So Neil, I'm gonna start with you.

Tell me about book stock this year.

400,000 media available at gently used at bargain prices.

One of my favorite events.

- Yes.

Michigan's largest charity used book and media sale.

We've raised more than 2.5 million for literacy and education projects.

It's coming back April 23rd through 30th at Laurel Park Place Mall in Livonia.

All kinds of special stuff going on during the week.

You can catch up with that@bookstockmi.org.

But a key thing to know ahead of time is there's a presale on Sunday the 23rd from 8:15 AM to 11:00 AM for $20.

You can join the throng, go racing in the door get first crack at all the good stuff.

And my advice to newcomers don't stand between the throng and especially the cookbooks.

I actually saw a TV reporter doing a live report get elbowed out of the way by the cookbook fans.

So be very careful of your surroundings but it's a terrific way to get first crack at the Book.

- Yeah, I was gonna say, and I feel like you've gotta get to that presale to get all the good stuff cause there's a lot of people who show up for it and, and and get in line quickly, so - Although we're putting out, you know, with 400,000 items books, vinyl, all of it, we're putting out new material all week long.

So if you don't get there Sunday, there's plenty of good stuff.

- Keep going Right?

Yeah So Syeda I wanna turn to you next.

You won the essay contest last year during book stock which is very cool.

Tell me about the essay that you wrote and tell me about how you love writing.

- So the essay was about (inaudible) and she (inaudible) about the education of children (inaudible) and what I like about writing about her is that she can (inaudible) to create a bright future - Oh wow.

What is writing your favorite subject in school?

You're in the fifth grade, is that right?

- Yes, I do write my own journals at home.

- Very good.

- I think she wrote, she competed for the other contests this year for fifth graders for the NAACP as well.

- Oh, very good.

- Leading for the results or that as well it should be coming this week.

- Yeah.

Very exciting.

So, Kenya, tell me about the role of not just list essay contests, but but events like Book Stock, which celebrate the idea of writing and reading and books in, in, in in teaching young kids like Syeda - Yes.

It's a, it's pretty much a it's a good blessing and a curse kind of like, because some of the students I have to constantly pull all of the details out of them.

But the exciting part about it is was like I said when they saw she won last year, it kind of motivated the new students I got this year to say, oh when are we gonna do that book stock contest?

Oh.

So they're excited about the money component they got.

- Right.

- But like, we do the 20 minutes of DEAR we should drop everything and read every day.

So that was great for the month of March for the reading month.

And then once they finished reading their books they do a book report anyway.

So the ones who pretty much were committed and stayed after and stayed during lunch and submitted their papers.

So we had about 15 entries.

So we're excited to see how it all - That's good - Turns out.

But yeah, we love it, Book stock is a great program and it gets the kids excited about reading and writing.

- Yeah, I I mean it seems to me that that as a teacher, you know, I mean obviously reading and writing are, are huge building blocks in the the early education years, but it, it it's when students feel like they can own it themselves that they really kind of turn the corner and this is this is a great way to, to, to have an essay contest and an essay contest that that pays you a little money.

- Yeah.

That then they, like I said we have Davidson 4.0 so they are displayed on the broadcast of the morning cause we still utilize the team's platform to get announcements out.

So we have students that are running their own their own broadcast and they display everything that's going on in the classrooms so they get to shine across the building as well.

So it's (voice call cuts out) the kids.

(voice call cuts out) - Very cool.

Syeda what did you do with the money that you won from the essay contest?

- What'd you do?

- I gave it to my parents.

- Oh, that's a great kid, right - (inaudible) - Yes.

So Neil, what year is this now for book stock?

This is something you guys been doing for some time.

- Oh geez.

21 years, 22 I think?

- Is that right?

- It gets hard to count because we skipped a year or two with a, with the pandemic.

- Oh.

- But, but the excitement is still there.

The best awards like the one Syeda won., you know the winners announced on TV on Channel four.

And I I seeing that and it's great to see the kids the finalist essays are poster size on the wall and the winners are so excited.

They're literally jumping up and down and how great is it you know, you're a dad and you're a word guy.

How great is it to see kids so excited about reading and writing that they're jumping up and down.

- Yeah yeah - It's just fabulous - It doesn't happen all the time right.

- No - It's a lot of work, Brett.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

So, so Neil, I'm also curious if people have things that they want to give to book stock how do you do that?

- Well, we accept donations throughout the year.

We're not accepting anymore at this point because we're still frantically sorting and transporting through them all But there are always donation.

There's a donation button at books.mi.org.

So we would encourage people as soon as this one is over, keep an eye on that because we're very happy to get those books outta your basement and back in people's laps where they belong.

- Yeah, yeah.

I, I know that what's, what kind of interesting with my kids is they're teenagers now late teens and they're really into records.

They're really into albums which was the way I started listening to music when I was a kid.

And that went away.

But now it's super popular and I know you guys have a lot of of those for sale as well.

- Tons and tons and a lot of 'em are really collectibles.

A few years ago I got Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country in Western music, which is just a holy grail.

It's a legend.

- Yeah.

- In absolutely pristine condition for $2.

I think the price has gone I think we're charging a little more maybe $4 or something like that per vinyl now.

But there are just ama-, there are fines basically throughout end to end at Laurel Park place for this.

We don't have time to identify the really valuable stuff.

- Yeah right.

- So You know, people are basically - You gotta go through it - Gold mining throughout this whole thing.

We don't care, we just wanna sell books and raise money.

And if you find a $60 book that we're selling for $3 God bless you.

- Yeah.

- Tell your friends.

- Yeah.

Well, Neil, congrats again on Book Stock and Kenya and Syeda, Congrats on Syeda's Big win last year and maybe you'll get another winner this year.

- (inaudible) Thanks for being here on American Black Journal.

- Alright Thank You - Thank You Steven