books Archives - Oakland Voices

Oakland’s Best Bookstores: A Guide to Unique Literary Havens and Community Spaces

July 2, 2024 Brandy Collins

Book Lovers Have Plenty of Oakland Shops to Choose From

a colorful mural depicting African Americans and the words "Marcus Books est. 1960" in red letters

Opinion: A Vandal Breaks into Legendary Marcus Books: Where is the Love?

June 3, 2024 Dera R. Williams

A vandal broke into the legendary Black-owned bookstore, Marcus Books, last October, leaving the community questioning, “Where is the love?”

A Black father wearing baseball cap holds a coloring book with his son

Father creates Black history coloring book with son, using AI

February 24, 2024 Aqueila M. Lewis-Ross

Oakland Voices alumnus Saleem Gilmore and his young son, Amari Rashad, create a coloring book honoring heroes in Black history, showcasing figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Audre Lorde as children, complete with short biographies and quotes, all using AI-generated images.

An African American boy sits on stage reading from a book he wrote with a smile on his face

Reviews: Chapter 510’s New Youth-Written Books Full of Imagination and Creativity

April 14, 2023 Sara Rowley and Momo Chang

Some Oakland Voices correspondents read and reviewed newly published books by Chapter 510, a literary nonprofit based in Old Oakland. The youngest writers were 8 years old when they wrote their books. The published books

A Black woman wearing teal pants and black face mask stands in front of colorful vending machine, with a shorter woman wearing yellow t-shirt and glasses holding a sci-fi book she wrote

Oaklandia Cafe x Bakery Debuts Afrofuturism book vending machine

February 10, 2023 Brandy Collins

If you’re sitting in Oaklandia Cafe x Bakery, you can watch as people see a new book vending machine and approach it with curiosity. Some even take pictures of the machine. The Sistah Scifi Afrofuturism

A Guatemalan American young woman with short, wavy hair stands in front of a sign that says Eastmont Library

‘The sweetest escape’: a love letter to Oakland’s libraries

February 17, 2021 Marabet Morales Sikahall

Libraries are physically closed, but they continue to serve their neighborhoods. One East Oaklander shares her experience.