As summer comes to a close and fall approaches, grab a book or two to make the transition a smooth one. So as the month closes, see August’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
Blood in the Water ~Tiffany D. Jackson
This Motherless Land ~Nikki May
Colored Television ~Danzy Senna
Red Clay ~Charles B. Fancher
Weird and Wonderful You ~Zaila Avant-garde
The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic ~Lindsey Stewart
Sky Full of Elephants ~Cebo Campbell
The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them ~Ekow Eshun
When The Harvest Comes ~Denne Michelle Norris
Great Black Hope ~Rob Franklin
Sunstruck ~William Rayfet Hunter
Flirting Lessons ~Jasmine Guillory
As always, don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!
And remember, you can always go back and check out previous lists in the “Resource” section of the website!
Summer Breeze…Check….Sitting Poolside…Check…Good Book…Double Check!! Alright, good people, we are back with another edition of “Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations”! As always, there is a little something for everyone, even the kiddos!!
Check out July’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
You’ve Got a Place Here, Too: An Anthology of Black Love Stories Set at HBCUs ~Edited by Ebony Ladelle
If I Could Go Back ~Briana Johnson
The Girls Who Grew Big ~Leila Mottley
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler ~Susana M. Morris
King of Ashes ~S.A. Cosby
Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship ~Dana A. Williams
I Got You: A Brother’s Promise ~Derrick Barnes
Swing Time ~Zadie Smith
Lonely Crowds ~Stephanie Wambugu
As always, don’t forget to support your local bookstores!! Matter fact, for all my Chicago readers, or if you need to build out your bookstore network, check out these Black-owned bookstores in the Chi:
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:
Happy Tuesday!! You didn’t think I forgot about ya??!! Not at all!! April Showers bring May Flowers!! Well at least here in Richmond :-)!! As those rainy days turn into days full of sunshine, don’t forget to pick up a book or two to get you through the day! Closing out the month with some literary goodies!! And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!
Check out April’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:
Skin & Bones ~Renée Watson
Summer on Highland Beach ~Sunny Hostin
Little Rot ~Akwaeke Emezi
Sports Superheroes ~Stephen Curry
Great Expectations ~Vinson Cunningham
I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays ~Nell Irvin Painter
Come & Get It ~Kiley Reid
Allow Me To Introduce Myself ~Onyi Nwabineli
Anita De Monte Laughs Last ~Xochitl Gonzalez
One Of Us Knows ~Alyssa Cole
As an Extra Bonus…If you are in the Atlanta area, check out The Negro Motorist Green Book, an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor. This exhibition offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class and evidence of a vibrant business class. The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibit will be on display at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, GA till June 23rd, 2024…See More Info Here
(l-r and 1940 cover edition, “Separate but equal” in practice a separate “Negro Area” at Lewis Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, and founder/creator Victor Hugo Green, Photo Credit: New York Public Library copy and National Park Service)
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And as always, remember you can always go back and check out 2023’s lists and past recommendations in the “Resource” section of the website!
This is going to be an exciting week!! We jumped into a new month and many of our faves are returning to screens this week!! Even dropped a few late spring/early summer features!! Check out the latest trailers below:
Season 3-Abbott Elementary (Streaming on ABC February 7th)
The great thing about #BlackJoy is that it can be expressed in a wide variety of ways!! Depending on who you are, what you do, and how you feel, Black Joy has a way of changing the game!
This is particularly the case when it comes to movies. With the new releases of Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid and the animated Blockbuster Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse starring Miles Morales, it’s a great time to be Black in the Movies!!
Today’s Black Joy Moment is a snapshot compilation of movies that over time have embodied Black joy!!
Graduation Season is in effect! The school year is coming to a close. Travel Plans are being made! And Summer is just around the corner! With that said, it’s time for you to get your summer reading list together! And I am here to help you make some selections so that you can drift into that literary dreamstate!
Check out May’s List Below:
Last Summer on State Street ~Toya Wolfe
What the Fireflies Knew ~Kai Harris
Anywhere You Run ~Wanda M. Morris
The God of Good Looks ~Breanne McIvor
The Three of Us ~Ore Agbaje-Williams
Dances ~Nicole Cuffy
Before I Let Go ~Kennedy Ryan
You Think You Know Me ~Ayaan Mohamud
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!!
“Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.”
Black Future Feminist 