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Sci-fi/Fantasy Pop-up Club - October '26
Past event
Featured Book
The Language of Liars
"Pitch-perfect science fiction about linguistics and consequences. This book destroyed me."—Yoon Ha Lee, New York Times bestselling author of Ninefox Gambit
Speak another people's language. Know them. Become them.
And discover you've destroyed them.
In his training as a spy, Ro was warned: you will always be living a lie.
Jumping into a Star Eater's mind in the first place requires a moment of perfect psychic connection, and he has studied all his life to comprehend their species. Admires them, respects them, is reverent at the idea of being one of them—the only species physiologically capable of mining the element needed for lightyear-spanning space travel. The species all others crave to know more of, but who have notoriously shared so very little. The species Ro's own small civilization, with its dwindling resources and withering reach, needs to know more about.
It will feel real, his elders impressed upon him. It will never be real.
But Ro's certainty runs deep: he will be different. Ro will not be an imposter hiding the truth of his past, because his heart will be one of them. He will be one of them.
To understand is to become. It never occurs to him that the mere act of understanding can destroy.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
Join us for our second Sci-fi/Fantasy Pop-up Club meeting on Thursday, October 15th at 6:45pm. We'll be reading The Language of Liars by S L Huang.
Copies of the book are available at Queen Takes Book and can be purchased at 10% off in-store through October 15th. Use the code BOOKCLUB to get 10% off through our website. You can also order through Bookshop.org (hardcover or ebook) or Libro.fm (audiobook) to support local independent bookstores.
About the Venue
Queen Takes Book
We are Columbia, MD's only independent bookstore. We believe that everyone should be able to see themselves in the pages of a book and are committed to providing a welcoming environment for everyone who walks through our doors. Columbia is halfway in-between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., making us accessible to people from both of these cities. We have a robust slate of book clubs and also do on-site and off-site author events and book fairs.
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Works in Translation Club - November '26
Join us for our Works in Translation Club meeting on Monday, November 16th at 6pm. (This is a week later than usual.) We'll be reading Barbara Isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky (translated from German by Tim Mohr). Copies of the book are available at Queen Takes Book and can be purchased at 10% off in-store through November 16th. Use the code BOOKCLUB to get 10% off through our website. You can also order through Bookshop.org (paperback or ebook) to support local independent bookstores.
Sci-fi-Fantasy Pop-up Club - November '26
Join us for our final Sci-fi/Fantasy Pop-up Club meeting on Tuesday, November 17th at 6:45pm. We'll be reading The Second Death of Locke by V L Bovalino. Copies of the book are available at Queen Takes Book and can be purchased at 10% off in-store through November 17th. Use the code BOOKCLUB to get 10% off through our website. You can also order through Bookshop.org (paperback or ebook) or Libro.fm (audiobook) to support local independent bookstores.
Cushwa Winter Book Fair 2026
Come browse gift recommendations, wintry staff picks, new releases, and our 2026 winter reading guide! Queen Takes Book is so excited to be back at Cushwa & Rad Pies Taproom for our 2026 Winter Book Fair! We'll have copies of our new 2026 winter reading guide, Winter Wonderland, and plenty of copies of all of the books inside of it! We'll also have other wintry books, books that almost made the guide, and the biggest books of the season. This is the perfect place to pick up holiday gifts: for others or for yourself! This event is free to attend, but we kindly ask that you RSVP. We can't wait to see you there! Our winter reading guide is designed by the lovely and incredibly talented Sierra Lee! Be sure to check out her array of cards and other printed goods.