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Brain Lair Books | 1005 Portage Ave | South Bend | We/Th/Fr 11a-6p | Sa/Su 10a-4p | 574-207-6514

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  • EVENTS
      1. BLB Virtual Event: Tami Charles and Bryan Collier, We Are Here
        1. RSVP: Tami Charles and Bryan Collier
      2. BLB ADVOCACY BOOK CLUB: REST IS RESISTANCE
        1. RSVP: Advocacy Book Club
      3. BLB In Person Event: Octavia Butler Book Club
        1. RSVP: Octavia E Butler Book Club
      4. CODE OF CONDUCT
      5. BLB Kids Book Club
      6. BLB Partnership Virtual Event: History in Color, Part 2
      7. PREORDER SIGNED COPIES OF JUNKYARD DOGS BY KAT HIGGS-COULTHARD
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      2. Teen Fiction - Diverse
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      10. 2022 AUTHOR VISITS
      11. BookPage February 2023
      12. YOU SO BLACK - A CELEBRATION OF BLACK STORIES 2023
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  • OCTAVIA BUTLER BOOK CLUB

  • Advocacy Book Club

Welcome to Brain Lair Books! A black-owned, woman-owned children's bookstore. We're in South Bend, Indiana in the Near Northwest Neighborhood Center. We partner with local schools and universities to help build an inclusive, welcoming community.  We specialize in  juvenile and young adult literature written by/for the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and Disabled communities as well adult nonfiction about ending white supremacy, promoting anti-racism, and becoming a social activist. We can help you find the books you need.

We are open 5 days a week for in-person shopping!

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Upcoming Events

  • BLB Octavia Butler Book Club
    02/13/2023 - 7:00pm
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Staff Picks

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All This Could Be Different: A Novel By Sarah Thankam Mathews Cover Image
Unbothered: The Power of Choosing Joy By Omarion Cover Image
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The Shore: A Novel By Katie Runde Cover Image
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Queen Bee By Amalie Howard Cover Image
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My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women By 18 Afghan Women Cover Image
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I Kissed Shara Wheeler: A Novel By Casey McQuiston Cover Image
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS

Bundles

Holiday Storytime Bundle - Hanukkah Stories
Holiday Storytime Bundle - Christmas
Holiday Story Time - Kwanzaa Bundle
Astronaut Bundle
Black Feminist Bundle - Small
Here and Queer Bundle - Large
Love Earth's Creatures Bundle
Poetry Bundle - Small
Repro Rights Bundle - Small
Repro Rights Bundle - Large

WEEKLY BESTSELLERS

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Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto By Tricia Hersey Cover Image
Dinosaur Rap (Barefoot Singalongs) By John Foster, Debbie Harter (Illustrator), Mike Henry (Performed by) Cover Image
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The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth  By Jermaine Fowler Cover Image
The Nickel Boys: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
The Hate U Give: A Printz Honor Winner By Angie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by) Cover Image
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Parable of the Sower: A Novel By Octavia E. Butler, Gloria Steinem (Introduction by) Cover Image
The World We Make: A Novel (The Great Cities #2) By N. K. Jemisin Cover Image
The Rabbit Hutch: A novel By Tess Gunty Cover Image
What Were the Negro Leagues? (What Was?) By Varian Johnson, Who HQ, Stephen Marchesi (Illustrator) Cover Image
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans By Kadir Nelson, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator) Cover Image
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BookPage February 2023

Fieldwork: A Forager's Memoir By Iliana Regan Cover Image
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The Love You Save: A Memoir By Goldie Taylor Cover Image
The Vanity Fair Diaries: Power, Wealth, Celebrity, and Dreams: My Years at the Magazine That Defined a Decade By Tina Brown Cover Image
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A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe By Mark Dawidziak Cover Image
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YOU SO BLACK - A CELEBRATION OF BLACK STORIES 2023

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The (Young) Antiracist's Workbook: Questions for Changemakers By Ibram X. Kendi, Nic Stone Cover Image
The ABCs of Black History By Rio Cortez, Lauren Semmer (Illustrator) Cover Image
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Abolition is Love By Ware Syrus Marcus, Alannah Fricker (Illustrator) Cover Image
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Above Ground By Clint Smith Cover Image
Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction By Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Zelda Knight Cover Image
Against the Currant: A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery (Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries #1) By Olivia Matthews Cover Image
Ain't But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story By Willard Jenkins (Editor) Cover Image
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All Rise: The Story of Ketanji Brown Jackson By Carole Boston Weatherford, Ashley Evans (Illustrator) Cover Image
An American Story By Kwame Alexander, Dare Coulter (Illustrator) Cover Image
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Ashes of Gold (Wings of Ebony) By J. Elle Cover Image
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The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks By Shauna Robinson Cover Image
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Barracoon Adapted for Young Readers: The Story of the Last
Baseball's Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues By Andrea Williams Cover Image
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The Beauty Trials (A Belles novel) (Belles, The) By Dhonielle Clayton Cover Image
Before I Let Go By Kennedy Ryan Cover Image
Bessie the Motorcycle Queen By Charles R. Smith Jr., Charlot Kristensen (Illustrator) Cover Image
Better than Fiction By Alexa Martin Cover Image
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Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA By Theresa Runstedtler Cover Image
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Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood By Kwame Mbalia (Editor) Cover Image
Black Boy, Black Boy By Ali Kamanda, Jorge Redmond, Ken Daley (Illustrator) Cover Image
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Black Buck By Mateo Askaripour Cover Image
Black Cake: A Novel By Charmaine Wilkerson Cover Image
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Black Candle Women By Diane Marie Brown Cover Image
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Black Chameleon: Memory, Womanhood, and Myth By Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton Cover Image
Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider By Stacy Spikes Cover Image
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Black Girls Must Have It All: A Novel (Black Girls Must Die Exhausted) By Jayne Allen Cover Image
Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments By Carell Augustus, Forest Whitaker (Foreword by) Cover Image
Black Panther: Panther's Rage By Sheree Renée Thomas Cover Image
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Black People Breathe: A Mindfulness Guide to Racial Healing By Zee Clarke Cover Image
Black Tarot: An Ancestral Awakening Deck and Guidebook By Nyasha Williams, Kimishka Naidoo (Illustrator) Cover Image
Black Women's Wellness: Your
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Black, Brilliant and Dyslexic: Neurodivergent Heroes Tell Their Stories By Marcia Brissett-Bailey (Editor), Atif Choudhury (Foreword by) Cover Image
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Bloodmarked (The Legendborn Cycle #2) By Tracy Deonn Cover Image
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The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom By Chrissy King Cover Image
Bold Words from Black Women: Inspiration and Truths from 50 Extraordinary Leaders Who Helped Shape Our World By Dr. Tamara Pizzoli, Monica Ahanonu (Illustrator) Cover Image
Books N Bros: 44 Inspiring Books for Black Boys By Sidney Keys Cover Image
Briarcliff Prep By Brianna Peppins Cover Image
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A Broken People's Playlist: Stories (from Songs) By Chimeka Garricks Cover Image
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Butter: Novellas, Stories, and Fragments By Gayl Jones Cover Image
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Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter By Veronica Chambers Cover Image
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Chaos & Flame By Tessa Gratton, Justina Ireland Cover Image
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Chaos Theory By Nic Stone Cover Image
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement By Angela Joy, Janelle Washington (Illustrator) Cover Image
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Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl By Joya Goffney Cover Image
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Crook Manifesto: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
A Dash of Salt and Pepper By Kosoko Jackson Cover Image
Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta By James Hannaham Cover Image
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Dismissed: Tackling the Biases That Undermine our Health Care By Angela Marshall, Kathy Palokoff Cover Image
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