tastesandtomes

09/17/2026

A HUGE shoutout to Eugene from the local history and genealogy department of the main library for walking me through all of the resources. The library was awarded several grants to digitize Black newspapers, photos, and so much Columbus history. There was one student paper I had never even heard of! These records are invaluable and I deeply appreciate the work they have put in.

This project is multifaceted with a huge emphasis on BLACK Columbus from a very specific time frame. As a kid growing up in Columbus all of the Columbus Black History I learned was from my dad. I knew we had some famous figures and our role in the Underground Railroad, (vaguely), but that was about it. My nerdy self can’t wait to reveal this labor of love to you all! Columbus Library

09/16/2026

I remember when I first read I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. The grief, the frustration, and the heartbreak of the protagonist was tangible. Surviving in the wake of her older sister’s tragic accident This poignant Book Award Finalist was Banned or removed from several school districts libraries because of its “ant-Christian views and strong language.”

Erica L. Sanchez tackles depression and su*cidal ideations in this story from the lens of Black and brown communities so beautifully. This book should be open and accessible to all, especially in states like Florida and Texas with a large latine population.

Have you read I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erica L. Sanchez?

09/15/2026

Join us tonight, Tuesday September 15th, as we welcome Josef Benson for his groundbreaking book, Infinity Land: The Untold Story of Jeffrey Dahmer. This is a free event.

In 1988, a thirteen-year-old girl named Meko arrived in Milwaukee as a refugee from Thailand. Not long after, she met Jeffrey Dahmer—the notorious serial killer and s*x offender who, between 1978 and 1991, murdered and dismembered at least seventeen men and boys. Over the course of three years, Meko, along with Laotian victims Somsack and Konerak Sinthasomphone, developed an unlikely and disturbing friendship with Dahmer, offering a rare, firsthand perspective on one of America’s most infamous criminals. Based on author Josef Benson’s interviews with Meko, Infinity Land: The Untold Story of Jeffrey Dahmer presents exclusive, never-before-revealed information that radically reshapes our understanding of Dahmer, his crimes, and the city that enabled them.

09/15/2026

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting amazing indie authors/publishers in our catalogue. Dealer is one of our bestselling poetry works from Daryl Gussin indie press Only Peace In Death. DM me if you want a copy $14 (can deliver in central Ohio)
“Repoman meets the Seventh Seal.”
-Crabby St. Clair

“Dealer is a hybrid poetry collection that maps the spiritual, mechanical, and political life of his car in late capitalism. Set in motion within Los Angeles freeways, border crossings, DMV lines, and daydream dreamscapes, the book cross-examines how brown surveilled bodies are allowed to move. Blending auto-repair diagnostics, Aztec cosmology, Catholic iconography, erotic fantasy, and glitch poetics, this work exposes driving as both necessity and resistance. To drive is to live. To stall is to disappear.”

–Ingrid M. Calderón, author of An American Exorcism and Yr friend Richard

The poems are printed in both english and spanish.

Iván Salinas is a Mexican writer & zinester based in the San Fernando Valley (unceded Tongva-Tativiam territory). He received a BA in English, Creative Writing, from Cal State Northridge. He is the co-founder of Drifter Zine, highlighting artists of the 818 and beyond. His writings and translations have appeared in Revista Generación, The Acentos Review, Mobile Data Mag, Broken Lens Journal, The Ana, and elsewhere. Iván is Programs Manager at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Los Angeles.

09/14/2026

Thanks to our friends Wandering Quills Bookshop | Traveling Bookstore for hosting yet another amazing Adult Book Fair!!! It’s such a vibe every time!

09/14/2026

Didn’t get too many pics of the Book Fair today, (as per the usual), but got to play all day with my carbon copy.

09/13/2026

Here at the adult book fair till 6! Come yap to Cass because she a woman of the people!

09/09/2026

Read banned books.

09/08/2026

08/31/2026

September Events lineup for Tastes & Tomes! If you are a local indie author and have reached out to me to consign and I haven’t reached out, please DM me🤦🏾‍♀️ Charge it to my head not my heart. Between balancing two jobs, and running business, I need a little nudge sometimes. Can’t wait to see you all in the ‘Ber’ months!