|
AALBC.com eNewsletter - October
30th 2006 |
Please Support Your
AALBC.com eNewsletter
AALBC.com's eNewsletter needs your financial support. Our eNewsletter has
been published, continuously, since 1998. In that time, we've introduced
you to hundreds of books and authors, supplied you with book reviews and
articles, and kept you informed about important events and interesting websites.
If you believe there is
value in this newsletter; support it by purchasing an annual $12 subscription.
Purchasing a subscription is voluntary. However, your subscription will
not only provide needed financial support, it will also send a strong message –
your desire to see the eNewsletter improve and continue for years to come.
Please go to the end of the newsletter to review payment
options
|
AALBC.com's BESTSELLING BOOKS FOR SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2006
http://books.aalbc.com/bestsellers.htm
Fiction
#1 - Addicted by Zane
#2 - Getting Buck Wild: Sex Chronicles 2, Vol. 2
by Zane (Editor)
#3 - Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns: Stories by J.
California Cooper
#4 - Chocolate Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology
by Zane (Editor)
#5 - Shame On It All by Zane |
Nonfiction
#1 - The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black
Family's Astonishing Success Story by Yvonne S.
Thornton, MD
#2 - Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine
Steffans
#3 - The Covenant with Black
America by Tavis Smiley (Editor)
#4 - Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements,
and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black
America--and What We Can Do About It by Juan
Williams
#5 - From Niggas to Gods, Part One by Akil |
To view the entire bestsellers list visit
http://books.aalbc.com/bestsellers.htm |
|
|
RECENT AALBC.COM BOOK REVIEWS, ARTICLES & VIDEOS
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/book_reviews.htm
|
COME
JOY! Songs From the Soft of Night by Bridgette Greathouse Wynn -
Reviewed by Idrissa Uqdah
http://reviews.aalbc.com/come_joy.htm
From reading only the
first four poems in this collection; I knew I was on to something
wonderful. Come Joy, Songs From The Soft of Night by
Bridgette Alyce Greathouse Wynn will touch your heart when you remember
the softness of the nights in your own life. I’ve never seen a
collection containing so many poems in one book but it works for Wynn.
The more you read her poems, the more you want to read them. Bridgette
is a good, solid poet with a gift of words. There are no barriers in her
work. It is not surprising that so much poetry flows from her because
she is dedicated to the craft of self-expression, observation and
emotion in her poetry. |
Jump
at the Sun by Kim McLarin - Reviewed by
Idrissa Uqdah
http://reviews.aalbc.com/jump_at_the_sun.htm
Kim McLarin is known for writing novels
about touchy issues within the Black community. Her stories step
on toes and make us think about things that we really don’t want to air
in public. In her third novel; Jump at the Sun, she has
really dug in deep and exposed the “mama baggage”. |
Freedom
Bound by Rosalie Turner - Reviewed by Jayne Cubbage
http://aalbc.com/reviews/freedom_bound.htm
The novel Freedom Bound is based on the life Anta Majigeen Ndiaya
who had been captured by slave raiders from Yang Yang village in
Senegal, West Africa. Author Rosalie Turner uses the true-life story of
an African princess, slave, mistress, mother, landowner, businesswoman
and slaveholder to tackle many complex issues. The first being the ever
sensitive subject of the “peculiar institution” of enslavement in
America. With a flair for history and an eye for detail Turner takes the
shell of Anna Kingsley’s life and fills it in with fictional, yet
believable accounts. |
Poetry
Unleashed
- Cave Canem’s 10th Anniversary celebration
by Rondall Brasher
http://aalbc.com/reviews/cave_canem.htm
Cave Canem was instituted in 1996 by fellow teachers/poets Toi
Derricotte and Cornelius Eady. As long time writers, they were acutely
aware of the isolation and lack of cultural support structures for Black
poets in formal or informal education programs. They sought to create a
space for Black poets to learn, debate, grow, and challenge themselves
in order to challenge their craft. What began as an annual summer
retreat has evolved into a non-profit organization with a full-time
staff.
|
Not
in My Family: AIDS in the African-American Family Edited by Gil L.
Robertson, IV -
Reviewed by Kam Williams
http://aalbc.com/reviews/not_in_my_family.htm
Not in My Family is a must read, but not merely as
a heart-wrenching collection of moving AIDS memoirs. For perhaps more
significantly, this seminal work simultaneously serves as the means of
kickstarting candid dialogue about an array of pressing, collateral
topics, ranging from homophobia to incarceration to brothers on the down
low to low self-esteem to the use of condoms to the role of the Church
in combating this virtually-invisible genocide quietly claiming
African-Americana. |
Lynched
by Corporate America: The Gripping True Story of How One African
American Survived Doing Business with a Fortune 500 Giant
- Reviewed by Kam Williams
http://aalbc.com/reviews/lynched_by_corporate_america.htm
“My intention in writing this book from the outset has
been to illustrate what happens… when one of the world’s largest
companies rules the courtroom with impunity while a judge in black robes
sits on the bench giving his or her stamp of approval to what the
justice system calls fair and equal treatment. And what happens when
jurors who hear the cases are oftentimes oblivious to their own
complicity in assuring that Corporate America always wins. At the turn
of this 21st century, one company, Qwest Communications International
Inc., formerly U. S. West Communications Inc., was able to use its
powerful influence to extract the results it desired from our nation’s
federal court system, all in the name of justice. ” –Excerpted
from the Preface |
Rough
Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution
- Reviewed by Kam Williams
http://aalbc.com/reviews/rough_crossings.htm
In
order to appreciate Rough Crossings fully, you have to be
prepared to throw out virtually every preconceived notion you are
probably harboring about the birth of this nation. The self-serving
myths long propagated about the American Revolution would have us
believe that the Founding Fathers were a brave and idealistic
freedom-loving bunch who altruistically took up arms in the name of
independence over the issue of taxation without representation.
Required reading as a counterbalance to all the patriotic claptrap we’ve
been fed for generations. |
Historical
Dictionary of African-American Television by Kathleen Fearn-Banks
- Reviewed by Kam Williams
http://aalbc.com/reviews/historical_dictionary.htm
The
Historical Dictionary of African-American Television contains a
wealth of knowledge to share whether you’re an academic or just curious
about anybody black who has been on TV, whether Beulah, Nipsey Russell,
Slappy White, Mother Love, or Art Duncan, the token brother who
tap-danced away on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1964 to 1982. |
What
Went Wrong in Ohio: The Conyers Report on the 2004 Presidential Election
- Reviewed by Kam Williams
http://aalbc.com/reviews/what_went_wrong_in_ohio.htm
“As to our factual finding: in brief, we find that there were massive
and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio. In many
cases these irregularities were caused by intentional misconduct and
illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell, the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio.” –
Excerpted from Executive Summary |
Black
Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular
Culture
http://reviews.aalbc.com/black_like_you1.htm
Though at times disturbing, as in its posture that hip-hop, as the
latest form of minstrelsy, is simply carrying on a racist tradition of
ridiculing African-Americans in most demeaning ways imaginable, Black
Like You, nonetheless, simultaneously offers an excellent analysis
of a dysfunctional culture perhaps already too permeated by self-hatred
and an inclination towards the toxic mistreatment of minorities to
bother adhering to any politically-correct ideals. |
Forest
Whitaker - Interviewed by Kam Williams
http://reviews.aalbc.com/forest_whitaker.htm
Born on July 15, 1961 in Longview, Texas, Forest Steven
Whitaker was originally an athlete who played football in college at
Cal-State Fullerton. But a back injury led to his transferring to USC
where he trained as a tenor for the opera. This endeavor whetted
Forest’s interest in the acting, which he pursued at Berkeley.
The Last King of Scotland Interview with Kam
WIlliams
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/the_last_king_of_scotland.htm
Was
Uganda’s Idi Amin (1924-2003) merely a monomaniacal misanthrope as
suggested by the generally-accepted myth, or was he a diabolical despot
with more of a method to his madness? The conventional caricature
created over the course of his eight-year reign of terror dismissed the
sadistic strongman as a laughingstock among world leaders. This was
based on an array of increasingly bizarre, mostly unsubstantiated rumors
circulated in the Western press depicting him as a depraved character
indulging in erratic behavior ranging from a childlike narcissism to
outright cannibalism. |
Color
of the Cross Film Review by Kam WIlliams
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/color_of_the_cross.htm
Color of
the Cross is the brainchild of actor/writer/director Jean-Claude
LaMarre, a gifted tale-spinner who does much more here than merely
revisit the life of Christ in blackface. For this controversial
reinterpretation of the scriptures, which transpires during the 48 hours
leading up to the Crucifixion, mixes many instantly recognizable
Biblical passages with speculation about a motive for murdering Jesus
which had to do with his skin color. |
Jaleel
White - Interviewed by Kam Williams
http://reviews.aalbc.com/jaleel_white.htm
Earlier this year, one of those inaccurate urban legends spread like
wildfire around the Internet, as folks forwarded a fabricated AP story
announcing that former child star Jaleel White had shot himself in the
head, leaving behind a suicide note which simply read, “Did I do that?”
That saying was the trademark catch phrase which White would whine each
week as the bespectacled, nasal nerd Steve Urkel on his hit TV series
“Family Matters.” |
KiKi
Rockstar - Interviewed by Troy Johnson
- AALBC.com Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9SS7sNeHx0
"I'm Kiki Rockstar, writer, advice columnist, sexual
journalist and anthropologist. What that means is I research and write
about love, sex, and relationships from a sociological perspective as
well as a creative point of view. Write me with your questions, news of
the freaky, your own sexy fantasies and stories. I might put you on my
kikirockstar website. Or
we can just kick it on
myspace baby. I'll let
you know where I'll be signing books or speaking in your area. You let
me know if you have a group that you might want me to come and talk to.
Love, Kiki"
Produced by Relentless Aaron |
Tierre
- Interviewed by Troy Johnson
- AALBC.com Video
http://www.youtube.com/v/0diSiM8xvdc
Tierre is the author of the book
The Products of American Ghetto.
Tierre, taps into his personal experiences, to raise the awareness of
the crisis in the Black urban community
Produced by Relentless Aaron |
Black
New Yorkers: Booklover hopes to profit from his passion
http://www.amsterdamnews.org/News/article/article.asp?NewsID=72822&sID=4
by Tanangachi MfuniI, Amsterdam News Staff, September 28
- October 4, 2006
When Harlemite Troy Johnson launched a website
dedicated to Black books nearly eight years ago, it came out of “a
passion for Black people,” he said. Today, Johnson’s African
American Literary Book Club (aalbc.com)
is a virtual watering hole for Black booklovers and has been called the
most popular website dedicated to African-American literature. –Read the
full article at
amsterdamnews.org |
|
|
AUTHORS YOU SHOULD KNOW
http://aalbc.com/authors
|
Jacqueline
Woodson
http://authors.aalbc.com/jacqueli.htm
Jacqueline Woodson has received numerous awards for her
middle-grade and young adult books, which include the National Book
Award Finalist Hush and the Coretta Scott King Award and Los Angeles
Times Book Prize winner Miracle's Boys. |
Dr.
Na'im Akbar
http://authors.aalbc.com/naim_akbar.htm
The published volumes of Dr. Akbar’s works are excellent
illustrations of the unique and special approach he has taken to the
role of an activist scholar. His volumes are targeted to a mass
audience. Though the concepts that he presents are highly sophisticated,
they are presented in a concise and simple way that readers with minimal
education and possibly no familiarity with mainstream psychology will be
able to comprehend the ideas from his books and increase their
understanding of themselves. |
Victor
McGlothin
http://authors.aalbc.com/victor_mcglothin.htm
Victor McGlothin is arguably the "finest author in print".
However, Victor's story runs deeper than that; he almost lost an
athletic scholarship due to poor reading skills. Ultimately, he overcame
that obstacle and later completed a Masters degree in Human Relations &
Business. After he developed a love for the written word, Victor left a
vice president position with a local bank to pursue a career in
literature. He now lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two sons. |
Ronald
M. Gauthier
http://aalbc.com/authors/ronald_gauthier.htm
Gauthier’s novels, Prey for Me: A New Orleans Mystery
and Hard Time on the Bayou, are shaped by more than two
decades of public service and love for his home city. His experience as
an educator in Louisiana’s prisons brings a realism to his storytelling
in Hard Time on the Bayou in particular, while his life in New Orleans’
African American community informs both works. |
Don
Fulton
http://authors.aalbc.com/don_fulton.htm
Don Fulton was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in
the rural town of Kingstree, South Carolina. His first novel was
inspired by (and titled after) the old 1960s song by blues singer
Charles Brown. Each Christmas season, the record was popular on
jukeboxes in black establishments. This story began because Don was
unhappy that Hollywood produced few quality Christmas films, and even
fewer black Christmas films. Don always thought that a good story could
come out of the song. He set about writing a Christmas screenplay and
Please Come Home for Christmas was the result. |
|
|
AALBC.com Recommends
|
We
Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Light in a Time of Darkness by
Alice Walker
http://aalbc.com/authors/alice.htm
Author of the perennially bestselling novel The
Color Purple, Alice Walker has long been a force for sanity in a
chaotic world. In We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For she
draws on her deep spiritual grounding, her political conviction and
experience, and her literary gifts to offer a series of meditations
filled with wisdom, hope, encouragement, and, at times, serenity to a
world in need of all these things. The perfect gift for Alice Walker
fans and anyone who longs for peace, on earth and within, this lovely
volume will beembraced for its wise insights and mature compassion.
|
What
It Is: Poems and Opinions of Oscar Brown Jr.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967103312/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20
At long last, the first-ever anthology of lyrics and
poems by legendary singer, spoken-word artist and actor Oscar Brown, Jr.
Included in this collection are such classic lyrics as "All Blues,"
"Signifying Monkey," "Work Song," and "But I Was Cool" along with newer
works such as "I Apologize," and "This Beach" (As seen on Def Poetry
Jam).
Also included are several short essays where Oscar
ruminates on life, love, and politics. A true collector's edition,
available from Oyster Knife Press. |
Three
Sides to Every Story
by Clarence Nero
http://aalbc.com/authors/clarence_nero.htm
Nero was born and raised in New Orleans’s lower Ninth
Ward Community that was completely demolished in the aftermath of
Katrina. His family lost everything. “I’m a third generation Ninth Ward
resident,” he writes in the preface of his new novel, Three Sides To
Every Story, that tackles many timely issues in our communities
today from black men in prison, HIV and AIDS, to a taboo topic of
homosexuality. “It was in the Ninth Ward that I lost two brothers to
violence and a close female cousin to AIDS.”
After much tragedy and lost, Nero is now looking
towards his bright future and getting geared up for his national book
tour that will be sponsored in part by Best selling author,
E. Lynn Harris who
offered the following quote on the book‘s front jacket, “Nero has
written a sizzling, scintillating love triangle set in the Ninth Ward of
our beloved New Orleans.”
“When E. Lynn heard that my publisher wasn’t sending
me on a book tour, he offered to send me on one,” said Nero with
exuberance. “No questions asked. It’s truly a blessing to have his
support.” Nero’s novel, that hits bookstores on October 10, 2006, is
already creating quite a buzz in the literary world. “Three Sides” will
be a featured novel for Black Expressions Book Club, and he received a
stellar review in Publishers Weekly. |
JazzMama
- Fine Furniture fro Today's Contemporary Lifestyles
http://www.jazzmama.comJazzMama
specializes In contemporary platform bedrooms. They will customize
your set to meet your needs and budget. Please visit the web site to
view their most popular bedroom sets. |
|
|
|
EVENTS
http://events.aalbc.com
Therone
Shellman - Readings - Nov 17th 12-2pm - Philadelphia, PA
http://aalbc.com/authors/more_about_therone_shellman.htm
Border Express (1625 Chestnut St) Shops at
Liberty Place Philadelphia, PA
Author of Love Don't Live Here; a novel based
on the author’s personal experiences growing up surrounded by several
strong, proud, single mothers in his own family and neighborhood. Love
Don’t Live Here is both relevant and timely to society today. Recent
statistics show that almost 70 percent of black children are born to
single mothers and that those mothers are far more likely than married
mothers to be poor. As a result, poverty is passed along to their
children, which often creates a vicious never-ending cycle. |
| Post your events on our
Events Board. Include images, links and all the information
you need to promote and inform others of about your event. |
|
|
INTERESTING DISCUSSION BOARD POSTS
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus
Black Women Responsible for Breakdown of Black
Families
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/179/17550.html
Janet's Boyfriend Fired Over Her Flopped Album Sales
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/179/17442.html
Black Women Are Stealing White Men....???????
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/179/17406.html
"At Door of Kush, we're very proud of Kam Williams's
review of Kola Boof's autobiography"
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/1/15882.html
|
|
Peace,
Troy
Johnson,
Founder AALBC.com
55 West 116th Street
#195
Harlem, NY 10026
(866) 603-8394 - FAX &
Voicemail
(212) 289-6356 - Office
––––––––––––––––
eNewsletter Subscription Payment Options
1 - Click the "Subscribe" Icon Below
2 - Click the Link Below:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick-subscriptions&business=phone%40aalbc%2ecom&item_name=AALBC%2ecom%20eNewsletter%20%2d%20Annual%20Subscription&item_number=newsletter&no_shipping=1&no_note=1¤cy_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dSubscriptionsBF&charset=UTF%2d8&a3=12%2e00&p3=1&t3=Y&src=1&sra=1
3 - Mail Check or Money Order to:
AALBC.com
55 West 116th Street #195
Harlem, NY 10026
––––––––––––––––
How Are We Doing?
Fill out our simple feedback form
http://aalbc.com/feedback_aalbc.htm
and let us know what we are doing well or where we need to improve.
AALBC.com mailing list is not made
available to outside parties. All recipients of this newsletter must
subscribe to receive it directly from AALBC.com. To learn more about
AALBC.com visit:
http://www.aalbc.com/aboutus.htm
|