Traverse City Author to Present Slide Show on Native American History

Original Americans

Traverse City author Robert Downes, winner of a book-of-the-year award in 2025 for his Raw Deal: The Indians of the Midwest and the Theft of Native Lands, will give a slide presentation on Native history in the Americas prior to the advent of European explorers in the 1500s (the “lost century”). His fascination with indigenous culture and history began as a boy when he would find arrowheads in farm fields. 

Prize-winning history

Besides his prize-winning history, Downes is the author of three novels featuring Native American culture. His latest, The Sun Dog, fits as the second in his Native trilogy, which began with The Wolf and the Willow and wraps up with Windigo Moon. 

Historical fiction trilogy

Locals also know Bob for his cycling adventure books and as one of the original publishers of the popular Traverse City weekly, Northern Express. 

The author’s presentation will take place in the David Grath gallery, accessible from Dog Ears Books, 106 Waukazoo Street, and will begin at 4 p.m. So come take a culture break with us between your afternoon at the beach and your evening cocktails. There will be opportunity for questions and discussion following the presentation, as well as an opportunity to purchase books and have the author sign them.  

Author with his latest book,
which he will be happy to sign for you

Mid- to End-of-the-Month News (May) + Timely Reminder

 

Big news is that I have finally cleaned off and organized the big table! That meant also reorganizing the shelves of used Michigan books. So now the fiction is all on the table (hardcover on one side, softcover, children's, and poetry on the other), and the shelves are all nonfiction. 

The timely reminder is that I will be on a pre-holiday break next week. So the shop is open today and will be tomorrow (Friday and Saturday, May 15-16) and then closed until next Friday, May 22, when I'll have the shop open again.

May Schedule

In general, hours for May will be Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; however, the shop will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, May 19, 20, 21 while I’m out of town, then open again Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. 

Bookseller Recommendation for Spring: A new Northwoods Mystery

 

 

Karen Casebeer’s third book, the latest in her Northwoods Mystery series, is a sure-fire winner. Set in northwest lower Michigan, with action stretching from the Platte River in the south to Cathead Bay in the north, and featuring various parts of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Wayfinding is a tight, cohesive story of a few months in the life of forensic detective Quinn Macarthy. 

On medical leave following a traumatic incident with career criminals, Quinn rents an A-frame cottage on Sleeping Bear Bay, planning to rest, hike with her dog, and take time to heal, but her plan is interrupted when her dog, Ruby, trained in search and rescue as well as drug detection, discovers a human hand in the dunes, uncovered by an overnight storm. Will Quinn be able to remain uninvolved as the mystery of the skeleton’s identity and cause of death are investigated? (What do you think?)

Wayfinding has several plot lines: the investigation following the finding of the skeleton; Quinn’s therapy sessions dealing with multiple past traumas; the gentle beginnings of a new romantic relationship; and quite a lot of recent developments in genealogical research. All are masterfully woven together by the author. Case never drops a single thread in her story, and eventually everything comes together in surprising ways not at all apparent beforehand. 

As with every good mystery series, it isn’t necessary to have read the preceding two books before diving right into this third novel. An added enticement for locals and annual visitors is that anyone familiar with Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties will recognize the territory and its landmarks, which is always fun. 

Poetry at an Indie!

 

What better way to celebrate Indie Bookstore Day (always the last Saturday in April--and April is National Poetry Month!) than with a Michigan poet as my bookstore guest? We will convene at noon and sit in a congenial circle, which worked so well for Fleda's last visit to Dog Ears Books that I'm doing it again. Please join us!

Mark Your Calendar: Saturday, April 25

 

Fleda Brown, former poet laureate of the state of Delaware, back home in Michigan now for several years, will give a reading of her new work in person in Northport on Indie Bookstore Day, Saturday, April 25! We will convene at noon, but anyone is welcome to come as early as my 11 a.m. bookshop opening to be sure of a good seat and/or to spend time browsing.

And here's another idea: A few months ago a group of women in my shop told me they had decided to make a switch from wine tasting to book shopping. They came north for a weekend to visit every bookshop in Traverse City and Leelanau County, each of them buying at least one book in each shop. Road trip with friends! What a great way to celebrate Indie Day!

Leelanau Indies: Photos by Karen Mulvahill

The last Saturday in April is always Indie Bookstore Day. For several years, I was away from my shop on that day, and the last couple of years I just didn't get on the ball soon enough to do anything special. This year, for once, I'm ahead of the curve--and pleased as punch, too, about my literary guest for the day.

Fleda Brown was my guest last May, also.

Beautiful Bargains

 

So gently used, they look and feel like new!