It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Time to buy a book by somebody black and give it to somebody not black. What, you say you haven't heard of National Buy a Book By a Black Author and Give it to Somebody Not Black Month? Well, it goes way back to 2008 when I proposed it as a way for everybody to introduced to books by black people. It seemed that there were some (mostly) white readers who felt that if the book was written by someone black and/or the people on the cover were black then the book wasn't for them. So publishers would promote a book with black characters written by a white author to all readers, but a book with black characters written by a black author would be promoted to black readers with the hopes that it would "cross over" and become popular enough that it could be then promoted to everyone.

Want suggestions for some good new books by black authors? Just look around. Over the last four years I and readers have suggested hundreds of great books. If you have a specific question about someone you're shopping for, leave a question in the comments and I will do my best to recommend a few that might work. Happy Holidays!

Good books for holiday gifts

It's that time of year again. In 2008 I launched a campaign to promote the idea of giving books by black authors to non-blacks for the holidays. In 2009 I offered a list of gifts for the 12 Days of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa--12 days, 12 books.

Three years later, it still seems like a good idea. But I fear I lack the energy to do it justice this year. Last year, I was able to pull off a big giveaway of books and guest posts by bloggers, but this year I'm feeling pretty wiped out. So I offer this round up of links for folks who like the idea and want to tell others. Please tweet your little hearts out. Book bloggers please link away.


My top 10 reasons you should read a book by a black author. And a few more for good measure.

Fall 2011 book releases and some cool books from this spring, which would make great gifts.

Over the last few years, I've run Q&As with 20 authors. You can learn about them and their books here.

I've run a bunch of reviews from guest authors of fiction and nonfiction.

I made a video welcoming everybody into the African American section of the bookstore (if your bookstore has one).

Here are Ernessa T. Carter's summer book suggestions and her list from last Christmas.

And some good books for kids, recommended by Denene Millner and by Heidi Durrow. The Happy Nappy Bookseller also offers a great list of great gift book ideas for children and young adults on her blog.

But wait, there's more! Fiction and poetry suggestions from Tara Betts.

What books are you buying this holiday season? If you have other suggestions for books that would make great gifts, let us know in the comments. Thanks!

Holiday musings from Andrea King Collier

Andrea King Collier is a Michigan based journalist and author. Her books are Still With Me… A Daughter’s Journey of Love and Loss, and The Black Woman’s Guide to Black Men’s Health. Leave a comment below if you'd like to win a signed copy of her memoir.

Below are her tips for readers on what books to buy and where to buy them and for authors on how to get more readers:

When I think of the holidays I think of joy. (Really, I think about being overwhelmed with the trappings of joy-shopping, parties, getting the Christmas cards out the door.) I also get joyful thinking about how many Black writers are doing their thing, and the hopes that we will all find new readers.

As White readers venture into more stories about Black characters, they embrace few stories by Black authors. And as you find new Black authors that you like, tell your friends. The Black experience is deeper, wider and more compelling than just reading The Help, or the Secret Life of Bees. Read Wench by Dolen Perkins Valdez. Read Carleen’s two fabulous books. Try Sugar or Glorious by Bernice McFadden.  Check out 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter. Into the supernatural? Then read Tananarive Due’s books. Buy a cookbook by Marcus Samuelsson or the Neelys. Want to understand our President? Read his books.  Ask your Black co-worker what he or she is reading and why they like that author. If they tell you Beverly Jenkins, don’t hesitate to swoop it up.

Black authors, expand your lane. We complain a lot about where our books are placed, and who does and doesn’t review our books. This wild, wild West of publishing means that a lot of the gatekeepers are gone. Between Facebook, Twitter, the ability to set up your own interviews and reach out to new audiences with your blogs, you get to create a groundswell of people coming into stores and going on line to buy your book. The “If you build it, they will come” mentality is gone baby gone. Do the hustle.

All readers, as you shop for books for yourself and for others, honor the independents, including Black bookstores with your business. This is not only a critical time for writers, it is a make or break time for independents. If we don’t support them now, we will bemoan their closing and what they did for us in the future. This holiday buy a few books, or all your books from an indie. The big box stores are convenient. Every dollar you spend via a visit to, or an online order to stores like Hue-Man in Harlem,  or the Shrine of the Black Madonna helps authors who often get few venues to read and sell. It means that you support community hubs where people come together to talk about health, spirituality, love, economic power and hope. It means that you are investing in the future of books.

Most of all readers, please keep reading. Writers keep working on craft. Make it as good as it can be, then take a good deep breath and go back in and make it better. Here’s wishing you a bright shiny reading/writing holiday and a delicious New Year.

Martha Southgate's advice for writers & recommendations for readers

Martha Southgate is the author of four novels, most recently Third Girl From the Left (one of my all-time favorites, a love letter to the movies, and these glowing reviews tell why). Her new novel will be published by Algonquin Books in 2011.

If you haven't read Third Girl From the Left I envy you because you are in for a treat! Leave Martha a comment below and maybe you'll win a signed copy. If you don't, run, don't walk, to your nearest book store or device and buy it. Actually, go get it now anyway. If you end up winning another copy, you can give away the one you bought. Martha is also one of the co-founders of ringShout, a place for black literature. Check out that blog and also her guest post below on writing and reading:

The past year, I’ve been working the first full-time day job that I’ve had in many years (I know, I know, I’ve been lucky that I haven’t had to do that sooner). The hours are not oppressive and there is no Blackberry involved but still, I’ve had trouble getting my new novel started. My wish for the new year for myself--and for any writers out there who are facing the same dilemma—is time, discipline and kindness to ourselves. Do what you can and do make a schedule for writing that you stick to as much as possible (I gotta get on that myself). But don’t hate yourself when you fall off course. Just get going again.

On a related note, I believe it’s as important to keep reading as it is to write. Whenever I meet a “writer” who says they don’t have time to read, frankly, I dismiss them out of hand. If you don’t read, you can’t write. Period. And for those of you who are readers alone: thank you. We couldn’t make it without you. So for all the readers and writers out there, here are three of my favorite books by black authors that were published this year:

God Says No by James Hannaham. This first novel is the story, both touching and hilarious, of Gary Gray, a staunch fundamentalist Christian with one big problem. He's gay. The story of how he fights it (unsuccessfully) is one of the most original of the year.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans This young writer has received plenty of attention for this first collection of stories--and she deserves it. These stories rock! Read 'em yourself and see.

[Carleen here: Ron Charles, the Washington Post books editor, reviews Evans' collection and has an interesting discussion (with himself) about who should review black authors.]



Substitute Me by Lori Tharps. Read this one with your book club and watch the sparks fly. This is pop fiction with some heavy themes about race, class, and what happens when rearing your own child becomes something you outsource.

Whatever holiday(s) you celebrate--celebrate them with a book! And, as Tiny Tim once said," God bless us, every one."

Ernessa T. Carter recommends books for everybody on your list

Or at least a good chuck of the people on your list. Ernessa is the author of the novel 32 CANDLES, which I would recommend for sisters, bffs, and anyone who hearts funny romantic reads. Read below and leave Ernessa a note and maybe you'll win a signed copy of one of my favorite books of 2010!

Here are her suggestions:


Oh, I just heart books to death, and I’ve felt especially lucky this year, because so many awesome books have come out. Here’s my gift suggestion list -- and make sure to click on the links to read my book reviews for all but one of these suggestions from earlier in the year:


For the young woman, feminist or literate sci-fi nerd on your list: WHO FEARS DEATH by Nnedi Okorafor was not only my favorite book of the year, but also my favorite main character of the year. This book has it all: an intriguing future landscape, a powerful and fierce lead, and an epic love story. If it were up to me, this book would be added to the high school canon. But sadly, more girls will be encouraged to read LORD OF THE FLIES than this book which actually portrays young black women in a complex and powerful way. So if you know any teenagers whose parents won’t freak out about them reading a book with sex in it, please do them the favor of gifting them with this stunning novel.

For the academic on your list: I’ve been telling everybody that WENCH by Dolen Perkins-Valdez needs to be on college syllabi across the nation. It’s a amazing feat of historical fiction: well-written, suspenseful, and a page-turner. Seriously, when was the last time you just couldn’t put down a piece of historical fiction?

For the person who’s always complaining that books about Africa are too heavy:Actually that person would be me, so how pleased was I to find AYA by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie, a graphic novel, about three young girls living, learning, and loving in a 1970s-era Ivory Coast town? Along with BAYOU by Jeremy Love and INCONEGRO by Mat Johnson, I think this forms a triumvirate of black graphic novel must-haves.

For the mom or dad on your list: I found that the non-fiction COME TO WIN by Venus Williams and Kelly E. Carter, inspired me to be both a better person and a better parent. This book is basically a collection of essays in which successful people (Jack Welch, Bill Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Vera Wang, Phil Knight, and Denzel Washington are just a few of the “names” in this book) talk about how playing sports shaped their future career wins.  It’s a fascinating collection and best read slowly in my opinion.

For your BFF mom friend: I’ve been suggesting that no working mom read SUBSTITUTE ME  by Lori Tharps alone as it will only frustrate you if you don't have someone to talk with about it immediately after finish it. This is a compelling read for working moms and a real conversation-starter. So do yourself a favor. Get a copy for you and your BFF mom friend, read it at the same time, then book a lunch date to discuss it.

So those are my book recs for the holiday season. Let me know which books you’re giving away as gifts this year



Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

etc

Keith Andrew Perry's WAR ANTHEM

Keith was to participate in the holiday action over here, but he has suffered the loss of his 20-year-old son, and I don't expect he'll be writing any blog posts anytime soon. I wanted to put his book up to let y'all know about it (here's an interview and his Facebook fan page) and to say if you can, order a copy. This gesture isn't meant to dispel any of his sorrow, but we do what we can. Do keep him and his family in your prayers. RIP Keith Andrew Perry, Jr.

Heidi Durrow recommends books about mixed-race and black children

Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, names three must-have titles for people looking for books about mixed-race and African American children for holiday gifts. Leave a comment and you could win a signed copy of Heidi's book, which explores the life of a young half-black, half-Danish girl.

Heidi says:

I'm always on the lookout for diverse books for kids. This year I have some must-buy titles for the young folks I know:

1. Amy Hodgepodge (series) by Kim Wayans & Kevin Knotts. This wonderful series about a young girl who is African-American, Japanese, Korean and white will delight young readers with the lively stories and fun illustrations by Soo Jeong.

2. Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck. This wonderful photo book tells a tale in pictures that is worth a thousand words. Kip Fulbeck's vibrant portraits of mixed kids of every stripe and polka dot are an affirmation to kids who may not see themselves reflected anywhere but their own mirror. Best of all are the responses the kids give to describe who they are. One writes: "I like being a kid because you have a bigger mind to be different things. I don't want to be anyone else but me." The book is also an exhibit touring the country. Don't miss it if it's in a town near you!

3. Good Fortune by Noni Carter. Penned by the precocious and dynamic Noni Carter who published the book as a freshman at Harvard, Good Fortune is a great read for high schoolers. The story of a slave who yearns for and then enjoys freedom, Good Fortune is an enchanting tale. All the more so because it was written by such a talented young woman! Can't wait for more from her!

Check out a video with Ms. Carter in which she explains the inspiration for her novel.

Poet Tara Betts recommends books for the holidays

Tara Betts is author of Arc & Hue. Leave her a comment in this post if you'd like to win a free, autographed copy of her debut poetry collection (read a review here).

Everything below is from Tara:

The holidays always mark a lull for me that lets me read uninterrupted. Here are a few of the titles on my shelf that I thought might be good holiday gifts in fiction, poetry and books for kids. I’ll be curling up with them to avoid the cold this season.

The Fiction Section

Some Sing, Some Cry by ntozake shange & Ifa Bayeza is the first collaborative novel between these sisters. Bayeza is an accomplished playwright, and shange is the author of for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.

Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa tells the story of several generations of an Afro-Puerto Rican family facing their struggles and relying on traditions that affirm them. I heard Llanos-Figueroa speak and read from this novel. Her words on page and in person are lush and intense.


How to Escape from a Leper Colony by Tiphanie Yanique is a debut collection of short stories. This is on my winter reading list, but if her prize-winning chapbook “The Saving Work” is any indication of how amazing this collection is, then it’s worth reading!

The Poetry Section

I devour poetry, so, here are some collections I’d like to share.

Kaffir Lily by Bianca Spriggs is a debut collection filled with visceral lines and rich images.

Running the Dusk by Christian Campbell is another first poetry collection that recently won the U.K.’s coveted Aldeburgh Prize.

Ruth Forman’s Prayers Like Shoes is her third collection. Prayers Like Shoes is published by Whit Press, a small press for work by women involved with the Hedgebrook writers retreat.

Thomas Sayers Ellis’ Skin, Inc. is his second collection that features varied images by the author. Ellis topples the well-worn notions of identity politics and performance poetry.

Conversion by Remica Bingham won the Naomi Long Madgett Prize a couple of years ago, but I think this is a book that speaks as a close observer of the world who notices family, history, land and the literature that shaped her.



Books for Young Readers

I recommend Virginia Hamilton’s The People Who Could Fly, She Stories, and Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush since Christmas is for the kids! Keep Climbing, Girls by the late Beah Richards is a book that I’ve given to little girls that I know. It may be good for the women and girls in your life too. If you don’t know Beah Richards, she gave the moving monologue in movie “Beloved” about loving and kissing your own hands.

I’m looking forward to checking out Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon. This fictional account of young Zora Neale Hurston as a detective has me excited about her adventures. I haven’t seen a young black detective since Billy Jo Jive and Suzy Sunset were on “Sesame Street.”

Cyber Monday links

Participating in Cyber Monday? Check out these links for some great places to shop for books online:

Agate Publishing/Bolden
Akashic Books
Audible.com
Beacon Press
Black Expressions Book Club
CushCity.com
The Dock Bookshop 
Eso Won Book Store
Hue-Man Experience Bookstore & Cafe
IndieBound
Inkwell Bookstore
Lee & Low Books
Mahogany Books
MosaicBooks.com
Powell's Books
Plenary Publishing 
Tattered Cover Book Store
West Side Books

Buy books for the holidays!

A Christmas memory from Cheri Paris Edwards

Happy Black Friday, y'all! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you're shopping till you're dropping today, make sure to pick up a few books to celebrate NBABBABAAGITSNBM.

Following is a guest post from Cheri Paris Edwards, who will be giving away a copy of her brand new novel THE OTHER SISTER. (You can read an excerpt here.) Leave her a comment and share a holiday memory of your own or suggest a book we should all read. A winner will be chosen at random and announced on December 20th.



It was clear Christmas was Mama’s favorite time of the year as soon as you stepped inside her home. Sparkling white lights draped over fragrant sprigs of eucalyptus and glowing candlelight brightened the rooms. Fat gold ribbon curled in oversized champagne glasses sitting on tabletops and Mama perched on her white couch like the queen of her own kingdom, instructing us kids to do whatever was needed. Mama didn’t fool us though. We sibs knew that she was really a princess—a girl of a woman, who believed in fairy tales AND the Lord.

When Mama became ill two years ago, we all took turns helping her. In the hospital, she refused to let nurses bathe her, telling them, “My daughters will do it.” And, we did. Once she was home, we stayed with her in shifts. We never could figure out if she couldn’t do things for herself or wouldn’t. To some extent we had waited on Mama a long time and we wondered if maybe she just got used to depending on others, but we cared for her anyway. Mama lived a year and 6 months past the Mother’s Day Sunday when she lost consciousness in my sister’s garage. My sister told me as we prepared for her funeral that Mama said Jesus sent her back that day, that’s when she heard the two of us praying, and we saw her body snap back to life.

Today as I drove passed my mailbox I wished it held one of Mama’s handwritten cards—the ones I didn’t even open sometimes. I miss you, Mama.

My newest book, “The Other Sister” is dedicated to my Mother.

Denene Millner recommends books for kids

The following is from Denene, who will give away signed copies of three children's books she's authored or served as editorial consultant on:

Miss You, Mina, by Denene Millner

My Brother, Charlie, by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Peete
March On, by Christine King Farris

Read below and leave Denene a comment for a chance to win! Feel free to chime in and tell us what children's books you are giving this year. You have until December 20th to leave your comment. Denene will send the books in January. Thanks much Denene!

Why I Buy Children's Books by Black Authors and Why You Should Too

I hated bugs, so playing in the backyard wasn’t an option. And my parents, who worked and slept and worked around the clock, didn’t have time to entertain me, so being taken to the park or bowling or the museum hardly ever happened—if at all. And I didn’t have many friends, so there was that. Books were my refuge. My babysitters. My BFFs. Judy Blume. Beverly Cleary. Frances Hodges Burnett. Their worlds, their spirits, their thoughts, their shenanigans—all of it made me… happy.

I never really noticed that none of the characters looked like me. There were no black girls, no cornrows, no thick lips and chocolate kisses and double-dutch rhymes on the library shelves or at the bookstore at the mall or in the cleverly-wrapped boxes under our Christmas tree. It just was what it was.

So long ago, it was what it was.

But when I got pregnant with my first baby, I promised that this didn’t have to be her reality—that my child didn’t have to spend the most impressionable part of her life missing and longing for herself in the pages of the best gifts I could ever give her: literature. And before she made her big debut on this sweet Earth, she had a shelf full of books, many of them books that featured characters that looked like her: Ezra Jack Keats’ “The Snowy Day,” “Goggles,” “and Whistle For Willie”; Vera B. Williams’ “More, More, More Said the Baby”; Faith Ringold’s “Tar Beach,” Nikki Giovanni’s “The Sun Is So Quiet,” Donald Crews’ “Big Mama,” Andrea Davis Pinkney’s “Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra.” Admittedly, the pickings were slim. But I found them.

Some eleven years later, the pickings are still slim. I mean, presumably there are more books for, about and by children of color being published today than there were back in 1999, for sure. But finding them is about as elusive as a towheaded elf beneath a four-leaf clover. I swear, at least once a week I find myself standing in Borders or Barnes & Noble, watching some unsuspecting clerk search in vain for children’s books featuring black characters, knowing full well they’re not there. Their exasperation with the search always leads to a heart-felt discussion about why the store doesn’t bother to carry black children’s books (they insist no one buys them; I suggest that it’s impossible to buy something that isn’t available for purchase), which inevitably leads to me lecturing about how important it is for stores, librarians, teachers and parents to recognize that books featuring children of color not only can help make black kids fall in love with the written word, but, in the most basic of ways, give white children an up close and personal view into the worlds of little people who don’t look like them, but, in many ways, are just like them. I wrote about that last point in a piece for the MyBrownBaby page on Parenting.com, in which I fessed up to integrating the bookshelves of my children’s white friends by giving them black books for birthdays, Christmas and, well, just because:

My hope is when I pass along a black children's book or a black doll baby to my daughters' friends, that they get the same subliminal lessons -- that brown children matter. Books like "Ruby and the Booker Boys" speak to our experiences and show both our differences and our commonalities with white culture. Introducing books like these to white children is the most simple, basic way to introduce a child to another race in a positive, thoughtful way. A white child introduced to Ruby may not necessarily say, "Oh look! A black girl is the star of this book!" when she reads it. She might not notice the character's color at all. But she just might decide to make friends with a little black girl out on the playground because she looks like the character in the book she liked. And since she really liked that book, she'll probably really like that little girl, too. Children really are that simple. That uncomplicated…

And really, it is that uncomplicated. Debbie Allen’s “Dancing in the Wings” is every bit as poignant a tale about self-esteem as, say, Jamie Lee Curtis’s “I’m Gonna Like Me,”  just as Derrick Barnes’ “Ruby and the Booker Boys” series is as sassy and humorous and identifiable as Beverly Cleary’s “Ramona” books. But black children hardly know this because the black stories are hardly ever made available to them and white children are clueless about it because no one ever fixes their mouths to suggest them as good books they might enjoy.

And that is the shame of it all.

And so this Christmas, I’ll be stashing black children’s books in as many gift bags as I can, donating them to as many charitable causes as I can find, and requesting them as additions to my own incredible and burgeoning black children’s book collection. Here’s what I’ll be purchasing for my sweet little friends:

The Ruby and the Booker Boys series, by Derrick Barnes

Tar Beach, by Faith Ringold

Homemade Love, by bell hooks

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past, by Jacqueline Woodson

The Gospel Cinderella, by Joyce Carol Thomas

Olu's Dream, by Shane Evans

Precious and the Boo Hag, by Patricia McKissack

Whistle for Willie, by Ezra Jack Keats


A Chair For My Mother, by Vera B. Williams


The Willimena Rules! series, by Valerie Wilson Wesley

Zora and Me, by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon

We Could Be Brothers, by Derrick Barnes

Miss You, Mina, by Denene Millner

My Brother, Charlie, by Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Peete

Black Authors ♥ Readers

Next month marks the third annual celebration of National Buy a Book By a Black Author and Give it to Somebody Not Black Month. The purpose of NBABBABAAGITSNBM is to spread the word about all the great books by black authors that your friends, coworkers and neighbors may not know about. For the last 2 years, I've listed books that I planned to give for holiday presents. This year, I wanted to do something bigger and better.

I want to say thank you. Thank you to all the readers here who have given this blog experiment a chance. Thanks to all of you who've left comments and sent emails. Most important: thanks to all of you who've bought a book that you learned about here.

Other writers want to say thank you for your support, as well. So between now and December 20, we'll have guest bloggers talking about their favorite holiday gift books or some other related topic AND giving away an autographed copy of their book. Writers who've agreed to participate so far include:

Tara Betts
Martha Southgate
Bernice McFadden
Heidi Durrow
Lori Tharps
Keith Andrew Perry
Trisha R. Thomas
Ernessa T. Carter
Denene Millner

To kick us off, I'm giving away a copy of Children of the Waters to a commenter on this post. The person will be chosen at random. Deadline to comment is Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 5 pm MST.

Please spread the word to buy black books this holiday season! And, if you like quirky reads like I do, join the Quirky Brown Reading Challenge 2011.

Guest blog: Stacy Hawkins Adams' Christian fiction recommendations

Journeys of faith are as unique as the individuals traveling them. 

Just as one style of worship and set of religious practices don’t resonate with every Christian, neither would one type of Christian fiction novel.

Since writers hail from all walks of life and varying connections to God, so do our expressions of that faith in our fictional work.

In fiction, few of us are trying to preach. We want our characters to “reveal” biblical truths or convey lessons simply by being and doing. Readers are invited to enjoy our stories and take whatever messages they will. Some novels will simply entertain while others may sear your soul.

The beauty of this genre is that rather than cookie-cutter stories that all end the same, readers who search hard enough can find writers whose books engage them and challenge them as much as books from any other genre.

Consider adding the Christian fiction novels below to your gift list this Christmas:

· The Ideal Wife by Jacquelin Thomas – Bestselling author Jacquelin Thomas pushes the envelope in this novel by addressing the swingers’ lifestyle and what happens when one woman casts aside her morals and faith for the sake of what she believes is love.

· Sins of the Father by Angela Benson - This compelling novel shares the story of a wealthy media mogul who has a secret second family. When Abraham Martin’s conscience gets the best of him, he – and his families – must face the consequences of his choices and learn to forgive.

· This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti – This classic Christian thriller is an action-packed story of spiritual warfare between the forces of good and evil. Readers will finish this book with a deeper understanding of the power and importance of prayer.

· Blessed Trinity by Vanessa Davis Griggs – In this novel, the oldest of three sisters perfects a façade of success and happiness, when in reality she has spent her life guarding a terrible secret. Readers will keep turning pages to find out when and how she’ll handle the truth, and whether it will destroy her or strengthen her faith.

· Chosen by Patricia Haley – Sibling rivalry rears its head in this novel when the leader of a multi-million dollar ministry decides that his younger son rather than his firstborn should take the helm of the organization. The two half brothers and their mothers plot and scheme over who will have final control. Their actions remind readers that authentic faith in God doesn’t hinge on titles and power.

· The Rivers Run Dry by Sibella Giorello – In this Christian fiction mystery, a flawed FBI agent struggles to settle into a new assignment while dealing with a boss who dislikes her and while helping her mother through a personal crisis. Readers can relate to Raleigh Harmon’s imperfections yet still be intrigued by her work and her efforts to find a missing woman.

· The Bishop’s Daughter by Tiffany Warren – Bestselling author Tiffany Warren reflects our culture’s disdain for Christians through her journalist character Darrin Bainbridge, who decides to tell the “truth” about Hollywood ministers by exposing one bishop’s fraud. Darrin’s plans are complicated when he falls in love with the minister’s daughter.

· The Face by Angela Hunt – In this intriguing novel, a severely deformed woman who has been hidden in a CIA facility since birth and used to help the government accomplish certain goals, is discovered by a long-lost aunt. The aunt helps her reclaim her life and decide, for the first time ever, who she wants to be and for whom she wants to live.

· Lady Jasmine by Victoria Christopher Murray – The latest novel by Victoria Christopher Murray, who is credited with birthing the African American Christian fiction genre, tells the story of Jasmine, a character from Murray’s previous novels who has a history of scheming and lying. Jasmine has promised her minister husband she’ll keep no more secrets from him. She tells all but one horrible truth – the one that now leaves her facing blackmail.

There should be something in this eclectic mix of Christian fiction novels for most book lovers on your list. Some of the titles are overt in sharing messages of faith while others use Christianity as an undertone. Choose a genre –mystery, suspense or romance, for example - that your book lover already appreciates and you won’t go wrong.

Stacy Hawkins Adams is an Essence bestselling Christian fiction author, freelance journalist and inspirational speaker. Her sixth novel, Dreams That Won’t Let Go, will be released in January. Other titles include The Someday List, Watercolored Pearls and Worth a Thousand Words. Visit her website to read excerpts of her work: www.StacyHawkinsAdams.com

There can be only one

Reading some of the "best of 2009" book lists I'm starting to wonder if African American authors aren't Highlanders. It seems like there can be only one of us per list (that is, if any of us are allowed through the golden gates at all). I have to say I feel a little sorry for Colson Whitehead. If there can be only one black author standing at the end of the game, you know it's going to be Dr. Morrison! (Actually.... Could she be...? Naaah!)

What books or authors would be on your Best of 2009 list? On your list there can be as many authors of color as you want! And let's show 'em how it's done: we'll even let white writers on our lists too. Of course, their books have to be really, really good. *wink*

My "Notable Books of 2009" include:

Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts Jr.
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
Big Machine by Victor LaValle
Hold Love Strong by Matthew Aaron Goodman
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
I Am Not Sydney Portier by Percival Everett
The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis
Jailbait Zombies by Mario Acevedo
Kiss the Sky by Farai Chideya
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen


While I was feeling like a list-making fool, I created a list of 50 Black Book Gift Ideas at IndieBound. Fiction & nonfiction; a little something for almost everybody. I didn't include kids' books. If you want kids' books suggestions check out The Brown Book Shelf and Happy Nappy Bookseller. They know their stuff!

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Mother's Day Book Recommendations

If you're shopping for books for *Mom, check these out:

For a single mom: Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story by Asha Bandele. From the book: "Something Like Beautiful is not only Asha's story, but the story of thousands of women who struggle daily with little help and much against them, and who believe they have no right to acknowledge their pain. Ultimately, drawing inspiration from her daughter, Asha takes account of her life and envisions for herself what she believes is possible for all mothers who thought there was no way out--and then discovered there was."

 

For a mom who enjoys murder mysteries: Blackbird Farewell by Robert Greer. A Denver Nuggets basketball player has been murdered, and his family and friends (including some Mob guys and private investigators) try to unravel who did it.

For a mom who want stories about how hard it can be to be a mom: Jump at the Sun by Kim McLarin. This stay-at-home mother is overwhelmed and unhappy. Will she abandon her kids or will she stay with them? It's a complex story done very well.

For gay moms, moms of mixed-race kids or children of a different race from them, activist moms and others: Who's Your Mama? The Unsung Voices of Women and Mothers a collection edited by Yvonne Bynoe

For a spiritual mom: Meeting Faith by Faith Adiele. "In Meeting Faith, Adiele recounts her transformation from cultural anthropologist to spiritual novice, from over-achieving multi-tasker to quiet contemplator....She ells difficult stories bravely, with both dignity and humor...." - Pam Houston, O Magazine

For a nerdy mom: Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead. It's on sale today and I'm picking up my copy! (Go here for more, including book trailer.)

For your sister: Sisters and Lovers by Connie Briscoe (Get her caught up in time for the sequel coming in June, Sisters & Husbands!)-a fun, satisfying novel that readers of Terry McMillan or Jennifer Weiner will enjoy.

For a grandmom or auntie: Life is Short but Wide by J. California Cooper. 91-year-old Hattie Brown tells her story of living in Wideland, Oklahoma.

For a mom interested in different cultures: Unburnable: A Novel by Marie-elena John, a suspenseful 1st novel about 3 generations of Carribean women.

For a mom who devours the tabloids: The Vow by Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray & Mitzi Miller. Publisher's Weekly called it "an emotionally charged portrait of contemporary Hollywood with a cast of unforgettable characters."

For a mom who believes in wishes or who's ever wondered what it would be like to go back in time or who's young or who likes YA fiction: A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott. A synopsis from the author: "Almost every day 15-year-old Genna visits the garden and tosses coins into the fountain, wishing for a different life, a different home, and a different body. Little does she know that her wish will soon be granted: when Genna flees into the garden late one night, she makes a fateful wish and finds herself instantly transported back in time to Civil War-era Brooklyn."

For a mom who's been laid off: What Doesn't Kill You by DeBerry and Grant. (I've included this one on other lists.)

For moms who read fantasy: The New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson. From The Washington Post's review: "Unusual things happen to Calamity Lambkin. A cashew orchard sprouts in her backyard overnight. Toys she played with as a child drop from the sky. A half-drowned toddler washes up, tangled in seaweed, on her stretch of beach. Is it magical realism Caribbean-style, or is it menopause?"

Speaking of menopause, for moms of a certain age try: Age Ain't Nothing but a Number edited by Carleen Brice. It's a collection of fiction, poetry and essays about midlife.

For foster moms: The Women Who Raised Me by Victoria Rowell. A memoir of being a foster child by the actress.

For a mom with addiction issues in the family: The Warmest December by Bernice McFadden. From Publisher's Weekly review:"Seamless transitions between Kenzie's past and her present life anchored by AA sessions imbue this difficult tale with dramatic suspense. While McFadden's decision to tie up loose ends into a neatly contrived ending may seem facile, its cathartic message of forgiveness and recovery will elicit tears."

For moms who like "dark fantasy": Bad Blood by L.A. Banks. The author of "the vampire huntress" series takes on werewolves. Heck, these mass market paperbacks are cheap! Get mom all 3 books in the "Crimson Moon" series.

For moms with mentally ill family members: 72-Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell. (Also recommended this one during Women's History Month--FYI, all the books on that list would make great Mom's Day gifts.)

For moms who love films: Third Girl from the Left by Martha Southgate. From the Booklist review: "Spanning three generations and the continental U.S.--Tulsa, L.A., and New York--this novel tells of the struggles of three black women entranced by the power of movies to represent the longings of ordinary people and to fulfill the desire for self--expression." 

*And yes, I think my other books would make great Mother's Day gifts. No need to add them to the list.

One last Christmas hurrah

Check out APOOO Book Club's 12 Days of Christmas Book Giveaway. And if you're looking for a last-minute gift for a child or a jazz-lover, Karen Simpson suggests Sweet Music in Harlem. She says:

Debbie Taylor is a wonderful author of children’s books and stories. As her writer buddy and friend I watched her picture book Sweet Music in Harlem ( Lee and Low 2004) grow from an idea, to a manuscript, to a book with illustrations by the wonderful artist Frank Morrison. Sweet Music in Harlem is based on the famous photograph Great Day in Harlem. Debbie was inspired to write her story by the line of children sitting on the curb in the original photo. This is a great book to introduce jazz to young and old alike. Check out her website.

12 days of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

I've already suggested a few books for Christmas (as did lots of readers in the comments), but a few people asked for more recommendations so here's another list. 12 books for the 12 days of whatever you celebrate in December. Before we get to it though, Bonnie Glover, author of Going Down South, has suggested we put together a list of notable black books for 2008 since the NY Times list was kinda skimpy on the black folks. Please leave your suggestions in the comments or email them to me and I'll post them on Dec. 23rd.

Now to the 12 books:

On the 12th day: The Warmest December by Bernice McFadden

There's a reason why Toni Morrison's name comes up when people think about good books. So if you like Morrison, check this out: Morrison called Bernice McFadden's The Warmest December "searing and experly imagined." From the Publisher's Weekly review: "McFadden's graphic, poignant second novel (following her praised debut, Sugar) charts the resonating legacy that alcoholic parents pass on to their children through the cycle of addiction and domestic violence. Narrator Kenzie Lowe, an African-American woman in her 30s on welfare, has used alcohol to repress the memories of abuse she suffered growing up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, caught in the physical and emotional grip of her whiskey-swilling father, Hyman Lowe. As Hy-Lo (a name that reflects his erratic mood swings) lies comatose in his hospital bed, dying of liver disease, Kenzie finds herself in the grip of buried memories."

Not necessarily light holiday reading, but come on: Toni Morrison liked it! And I'm telling you McFadden is a lovely, lyrical writer.

On the 11th day: This Side of the Sky by Elyse Singleton

This is one of my all-time favorite books. Think Toni Morrison only lighter and with lots of humor. From Publisher's Weekly: "This is a sprawling, ambitious saga about two women, lifelong friends, who live through World War II and its aftermath, and the men in their lives. That may sound overly familiar, but the novel offers a very important difference: the two women are black, from rural Mississippi; they spend the war as WACs in London and later in Europe and the lover of one of them is a thoroughly decent German prisoner of war sent to work in the fields in the Deep South."

Would make a good gift for your best friend. I've already given it to mine.

On the 10th day: Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece

Because black people write graphic novels too, and this one sounds really cool. Fans of graphic novels, pulp fiction, and noirs should like this one. There's something about picture books during the holiday--feels real "presenty" to me. Put this on your list!

On the 9th day: Your Blues Ain't Like Mine by Bebe Moore Campbell

Another favorite. Hard to believe, but this was Campbell's first novel. And it will. blow. you. away. I'm so sad we lost her last year, but I'm glad she wrote books that will live on. Read them all!



On the 8th day: Erasure by Percival Everett

Confession time: I haven't read this book. See, even black people sometimes miss a book by a black author! The novel gets to the heart of what this blog is about. The story? Again, from Publishers Weekly: "Everett's latest is an over-the-top masterpiece about an African-American writer who 'overcomes' his intellectual tendency to 'write white' and ends up penning a parody of ghetto fiction that becomes a huge commercial and literary success." A commenter recommended it and based on her recommendation and what I saw online I've ordered it. You should too.

On the 7th day: He's Got the Whole World in His Hands by Kadir Nelson

Nelson illustrates the spiritual with lovely, vibrant pictures. I wish I knew a little kid to give this book to. Maybe I'll get it just to look at the cover of the beautiful smiling African American boy every day. Seriously, it's worth framing. FYI, inside the book are people of all colors.

On the 6th day: You Got to Sin to Get Saved by J.D. Mason

This is one of those books that I bet white folks would look at and think: "Not for me." Well, they'd be wrong. Just because a black couple is on the cover doesn't mean this book is ONLY for black readers. As a matter of fact, the cover hints at just one aspect of the story, which does have it's steamy parts. But it's also a story of adult sisters and the mother who abandoned them, and J.D. is a real writer; she cares about words and character and story. This book should be just as popular as any commercial fiction out there.

On the 5th day: Getting Mother's Body by Suzan-Lori Parks

The first sentence of this book is "Where my panties at? I asks him." Makes you think this is another steamy one. Not really. This is literary fiction that's also funny as hell. Parks was the first black woman to win a Pulitzer for drama, and God does she know dialogue! She's also got great dreads, won a McCarthur Genius Grant and wrote the screenplay for Oprah's production of Their Eyes Were Watching God. If that's not enough to convince you to buy: I met her in L.A. when this book came out in hardback and she was really nice.





On the 4th day: The Tempest Tales by Walter Mosley

I heard Mosley describe this book in March at the Virginia Festival of the Book, and he cracked me up...yet I still haven't read it. Stoopid! Because I think I'm really going to like it. I always like Mosley. The story is a guy gets killed and is judged to go to hell, but he chooses not to. The book is funny but asks interesting questions about race, crime and punishment in our country. Another reason to support this book: it's published by a black publisher, Black Classics Press and is an example of a successful author looking out for an indie publisher.

On the 3rd day: Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood


This book has one of the most lovely, eye-catching covers. I picked it up in hardcover based on the cover alone, and was delighted to find the writing equal to the art. I loved it and highly recommend it. It's the story of a young black woman writer who ups and goes to Paris. As reviewers pointed out, it could have been a very cliched story and was not. It's Youngblood's sophomore novel. We haven't heard from her in a while, which is too bad. She's a fantastic writer!

On the 2nd day: The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Adventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke by Angela Nissel

I can't think of a better topic for these times, can you? And funny, too? Mademoiselle said of the book: "...the deft way Nissel transforms the ordeals of poverty into funny, reassuring anecdotes makes it an almost enviable condition." Since more and more of us are ending up in this "almost enviable condition," seems like more and more of us should be reading this book! If you want proof that Nissel is funny, she's been an exec producer and writer for the TV show "Scrubs."

On the 1st day: My First White Friend by Patricia Raybon
Yes, yes, I'm being personal. Readers of my Pajama Gardener blog will know that I've already recommended some of these books. That's because I LOVE them! Raybon's book deserves to be as popular as Dreams From My Father. Go here for my review. (But please note this book is still in print--I screwed that up last time.)

Want more gift ideas?

The Root's Holiday Book Guide (thanks to Anika for the link)

Attend the Black Author Showcase Holiday Book Fair in D.C.
RAWSISTAZ Book Club's gift suggestions (books they gave 4.5 or 5 stars in 2008)
My American Melting Pot makes some recommendations