Bindlestiff Books

We hope you can join us for a special book talk on Sunday, October 9, co-sponsored by Transport Workers Union Local 234! We are excited to welcome James Wolfinger, author of "Running the Rails: Capital and Labor in the Philadelphia Transit Industry." =============================== *About the Book*... Philadelphia exploded in violence in 1910. The general strike that year was a notable point, but not a unique one, in a generations-long history of conflict between the workers and management at one of the nation’s largest privately owned transit systems. In Running the Rails, James Wolfinger uses the history of Philadelphia’s sprawling public transportation system to explore how labor relations shifted from the 1880s to the 1960s. As transit workers adapted to fast-paced technological innovation to keep the city’s people and commerce on the move, management sought to limit its employees’ rights. Raw violence, race-baiting, and smear campaigns against unions were among the strategies managers used to control workers and enhance corporate profits. Public service workers and their unions come under frequent attack for being a special interest or a hindrance to the smooth functioning of society. This book offers readers a different, historically grounded way of thinking about the people who keep their cities running. Working in public transit is a difficult job now, as it was a century ago. The benefits and decent wages Philadelphia public transit workers securedadvances that were hard-won and well deservedcame as a result of fighting for decades against their exploitation. Given capital’s great power in American society and management’s enduring quest to control its workforce, it is remarkable to see how much Philadelphia’s transit workers achieved. For more info, visit: http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/

Special Harry Potter event: Bindlestiff will open at 11:30pm on July 30th for midnight sales of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!

Come visit us during the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll this Thursday! We'll be selling $1 books and other items in front of the store, and the whole store will be open for browsing. In addition, PhobosPhiladelphia's weird fiction magazinewill sponsor a reading by local authors in our back room beginning at 5:30pm!

Reminder: coming up tonight, a reading by Brian Costello, author of the newly published novel "Losing in Gainesville" author, plus Philly-based writer Brian Warfield!

Coming up tonight! In celebration of the new partnership between Queer Books and Bindlestiff Books, please join us in welcoming author Patricia Melzer to read from her book "Alien Constructions: Science Fiction and Feminist Thought."

In celebration of the new partnership between Queer Books and Bindlestiff Books, please join us in welcoming author Patricia Melzer to read from her book "Alien Constructions: Science Fiction and Feminist Thought." Though set in other worlds populated by alien beings, science fiction is a site where humans can critique and re-imagine the paradigms that shape this world, from fundamentals such as the sex and gender of the body to global power relations among sexes, races, and ...nations. Feminist thinkers and writers are increasingly recognizing science fiction's potential to shatter patriarchal and heterosexual norms, while the creators of science fiction are bringing new depth and complexity to the genre by engaging with feminist theories and politics. This book maps the intersection of feminism and science fiction through close readings of science fiction literature by Octavia E. Butler, Richard Calder, and Melissa Scott and the movies The Matrix and the Alien series. See more

Coming up on Monday, October 20! Join us for a reading and discussion with Marcy Rein and Cliff Ross, editors of "Until the Rulers Obey: Voices From Latin American Social Movements." "Until the Rules Obey" includes interviews with more than 70 organizers, activists and scholars from 15 countries, Mexico to Argentina. The movements they’re part of helped bring new governments to power after decades of austerity and dictatorship. They’ve mobilized on a broad range of issues, fighting against mines and agribusiness and for housing and land; for rights as women, workers, LGBT and indigenous people; for the survival of their communities and our planet. Their organizing runs the gamut of nonviolent social change strategies, from land occupation to electoral participation to creating alternative communities.

Please join us on Sunday, May 4th to celebrate "The Garden of Time," a new book illustrated by West Philly artist Zoe Cohen that walks the reader through the seasons of the Jewish year! The event includes a reading, a book-signing, and a potluck brunch. Children are welcome, and the event is co-sponsored by Kol Tzedek Synagogue.