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Located within our Bat City’s big ol’ independent BookPeople is a book club dedicated to elevating authors of color like the writer of this month’s selection, Akwaeke Emezi. Nigeria-born and Brooklyn-based, Emezi’s work is “deeply rooted in the metaphysics of Black spirit, using the lens of indigenous ontologies to focus on embodiment, ritual, and rememory” according to their author bio. Amplify’s pick for March, Pet, was Emezi’s first young adult venture and received a Stonewall Honor. Its plot follows a young girl whose mother’s art comes to life in the form of Pet, “a creature made of horns and colors and claws.” – James Scott

Although we lost the cool post office at 43rd & Speedway, we gained the lovely First Light Books offering coffee, books, and excellent literary events like this. Filmmaker Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter) has a new film out this week, The Bikeriders, inspired by Jeff Lyon’s 1968 book of the same name, about an infamous Chicago motorcycle club. Local photographer Bryan Schutmaat visited the set to capture the making of the film with an all-star cast including Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and Norman Reedus, and the new book Vandals combines those with script excerpts and behind-the-scenes info. See the director and photographer in conversation at this event that includes a copy of the book. – Kat McNevins

Hurrah! It’s the only good thing about summer – sorry to summer-enjoyers – come back once more. Austin Public Library’s summer reading program runs from June 1 until Aug. 10 and challenges readers of all ages to get 20 minutes of reading done a day. They’ve also got activity badges you can earn – fun biz like using APL’s seed library, making a DIY nature journal, attending any of APL’s free events. Finish 10 reading hours and three activity badges to earn prizes like a free book (kids 0-17) or a camping mug (adults). But isn’t the real reward the great books you read along the way? – James Scott