4:30PM to 6:00PM

Iyabo Williams will read and sign her book Hidden Scars

At the age of eight, Aisha Praisso, alongside her great grand mother, became a victim and a rescuer of many during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 between the Hausas in the north and the Ibos of the in the east. The tales from the war are sporadic and many of the stories are still left untold. Aisha, a survivor and self-proclaimed motor-mouth, would not broach the subject unless her life depended on it. But it did, and her whispers became loudly  heard.                                                                                                                                               

6:OOPM to 7:30PM

Avotcja, will be reading and signing her newest book, With Every Step I Take

Introducing herself as storyteller, ‘wild woman,’ a ‘bonafide sound junkie,’ nothing slows or dampens Avotcja’s passion for the power or wonder of music. Guided by ancient, ancestral wisdom, she refuses to separate poetry and storytelling from song or dance. In ‘Blue to the Bone,’ her rhapsodic tribute to Oakland’s uncrowned poet laureate, Reginald Lockett (1947-2008), musician-poet-broadcaster Avotcja could just as well be describing her own esthetic. ‘Reggie was the real deal,’ she croons. Melodically keyed to what she calls ‘la palabra musical,‘ Avotcja’s rhythmic testament decades in the making celebrates the world-changing spirit of human creativity while condemning its cold-blooded, tone-deaf assassins.’ –Al Young, California’s poet laureate emeritus.

Please join us for an evening of strength and joy.

All are welcome.

Info: 415 346 4222

At the age of eight, Aisha Praisso, alongside her great grandmother, became a victim and a rescuer of many during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 between the Hausas in the north and the Ibos in the east. The tales from the war are sporadic and many of the stories are still left untold. Aisha, a survivor and self-proclaimed motor-mouth, would not broach the subject unless her life depended on it. But it did, and her whispers became loudly heard.

Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and raised by her maternal great grandmother, Aisha had a happy life until the Biafran War bulldozed its’ way into her her idyllic home and turned it into a torture chamber. Her innocence was stolen by a soldier while her guardian could only stand by and watch. Though a friend arranged an escape for her and her great grandmother, it was already too late for Aisha, she had been branded for a lifetime of abuse.

When things go wrong in an abusive relationship, she finds herself in a state of utter hopelessness after being arrested on charges connected to her boyfriend. It took her fourteen years to sort through her pain, including the self-inflicted ones and find the courage to tell her story. Fortunately, her luck turns for the better as she begins to let go and start to re-live her life again.

Cloth 30.95

This is what you’ll get for $100:
* An on-line presence to sell your book with the oldest African American bookstore in the world (52 years of service).
*  On a full page of ads (entitled New Works), your book cover is situated within a “block” of 36 covers.
*  The block of covers is presented in the same format as the other listings on our website.
*  The book covers are buttons that take readers to an individual full page, just for your book, that includes your book cover (enlarged), the title, author, description of your book, price, and binding (cloth or paperback).
*  An add-to-cart button that goes to the Marcus Books website’s secured account with Paypal which processes the sale of your book.
*  After a sale, the author receives the standard 60% of the price of the book (by mail) and Marcus Books receives 40%.
*  A web link for your individual book page that you can use to promote your book.
*  Your ad stays posted on the Marcus Books website for 6 (six) months.

The Process

After Marcus Books receives your payment you will be asked (via email) to supply the following:
* A jpeg of your book cover (If you don’t have a jpeg, Marcus Books will scan your book cover after we receive your books.)
*  A description of your book (There is no limit to the number of words you can use, but you must have permission from the reviewers to use their reviews of your book.)
*  The title, price, publisher, distributor, or the address, phone number and email of the supplier, if self published.
*  Availability: your book must be ready to ship within two days of an order we receive through the website. If you are self-published, we recommend that you send two copies of your book to our San Francisco store on a consignment basis, then your book will be in stock when we receive an order. (Consignment is a process that allows a store to carry a product without the store’s commitment to purchase the product within the usual 30-60 day terms of purchase. This is a practical approach for a store to acquire a product before the store sees a demand for the product. With consignment terms, an author is paid by check as the books are sold.)
*  Know beforehand that the minimum wholesale discount from a publisher, distributor or self-published author to a bookstore is 40% to 50% of the price of the book.
*  This introductory price expires August 1st, 2012.
*  Your book will be posted to the website two weeks after your process has been completed in a first-come-first-serve position.

marcusbooks@marcusbooks.com or call Marcus Books of San Francisco, 415 346 4222 for more info

one book ad, $100.00

In the age of Obama, racial attitudes have become more complicated and nuanced than ever before. Inspired by a president who is unlike any Black man ever seen on our national stage, we are searching for new ways of understanding Blackness. In this provocative new book, iconic commentator and journalist Touré tackles what it means to be Black in America today.

Touré begins by examining the concept of “Post-Blackness,” a term that defines artists who are proud to be Black but don’t want to be limited by identity politics and boxed in by race. He soon discovers that the desire to be rooted in but not constrained by Blackness is everywhere. In Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? he argues that Blackness is infinite, that any identity imaginable is Black, and that all expressions of Blackness are legitimate.

Cloth

Standing above the Crowd will help you rise up above life’s dramas, traumas, pettiness, negativity, and dozens more situational issues that tend to keep us down and hold us back from achieving our dreams and fulfilling our potential.

Standing above the Crowd is jam-packed full of success strategies that I’ve used throughout my life in the areas of athletics, business and community. All are very straightforward and easy for anyone to implement. There’s helpful advice from the team of wonderful people I’ve surrounded myself with throughout the years. I’ve always believed in a team concept approach, because we truly can’t do it alone. The success I’ve had in sports, business, and community involvement has all been because of people and principles I’ve learned from during my journey.

Paper 19.95

America’s most celebrated novelist, Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison extends her profound take on our history with this twentieth-century tale of redemption: a taut and tortured story about one man’s desperate search for himself in a world disfigured by war.
Frank Money is an angry, self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who, after traumatic experiences on the front lines, finds himself back in racist America with more than just physical scars. His home may seem alien to him, but he is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from and that he’s hated all his life. As Frank revisits his memories from childhood and the war that have left him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he had thought he could never possess again.
A deeply moving novel about an apparently defeated man finding his manhood–and his home.

Cloth 24.00

Debrena Jackson Gandy

Originally self-published to enormous acclaim and demand, “Sacred Pampering Principles” is a beautifully written guide with hundreds of easy and innovative ways for on-the-go women to pamper their bodies and nurture their spirits.

With her holistic approach to filling your life with comfort, balance, and peace, Debrena Jackson Gandy debunks society’s myth that doing something for yourself is decadent and selfish. In fact, she says, the joy we gain from treating ourselves–whether to a luxuriant bath or to a meditative hour alone–is transferred to the people in our lives. When we emerge rejuvenated, others benefit from a patient mother, a fulfilled wife, an effective coworker, a solidly grounded friend.

Written for African-American women, but accessible to women of all races, “Sacred Pampering Principles” demonstrates not only pampering ideas, but also explains why pampering, for less time and money than one might imagine, is vital to a balanced life.

Paper 15.99

Never in My Wildest Dreams is the story of a courageous journalist who helped change the face and focus of television news. Born to a 15-year old Louisiana laundress during the Great Depression and raised in the overcrowded projects of Oakland, California, Belva Davis overcame abuse, racism, and sexism to become the first black female news anchor on the West Coast.
Belva Davis covered many of the most explosive stories of the last half century, including the birth of the Black Panthers, the Peoples Temple cult that ended in the Jonestown massacre, the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor, George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor, Harvey Milk, the onset of the AIDS epidemic, and the terrorist attacks that first put Osama bin Laden on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Along the way, she encountered a cavalcade of cultural icons: Malcolm X, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Nancy Reagan, Huey Newton, Muhammad Ali, Alex Haley, Fidel Castro, and others.
Davis’ absorbing memoir traces the trajectory of an extraordinary life in extraordinary times.

Paper 15.95

Cloth 24.95

With your purchase of The Freedom Guide for Music Creators, you will empower your students to master the fundamentals of the music business, and give them access to strategies and resources they will not hear about except through your actions today.  When your students receive The Freedom Guide for Music Creators, they will learn:

How the music business will try to put them through a taste of some of the hardest parts of the African American experience since the end of slavery — and what they can do to protect themselves

How to get each and every one of their compositions works the copyright registration they need at the lowest possible cost — AND the address and contact info of EVERY copyright office IN THE WORLD

How to handle SAMPLING — the right way, not the wrong way

How to get the proper licenses to cover ANY song — quickly and cost-effectively

What things they need to have in EVERY record contract — and the very things that will STEAL A MUSICIAN BLIND if not caught

The NUMBER ONE, time-honored, sure-fire way to build a fan base that lasts, no matter what fads and technology come and and go

And much more — all in a easy-to-read, concise format that lends itself to immediate action!

Thank you so much for your patronage of Marcus Bookstores — we appreciate working with you to educate Black musicians everywhere about how to handle their music business!  Order now, and change the lives of the talented young musicians you serve for the better — forever!

College and University Orders:

For 50 books at a 20 percent discount

For 100 books at a 30 percent discount

For 200 books at a 40 percent discount

For individual copies:

 Bob Livingstone, LCSW

“I will be reading from and signing my new book Unchain the Pain:  How to be Your Own Therapist at Marcus Books, 1712 Fillmore St. San Francisco, Ca.  This event will take place Saturday March 31, 2012 at 6PM.   It is an honor to be invited to this historic African-American Bookstore.  Marcus Bookstores are the oldest Black bookstores in the nation.  I hope to see you there!” –BL

1. Be willing to ask questions about your emotional pain.
2. Imagine that you are in a therapist’s office. Think about what questions she may ask you and then ask yourself these same questions.
3. Imagine that you are talking to a friend who is in distress. What questions would you want to ask her about her emotional pain in order to support her healing? Then apply those same questions to yourself.
4. You will learn to be introspective; feel unstuck emotionally; resolve long-standing emotional issues; discover your place of wisdom; be less depressed; be able to work through grief and loss issues; be less anxious; feel more confident and your self-esteem will increase; learn what it means to process your feelings.
5. Learn to overcome the obstacles that can help you become your own therapist.
6. Develop and nurture the self questioning part of yourself.
7. Exercise regularly. You will not only look and feel better, it will help you problem solve and be open to self-questioning because you will feel the freedom to do so!