talks about the trials and transcribe tribulations of the water shed, particularly the lake erie. in the great lakes yeah, water is very important because it's the life blood of us. then i have a cookbook that is so cute. a young man with korean background, born in brooklyn, has lived in louisville,

kentucky, wrote a book called "butter milk graffiti" and he came to detroit and particularly the area where we have a lot of middle eastern people from -- he was just fascinate with all the wonderful recipes he was able to garner, bit it's called" butter milk graffiti." a nice piece but -- >> guest: by edward lee. >> guest: he has special book cooke of -- cookbook of his own, and the knows those are heiress peaes, african-american woman. so that one is very good. i'm also reading the book o'evicted." a lot of interest in housing issues right now, and that's a book that is being used in book clubs this summer, i know. >> i think he won a national book award. >> guest: he didoo. >> guest: it's in paper now,

too. so we have that. and we can go on and on. she mentioned "the cocktails" and the air traffic. that's another one go ahead. >> guest: we're going to have gregory -- >> guest: park -- >> guest: going to be in detroit around father's day, and -- >> host: aair traffic ." >> guest: yep. the book is about ambition and manhood inners and his father was a air traffic controller in the '80s and the story starts there. >> host: you hold events at stores. >> guest: oh, yes. we have a lot of events. at least an event every week. we have exercises on saturday morning, body, mind, spirit, categories -- >> host: do you participate.

>> guest: oh, yes, we tai chi, and we have belly-dancing every fifth saturday. >> guest: in this -- air traffic "we're partnering with the detroit library and it's going to be a bigger crowd. a wonderful book. >> host: how is the detroit library system doing? we have all seen those horrible pictures of the grand old detroit lie area and the trees going out of it. >> guest: the ones still open are doing great work, and they're bringing attention to books and also children -- children's titles titles and dog adult titles titles and book li. >> guest: they have fun sundays and i put a beautiful pamphlet out on a particular area of the library, once it was children,

the other was biography and this time i think it's african-american titles and they have many titles that you see that you have had on the program. i think i have a pamphlet for you in my bag. >> host: people familiar with detroit tell us where source books is. >> guest: we're in the heart of the city. the ahead i downtown where the government and financial institutions are. we're in the heart of the city where the main library and the detroit institute of arts, the galleries, the african-american museums, the historical museum, wayne state university and the health system. >> host: you're driving up woodwards avenue. >> guest: on the new q line, our little choo-choo. >> host: a little train. so we're driving up woodward. >> guest: get to canfield or warren -- >> host: past tiger stadium. >> guest: yes. after you get past that area -- >> host: fox theater. >> guest: past that.

and then on past that we get to mid-town, which is surrounds by the four major expressways and we're right in the heart of mid-town and on cass avenue, which is long known as the cass corridor, one of the many streaks that good out. >> host: a lot of renovation going on. >> guest: a lot of renovation, a lot of new building going on. there are people coming in from both the east and the west coast, and we like to tell people they're now on the their coast, the great lakes region, and so we have lots of new energy in detroit, and then the people who have been there all this time, have been revitalized, and they're doing new and different and exciting new things. they're planning things, making things, offering new ideas, a lot of partnering going on. we're partnering with the lie free do this thing and with our local npr station. we're doing some work with them.

we try to partner with other booksellers and events and so on, so, detroit is exciting right now. like to say it's hot. >> host: alison turner how is business at an independent book store. what's the most frustrating for you. >> guest: sometimes we have wonderful opportunities to have encounters and we want to get the word out, people to take the block of time and come see husband and pay attention to the author and the content in the book, and so we just started so we're innovating on ideas how to get authors to our community and i guess we're busy. we're just very busy, finding new partners, finding new titles, getting excited about tuesday, new releases, with all of ore social media.

>> guest: the other wonderful thing but heaving a book store, there's so much support for book stores. aba publishers send this sale rep to us. we didn't know but that but as we have green and moved into our new location, that's happened. so there's so much support for book stores and booksellers now. and then i'm finding more and more people come in the store and say, i know i can get this online but i want to buy it from you. so i am so gratified bit by that and we fall over ourselves to try to satisfy their needs. one example. last weekend there was a big mom festival, tech -- technomusic in detroit. we had a customer come in 20 minutes to 5:00 and we she was looking for a particular book called "technorebels" and we didn't have and we called around and we found it and it was right

up the street to get the book, on her bicycle. she was from australia. there's every day there's exciting things that happen and things that motivate us to really keep going and to keep trying new and different ways to bring books to people. >> host: janet jones, how many hours a week at the store. >> guest: a lot. we're open from 11:00 to 7:00 and i have people that generally open the store for me, and then i always -- almost always close it. i'm the closer. and i'm there eight or ten hours. >> guest: i'm there three days for shore and if we have an event or anything, i really work a lot on the events. i'm there during those events, and opening. >> guest: she works on the financials and reports. then she has a job as a teacher, too, so he does some teaching work. >> host: you're a teacher as

well. >> guest: yes. >> host: what do you teach. >> guest: right now i'm working at waldorf school. it is a curriculum that was created by rudolph steiner years ago and it's a small private -- there's small private waldorf school in detroit, and i guest-teach there. from their pre-k to eighth grade. >> host: where did you come up with the name "source books." >> guest: came from the transcript to egypt. we learned that ancient egypt was a source of knowledge for the western world, and so one of our little symbols is often the pyramids showing that's a source of western civilization, and so we just -- then our teacher on the trip also used the tag line "free your mine, return to the source." so there we have it. and then we found -- there's a book publisher called source books, a publisher, and now

we're source booksellers but we join with them all the time. >> guest: they're in chicago. >> guest: and we try to make our books cross-cultural. a very strong african-american threads, but we have so many ethnic groups in detroit that have come and gone in detroit so we try honor those in many different ways with book inch february we have african-american history month and valentine's day and the lunar new year, and we have presidents day so we have displays for all those kinds of things just so we can catch people at different places of interest. >> host: if you happen to be in detroit, go up woodward avenue, past tiger stadium, past the fox theater. >> guest: if you pass the dia, you have to back up just a little bit. that's okay. >> host: there you good. source books, janet jones,

alison turner, thank you for joining us. >> guest: thank you for have us. >> sunday night, on "after words," enter faith activist mow ham mad will his book, "the fox hunt: a refugees memoir of coming to america" details how the screened death threats after -- escaped death threats. he is interviewed by "washington post" religion reporter julie. >> you constantly point out all of the strangers and helped you in small and large ways. people whose name you mentioned, met them one time in bosnia years ago and maybe never talk to them again. you're so aware of the role of strangers in each other's lives accommodate you have advice on being good strangers. >> guest: i tell you something one time found 100 e-mails i indiana heard about them.

they said we'll pay for you, trying to help you it. way was losing hope. when you read the book -- every time i was strong because i know that people have faith on me and trying to help me out, and one time i was in the park, waiting -- in the port, waiting for the fishing boats and i thoughts shy go back to the hotel but i have fight on the people. the stranger all the people who reach me and help me in a lot of different ways, i want to say something that without them, and without having faith in humanity, there's no hope. they really helped me because when i asked actually one of the people, why did you help? and he told me something. he told me, my grandmother and my grandfather were trapped because of the holocaust and they wanted anyone to say yes. >> watch "after words" on sunday

night on booktv. >> i just real -- this occurred -- i can make anything happen. i feel dish know i believe it. with christ, anything is possible, i can do anything with christ. so, that's how i live my life. and my book, 30 minutes in classes and sit down somewhere and just write down my thoughts, and how i felt, and certain situations in the congo or questions to ask my mom, because i used to get mad at my mom, mom, why we here? in middle of nowhere in the unyell, why? she would look at me and smile and say, because god is with us. i'm like, so, if god is with us,

why are we going through this? well, blonde, so many people die from the war but we still alive, we keep going and going to survive because jesus is with us. and so that's how i kind -- she always tell me, you can do anything in life if you believe in christ. so i have the mindset in my head, i i can do anything in life. and as a role model, my book, -- very hard. business is a lot of mass classes, a lot of exam, quiz, and spent all night at the library and then athlete texas have to memorize myman, and very, very skinny because i had dish felt like i'm going to survive the congo, and can

survive getting -- i told my friend, they were like, you're crazy. it's so hard with -- if only one measure but you want to do two. i was like, yes, i'm going to do two because it's a free scholarship and i'm not paying for it and it's only four years, just going to suck it in. just do my guest to get a couple degrees, and thank god i got it done, and -- in 2014, two days later i moved to -- i drove california, which is like 20 hour drive, and i was telling my friend, i'm going good to l.a. as soon as i graduate and become an actor. want to die move -- do my movie and have a show. they're like, -- a lot of my friend, you too tall, like most most actors are 5'11", 5'10",

and you like 6'7", 6'8" and you have an accent. plus you're black. and there's no role for black people. was like, i do not care. i'm from the congo and i have god with me. i'm going to go in l.a. and make its happen. and happened for me. and i drove 20 hours and the first -- like, in the book i wrote, like -- i been, like, dreaming of l.a., hollywood, hollywood, and i got there, and i kind of let my guard down a little bit got involved, like, a party and stuff, going out most every night, friends, and i kind of lost my way a little bit, lost my track. lost track a little bit of what i came to do in l.a. after -- and then i was trying to get a job as well, and i just

couldn't get a job, and i had to get out of my apartment, so i got an apartment and i was asking for friend, if friend of mine, dish don't want to call names out but -- and he was very, very -- went to same college, and i was -- when i first went to l.a. he was staying at my place, and give him my bed because i felt like he has practice tomorrow and i don't. so i was sleeping on my couch. plus, his team put him in a hotel but he didn't want to stay in a hotel so i give him my bed. and after he left my place, he get his own place and i had to leave my place, and i asked him ick crash -- can i crash on your couch, and my friend was a guest, never respond to my text.

so i had to figure out how to survive in l.a. it takes -- can i crash in your garage for a couple of months until i figure out what am i going to do, and never heard back from him. so just delivering food, people houses and begging for -- delivering food and then looking at someone in the eyes like, i need tip. without saying it. and even though don't say it, need tip. whenever i go out, i feel -- i know why those people wanted tipses because i needed tips and i look at my eyes like -- there's your food, because i'm using any car, using my gas, and i'm bringing you food so you have to give me something, and somebody would and some wouldn't, and when i get a tip, it's like, thank you, and then turn around and start -- curse or something. so mad. and then i about -- it was hustd

try, like, try to survive, because i was embarrassed going back to oklahoma or arizona. was like, no, i just -- i have a different mindset. once i want something, just give my all. i just -- i don't care. struggles. i'm going to get it. that's just how i am. and it was, like -- and i used to call my dad, can you help me? i need some money. some and he would send me 200 bucks, 400 bucks, and one thing he told me on the phone one day, sometimes in life you goods to take one step back, to take two step forward. so i gets -- i was like, i think it's time for know go back to oklahoma forth while and try to figure out my life and then come back to l.a. and then i flew back.

my dad bought my plane ticket and then i went back to oklahoma, and few weeks -- i think end of 2014 -- yes -- and few weeks later i goh at cold from phenomenon a friend, blonde, are you in l.a. or oklahoma i south dakota oklahoma. she said, dammity. her -- dam m.i.t. and her husband is a coach for cowboys in oklahoma and she had a small talent agency in oklahoma and i knew her and i was like, anytime oklahoma. she said move back. she was like, damnity. dash damn it. there's an audition in l.a., abc look for a tall guy who play basketball, black man. i was like, sounds like me. >> can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org.

>> book tv recently visited capitol hill ask members of congress what they are reading this summer. >> i have quite a stack of books here. the first one is "the medications of marcus" i was told this is jim mattis, our secretary of defense,s' favre resident book, i have a biography here on the rise of theodore roosevelt, i'm looking forward to that. this is the 50th anniversary of the tragic death of senator record kennedy, chris matthews has a new become out about senator kennedy, got ton know senator kennedy's grandson, joe kennedy, member of the house here, and this is really something i'm looking forward to. i have another book here, says "1587: a year of significance." a become recommend i by secretary mattis, bout the ming dynasty in china and he says if

you want to understand -- modern china you need to understand china. and this is how to look interest the mindset about the contemporary middle east and what is happening in islam. this book is something was recommended to me, called "immersions" a book about science, called "the skins and moist of fresh water mussels." and we have the largest amount of mussels in alabama. and this is one you can throw like a rock and hurt somebody. the definancetive book about cuba, just called "cuba" and the author is hugh thomas. and then my final one is a book i have been trying to read for some time now, book called "the innovators" bout -- about the

people that came if with all the ideas in the tech world. don't read fix. read nonfiction, and some is eclectic but usually related to the work i'm doing and congress, and i'm really grateful to have the help i have from the library of congress, and there's expertses over there to recommend books to me that we talk read and then can return them and ask for other resources if we find something in the books that interest us. >> book tv wants to know what you're reading. send your book list to us. book of the c-span2, television for serious readers. >> and now on book tv, we bring you the 2018 ralph reading philadelphia at the franklin roosevelt presidential lie flare hyde park, new york. the festival features new books bout the life and work of the 32nd president.