1.)Native Son

There is a chance that you read this in high school. I read it for the first time last year and was blown away. The now famous Bigger Thomas’ life takes a deadly turn when he accidently murders his white employers daughter. Wright, through Bigger Thomas, spotlight one view of what it means to be black in America and he does it with a strong, in-your-face, I-gotcha-now attitude, yet, lyrical manner that it makes the truth of the story the more frightening. A magnificent masterpiece.

2.) Flying Home and Other Stories

While I’m in the company of the masters, I have to give my other great love some play. I picked up Flying Home before I read Invisible Man. I called myself boning up on Ellison before I tackled Invisible Man for our CWMYB on-line meeting, in which Invisible Man was the flavor of the month. Made up of a series of short stories and small serials, Flying Home is a literary gem. I was definitely under Ellison’s spell before I reached for Invisible Man.

3.)The Moaner's Bench

The debut novel of an author that I wish a long, and profitable career. The Moaner’s Bench tells the story of the life of a 13 year old Sun Hughes who now lives with his religious and controlling Uncle Pet after his father’s death. The novel is Sun remembering what his life was like when his father was alive before and during the stock market crash. In the pre-publish publicity of The Moaner’s Bench, a reviewer placed this novel in the same company of Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston. For once, I have to agree with a reviewer. An excellent novel.

4.) The White Boy Shuffle

The first novel from poet Beatty about the life of young genius Gunnar Kaufman. Not only is White Boy Shuffle insightful, thought-provoking, and hiliarious, it is also poetic. Beatty is in the company of the greats and this novel puts him there. Another author that I can’t wait for his next work. For all those who loves straight-up literature, White Boy Shuffle is a masterpiece waiting to be discovered.

5.) Portrait of a Young Man Drowning

A novel about the life of a gangster who loves to kill, while at the same time, whose elevator doesn’t exactly go to the top floor. Perry, in his only novel, construct a world without right or wrong, just a world that is. Portrait Of A Young Man Drowning is wonderful. I enjoyed it immensely. Another member of that wonderful African-American literary series, Old School Books. Excellent.

6.) An Open Weave

A small, wonderful, lyrical, magical novel of a family of women who has the ‘sight’; Ernestine, the blind grandmother who weaves emotional and colorful fabric; Iree, Ernestine’s epileptic adopted daughter who has visions and can communicate with the dead when she has her seizures; and Imani, Iree’s teenage daughter who also has her mother’s gift. Major drew me into the world of these ladies, and I’m grateful that she did. Check this one out.

7.) Jonah's Gourd Vine

Although Their Eyes Were Watching God still ranks among the upper echelon as one of my favorite novels, Jonah’s Gourd Vine is also a favorite of mine. Hurston’s first novel, that is said to be taken from the life of her father, is the novel of the life of a prominent black preacher in an all black Florida town. Hurston does an awesome job of re-creating the life of the town. She even introduces some characters that she featured in Their Eyes Were Watching God. I love this book!

8.) Middle Passage

I discovered this novel surfing the net late one night. I had no idea how I would like reading about how a black man stowed away on a slave ship to escape a woman who wanted to marry him. But, since the author was black and one that I had never heard of before, I said to myself, go ahead and risk it. Boy, am I glad that I did. What a book! Not only does Johnson show the harsh reality of slavery, he had the nerves to to make it exciting, and in some places humorous. To say that I’m a fan of Johnson is seriously putting it lightly.

9.) Oxherding Tale

I know you’re probably saying, I know he didn’t? Yes, I did, another Charles Johnson book. This one is The Oxherding Tale and it is every bit as fascinating as Middle Passage. The Oxherding Tale is a tale that takes place in slavery time when the white master and his faithful black butler-slave gets drunk. The white master suggests as a prank for the men to switch places for the night, the white master goes to sleep with the black butler’s wife and the black butler will sleep with the white master’s wife. (Now I know that this probably could not had happen, hence the title, but go with it anyway.) The consequences of this drunken order leads to a strange, funny, and painfully real fable. It’s not to be missed.

10.) Racehoss: Big Emma's Boy

Racehoss: Big Emma’s Boy is the life of Albert "Race" Sample. The book covers the early life of his mother, Big Emma, to Sample’s early life, through his teenage years, his being sent to a Texas prison farm, in the 1940s-1960s and his redemption. I came across this book from my friend, Tracie, sister; but I couldn’t find it when she first brought the book to my attention. Then last year, I was listening to NPR’s The Diane Rhiem Show and she was rebroadcasting an interview with Albert "Race" Sample. I was captivated. I immediately hit the net and found and ordered the book. It was fascinating, marvelous and all of those words that we tend to overuse when praising something. If you don’t read any book from this list, please read this one.

11.) Maid in the Shade

There are times when I love this job, and this book is one of those reasons, for if it hadn’t been for this job, I would have never heard of this book. Maid In The Shade is a mystery starring Ruby Gordon, a proud black woman who works as a maid. Ruby has to leave her home in Tennessee to find out what is going on with her old college roommate and best friend Jan Chaney. It seems that someone is trying to kill Jan and Jan has gone into hiding, Ruby has to find out why and stop Jan’s would-be-murderer. I loved this book. At first you would think that this book sounds too much like my other Girl, Blanche, from barbaraneeley’s wonderful Blanche mysteries series, but Ruby is her own woman and the only thing that she is remotely similar to Blanche is their occupation and the fact that neither is ashamed of it. Maid In The Shade is the beginning to what I’m sure will be a wonderful mystery series.

12.) Move over Girl

by Brian Peterson

Another novel that I came across because of my job. Move Over Girl had a hard row to hoe in regards to yours truly. I’m not fond of first person narratives when the lead character is expressing his thoughts, but Peterson’s overcame any objections that I still have concerning "thought" books. Tony is a college junior who has to find his way in life concerning love, family, and the future. When I think on this novel, I become more and more impressed with Peterson’s creation of Tony and how he allowed the Tony’s life to unfold. Very good. An excellent novel.

I first came across this book a number of years ago through Quarterly Black Review when on their website was a category titled, "Books Every African-American Library Should Have" (it’s not there anymore). Before then, I had never heard of John O. Killens or And Then We Heard Thunder. I then came across a copy of it and set it aside for a long time. How stupid of me. The novel is wonderful. And Then We Heard Thunder is about Sol Sauders, a recently married, young black man in the early 1940s during World War II. The novel is of his encounters, the people he meets and of racism in the United States Army. An epic novel not to be forgotten.

14.) The Ways of White Folks

I guess I will always be hard pressed to say who my favorite author is because I’m so torn. Most times I lean towards Zora Neale, other times I can say with confidence that it’s Langston Hughes. The Ways Of White Folks always tilts the meter in his favor whenever I think on it. The Ways Of White Folks is a collection of stories told from various view points, people and situations with the common demonimator of racial relations thread through every story. It’s an amazing collection of excellent literature. Listen, I did have a bit of fun with this book as well. I did use the book to make some people that works with and around me, because of the cover and title of the book. I’m the only black man in my department, so as I was reading the book in the break room, I would get these strange looks. Then it came to me who I was and what book I was reading and the fact that the cover had a black and white photo of a young Langston with the beginning of a smile on his face and the words, The Ways Of White Folks above his head. *Laughing Out Loud* Now, don’t get the book because of this little fact, I’m just pointing out the additional chuckles you can get from it. *Cackling* Yeah, I know I’m not right.

15.) Autobiography of a Family Photo

The Autobiography Of A Family Photo is the disturbing story of a young girl and her family and the people around her. The novel written in the form of a journal is about the narrator’s budding sexuality, her gay brother, Carlos, who is killed in the Viet Nam War, her parents and her other siblings. It is about the Brooklyn neighbor that the narrator and her family lived on. It’s a coming-of-age story that is unsettling, quick-paced and yet poetic. It’s a beautiful story. Woodson is primarily an author of children novels, Autobiography Of A Family Photo is her first adult novel and it has 113 pages to it. But as we’ve learned with Cane by Jean Toomer, it’s not the number of words that is used, it’s the power behind the words that count. I was moved by Autobiography Of A Family Photo and I’m sure you will be too.