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AALBC.com's Best Selling Books for May and June 2006
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The Zane Effect: Zane's titles accounts for 12% of the top 10 fiction titles sold (the lowest percentage since 2004) |
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Fiction to Non fiction ratio: Fiction 47%, Nonfiction 53% (this is the 1st time the number of top 10 nonfiction titles sold has exceeded the top 10 fiction titles) |
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Top Selling Book: The Covenant with Black America |
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Highly Touted New Comer: Crystelle Mourning by Eisa Nefertari Ulen |
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"Where are they now?": Confessions of a Video Vixen (Vixen is the best selling book of 2006 but, but failed to make this period's top 10 list.) |
Fiction | Nonfiction |
#1
Eisa Nefertari Ulen
ISBN: 0743277589
This profound and intense debut novel is the story of a young African American
woman from West Philadelphia who finds her path to a bright future in gentrified
Brooklyn, New York, blocked when she can't let go of the love she lost.
Crystelle has a well-employed fianc� and a life in New York City that most young
professionals would envy. She has come a long way from skipping rope on the
cracked sidewalks of the rough Philadelphia neighborhood where she was raised by
a loving mother and grandfather. She experienced good times and bad in equal
measure in a community where people worked, played, and sometimes fought hard
too. She didn't leave the past behind her though. A ghost from those West Philly
days haunts her, a spirit whose presence in her dreams is as welcome as it is
unsettling. That spirit is Jimmie, her high school sweetheart -- the one who she
watched get gunned down one hot, unforgettable night all those years ago.
Unnerved by her dreams of Jimmie and the suspicion that she may be pregnant,
Crystelle takes a train back to her old neighborhood to reconnect with friends
and family. There, with the help of Jimmie's mother -- a woman who Crystelle
loves like family and who makes a prison visit to the young man who murdered her
son -- Crystelle comes to grips with the memory that haunts her and learns the
power of forgiveness and the need to move on.
With its deeply resonant depictions of urban African American life and the
cultural forces that challenge and sustain their communities, Crystelle Mourning
is a triumphant, lyrical beginning to a bright new talent in fiction. |
#1
Tavis Smiley (Editor) ISBN: 0883782774 Read an AALBC.com Review of The Covenant with Black America Six years' worth of symposiums come together in this rich collection of essays that plot a course for African Americans, explaining how individuals and households can make changes that will immediately improve their circumstances in areas ranging from health and education to crime reduction and financial well-being. Each chapter outlines one key issue and provides a list of resources, suggestions for action, and a checklist for what concerned citizens can do to keep their communities progressing socially, politically, and economically. Though the African American community faces devastating social disparities�in which more than 8 million people live in poverty�this celebration of possibility, hope, and strength will help leaders and citizens keep Black America moving forward. |
#2
Format: Paperback, 2nd ed., 304pp. After more than two years of entertaining tens of thousands of loyal readers on the Internet with her vivid imagination, a large collection of Zane's erotica is finally available in a published format. Zane has captivated the minds of both sexes and all races. She has completely shattered the myth that men are more sexual in nature than women and that African-American women in particular are inhibited compared to their female counterparts of other races. The erotica collection is divided into three sections: Wild, Wilder and Off Da Damn Hook. Her characters run the gamut from the sensual housewife that wants her husband to experiment more to the secret underground sorority of women that let it all hang out literally. |
#2
ISBN:
0345490274 For centuries, African American women have been remaking the world, giving testament to the power of hope, courage, and resilience. But it took the inspired generosity of Oprah Winfrey to honor fully the many gifts of sisterhood. For three amazing days�from May 13 to 15, 2005�a distinguished group of women was invited to celebrate the enduring achievements of twenty-five of their mentors and role models�and in the process pay tribute to the long, glorious tradition of African American accomplishment. The brilliant centerpiece of the weekend was the reading aloud of Pearl Cleage’s poem �We Speak Your Names,� written especially for the occasion and appearing here for the first time in this beautiful keepsake book. As deeply moving in print as it was during that weekend of love and praise, the poem names each of the women honored: Dr. Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King, Diahann Carroll, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, Rosa Parks, Katherine Dunham, and other legends of the brightest magnitude. With heartfelt eloquence, Pearl Cleage (herself a luminary of the younger generation) celebrates her distinguished elders� strength, their magic, their sensuality, their loving kindness, their faith in themselves, and the priceless example of their lives. In her introduction, the poet shares: ’my sisters, here, there, and everywhere, this poem is for you. Use it, adapt it, pass it on. . . .� Destined to become a classic, We Speak Your Names is a treasure to keep forever and a precious, inspiring gift for the ones you love. |
#3
ISBN: 052594950X Eight-time New York Times best-selling author
Eric Jerome Dickey's new novel is filled with intrigue, speed, and sex
appeal. And an unforgettable female narrator rides her sexy yellow
motorcycle right through it all. |
#3
ISBN: 0865433054 Since the opening years of the sixteenth century, Christian biblical scholarship has been the ally of racism, sometimes deliberately and sometimes unconsciously. The alliance has run the gamut from avid support of the black inferiority myth to a mere indifference to the situation; and at both extremes, the racial myths have found growing room. In all likelihood there are millions of Christians today who still believe that the curse of Noah feel upon the black man. This fallacy was once taught by leading scholars and writers of their day, and the successors of those scholars and writers have done very little to erase the fallacy. Secular writers have done more to correct these myths than biblical ones; and this is possibly one of the reasons that many young black Americans call the Holy Scripture 'the white man's bible.' "This book attempts to do something that should have been done at least four hundred years ago. it attempts to portray the black man as he was viewed during the Old Testament times." |
#4
Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, Kyle Baker (Illustrator) ISBN: 1400048591 This scathingly hilarious political satire--produced from a collaboration of three of our funniest humorists--answers the burning question: Would anyone care if East St. Louis seceded from the Union? East St. Louis, Illinois ("the inner city without an outer city"), is an impoverished town, so poor that Fred Fredericks, its idealistic mayor, starts off Election Day by collecting the city's trash in his own minivan. But the mayor believes in the power of democracy and rallies his fellow citizens to the polls for the presidential election, only to find hundreds of them turned away for trumped-up reasons. Even sweet old Miss Jackson--not to mention the mayor himself--is denied the vote because her name turns up on a bogus list of felons. The national election hinges on Illinois's electoral votes and, as a result of the mass disenfranchisement of East St. Louis, a radical right-wing junta led by a dim-witted Texas governor seizes the Oval Office. Prodded by shady black billionaire and old friend John Roberts, Fredericks devises a radical plan of protest: East St. Louis will secede from the Union. Roberts opens an "offshore" bank (albeit in the heart of the U.S.) to finance the newly liberated country, and suddenly East St. Louis becomes the Switzerland of the American heartland, flush with money. It also begins to attract a motley circus of idealistic young militants, OPEC-funded hitmen, CIA operatives, tabloid reporters, and AWOL black servicemen eager to protect and serve the new nation. Problems set in almost immediately: Controversies rage over the name and national anthem of the new country (they decide on the Republic of Blackland with an anthem sung to the tune of the theme from Good Times), and local thug Roscoe becomes a warlord and turns his gang into a paramilitary force. When the U.S. military begins to move in, Fredericks is forced to decide whether his protest is worth taking all the way. Birth of a Nation starts with a scenario drawn from the botched election of 2000 and spins it into a brilliantly absurd work of sharply pointed satire. Along the way the authors lay into a host of hot social and cultural issues--skewering white supremacists, black nationalists, and everyone in between--drawing real blood and real laughs in equal measure in this riotous send-up of American politics. |
#4
Paperback: 159 pages
�I hope that young brothers who read this book will walk away
feeling empowered and motivated...�’mister Mann Frisby
Mister Mann Frisby did an awesome job with writing "Holla Back"!! He, as
well as the 29 others who contributed to the book should be very proud of
themselves. This book has staying power and will be around for years to come
considering the men left no stone unturned in the topics that were
discussed. Especially the most sensitive and uncomfortable, like male
molestation and homosexuality. Frisby's inclusion of the topics was a brave
and responsible thing to do, and it also showed his sincerity in truly
wanting to reach out to ALL young black men. �Amazon Customer Reviewer:
Humanity (Los Angeles, CA.) Included are the thoughts of Grammy winners
John Legend and Kirk Franklin, Common, film producer Lee Daniels, Olympic
Gold Medalist Jon Drummond, former boxer Bernard Hopkins and actor Boris
Kodjoe. |
#5
ISBN: 0385511337 In stories that are simple yet elegant, hard-hitting yet poignant, J. California Cooper writes about the search for fulfillment that propels people’s dreams and desires. In �As Time Goes By� a young woman named Futila Ways grows up focusing her dream of a better future on material wealth, only to discover that having everything she ever wanted cannot compensate for the emptiness in her heart. �The Eye of the Beholder� recounts the story of an unattractive young girl, Lily Bea, whose search for love leads her to embrace her own brand of freedom. And in �Catch a Falling Heart� a woman mildly crippled in a fall endures loneliness and solitude until she finds a man and provides a resting place for his love. Each story beautifully conveys the profound human need to seek some sort of satisfaction, just as a wild star seeks a midnight sun. J. California Cooper’s insights into the hearts and souls of ordinary people and her irresistible storytelling voice have endeared her to fans and critics. As Ms. magazine wrote, �Cooper’s stories beckon. It is as if she is patting the seat next to us, enticing us to come sit and listen.� |
#5
Richard Bruce Nugent edited by Thomas Wirth
ISBN: 0822329131
Richard Bruce Nugent is the best well-kept
secret of the Harlem Renaissance. Nugent isn't unheard of in the annals of
the Renaissance; he’s unseen. Gay Rebel of the Harlem Renaissance solidifies
the phantom of Richard Bruce Nugent by collecting a number of his short
stories, articles, interviews, drawings and paintings. The anthology
establishes Nugent's rightful place amongst
Langston Hughes,
Claude McKay,
Zora Neale Hurston,
Countee Cullen, and other
Harlem Renaissance
luminaries. |
#6
ISBN: 0758207166 Bishop T.K. Wilson, popular pastor of the largest African American church in Queens, New York, has decided to run for borough president. But his family values platform is on shaky ground. In public, his wife and two children are a shining example of respectability. Yet privately, the Wilson kids are giving in to the same temptations as any other young adults. And their parents have no idea what’s going on behind closed doors�including the closed doors of the church offices. As the bishop’s son, Dante Wilson is treated like royalty, and his good looks cause the congregation’s young women to think�and act on’some very impure thoughts. Personable and smart, he’s expected to assume his father’s position one day. The problem is, Dante wants to be a lawyer, and that’s not the only secret he’s keeping. He’s also met the woman of his dreams�who happens to be his parents� worst nightmare. But Dante isn�t the only one who’s about to test his parents� faith� Dante’s younger sister, Donna, is as sweet as they come, yet she isn�t exactly the virginal princess her beloved daddy thinks she is. And thanks to her suspicious, ambitious, not to mention meddling, mother, he’s about to find that out�and more. To add insult to injury, Donna’s transgressions involve another man of God. And that’s only the beginning. Just as the Pandora’s box of unwelcome surprises seems empty, it turns out that even Bishop Wilson has some skeletons in his closet�the kind that could cost him everything. Now all the Wilsons will have to face their demons�and discover what family values are really about. |
#6
by
Salome Thomas-El, with
Cecil Murphey ISBN: 0758212666 Salome Thomas-EL, award-winning educator and the highly-praised author of I Choose to Stay, has helped hundreds of troubled children get into magnet high schools, major colleges, and universities. Yet he still finds himself devastated by the long-ago death of a promising student named Willow Briggs. Salome worked with and consistently encouraged this troubled boy, who ultimately became one of the school’s top chess players and students. But when Willow moved on to high school, he found no real positive influences. He struggled academically and was murdered on a street corner at the age of sixteen. More than any other factor, Willow’s death launched Salome Thomas-EL on his mission to be a positive influence, and to encourage all of us to set the best example possible for the young people in our lives. For parents, guardians, educators�anyone who wants the best for kids, this book is an essential, inspirational reference. It’s all about making a difference�not just for today, but forever. Sometimes, it only takes one special person to set a child on the right path, but more often, it does indeed take a village. The Immortality of Influence will inspire you to band together with other caring adults and start making a difference�now. |
#7
ISBN: 0385496826 J. California Cooper returns with a sweeping novel about love and heartbreak, perseverance and luck, telling her tale with an insight and grace that reaffirms Alice Walker's words of praise for her previous works: "Her style is deceptively simple and direct and the vale of tears in which her characters reside is never so deep that a rich chuckle at a person's foolishness cannot be heard." In her acclaimed novels and short stories, J. California Cooper has created moving portraits of people striving to make their way in a hard, often unjust world. Whether it explores the blatant racial and class biases of nineteenth-century America or the more subtle forms of discrimination that exist today, "It is the universality of her themes that has made Ms. Cooper's work popular," as the Dallas Morning News has written. Some People, Some Other Place is Cooper's biggest, most far-reaching novel to date. A multigenerational tale, it is set in a town called "Place," on a street named "Dream Street." In the words of the novel's narrator, "the block surely had about it a feeling of long accumulation of history, of life, of many lives intertwined." As she chronicles the interlocking lives of the residents of Dream Street, Cooper places the stories of the individuals and their families within the wider context of America's social and economic history. We meet the narrator's great grandparents, who left the poverty of the Deep South in 1895 and made their way to a farm in Oklahoma; her grandparents, who continued the northward journey with their eyes on the promised jobs of the industrial Midwest but were forced to settle without reaching their goal; and her mother, who finishes the journey and discovers that life at 903 Dream Street carries new burdens as well as rewards. The neighbors on the block are people of all colors, all striving to overcome personal troubles and disappointments, and all holding fast to their dreams of a better life. |
#7
Kevin Powell
(Editor) Format: Hardcover, 470pp. Read about all of the contributors to this impressive volume
From across the
globe, here is a historic gathering of some hundred of the greatest black
writers of this era. Bringing together emerging literary talent along with
established and award-winning writers like Booker Prize�winner
Ben Okri,
Junot D�az, Edwidge
Danticat, Paul Beatty,
Joan Morgan, Sarah Jones, and Hilton Als, Step into a World is a
provocative anthology that offers a window into crucial issues of post�Civil
Rights and post colonial black life. Hailing from the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, and Africa, these luminary writers present poignant and powerful thoughts on racial identity, gender oppression, homophobia, classism, Tiger Woods, the black intelligentsia, Oprah's Book Club, and the Beat Generation, as well as blunt assessments on the crack epidemic, police brutality, postintegration America, and the future state of Africa. The first major collection of contemporary black writing in nearly a decade, Step into a World includes writers born as early as 1957 and as recently as 1977. The result is an anthology full of energy and stylistic variations, and it is an incredible journey into the richly textured world of the new black literature |
#8
ISBN: 1886433852 Let That Be the Reason is the first of a quasi-fiction trilogy based on the author's real-life experiences. Pamela Xavier is abandoned by her drug dealing infant son's father (Chino) with a stack of bills, no food in the 'fridge, and an impending eviction notice. With no job prospects, Pamela feels backed into a corner and decides to get her "hustle" on. As a female caught up in a male-dominated game, Pamela relies on her alter-ego, Carmen, to deal with the streets, playas, dealers, drug lords, and of course, the law. In no time, Carmen is on top running a call-girl service, fencing operation, and drug cartel--and add to that, being a mom. With money on her mind and her mind on money, Carmen's hustle is taking the streets by storm but the ever-present danger brought on by the police and rival hustlers makes staying in the game perilous. Carmen wants out the game but her powerful drug connect, Dragos, wants her in. If she stays in, the police will force her to implicate Dragos. Her love interest, Delano, a noble hustler, wants Carmen out the game at all costs. Her first love and father of her son, Chino, wants Carmen in the game so he can connect with Dragos. . Carmen's made enough money and she wants out. But can she get out alive? And can she get out in time? Can Carmen, her infant son, and Delano live happily ever after? Vickie M. Stringer adroitly weaves fact and fiction and has written the most honest, provocative and compelling novel of the "Bad-Girl" genre. |
#8
ISBN: 0743272420
Read an AALBC.com Review
Sixteen years ago on Father's Day in Chicago, K. Kofi Moyo and his wife,
Yvette, gathered together a group of men for a food festival. Each man
prepared his signature dish. The goal was to raise money for local
charitable organizations and shine a light on the "real men" -- the unsung
heroes of the black community -- who care for their families throughout the
year. Real Men Cook for Charity is now the largest national Father's Day event
in the United States. In cities all across the country, from New York to Los
Angeles, from Chicago to New Orleans, several hundred husbands, uncles,
brothers, coaches, and teachers have participated in the event and have
raised nearly a million dollars for a variety of charities, such as the Boys
and Girls Clubs of America and the YMCA, and for health initiatives like
prostate cancer awareness. The men are all different, whether they are from Chi-town (up-South from
Mississippi and Arkansas), N'awlins, Motown, Dallas, D.C., Miami, Philly,
L.A., the Big Apple (with fried fish and biscuits on the side), or Hotlanta.
But on Father's Day, they stand together, united by their love of cooking
and an unwavering commitment to brotherhood and community. In Real Men Cook, the men share more than one hundred
mouthwatering, finger-lickin'-good recipes -- the kind of recipes that make
the Father's Day event a must-attend for all who appreciate a good plate of
food. Equally important, they open their hearts, offering memories of
growing up, tales of Real Men Cook events, and wisdom for the next
generation. |
#9
ISBN: 1400065585 In this beautiful, deeply moving poem, Maya Angelou inspires us to embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, so that hope and love can once again light up our holidays and the world. �Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, look heavenward,� she writes, �and speak the word aloud. Peace.� Read by the poet at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House on December 1, 2005, Maya Angelou’s celebration of the �Glad Season� is a radiant affirmation of the goodness of life and a beautiful holiday gift for people of all faiths. |
#9
Format: Paperback, 3rd ed., 254pp. The book is a collection of interviews of men who have cheated. It examines how men are raised from childhood to be unfaithful and how parents play a large part in creating cheaters. It also takes a hard look at the role of the other woman as well as the tolerant wives and girlfriends. Never before has a book dealt with infidelity on such a realistic level. This is a book every woman and man should read |
#10
ISBN: 0385512724 Best-Selling author E. Lynn Harris is back with another sexy, shocking, and immensely satisfying novel that explores some of today's toughest and most timely issues. Chauncey Greer is the owner of Cute Boy Card Company, a thriving company in Atlanta. As a teenager, he was a member of a popular boy band, but left in disgrace when word got out that he and his band mate D were more than good friends. Chauncey is a free spirit, on the brink of forty with a body admired by both men and women. Not into being categorized, Chauncey's been known to hook up with men and women, but now in the age of the 'down low,' he's found that women ask too many questions, so he's just focusing on the fellas. After one too many bad dates, Chauncey finds himself in church where the minister's message inspires him to follow his dream of a singing career once again. Although he's lost touch with D, as he starts writing songs his thoughts inevitably turn to his former lover. Chauncey's powerful performance at the church earns him a standing ovation and an invitation to participate in an upcoming revival. But Chauncey soon discovers that an ambitious fundamentalist preacher plans to use the revival to speak out against gays and gay marriage. Feeling angry and betrayed, Chauncey and other gay members of the church decide to take a stand against the church's homophobia by staging a 'Day of Absence' when all of the gay members and their friends and family stay home. Everything is going as planned ...until D appears on the scene and Chauncey has to confront his past and make some hard decisions about his future. I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER is filled with the delicious plot twists, humor, compassion, andup-to-the-minute controversy fans expect from their beloved 'E. Lynn.' Harris has returned with another gem of a novel that will rocket to the top of bestseller lists nationwide. |
#10
ISBN: 0971201986 Kola Boof's long awaited autobiography "Diary of a Lost Girl" is nothing less than magnificent. Many will be spellbound by more than 90 pages detailing her terrifying experience as Osama Bin Laden's former mistress, but the Sudanese-born Novelist/Poet writes even more profoundly about the hardships of being vaginally circumcised, about witnessing her birth parents killed in her presence as a small child, about slavery and Arabism in Sudan, about being adopted and raised in the U.S. by African Americans, about her quest for true love, and in one particularly daring chapter, about her hopes for the future of her sons. Add to that years of psychiatric treatment, a struggle with manic anger and quite a few daring romances other than Bin Laden and you've got the perfect ingredients for a feature film. Readers will find themselves fascinated as innocent young Naima Bint Harith tragically becomes the vitriolic complicated temptress Kola. A doomed movie starlet, feminist activist and "kept woman"...who ultimately emerges as the loving mother, outspoken novelist/poet and professional cook that we know today as Kola Boof. Throughout the book, Kola speaks in a voice so utterly naked, truthful and unpretentious that it's impossible not to fall in love with her. |
AALBC.com generates book sales directly and through a number of affiliate programs. Our bestsellers list reflects sales generated via Amazon.com. This list ranks book sales from May 1st through June 24th 2006.
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