Beers Books

09/05/2026

Beers Books is proud to announce that we will be having Obi Kaufmann in store, to discuss his latest opus, “California Inside Out”, in conversation with Michelle Fullner of the “Golden State Naturalist” podcast! Join us at 7PM on Thursday, October 29th!

“A mind- and soul-expanding manifesto on connecting more deeply with the land called California.
Obi Kaufmann, author of The California Field Atlas and The State of Fire, now presents a gorgeous and provocative manifesto calling for a revived look at the Golden State. As Kaufmann writes, the popular idea of California as a place of novelty, riches, and self-reinvention has been shaped by 250 years of European American settlement. This view is so often rooted in economic exploitation, destruction of the land, and attempts at erasing Native histories. As climate breakdown accelerates and natural disasters escalate, Kaufmann calls on us to see the land we call California with fresh eyes. The boundless complexity of the flora and fauna around us prompts bold, imaginative questions: What words might connect us more deeply with the places where we live? What if a watershed can think? What if a forest has a mind of its own? Across five chapters full of wisdom and heart, Kaufmann tells poignant personal stories from his fifty years living in California. Designed in a handsome pocket-size format, and featuring watercolor maps and illustrations drawn from across Kaufmann’s career, California Inside Out is a call for awe and action.”

09/04/2026

Beers Books is proud to announce we will be hosting Laura Cunningham in store to celebrate the expanded reissue of her California classic “A State of Change”! Join us in store on Friday, October 23rd @ 7pm!

“I wouldn’t be the artist-author I am today without A State of Change. I consider Cunningham’s work to be an original inspiration for all that I do.” —Obi Kaufmann

“Travel through deep time to pre-colonial California, and see the world as it was when nature reigned and Native American stewardship shaped the land and its abundant life. A State of Change, reissued in this highly anticipated updated edition, transports us to centuries past, offering a vision of the American West outside the grasp of modern memory. Widely regarded as a classic, this magnum opus from artist and naturalist Laura Cunningham melds lyrical observation and scientific literature to trace the evolution of these superlatively biodiverse landscapes, depicting a world untrammeled by industrial technology, habitat disruption, and non-native species. Including masterful illustrations throughout, Cunningham envisions grizzlies foraging under oak trees, American cheetahs hunting pronghorns, and herds of elk grazing coastal prairies. This fully redesigned edition features new material on the reintroduction of wolves to California, the promise of regenerative agriculture, and traditional Indigenous uses of fire on the land. A State of Change will stun the imagination with glimpses of what has been lost—and give hope for what can be restored.”

“This wonderful book is a vivid reminder of how things began, and also as a vision of the rich and beautiful world we can work toward in our shared future.” —Kim Stanley Robinson

09/04/2026

Want to get into that October headspace? We have the perfect event for you!

Join us on Saturday, September the 26th, 7PM @ Beers Books for the launch of Colette Kavanaugh’s “Sacramento County Cemeteries”, the latest addition to Arcadia popular “Images of America” series.

Colette will be in conversation with Dave Dolliver, both members of the Old City Cemetery Committee and performers in the Lantern Tours. Expect an entertaining journey into Sacramento’s historic cemeteries and their denizens!

09/04/2026

A reminder to join us next weekend, Saturday the 12th at 2PM for a very special event at Tupi Coffee’s beautiful rooftop on S Street. Terra Lopez, of NPR’s “This Is What It Feels Like” podcast will interview Dorothy Lazard, retired head librarian of OPL Oakland History Center about her memoir, “Behind the Desk at the Main”. Join us for what is sure to be a lively and engaging conversation!

“When Dorothy Lazard became a public librarian, she returned to the building that had shaped her life from childhood. At the flagship branch (“the Main”) of the Oakland Public Library, she connected with her hometown to a degree that few people experience. Helping her fellow community members and ultimately becoming the keeper of Oakland’s public history archives, she witnessed the joys and dilemmas that shape one of the most diverse cities in the US. In Behind the Desk at the Main, Lazard takes readers through the day-to-day life of library work with love, wit, and candor. As the cracks in American society grow and our public institutions are strained to the breaking point, libraries remain the cherished containers of our ideals: They are places of curiosity, imagination, memory, and togetherness. Lazard reveals the pressures that library workers face—from economic crises to book bans and political upheaval—as they uphold these ideals in a fractured world. Filled with humor and urgency, Behind the Desk at the Main is a testament to the power of books and community in a time of division.”

“Dorothy Lazard was born in St. Louis and grew up in San Francisco and Oakland. A librarian for forty years, she joined the staff of the Oakland Public Library in 2000. From 2009 until her retirement in 2021, she was the head librarian of OPL’s Oakland History Center, where she encouraged people of all ages and backgrounds to explore local history. Lazard was the 2023 recipient of the Oscar Lewis Award in Western History from the Book Club of California. She lives in Oakland.”

09/02/2026

09/01/2026

Beers Books & the Crocker Art Gallery are proud to invite you to spend “An Afternoon with William T. Vollmann & Devyn Defoe”.

Come to the Crocker Art Gallery on Saturday, October 10th at 2PM as William & Devyn will read from their new novels, “A Table For Fortune” & “Burnside” respectively, followed by a Q&A & signing. Tickets are $5 (available soon through Crocker’s website) & will also grant access to the museum.

“Burnside” is available at Beers Books now & we are taking pre-orders for Vollmann’ “A Table For Fortune”, which releases on October 6th.

“William T. Vollmann is the author of twelve novels, including Europe Central, which won the National Book Award. He has also written four collections of stories, including The Rainbow Stories and The Atlas, which won the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction, a memoir, and ten works of nonfiction, including Rising Up and Rising Down and Imperial, both of which were finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His journalism and fiction have been published in The New Yorker, Harpers, Esquire, Granta, and many other publications. He lives in Sacramento, California.“

“Devyn Defoe is a writer and bookseller from Sacramento, CA. A former Wallace Stegner Fellow, her work has been published by Socrates on the Beach and The White Review. Burnside is her first novel.”

08/25/2026

Shirts finally restocked! Now with this tasty blue, I believe it’s called “Blue Lagoon”.

08/04/2026

Out today! Our insanely talented bookseller Devyn Defoe just released her first book with Astra House. This stunningly surreal novel is not to be missed.

08/03/2026

The Oracle hath spoken. El Hombre Invisible aka the Ju**ie aka William Lee. Borroughs was a legend of the beat generation, the ultimate unreliable narrator. Books are on sale at Beers, Cheers!

07/23/2026

Thanks to everyone who submitted tea ideas. We ultimately decided to go for two great ideas. and are the winners!

Teas are now on sale here at Beers Books. Bundle them a mug, Amanda @ North Ave Candles, and a book for an unforgettable literary gift.