August 2018 eNewsletter Recommended Reads, Videos, and More
Videos from the National Book Club Conference
I attended the 2018 National Book Club Conference August 3rd and 4th. The conference is really like attending a family reunion. Here are videos I shot that weekend. Check them out; catch up with a familiar author or discover a new one.
Little Man, Little Man: A Story of Childhood by James Baldwin
“a child’s story for adults”
Little Man, Little Man is the only children’s book by acclaimed writer James Baldwin. Published in 1976 by Dial Press, the book quickly went out of print. Now, at a time when Baldwin is more popular than ever, and readers, librarians, and booksellers are clamoring for more diverse children’s books, Duke University Press is proud to bring the book back into print.
“[a] celebration of the self-esteem of black children.” —James Baldwin
Ingleside: Based on a True Story by Laura Jackson
As a former veteran newspaper reporter on the crime beat, I can smell a homicide when it’s authentic and this book is bursting at the seams with it. I’ve seen many cases that resemble this one so aptly told by Laura Jackson, a psychiatric nurse-turned-sleuth. Without doing a spoiler alert, she does a very admirable job with the 1988 heinous crime of two tots fatally beaten, wrapped in plastic, and stored in a sealed trunk. Book Reviewed by Robert Fleming
Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
“McFadden works a kind of miracle—not only do her characters retain their appealing humanity; their story eclipses the bonds of history to offer continuous surprises…Beautiful and evocative.” —Jesmyn Ward
McFadden’s innocent girl child’s journey through trokoski, insanity, rehabilitation, and forgiveness to reach a point of self-awareness and strength – is a literary treasure. Praise Song for the Butterflies is a well-crafted story about an injustice that can be changed. Book Reviewed by Tony Lindsay
A groundbreaking collection based on oral histories that brilliantly plumb the leadership of African American women in the twentieth-century fight for civil rights—many nearly lost to history—from the latest winner of the Studs and Ida Terkel Prize During the Civil Rights Movement, African American women were generally not in the headlines; they simply did the work that needed to be done. Yet despite their significant contributions at all levels of the movement, they remain mostly invisible to the larger public. This book goes beyond familiar names like Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King to name other important leaders at the community, local, and national levels.
Fifty of the foremost diverse children’s authors and illustrators—including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander—share answers to the question, “What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant?” With ninety-six lavishly designed pages of original art and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice to young activists. This beautiful, full-color keepsake collection, is published in partnership with Just Us Books and Random House Children’s Books.
This is the critically acclaimed author’s first novel in over a decade.
Nostrand Avenue by Kenji Jasper
Nostrand Avenue tells the story of Jamison “Kango” Watts who was once known as an invisible man, a quiet “fixer” who always got the job done with clean hands. Now he’s living the quiet life in DC, running a soul food restaurant. When he learns about an old friend’s death, Kango returns to Brooklyn for the wake… and barely survives after a masked gunman puts two slugs in him. Someone has a score to settle, a beef Kango can’t afford to bring back to his new life in DC.
Everyday People: The Color of Life — A Short Story Anthology by Jennifer Baker
In the tradition of Best American Short Stories comes Everyday People: The Color of Life, a dazzling collection of contemporary short fiction.
An eclectic mix of award-winning and critically lauded writers, the contributors include: Mia Alvar, Carleigh Baker, Nana Brew-Hammond, Glendaliz Camacho, Alexander Chee, Junot Díaz, Mitchell S. Jackson, Yiyun Li, Allison Mills, Courttia Newland, Dennis Norris II, Jason Reynolds, Nelly Rosario, Hasanthika Sirisena, and Brandon Taylor.
Join AALBC’s book club in our online discussion of Barracoon during the entire month of September 2018
Our online book club will be discussing the never-before-published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching Godthat brilliantly illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery as it tells the true story of one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade—abducted from Africa on the last “Black Cargo” ship to arrive in the United States.
Join us during the entire month of September as we talk about this important book. Also check out our reading list for the remainder of the year.
Videos from The 2018 Sacramento Black Book Festival
Sumiko Saulson Sci-fi, horror and fantasy writer, and graphic novelist
Sumiko Saulson is a sci-fi, horror and fantasy writer, graphic novelist, and the editor of Black Magic Women, an anthology of horror by black women. She compiles the annual Black Women in Horror list, and wrote 100 Black Women in Horror. Her novels include Warmth and Happiness and Other Diseases. She was the 2016 recipient of the Horror Writer Association’s Scholarship from Hell.
Kakwasi Somadhi, Critically Acclaimed Debut Novelist
The protagonist in Somadhi’s novel, Coming Forth by Day, is Loretha Mae Emmitt who after discovering she’s the victim of deadly medical abuse, finds the courage to become an outspoken advocate for health care and patients’ rights. Her actions inspire others to join her, including her troubled revolutionary lover and the son of the physician who abuses her.
Larry Lee, President of The Sacramento Observer
The Sacramento Observer is one of American’s great Black-owned Newspapers. In this video Lee talks about the 56-year-old newspaper, which his father founded, and how he is positioning his newspaper for the modern era.
Give the Perfect Gift to an Author
Help an author get their book into the hands of readers by giving them the gift of AALBC promotion.
Use discount code AUGUST18N, before the end of the month, and save 20% (Authors: you may purchase the gift card for yourself and save 20% too).
The gift cards are provided through Square which I’ve been using to process my businesses credit card transactions. You can do a lot with Square: accept credit cards, power your business with the free point-of-sale app, get real-time sales reports, and more. If you sign up with my link, your first $1,000 in credit card transactions are processed free!
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Peace and Love,
Troy Johnson
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★ AALBC.com eNewsletter – Originally Published, August 22, 2018 – Issue #261
