Fiction |
Nonfiction |
#11 - The Man in 3B Click to order via Amazon Carl Weber Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 29, 2013) Daryl Graham has just moved into a Jamaica, Queens, apartment building and his neighbors, both male and female alike, can't stop talking about him. From his extreme attractiveness to his undeniable swag, Daryl is the man every woman wants and every man wants to be. Connie, an unhappy wife, turns to Daryl for help losing weight, hoping to fix her marriage. But when Daryl starts making Connie feel beautiful again, she questions whether her marriage is worth saving. Benny, a spoiled teenager raised by a single father, looks up to Daryl. When an unexpected event occurs, Benny is left questioning everything he's ever known to be true. Krystal, Daryl's first love, wants to make things work with her current boyfriend. Yet having Daryl back in her life sends her happy home spiraling out of control. And Avery, Connie's husband, doesn't care about anything or anyone when a financial opportunity comes his way-that is, until he notices how much time his wife is spending with their new neighbor. Everything seems to be going well, until someone is murdered, and everyone becomes a prime suspect. |
#11
- Age Ain't Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife Click to order via Amazon Carleen Brice Paperback: 248 pages Publisher: Beacon Press; 1 edition (May 15, 2003) Finally, a collection that celebrates, considers, contemplates, even criticizes'midlife' from a black woman's point of view. Age Ain't Nothing but a Number ranges over every aspect of black women's lives: personal growth, family and friendship, love and sexuality, health, beauty, illness, spirituality, creativity, financial independence, work, and scores of other topics. Midlife today isn't your grandmother's'change of life.' Today, black women call hot flashes 'power surges,' and menopause, the 'pause that refreshes.' These days, middle-aged women may be newlyweds or new mothers, as well as grandmothers or widows. They may experience the empty-nest syndrome and then the 'return-to-the-nest syndrome' as adult children move back home. They may navigate the field of Internet dating, travel the world, teach homeless women, take up pottery, or study international business. This anthology captures all of these aspects of midlife as experienced by some of the finest voices in African-American writing today. Featuring the work of Maya Angelou, J. California Cooper, Pearl Cleage, Nikki Giovanni, Susan L. Taylor, Alice Walker, and dozens of others, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number will make readers think, laugh, and cry and will be the perfect gift book for spring. |
#12 - Thug Matrimony Click to order via Amazon Wahida Clark Hardcover Publisher: Unknown (2007) In Wahida Clark phenomenal, gritty new novel Angel is getting ready to marry the man of her dreams - but his past isn't about to let go... Angel, Jaz, Tasha and Kyra are four girlfriends pulling themselves out of the ghetto-and trying to bring their hearts up to higher ground with them. Now Angel has started her own law practice and new life with Kaylin. But when an unwamted guest crashes their wedding, all the rage and bloodlust from the hood comes bustin' out - and Angel's gonna need every prayer in heaven to make it to the altar alive... |
#12
- By Any Means Necessary Malcolm X: Real, Not Reinvented Click to order via Amazon Herb Boyd, Ron Daniels (Editor), Maulana Karenga (Editor), Haki R. Madhubuti (Editor) Paperback: 284 pages Publisher: Third World Press (January 1, 2012) Compiled as a response to Manning Marable’s controversial new biography of Malcolm X, more than 30 noted scholars from the African American community offer their opinions on Marable’s portrayal of the man whose short life still inspires speculation of what might have been. Contributors include: Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Abdul Alkalimat, Molefi Kete Asante, Rick Ayers, Bryonn Bain, Amiri Baraka, Aslaku Berhanu, Amir Bey, Todd Steven Burroughs, Ta-Nehisi Coates, William Jelani Cobb, Karl Evanzz, Iyaluua and Herman Ferguson, Bill Flectcher, Jr., Glen Ford, Rhone Fraser, Wil Haygood, Kelly Harris, Errol A. Henderson, Fred Hord, Peter James Hudson, Ezra Hyland, Regina Jennings, Peniel E. Joseph, Clyde Ledbetter Jr., Fred Logan, Kevin McGruder, Starla Muhammad, Nell Irvin Painter, Imani Perry, Gregory J. Reed, Sonia Sanchez, Diane D. Turner, Ilyasah Shabazz |
#13 - Thugs And The Women Who Love Them Click to order via Amazon Wahida Clark Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Dafina; Reprint edition (July 1, 2010) Essence best-selling author Wahida Clark is all too familiar with the terrifying truths of ghetto life. The first novel in her gritty, gripping series takes you on into a world where a wrong choice could be the last choice a person ever makes' In a 'hood boiling over with sex, brutality, and crime, three friends are at a turning point. They can surrender to the streets'and the murderous men who rule there'or walk a totally different path. But nothing is simple for women addicted to life on the edge. And everything has consequences' Angel, Jaz, and Kyra are all leading double lives, torn between working hard to leave the ghetto behind'and being dragged back in by the lying, pimping, drug-dealing men they can't seem to let go. From jealous rampages to bloody turf wars to rage-fueled vendettas, a tangled web of sex and violence binds these women to the very place that could destroy them' Get ready to enter a heart-pounding world of danger and eroticism mixed with a glimmer of hope. |
#13 - From Thug to Scholar: An Odyssey to Unmask My True Potential Click to order via Amazon James A. Williams Paperback: 280 pages Publisher: PENDIUM (November 8, 2013) This is a journey through my life where being intelligent and following the didactic spiritual teachings of my parents got me laughed at and teased until I adopted and embraced a thug mentality. I became a prisoner of my mind by seeking to please and to gain acceptance from others. Chasing a masked lifestyle that was opposed to my God-given potential, I was no different from the millions of people who chase materialistic things, lifestyles, and religions to please their parents, friends, or partners. Most of these people wake up unhappy, unfulfilled, and unable to identify the person reflecting back in their bathroom mirror. I was that person for many years, but I transformed and this book will inspire you to transform and unmask your true potential. Life lessons and fascinating journeys will be shared to demonstrate how I unmasked and went from a thug to a scholar. |
#14 - Be Careful What You Pray For Click to order via Amazon Kimberla Lawson Roby Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (January 19, 2010) Her first marriage didn't work out, but that isn't going to stop Alicia Black, the privileged daughter of the charismatic Reverend Curtis Black, from getting what she wants. Alicia can't believe her good fortune. God has heeded her prayers, blessing her with the perfect second husband, Pastor JT Valentine, a handsome, dynamic man of the cloth with his own large congregation, just like her father. Unfortunately, Alicia doesn't understand how much like Curtis her new husband truly is. JT has been sneaking around town with other women—and he only married her to get close to her father's money and fame. But while Alicia is blinded by love, her dad certainly isn't. After all, it takes one to know one—and who better to see into the darkness of a sinner's heart than Curtis Black? Only a miracle can save the day. But God acts in mysterious ways, and soon Alicia will have to face some very crucial and life-changing decisions. This time, she's got to be careful what she prays for. . . . |
#14 - Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America Click to order via Amazon Andrea Pinkney & Brian Pinkney (Illustrator) Hardcover: 243 pages Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; First Edition edition (October 23, 2012) Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. The stories are accessible, fully-drawn narratives offering the subjects' childhood influences, the time and place in which they lived, their accomplishments and motivations, and the legacies they left for future generations as links in the "freedom chain." |
#15 - Casting The First Stone Click to order via Amazon Kimberla Lawson Roby Hardcover: 300 pages Publisher: Kensington; First Edition edition (December 1, 1999) Tanya Black had deeply believed in her husband's call to preach. And when he asked her to marry him she'd felt blessed to be part of such a future. Sitting in the second row of his Chicago church only a few years later, she is unable to bear listening to his sermons or understand what happened to their shared dream. Blackboard best-selling author Kimberla Lawson Roby takes on one of the most controversial issues in America: corruption and temptation within church leadership. An electrifying read, CASTING THE FIRST STONE goes behind the scenes of a fictional Chicago church and its struggle to keep faith and commitment alive in the face of ambition. This is the third novel of this author whose previous books have won her dedicated fans and a connection to readers coast-to-coast. Her works bring to life Black women whose lives are complex with jobs, children, spouses and lovers - in short the kind of lives her readers themselves live. Giving voice to the women who share their concerns with her has always been Roby's aim in each novel she has written. |
#15 - Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master Click to order via Amazon Russell Atkins Read an AALBC.com Book Review Paperback: 210 pages Publisher: Pleiades Press (June 15, 2013) Poetry. African American Studies. Literary History & Criticism. For over sixty years, poet, composer, dramatist, editor, and music theorist Russell Atkins has been admired by those who knew him for his brilliant, idiosyncratic poetry and wide-ranging intellect. All his work, however, was published by small, mostly avant-garde presses and today is completely out of print. This volume of the Unsung Masters Series reprints not just a large selection of his poetry, but also includes six essays on his work, his verse drama The Abortionist, and his essay "A Psychovisual Perspective on 'Musical' Composition." |
#16 - Flyy Girl Click to order via Amazon Omar Tyree Mass Market Paperback: 505 pages Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 7, 2001) The best-selling urban classic novel about a young woman coming of age in the late 1980s. Tracy Ellison, a young knockout with tall hair and attitude, is living life as fast as she can. Motivated by the material world, she and her friends love and leave the young men who will do anything to get next to them. It's only when the world of gratuitous sex threatens heartbreak that Tracy begins to examine her life, her goals, and her sexuality. |
#16 - Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography of James Baldwin Click to order via Amazon Herb Boyd Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Atria; 1 edition (January 8, 2008) Perhaps no other writer is as synonymous with Harlem as James Baldwin (1924-1987). The events there that shaped his youth greatly influenced Baldwin's work, much of which focused on his experiences as a black man in white America. Go Tell It on the Mountain, The Fire Next Time, Notes of a Native Son, and Giovanni's Room are just a few of his classic fiction and nonfiction books that remain an essential part of the American canon. In Baldwin's Harlem, award-winning journalist Herb Boyd combines impeccable biographical research with astute literary criticism, and reveals to readers Baldwin's association with Harlem on both metaphorical and realistic levels. For example, Boyd describes Baldwin's relationship with Harlem Renaissance poet laureate Countee Cullen, who taught Baldwin French in the ninth grade. Packed with telling anecdotes, Baldwin's Harlem illuminates the writer's diverse views and impressions of the community that would remain a consistent presence in virtually all of his writing. Baldwin's Harlem provides an intelligent and enlightening look at one of America's most important literary enclaves. |
#17 - Friends & Foes Click to order via Amazon Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley Series: Thorndike Press Large Print African American Series Hardcover: 402 pages Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (June 5, 2013) Now that Rachel Jackson Adams' husband has won the coveted presidency of the American Baptist Coalition, Jasmine Larson Bush has a scheme to one- up her rival by promoting her new community center on the nation's #1 TV talk show! This won't stop Rachel, who jets from Houston to Chicago to sabotage Jasmine. Then one of the Coalition's heaviest hitters turns up dead-- and Rachel looks guilty as sin. Will her nemesis leave her stranded? |
#17 - Shred: The Revolutionary Diet: 6 Weeks 4 Inches 2 Sizes Click to order via Amazon Ian K. Smith Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (December 24, 2012) Dr. Ian K. Smith's Shred is the answer to every dieter's biggest dilemmas: how to lose that last twenty pounds? How to push through that frustrating plateau? What to do when nothing else is working? Here, Smith has created a weight loss program that uses all he knows about strategic dieting in one plan--like putting all the best players on the field at once to create a can't lose combination. Shred combines a low GI diet, meal spacing, and meal replacements. Those who follow Shred will constantly be eating (every three and a half hours!), four meals or meal replacements (soups, smoothies, shakes) and 3 snacks a day, over a six week program. Shred also introduces Dr. Ian's concept of "Diet Confusion". Diet Confusion, like muscle confusion, tricks the body and revs up its performance. In the same way you need to vary your workout to see results, switch up your food intake to boost your metabolism. No matter how often or how unsuccessfully you've dieted before, Shred: The Revolutionary Diet will change your life. Shred has taken the internet by storm, and thousands have already joined Dr. Ian's Shredder Nation, losing an average of four inches, two sizes or twenty pounds in six weeks. Utilizing the detox from Fat Smash Diet, the intense cleanse of Extreme Fat Smash, and varying food of The 4 Day Diet, Shred is a six week plan to a new way of life! |
#18 - Love, Honor, and Betray Click to order via Amazon Kimberla Lawson Roby Series: A Reverend Curtis Black Novel Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (January 10, 2011) The infamous Reverend Curtis Black's sordid past is no secret, as his wife, Charlotte, is well aware. But when Curtis' long-time mistress and mother of his illegitimate two-year-old, dies, he and Charlotte have no choice but to raise Curtina together. While the living, breathing reminder of her husband's infidelity infuriates Charlotte, Curtis couldn't be happier to finally have his whole family together. Despite her best efforts to keep her feelings hidden, Charlotte resents Curtina, taking her emotions out on the young girl. When confronted about her behavior Charlotte starts spending time away from home, all the while getting closer to her ex-boyfriend. Curtis appears to devote himself to his parish and the new church they're building, but is he really focusing his attention on the female parishioners trying to lure him into bed? Suddenly Curtis and Charlotte find themselves slipping into dangerous territory, and not even Curtis' seven-figure salary can prevent what is about to happen. |
#18 - Kebra Nagast (The Glory
of Kings) Click to order via Amazon Miguel F. Brooks (Translator) Paperback: 236 pages Publisher: LMH Publishing Company (February 17, 2001) KEBRA NAGAST Lost for centuries, the KEBRA NAGAST (The Glory of Kings) is a truly majestic unveiling of ancient secrets. These pages were excised by royal decree from the authorized 1611 King James version of the Bible. Originally recorded in the ancient Ethiopian language (Ge'ez) by anonymous scribes, The Red Sea Press, Inc. and Kingston Publishers now bring you a complete, accurate modern English translation of this long suppressed account. Here is the most starting and fascinating revelation of hidden truths; not only revealing the present location of the Ark of the Covenant, but also explaining fully many of the puzzling questions on Biblical topics which have remained unanswered up to today. "¿[O]nly in the Kebra Nagast, and not in the Bible¿ the bold assertion is made¿ that the Ark had gone from Jerusalem to Ethiopia". "¿[H]ow could the most important Biblical object in the world end up in the heart of Africa? The Kebra Nagast¿with a great deal of weight and historical authenticity¿offers a clear answer to this question¿as Ethiopia's claim to be the last resting place of the lost Ark remains unchallenged¿" "¿[T]he Kebra Nagast's audacious claim of a massive cover-up¿[and] all information about the tragic loss of the Ark during Solomon's reign had been suppressed, which is why no mention is made of it in the Scriptures". "¿a great epic¿a remarkable document¿erected above a solid foundation of historical truth". |
#19 - Never Say Never Click to order via Amazon Victoria Christopher Murray Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (June 4, 2013) In this emotionally charged and inspiring novel about a love triangle, secrets between best friends threaten to blow up friendships and a marriage and change lives forever. When Miriam’s fireman husband, Chauncey, dies while rescuing students from a school fire, Miriam feels like her life is over. How is she going to raise her three children all by herself? How will she survive without the love of her life? Luckily, Miriam’s sister-friend Emily and Emily’s husband, Jamal, are there to comfort her. Jamal and Chauncey grew up together and were best friends; Jamal and Emily know they will do all they can to support Miriam through her grief. Jamal steps in and helps Miriam with the funeral arrangements and with her children, plus he gives her hope that she has a future. But all the time that they spend together—grieving, sharing, and reminiscing—brings the two closer in ways they never planned |
#19 - Keeping Black Boys Out of Special Education Click to order via Amazon Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: African American Images; First Edition edition (May 1, 2005) This critical analysis looks at the disproportionate number of African American males in special education. Arguing that the problem is race and gender driven, questions covered include Why does Europe send more females to special education? Why does America lead the world in giving children Ritalin? Is there a relationship between sugar, Ritalin, and cocaine? and Is there a relationship between special education and prison? More than 100 strategies to help teachers and parents keep black boys in the regular classroom, such as revising teacher expectations, increasing parental involvement, changing teaching styles from a left-brain abstract approach to a right-brain hands-on approach, redoing the curriculum, understanding the impact of mass media, and fostering healthy eating habits. |
#20 - Only Twice I've Wished for Heaven Click to order via Amazon Dawn Turner Trice Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books ed edition (February 17, 1998) In 1975, Tempestt Saville and her family are chosen by lottery to "move on up" to Lakeland: one square mile of sparkling apartment towers and emerald lawns where the Black elite live sheltered from the ghetto by a ten-foot-tall, ivy-covered wrought-iron fence. Eleven-year-old Temmy doesn't enjoy the privilege, however, and thinks Lakeland is the "kingdom of the drab." Instead, she is drawn to the vivid world outside the fence: to 35th Street, where the saved and the sinners are both so "done up" you can't tell one from the other. Tempestt's curiosity soon leads her down a dangerous path, however, and after witnessing the death of a friend, she sets into motion a chain of events that will send 35th Street up in flames. |
#20 - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Click to order via Amazon Maya Angelou Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books; Reissue edition (April 21, 2009) Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age–and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned. |
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