Book Club Picks – $10 Classics from HarperCollins – Plus More in AALBC’s eNewsletter
Books a Few Book Clubs are Enjoying this Month
The Tea’s October Selection – We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman now—and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.
Watch a video of The Tea’s discussion.
Go On Girl! Book Club’s October Selection – The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
▪ Voted #71 of the Top 100 Books of the 20th Century
▪ 1 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Book!
▪ Selected for 2 Book Clubs’s Reading Lists
▪ Honored by the National Book Awards in 1964
▪ A QBR 100 Essential Black Book
Originally published in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. Sales of The Fire Next Time on AALBC.com helps support Go On Girl! Book Club’s scholarship fund.
Folktales’ Black Women’s Literary Society’s October Selection – The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues by Edward Kelsey Moore
From the author of the bestselling The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues, an exuberant and poignant novel of passions, family, and forgiveness. When a late life love affair blooms between Mr. Forrest Payne, the owner of the Pink Slipper Gentleman’s Club, and Miss Beatrice Jordan, famous for stationing herself at the edge of the club’s parking lot and yelling warnings of eternal damnation at the departing patrons,…
Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu is Our #2 All-Time Bestselling Author
Dr. Kunjufu has made AALBC.com bestsellers list an astonishing 85 times with 16 different books! His book focus on the subject educating Black boys.
“I’ve read The Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys about five times over the last 25 years or so. Anybody who has a relationship with a black boy should read this book.”—Reginald Johnson
Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com to Save the Book Industry?
As Amazon’s dominance approaches that of true monopoly, the influence of all other booksellers is virtually eliminated. As a result, the discoverability of books is driven by a revenue-maximizing-algorithm rather than curated by a caring human being who knows both books and their readers.
Boycotting Amazon’s bookstore might mean, at least initially, that you’ll have pay a little more for books, or you’ll wait a little longer to get them, but it will also mean you’ll be more likely to enjoy the books you do purchase. Review the results of our survey. Whether you are for or against a boycott of Amazon’s bookstore the comments will surprise you.
Recently Published Noteworthy Books
Faces of Praise!: Photos and Gospel Inspirations to Encourage and Uplift by Carol Mackey: This full-color photo gift book that turns chart-topping contemporary gospel music into Bible-based devotions is a three-way blessing for readers: a perfect companion to favorite gospel recordings, an encouraging daily devotional and a unique photo collection.
Pelé: The King of Soccer by Eddy Simon: This graphic novel beautifully depicts Pele’s (widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time) rise from the slums of Brazil to the national stage.
100 Amazing Facts About the Negro by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: Gates gives us a corrective yet loving homage to Joel Augustus Rogers’ work. Relying on the latest scholarship, Gates leads us on a romp through African, diasporic, and African-American history in question-and-answer format.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds: Reynolds’s fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.Longlist for a 2017 National Book Award – Young People’s Literature
I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina: In the first graphic novel for young readers to focus on police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, as in Hamlet, the dead shall speak—and the living yield even more surprises.
Colin Kaepernick Signs a $1 Million+ Book Deal
“Colin Kaepernick has inked a book deal worth just over $1 million with Random House imprint One World, Page Six has exclusively learned. One World’s headed by book world superstar Chris Jackson, who also publishes Jay-Z and Ta-Nehisi Coates. He launched One World last year.” —The New York Post (10/24/2017)
One World was founded in 1992 and was on the leading edge of imprints created to meet the demand of books telling stories written by and featuring African Americans, a period which only lasted about a decade. One World was relaunched after several years of inactivity. Jackson has been named Editor-in-Chief of the imprint, making him the most powerful Black man in mainstream publishing.
Help Fund Black Documents: Mosaic Literary Conference
Help fund this year’s Black Documents: Mosaic Literary Conference and related exhibitions. They can’t reach their goal to support Black literature, education, and social causes without your support.
Black Documents: Mosaic Literary Conference will explore historical and contemporary presentations of black identity in literature, media, and photography; and how self-affirming imagery and text can counter negative stereotypes. To this end, the conference will also present photography exhibits Jamel Shabazz: Black Documents and Black Documents: Freedom.
To make it happen, they need your support. Go to their Kickstarter and give what you can. Rewards include exhibit catalogue, posters, book sets, totes and more.
We Must Patronize Black-Owned Websites or Lose Them
Part of AALBC.com’s mission to help promote and uplift independent websites created by, and for, people of African descent. The Top 50 Black Owned SItes represent the strongest of over 300 popular Black-owned websites
We can’t allow a few social media gatekeepers to be the only entities who control access to, and profit from, our culture on the web. Read some of the feedback for this project and why it was started.
New Mailing List for Authors and Publishers
We have creating a new mailing list just for authors, publishers, and people interested in using AALBC.com to market their products. If you would like to continue receiving resources and information relevant to that demographic, please click the “Join the Mailing List” button below.
Dear Reader,
In a world where we are losing Black-owned websites, of all types, and websites that cover Black books in particular, it is important to emphasize that AALBC.com exists as a result of your patronage and support—In fact, AALBC.com will thrive because of it!
I’d like to thank just a few of the recent newsletter subscribers who have supported AALBC at the Supporter Level or above; H. Cook, C. Smith, and M. Smart. Supporters at the Subscriber Level, while too numerous to mention here, are just as important, for every paid subscription matters.
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Again, your support, patronage, and engagement with the website is the only reason AALBC.com has lasted 20 years, enabling us to publish this, our 250th eNewsletter!
Peace & Love,
Troy Johnson,
Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com
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AALBC.com eNewsletter – October 26, 2017 – Issue #250
