UC Recap – February 11 – February 16

 February 11 – February 16

This week’s column is dedicated to the plethora of Uptown related books that will be coming out in the near future or are out now. Make sure you support our local bookstores such as Word Up Books (2113 Amsterdam Avenue), Revolution Books (437 Malcolm X Blvd) and Sister’s Uptown Bookstore (1942 Amsterdam Avenue). With that said, let’s get right to it.

Friend to the UC, novelist and all-around awesome person, Jon Michaud, has a new book in the works. Tentatively titled, Uptown: A Bar, A Neighborhood, And The Fight Against Gentrification, the book tells the story of the fight to keep Coogan’s open and the larger fight against gentrification in Washington Heights. I cannot wait for this book to come out. In the meantime, make sure you purchase his first book, When Tito Loved Clara, which is a love letter to his wife and Inwood and is an outstanding novel.

Uptown entrepreneur and seasoned leader in international development Sarina Prabasi also has a new book coming out in the next few months. Part coming-to-America story, part lyrical memoir, and yet another part activist’s call to action, The Coffeehouse Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times is timely, funny, and poignant. Writing as a mother, immigrant, new American, coffeehouse owner, and international nonprofit leader, Prabasi’s story weaves between Nepal, Ethiopia, and the United States. Sarina and her husband are the good folks behind Cafe Buunni, which now has 3 locations in the area. Stay tuned for more on this thought-provoking and well-timed book on the site.

Long time Uptown resident, Michele W. Miller, has a new book coming out on February 26, 2019. Widows-in-Law is a gripping tale of mothers and daughters, wives and ex-wives, broken and remade families, and unlikely partners-in-crime. Most of all, it is a moving story about the women left behind to clean up the messes men make. Pre-order your copy ASAP. Hit up our site for more info.

Lastly, we leave you with a book that is out now and has been dubbed as one of the great cop novels of our time. Written by renowned scribe Don Winslow, The Force revolves around a heroin ring operating out of a building in Washington Heights. The book weaves a heartbreaking tale of greed and violence, inequality and race, crime and injustice, retribution and redemption that reveals the seemingly insurmountable tensions between the police and the diverse citizens they serve.

Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com.

Led Black

Editor-in-Chief

The Uptown Collective

The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.