Posted in Celebration, Monthly Book Recommendations, On The Radar, Resources

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-March 2024

It’s Women’s History Month and what better way to celebrate than by highlighting a few books by some AMAZING women writers!! Even put in a few extra ones for you!! And as always, Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Check out March’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:

  • How to Live Free in a Dangerous World ~Shayla Lawson
  • Colliding With Fate ~A.E. Valdez
  • Under the Udala Trees ~Chinelo Okparanta
  • So Let Them Burn ~Kamilah Cole
  • The Black Girl Survives in This One ~Edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell
  • With Love, Miss Americanah ~Jane Igharo
  • Believe ~Leigh-Anne Pinnock
  • Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now ~Dana L. Davis
  • Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix ~Ibi Zoboi
  • Night Wherever We Go ~Tracey Rose Peyton
Photo collage of March Book Recommendations

As an Extra Bonus…Got a ton of books, but need to organize them? How about “Quotes by Iconic Women Bookends” created by Kristen and Lindsey Archer! Some of the icons available to purchase include, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Michelle Obama, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Katherine Johnson, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Angela Davis, Sojourner Truth, Kamala Harris, Sonia Sotomayor, and Gloria Steinem. You can find these at Uncommon Goods.

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!

Posted in Monthly Book Recommendations, On the Desk..., On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-February 2024

As Black History Month comes to a close, I wanted to make sure you get a few literary gems to add to your cart!! An array of Black and diasporic stories waiting to be read!! Don’t forget to support your local bookstores!!

Check out February’s Monthly Book Recommendations below:

  • The Neighbor Favor ~Kristina Forest
  • Long Way Down ~Jason Reynolds
  • Rise To The Sun ~Leah Johnson
  • How to Die Famous ~Benjamin Dean
  • Blood at the Root ~Ladarrion Williams
  • The Church on Ruby Road ~Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
  • Legendborn ~Tracy Deonn
  • Shubeik Lubeik~Deena Mohamed
Photo Collage of February’s Book Recommendations

As an Extra Bonus...Check out this queer Black indie bookstore in Vancouver, Washington, The Romance Era Bookshop!! Check out a quick tour from their IG page below:

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

Posted in Monthly Book Recommendations, On The Radar

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-May 2023

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.”

—Mary McLeod Bethune

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

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Dr. G’s “Top 22” Books of 2022

Keeping up with my tradition from 2020 and 2021 I have compiled my ‘Top 22’ books from this year!! I feel like I always have an endless supply of books, you can never have too many! Plus I love seeing my library grow!!

This year I added a few graphic novels that caught my attention during one of my many travels this year!!

All in all, I love sharing some of my top reading faves!! As I always say, ‘sharing is caring.’

So in no particular order, here is my Top 22 List of Books for 2022!!

  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever the Courage to Dream ~Frederick Joseph
  • The Keeper ~Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes
  • Take My Hand ~Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough ~Candice Marie Benbow
  • The Silent Twins ~Marjorie Wallace
  • The Light We Carry ~Michelle Obama
  • Black Disability Politics ~Sami Schalk
  • Riding Jane Crow:African American Women on the American Railroad ~Miriam Thaggert
  • Finding Me ~Viola Davis
  • Walking in My Joy In These Streets ~Jenifer Lewis
  • Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community ~Vanessa M. Holden
  • Tuskegee Ghost ~Benjamin Von Eckartsberg
  • I Rise ~Marie Arnold
  • Black Cake ~Charmaine Wilkerson
  • Memphis ~Tara M. Stringfellow
  • Pet ~Akwaeke Emezi
  • Trust ~Daines L. Reed
  • The Final Revival of Opal & Nev ~Dawnie Walton
  • The Sweetness of Water ~Nathan Harris
  • Don’t Cry For Me ~Daniel Black
  • The ABCs of Black History ~Rio Cortez
  • We Travel the Spaceways ~Victor LaValle
Posted in Uncategorized

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations- Holiday Edition/December 2022

Happy Holidays!! As we close out another year, I have one more list of recommendations to close out!! This month’s list is split with a little holiday flair!

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

Check out December’s list below:

  • A Coastline is an Immeasurable Thing ~Mary-Alice Daniel
  • On Rotation ~Shirlene Obuobi
  • Black on Black: On our Resilience and Brilliance in America ~Daniel Black
  • The Sugar Jar: Create Boundaries, Embrace Self-Healing, and Enjoy the Sweet Things in Life ~Yasmine Cheyenne
  • Shot Clock ~Caron Butler & Justin A. Reynolds
  • An American Story ~Kwame Alexander
  • I’m Dreaming of Brown Christmas ~Steve Gray and Vernon D. Gibbs
  • Christmas Soul: African American Holiday Stories ~Allison Samuels
  • Mim’s Christmas Jam ~Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Soulful Holidays: An inclusive rhyming story celebrating the joys of Christmas and Kwanzaa ~Ciara Hill

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 are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” — Gwendolyn Brooks

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

Dr. G’s Monthly Book Recommendations-May 2022

Photo by Rovelyn Camato on Pexels.com

So we are almost half way through 2022, but the reading doesn’t stop. Before I get you ready for your summer reading, just want to finish out the spring with some breezy balcony and patio reading. This month’s list is all over the globe…literally, I figured I would share a few treats by giving you some historical references, a little bit of self-preservation and cultural identity, mixed with a dash of U.S. midwest and Caribbean roots, and topping you off with some sassy satire.

  • Jameela Green Ruins Everything ~Zarqa Nawaz
  • Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations ~Mira Jacob
  • Olga Dies Dreaming: A Novel ~Xochitl Gonzalez
  • The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family ~Bettye Kearse
  • American Street ~Ibi Zoboi

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 write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained. ~Nikki Giovanni