Posted in Black Bookstore Adventures, Feature Spotlight, Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk..., On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-July 2024

We are deep into the summer as we close out another HOT month! You know I could not leave you without another list of literary goodies!! Plus it’s Leo Season! As we continue to dive into Summer let me make sure I share some more finds to get you through the next month! This list is packed with lots of romance, thriller, coming of age, some poetry, a literary manifesto, and trust me every one is a page turner!! So let’s not delay the wait any longer!!

Check out July’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:

  • Midnight Rooms ~Donyae Coles
  • Bluff: Poems ~Danez Smith
  • Beyond Policing ~Philip V. McHarris
  • Blessings ~Chukwuebuka Ibeh
  • Red at the Bone ~Jacqueline Woodson
  • Did Everyone Have An Imaginary Friend? (Or Just Me): Adventures in Boyhood ~Jay Ellis
  • Sounds Like a Plan ~Pamela Samuel Young & Dwayne Alexander Smith
  • Bridges Instead of Walls: The Story of Mavis Staples ~Carole Boston Weatherford and Mavis Staples

And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!

If you need a few recommendations check these out:

And just in case you needed this reminder ….. #ItsLeoSeason

Don’t forget you can always go back and check out previous lists in the “Resource” section of the website!

Posted in Monthly Book Recommendations, On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-June2024

Books on top of Books, this is definitely something that you will not see a shortage of whether in my home or office (especially recently!!). Nothing like adding a new literary treat to your rotation! As I prepare for my upcoming trip, I have a few books that will be getting me through my vacay!! As summer is officially here make sure you don’t forget to grab a book for you, one for your friend, and an extra for good measure!!

Check out June’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:

  • The Bookshop Sisterhood ~Michelle Lindo-Rice
  • The Rich People Have Gone Away ~Regina Porter
  • Daughter of the Merciful Deep ~Leslye Penelope
  • The Lion’s Den ~Iris Mwanza
  • Between Friends & Lovers ~Shirlene Obuobi
  • Blackheart Man ~Nalo Hopkinson
  • Do What Godmother Says ~L.S. Stratton
  • Rage: On Being Queer, Black, Brilliant and Completely Over It ~Lester Fabian Brathwaite
  • The Volcano Daughters ~Gina Maria Balibrera
  • The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read ~Rita Lorraine Hubbard & Oga Mora

And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!

Happy Black Music Month!! Happy Pride Month!! Happy Juneteenth!! and Happy Summer Solstice!!

Don’t forget you can always go back and check out previous lists in the “Resource” section of the website!

Posted in Celebration, Holiday Celebration!!

We are halfway through 2024…Welcome June!!

Can you believe it, we are halfway through the year!! Summer is right around the corner!!

As the month begins, check out what you can celebrate:

  • Black Music Month
  • LGBTQ Pride Month
  • National Cheese Day (June 4th)
  • National Ice Tea Day (June 10th)
  • National Loving Day (June 12th)
  • Father’s Day (June 16th)
  • Juneteenth (June 19th)
  • Summer Solstice (June 20th)

These are just a few holiday/observances to celebrate during the month of June!

And to kick off the and get you in the mood check out these smooth jazz tunes!

Posted in #30DaysofBlackJoy Series, Celebration, Monthly Book Recommendations, Resources

#30DaysofBlackJoy…Day 20-Celebrating Literary Black Joy (Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-June Edition)!!

I am truly a sucker for a good book. Getting caught up in a good book definitely brings me much joy!! Books on top of Books, this is definitely something that you will not see a shortage of whether in my home or office. Black joy is not limited to one idea, much like reading diversely is not limited to one genre of interest.

Thus, today’s #BlackJoy moment is all about celebrating Black literary work that encompasses Pride, Juneteenth, and Summer Solstice! Along with my monthly book recommendation list, I am including books that exude and channel Black Joy!!

Photo by nappy on Pexels.com

Black Joy Book List

  • The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman’s Journey to Every Country in the World ~Jessica Nabongo
  • It’s Not All Downhill From Here ~Terry McMillan
  • Open Water ~Caleb Azumah Nelson
  • Who Will You Be? by Andrea Pippins
  • Friday I’m in Love ~Camryn Garrett
  • A Lowcountry Bride ~Preslaysa Williams
  • You So Black by Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D
  • A Garden of Black Joy: Global Poetry from the Edges of Liberation and Living ~Black Table Arts
  • Meals, Music and Muses: Recipes from My African American Kitchen ~Alexander Smalls

——-

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-June Edition

  • Jubilee ~Margaret Walker
  • Power & Magic The Queer Witch Comics Anthology ~Edited by Joamette Gil
  • Black Queer Freedom : Spaces of Injury and Paths of Desire ~GerShun Avilez
  • Palmares by Gayl Jones
  • Light for the World to See: A Thousand Words on Race and Hope ~Kwame Alexander
  • Charming As a Verb ~Ben Philippe
  • The Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology ~Kianna Alexander, Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart, & Piper Huguley
  • Beasts of Prey & Beasts of Ruin ~Ayana Gray

Happy Pride Month!! Happy Juneteenth!! and Happy Summer Solstice!!

By sharing these lists I hope they bring you much joy as you read them and please feel free to share these awesome literary treats/books by Black authors with your friends and family!!

And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!

“Never be afraid to sit a while and think.” ~Lorraine Hansberry

Posted in Celebration, Holiday Celebration!!, On the Desk...

It’s Valentine’s Day!!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my BFF Family and Friends!! As a way of sharing my appreciation, here is a music playlist as well as film list to get you in the spirit!! Enjoy!!

Here is a playlist I created called “Black Love Through Music” on Spotify

And if you need a few suggestions of what to watch while cozied up on the couch, hanging out with that special someone, or with your crew check out this list of films to watch:

  • Claudine (1974)
  • Hav Plenty (1997)
  • How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
  • Brown Sugar (2002)
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
  • Rafiki (2018)
  • Naz & Maalik (2015)
  • Purple Rain (1984)
  • Carmen Jones (1954)
  • The Photograph (2020)
  • Breakin’ All The Rules (2004)
  • Nothing But A Man (1964)
  • Sylvie’s Love (2020)
  • Poetic Justice (1993)
  • Jason’s Lyric (1994)
  • Moonlight (2016)
  • Beyond the Lights (2014)
  • Really Love (2020)
  • I Will Follow (2010)
  • I Think I Love My Wife (2007)
  • Love Jones (1997)

Just a little something to get you in the mood for today and even for the rest of the week and month!! Happy V-Day!! Enjoy and Spread the Love!!

Photo by Djurdjina ph.djiz on Pexels.com
Posted in Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-January 2023

We are back for the new year!! And you know the recommendations don’t stop!! Got a fresh new slate of literary goodies to fill your book shelves!! I’m bringing you all the heat with this list!! Feel free to share with your friends!!

Check out January’s list below:

  • Boys Come First ~Aaron Foley
  • Land of Love and Drowning ~Tiphanie Yanique
  • On the Roof Top ~Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
  • American Spy ~Lauren Wilkinson
  • Grace ~Natashia Deón
  • The Keeper ~Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes
  • The Stars Beneath Our Feet ~David Barclay Moore
  • Beasts of Prey ~Ayana Gray

And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!

“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations…If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won’t exist because you’ll have already shut it out…You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.” —Mae Jemison

Posted in Feature Spotlight, On the Desk...

#BlackPanther:WakandaForever Celebration Week-Photo Shoot Ready!!

Just a little cover shoot for the fans!!

Today’s tribute/celebration is a collection of magazine covers featuring many of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members!! Simply stunning!!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members [Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Dominique Thorne, Danai Gurira, & Lupita Nyong’o] on the November/December 2022 issue of “EBONY”

Angela Bassett on the November 2022 issue of “Essence”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members [l-r Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright & Tenoch Huerta] (above) and tributes to Talokan and Wakandan culture (below) on the November 2022 issue of “Empire”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast member Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, & Danai Gurira [above] and individual covers [below] on the November 2022 issue of ELLE
Lupita Nyong’o on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Dominique Thorne, Letitia Wright, and Tenoch Huerta on the cover of “Entertainment Weekly”

Michaela Coel on the cover the November 2022 issue of “VOGUE”

See you tomorrow for the next #BP:WF goodie!!

Posted in Dr. G's Weekly Hot Topics, Feature Spotlight, On the Desk..., On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Weekly Hot Topics

And we are back with some new hot features!! A lot is happening in the world, and I’m all for sharing with you!! Check out this week’s new hot topics!!

  • History Being Made!! An E-Sports degree is coming to a South Carolina HBCU!! With the popularity of gaming and e-sports on the rise, as a billion dollar industry, it is only fitting that HBCU’s pick up the baton and make their mark in this arena. Two years in the making Benedict College is offering a major in E-Sports (to go along with their already existing esports gaming room), making it the first HBCU to do so.
Photo Credit: Benedict College
  • Looking for a southern-inspired meal on your next Delta flight, starting September 1st Delta Airlines travelers leaving out of Atlanta will be able to enjoy a variety of dishes curated by a Black Woman Chef, Mashama Bailey. Chef Bailey is a James Beard Foundation award-winning chef and also serves as the co-founder and Executive Chef of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia.
Chef Mashama Bailey
Some of the dishes that will be featured on the in-flight menu (Photo Credit: Delta Air Lines)
  • Making your way to DC anytime soon?? Well make sure you visit the 15 new murals that are part of DC’s 15th anniversary celebration of MuralsDC art program. The first mural (seen below) can be found on the parking lot of the Chik-fil-A on Maryland Ave. in NE DC. More of the installations will be housed in the “Art Allery” an art gallery in an alley on H Street.
MuralsDC first 15th anniversary mural (Photo Credit: MuralsDC)
  • Gospel singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson now has a dedicated public plaza named in here honor. Mahalia Jackson Court is an 8,500-square foot space housed on 1 E. 79th St. in Chatham, IL that will feature daily food trucks, music, curated art and a playscape for children. Visitors will also be able to check out a history display, which will feature various artifacts.
  • This past week it was announced that a prequel series revolving around the high profile Netflix show Bridgerton will showcase the glamorous and fierce Queen Charlotte just wrapped up production!! The show’s director Tom Verica announced it on his Twitter…
  • Imagining a Utopian Future for Queer Nigerians is a new idea being portrayed in Nigerian photographer Daniel Obasi’s latest book “Beautiful Resistance” an artistic collaboration with Louis Vuitton, which chronicles the LGBTQ+ experience in Lagos.
An image featured in Obasi’s newest book. (Photo credit: Daniel Obasi)
Posted in Feature Spotlight, Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-August 2022

It’s My Birthday Month!! Yay!! Nothing like celebrating another year of life…one full of blessings!!

Photo by Genaro Servu00edn on Pexels.com

This list right here…I’m really digging it!! Not just because it’s my Birthday month, but because these some hot literary joints!! One even has a film adaptation hitting theaters soon! But don’t take my word for it, check them out for yourself!!

  • The Silent Twins ~Marjorie Wallace
  • Golden Ax ~Rio Cortez
  • How You Grow Wings ~Rimma Onoseta
  • The Witchery ~S. Isabelle
  • The Black Period ~Hafizan Augustus Geter
  • The Getaway ~Lamar Giles

And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!

“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” ~Angela Davis

Posted in A Professor's Thoughts..., Monthly Book Recommendations, On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-February/Black History 2022

“We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans – because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings.” – Maya Angelou

Every month I always look forward to feature books for my followers, family, and friends to read. I am always on the lookout for books to add to my monthly lists, so much so that I had to create a file just for “Book Features”. Well this month is no different!! I found some goodies that I hope you will like and feel free to share with others!!

Check them out below:

As an added bonus this month, not only do you get February’s recommendation but also a special list just for #BlackHistoryMonth!!

And remember you can always go back and check out the previous month’s list and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!!

“Books are meat and medicine and flame and flight and flower,
steel, stitch, and cloud and clout, and drumbeats in the air.”

~Gwendolyn Brooks

~Dr. G