12 April 4 • 2019
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s a child, Neal Rubin loved
nothing more than being in
the family hammock, Dugout
Jinx or Fiery Fullback in hand. The
series featured Chip Hilton, a football/
basketball/baseball star who had pals
like “Biggie” Cohen and “Red,” plus a
swell girl, Mitzi, who was head cashier
at the drugstore. Best of all, Chip was a
stand-up guy who spoke
up when other kids were
bullied or excluded.
Today a columnist for
the Detroit News and
the longstanding honor-
ary chair of Bookstock,
Rubin remains loyal to
his boyhood buddy: He
still owns the entire Chip
Hilton series, and he gets
a bit sentimental when
talking about the happy
times he spent with those
books. But he notes that
eventually author Clair Bee could barely
stomach his annual obligation to chron-
icle Chip’
s wholesomeness, and the only
way he could write was to “lock himself
in his office for a week with his type-
writer and a case of whisky,” Rubin says.
These days Rubin opts for mysteries,
biographies and history when looking
for something to read, and his favorite
place to find them is at Bookstock, with
more than 300,000 gently used CDs,
DVDs, vinyl and, yes, books.
Bookstock opens Sunday, April 7, and
continues through April 14 at Laurel
Park Place, 37700 Six Mile Road in
Livonia.
The event is entering
into a new partnership
with JVS Human Services,
which will soon become
its institutional home.
Alycia Meriweather,
deputy superintendent
of the Detroit Public
Schools, is honorary
chancellor, and the Mike
Morse Law Firm is
Bookstock 2019’
s present-
ing sponsor.
Since its inception in
2002, Bookstock has raised more than
$2 million for literacy and education
projects throughout Michigan.
For the eighth year, Bookstock
will sponsor an essay contest for
fourth-graders where the winning stu-
dent, four runners-up and 10 honorable
mentions, along with all their teachers
and schools, receive a cash prize. The
awards ceremony, which Rubin will
host, will be broadcast live on WDIV
Local 4.
When Rubin heads to Bookstock, he
knows the crowd and he enjoys hearing
amazing stories, like the volunteer who
found a cake recipe, in her late moth-
er’
s handwriting, left in a cookbook.
Another woman bought every copy of
A Day in the Life of America because
it included a photo of her mother at a
water aerobics class. The mother had
since died, and seeing the picture was a
way for her daughter to reconnect.
Rubin will wander over to the
Bookstock history table, where he
might pick up a title about WWII. He’
s
always happy to find — “pounce on,” he
says — a book by a friend like the late
Elmore Leonard, or Love in the Driest
Season by Neely Tucker, the true story
of a couple who adopt a girl left to die
in a field in Zimbabwe. Rubin says he
was “sobbing” by the end.
A lot of times he’
ll buy something “I
didn’
t even know I wanted” and then
it becomes a favorite, like Brainiac:
Adventures in the Curious, Competitive,
Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by
Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings (“It’
s
screamingly funny,” Rubin says).
From Bookstock, titles find their way
to Farmington Hills where Rubin, the
father of two sons, lives with his wife,
Marcy Hayes. He’
s always reading four
books at the same time, so one will be
on his nightstand (now it’
s Killers of
the Flower Moon), one in the basement
for when he’
s doing laundry (“I’
m the
laundry god in our house”) and one in
the car, in case he’
s left waiting some-
where. Finally, he’
ll take one to work for
lunchtime because “Me, a sandwich and
a book; it’
s fabulous.” ■
For information about Bookstock:
(248) 645-7840, ext. 365.
Bookstock Honorary Chairperson
Neal Rubin opens the 2018 BEST
Awards ceremony.
jews d
in
the
Big, Bold, Bountiful –
and a lot of fun!
Journalist Neal Rubin discusses the many wonders of Bookstock,
opening April 7.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Bookstock:
In addition to books, Bookstock includes a large
collection of vinyl, DVDs and CDs.
Hours and Events
Sundays 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
EVENTS
• Pre-sale: Sunday, April 7, 8:15-11
a.m. ($20 admission charge)
• Monday Madness: Monday, April
8. The first 2,000 shoppers receive
giveaways and a chance to win a
$100 VISA gift card every hour.
• Teacher Appreciation Days:
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and
10. From 3-9 p.m., teachers (with a
valid
ID) receive 50 percent off.
• BEST Awards: Tuesday, April
9, 5 p.m.: Presented to Detroit
Public Schools Community District
fourth-graders who wrote the
top essays on “My Favorite Book
Character… and Why.”
• Bookbuster Days: Thursday and
Friday, April 11 and 12: From 3-9
p.m., buy three books and the
fourth (least expensive item) is free.
Plus: Spend $25 or more on either
night and be entered in a drawing
for skates signed by Olympic Gold
Medalist Meryl Davis; four tickets to
a Detroit Tigers game; or two grand-
stand tickets to the Chevrolet Detroit
Grand Prix presented by Lear.
• Cookstock: Saturday, April 13.
All cookbooks are half price, with
cooking and dining prizes awarded
throughout the day.
• Half-price Finale: Sunday, April 29: