richardmurray

My Sudowoodo do you see him in the poster below? https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Sudowoodo-at-the-Library-submit-to-charity-1214090375 Library Project Poster from @goldenemotions https://www.deviantart.com/goldenemotions/art/Library-Project-Poster-1233375459 Here is the library, the goal of the charity https://discord.com/channels/619731511716872205/972156466511355914/1410328199308771339

Don't Call Me Crazy! I'm Just in Love Paperback – February 4, 2014 by Swiyyah Nadirah Woodard @Swiyyah She believes she’s found the man of her dreams. But what if her mind is playing tricks? Anika Muhammad struggles to trust men. But after meeting a handsome playa in her business course, she unexpectedly falls head over heels. Yet she can’t forgive his once-wandering ways and is paralyzed by paranoia that he must be cheating. Seeking something better, Anika gravitates toward an attractive artist whose religious beliefs open her up to a new spiritual world. But some part of her still wants to marry her smooth-talking ladies’ man, and her desperate choices are driving her to the edge of sanity. Can Anika conquer her inner demons before she loses the guy who truly holds her heart? https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11790-urban-fiction-women-fiction-readers/

A Gardin Wedding from Rosey Lee @Rosey Lee A Gardin Wedding May 13, 2025 A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel Book Cover Images image of A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel by Rosey Lee BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780593445518 MY REVIEW “When we really fell for each other, the rules we were playing by changed.” These wise words from Martha, a character in A Gardin Wedding by Rosey Lee, encapsulate the novel’s emotional depth. As the second book in the A Gardins of Edin series, it explores growth in a premarital environment through characters spanning various adult age groups. The theme of personal and relational development forms the core of the story. Lee employs gentle comedy and elegant, illustrative descriptions of fashion to shift the novel’s tone. The two main characters, a couple introduced in the first book, find their love intertwined with a broader cast than before. While Lee guarantees a happy ending in her preface, any reader will likely question that certainty at some point. A Gardin Wedding retains the stylistic elements and framework of the first book but expands its scope, presenting dramatic love across two clans instead of just one. Unlike many authors' sequels, Lee refrains from heavy exposition—a skill often lacking in follow-up novels. She beautifully portrays the love of Black people through belle couture, bringing richness and sophistication to her descriptions. Malcolm X once said, “I was going through the hardest thing, also the greatest thing, for any human being to do: to accept that which is already within you, and around you.” Every couple in A Gardin Wedding is navigating distinct phases of accepting what is already between them and around them. That environment—a thriving, mature, and financially successful Black community—made for an immensely joyful and rewarding read.

Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery from LEah Schanke @Leah Schanke Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Apr 10, 2025 Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Book Cover Images image of Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery by Leah Schanke, Illustrated by Oboh Moses BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780807524282 MY REVIEW Frederick Douglass once said, “The American Government and the American Constitution are spoken of in a manner which would naturally lead the hearer to believe that one is identical with the other; when the truth is, they are distinct in character as is a ship and a compass.” (The Constitution of the United States: Is It Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?; source) This statement came two years and two months before Robert Smalls sailed a steamboat, carrying his wife, children, and peers in its belly, successfully using a compass to freedom during the inescapable Civil War on May 13, 1862. In Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery, the historical fiction by South Carolinian descendant Leah Schanke, the narration comes from Lizzy, the daughter of Robert Smalls. Lizzy’s voice provides unbroken, honest grammar and a slightly geographic but accessible style for modern U.S. readers. Her narration maintains the pace and tone of the escape adventure in the title, crafted for four- to eight-year-olds. Lizzy’s story conveys the fear and consequences of failure without delving into the most gruesome pains of slavery—details that would be difficult for children to comprehend, inconvenient for adults to explain in today’s context, or too vast for a book of this size to contain. While the Civil War serves as the backdrop, Lizzy’s narration avoids suggesting that either side in the war was primarily concerned with the enslaved seeking freedom. This nuance emphasizes that escapes to freedom were driven by the enslaved themselves, unbound to the motives of any army or navy. It’s a subtle but vital message to convey to children—one that many adults may not even know. Schanke’s story concludes with peace after adversity, and her author’s note provides additional context about the fate of the Smalls family, satisfying the curiosity of parents, educators, and readers alike. The illustrations by Oboh Moses are vibrant digital constructs, blending the textures of oil and watercolor. The colors shift to match the text’s mood and tempo, enhancing the narrative’s dramatic effects. Lizzy and the other characters are depicted with authenticity, and Moses’s illustrations often suggest that Lizzy is recounting the story to her younger self, a heartwarming touch. If you appreciate the works of Ezra Jack Keats—his illustrative forms, colors, and narrative focus—the combination of Schanke and Moses in Freedom at Dawn will undoubtedly satisfy you. Frederick Douglass remarked in 1867, five years after Smalls’s escape, “It is by comparing one nation with another, and one learning from another, each competing with all, and all competing with each, that hurtful errors are exposed.” (Our Composite Nation; source) This book exposes the error of slavery through a child’s lens, set between two governments fighting over destiny.

HAMILTON HEIGHTS and SUGAR HILL: Alexander Hamilton's Old Harlem Neighborhood Through the Centuries by Davida Siwisa James @DeeSiwisa Fordham University Press: Empire State Editions Nonfiction; 432 pages; 126 illustrations: PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2024 ISBN-13: 978-1531506148 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10792-hamilton-heights-and-sugar-hill-book-review-request/ MY REVIEW "Indeed, the average Harlemite's impression of white folk, democracy and life in general is rather bad. Naturally if you live on nice, tree lined, quiet convent avenue, even though you are colored, it would never occur to you to riot or break windows." Langston Hughes Davida Siwisa James unbiased, temporally complete history book achieves three goals of equal value. One, to be as definitive a history book to the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill sections of Harlem. No single book has the length to cover the complete history of Harlem, that will demand an encyclopedia which reading this book proves. Two, to explain through the history of said regions in Harlem how Harlem has heritages of blemished grandeurs that includes all people from the Native American populace before European colonies to the time of this prose in the Gregorian year two thousand and twenty-four. Said heritages warrant preservation that can become a living example of multiracial coexistence in the USA if implemented equal to all. Three, to explain how the negativities: negative biases from whites to non-whites, negative biases from the financially wealthy of any phenotype to the financially poor of any phenotype, negative bias from New York City in ruling/governing/administering Harlem, created a constancy of: lies, malfunctions, pains that have always hindered the reach of grandeurs born in Harlem but have not stymied the potential of Harlem. Said potential of Harlem is to be the truest example of peaceful positive productive life for pan-individuals in the declaration that many in humanity cling to as a hope. Siwisa, a Harlemite, achieves all three intricate, modernly purposeful, goals. She uses a straightforward temporal sequence, as chapters, from the time of the Lenape, long gone outside name places, to the time of New York City's first Black Mayor, Harlemite David Dinkins. Unlike most historians, who try to provide a history to a place from its past to modernity, she was able to communicate with residents long gone or residents relatively new, while including her own life, to support the temporal width of her work. Reading this book, you can tell Siwisa loves Harlem but isn't willing to accept a great memory. She wants to fight against the literary plus nonliterary challenges the region has to live with. I, a Harlemite, was unaware that Harlem was to be named Lancaster by the British empire on winning New Amsterdam and turning it into New York. But from the time of New Amsterdam onward, which the book conveys through Harlemites named Hamilton/Jumel/Deforest/Hughes/Williams/Powell jr./Spollen, the region has constantly been a chess piece for New York City and a harbor for the heart of New York City's culture of integration. If you don't know about Harlem, this book is a great starting point for it will create a proper framework to comprehending the region which has, sadly, a heritage of being mislabeled or mis-defined or misrepresented, even when mostly white before the New Negro Movement. If you know about Harlem, you already know Harlem has a vast history, that involves the entire racial landscape of the USA. But you will learn many new things about Harlem through the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill regions, which are the main subject of the book. The entire history in the book is supported evenly by photographic or illustrative evidence, which is mandatory in modern times while also serving as undeniable proof for naysayers to Harlem's various periods of grandeur in its history. Harlem's history is as bright as the light off the skyscrapers to its south, while the perception of it is plagued by a shadow that was and is constructed or maintained by those in or out of Harlem. Let this book take down the blinds page by page.

The Gardins of Edin from Rosey Lee The Gardins of Edin Jan 09, 2024 The Gardins of Edin Book Cover Images image of The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee @Rosey Lee BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780593445495 MY REVIEW “What if I’m not too old to have a happy childhood now?” is a poignant line from the character Ruth in The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee, a novel that begins with apprehension and confusion but ends with a sense of fulfillment. The book explores modern relationship dynamics, with a central theme of personal growth: healing from the past, being steady in the present, and not seeking perfection in the future. Not every character in the book learns or desires this lesson, but it lies at the heart of each of their stories. The story is driven by four central characters: Ruth, who manages a family business that has long been a pillar in the local community; Naomi, the emotional center of the family; Mary, an aspiring restaurateur; and her sister Martha, a doctor. These four Black women from the south are each on a journey of self-discovery, while also grappling with the evolving dynamics of their family and community. The novel, which spans roughly 300 pages, has two main plot arcs that delve into their personal and shared challenges. While some characters may evoke frustration with their negativity, the book never suggests that their futures will be entirely bleak. Instead, it’s a feel-good drama that features flawed, realistic characters whose weaknesses are neither exaggerated nor overly moralized. For fans of well-crafted, character-driven stories with genuine emotional depth, this book is a great fit. Although the back cover hints at larger conflicts, the story isn’t about grand battles over empires; it's more about the internal struggles and infighting within a close-knit community. The characters wrestle with concealing painful pasts, and the hidden scars of that past pose real threats to their relationships. These conflicts are handled with sincerity, never veering into melodrama or caricature, but they do create the possibility of lasting damage if left unresolved. The novel doesn’t position itself as a guide on mental or physical health, but it does offer insights into both. Through the characters' struggles, the value of mental and heart health is subtly highlighted, adding another layer of depth to the story. I found myself learning more about these topics without the narrative losing focus or becoming preachy. The readers’ guide at the end of the book revealed something I should have noticed right away—if it had been a snake, it would have bitten me! While The Gardins of Edin may seem like a clear reference to the biblical Garden of Eden, the book doesn’t feel like a Christian allegory or preach to the reader. The Christianity of some characters is important to their individual stories, but it doesn’t dominate the narrative or alienate readers of different beliefs. Finally, this book sets up its characters in such a way that a sequel could easily follow, though it’s not necessary. By the end, The Gardins have found peace, and the story feels complete as it is.

Title: I wrote you 37 letters Authors: Dee Miller @Dee Miller Reading Age range: ISBN: 979-8-218-09319-8 Published: 12/2022 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10016-i-wrote-you-37-letters-book-review-request/ Phillis Wheatley said:" The world is a severe school master, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries"; said danger comes in what is inspired. Wheatley comprehended a flattery from an enemy may inspire short term glee while inspire long term resentment. " I wrote you 37 letters" is a tool in the form of an epistolary to aid in a reader inspiring themselves through their own writing, motivated by Miller's letters which cover an extensive set of mental or spiritual states. No book can ever cover the infinite states of the mind or infinite states of the soul. The honesty in each letter , discarding the selling or advertising style may writers will choose , is purposeful; said purpose is to convince the reader that these letters are not meant to be sermons or meant to be self righteous. Even if the variance in length of letters, yes 37 in total , will negatively alarm some readers. Those who want help getting to hear their own: honest<Dear Moment In Time>, confessional <A Letter To My Big>, at times praising<Dear Mommie>, unashamed to what is deemed shameful <Dear Secret Lover> voice have a chance to be convinced to do so before they reach the end of this book. The book offers a path way for a reader to share their voice to a larger audience but it needs polishing to read like a more secure request in the age of lawsuits that is modern USA.

Title: Soil Sisters Magical Garden Adventure: Savoring the Soul of Mother Earth Authors: Bobbi J Simmons , Thomas Simmons @Jean2021 Illustrator: Blakely Frederick Reading Age range: Publisher: BlackGold Publishing (May 1, 2023) Paperback: 39 pages ISBN-10: 1953130267 ISBN-13: 978-1953130266 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10407-book-reviews MY REVIEW John Boyd Jr , founder of the National Black Farmer's Association said: "I'm owning land that many of my forefathers worked when it was scotch-free. You know - slave labor man" The relationship that Black people whose forebears were enslaved have to the land that compose the states of the U.S.A. is older than the U.S.A. itself; it is a relationship that introduced the yam, varieties of rice, introduced the okra into the cuisine of the entire populace of the U.S.A.; it is a relationship full of blood, from black bodies after exposure to white whips, white laws, white guns nourishing the soil. A relationship most of said blacks want to forget for obvious reasons. But, Bobbi J Simmons side her husband, Tommy Simmons, compose a loving Black descended of enslaved couple who don't want the relationship forgotten. Not to deny the painful shedding of blood but to keep alive the pride in the craft, the heritage of loving nature, that exist alongside the painful blood in said relationship. In their book, Soil Sisters Magical Garden Adventure, they focus their efforts on the children, the youngest descendants of those enslaved in the U.S.A. , who in majority have been denied learning or knowing of said relationship for said negative reasons. The Simmons weave a simple tale of love, love of growing things, as pure as Bilbo Baggins love for the shire in "the hobbit". The goal, the road, the prize are all the same, watching something in nature you nurture spread joy throughout your life. The illustrations from Blakely have functional color tones, and usually reflect the prose the authors set. Some parents or adult readers may be offset or opposed to certain word choices but I argue the language is appropriate to the audience of young children who should be forgiven as well for a few emissions of their dialect or a few slip ups of the tongue. All readers: child, parent, teacher will enjoy the historical pages; each give a key factor plus visage of a historical figure but said readers will also want more of them. The most important aspect in the book is what can not be read. It is the seeds that come with the book, which surprised me. The little packet of seeds provide children or parents or teachers an offline chance to do more than be inspired from or enjoy reading a story about black youth loving to grow things, supported by their local community while supporting their local community, even with spiritual help when need be; it allows all who buy the book a chance to do offline as the characters in the book, on land they own. And even if said land is only a small pot, the heritage of love to the land Black people grow in the USA: the Simmons prose speaks of, Blakely's art visualizes, Boyd jr. organizes for gains another Black person on an adventurous path to embracing. That is a worthy cause and the only way to lessen the growth of the negativity from the past is to grow another tree that emphasizes the positivity from the past.

ADAM AND EVE MAKE A BIG, BIG MISTAKE BUT GOD FIX' IT from Jean Ann Field-Ridley ADAM AND EVE MAKE A BIG, BIG MISTAKE BUT GOD FIX' IT September 15,2023 by Jean Ann Field-Ridley @JenanFR REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10622-racial-and-cultural-representation-in-biblical-storytelling-the-caribbean-experience/ Buy The Book https://www.am*zon.com/ADAM-EVE-MAKE-BIG-MISTAKE-ebook/dp/B0CH5S5KZ5 MY REVIEW "Elenchos kai anatrope tes pseudonymou gnoseos" is the title of a book by a Christian, defined in this review as someone who has faith in Jesus Christ in some form or fashion, named Irenaeus, of Hellenistic ancestry who lived in Lugdunum now commonly called in modernity Lyon in France, who lived circa 130 to 202 years after the birth of Jesus. The title translates, Control and overthrow the falsely named Knowing. The message in this old book is to suggest one thing, no option available. Orthodoxy, straight opinion, is superior to heresy, choice. The Gnostic movement at its historic core opposed the idea that Christianity has one line of thinking, a straight road. Throughout the course of Christian history Christian groups through schisms, like the split between the Christian Church centered in Roma side the Christian church centered in Nova Roma, or groups protesting a new way, like the Church of Jesus Christ and latter-day saints, publicly support heresy. "Adam And Eve Make Big Mistake" by Jean Ann Field-Ridley is a modern book, while its purpose reflect the literary heritage of Irenaeus plus the Gnostics, through a Christian making a book to a need in the Christian community of the literature's time while emphasizing a choice that is against a standard presentation of Christianity. Field-Ridley is a Black woman of the Caribbean and has publicly stated she feels in the Caribbean Christianity is viewed by many as a religion for whites of European descent or whites of anywhere. Sequentially, many Blacks in the Caribbean don't see a choice in being Christian, if they also wish to be true to themselves. The book is geared towards children of the Caribbean, using literature that when spoken resounds culturally to the Caribbean. While I comprehended immediately the stories within the book, reflecting Christian bible stories, the flavor of the text was unfamiliar to me, as for example the book of Genesis covered in the book. In the spirit of early Christian literature this book does not interpret each book of the apostles or all books of the Septuagint, the predecessor of the Old Testament. The illustrative border style is elegant or beautiful while the images are incoherent in storytelling approach. Christian parents may need to make adjustments to what they say while they read based on their faith in Jesus. But the book totally embraces or never betrays through language or imagery aracial unity in humanity. Which is a prerequisite in the goal of the author or the agenda in the book, to get a populace of humans who have lived under the power of another populace to embrace a culture delivered by slave chain when they are no longer enslaved. It is in the spirit of heresy, choice, that Jesus, born a Jew and surrounded by Jewish clergy testing or challenging him, chose to lead a new way open to all, which became Christianity. No book can guarantee an affect on a reader. But after an attempt, if it can increase, by any measure, a human child choosing to embrace or hold onto something from humanity they opposed or doubted, the extended family of Eve and Adam is better for it.

Miles of Style from Lisa D. Brathwaite Miles of Style February 6, 2024 Title: Miles of Style by Lisa D. Brathwaite & illustrated by Lynn Gaines from @Lee and Low Books REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10640-lee-low-spring-2024-titles-for-review-consideration/ MY REVIEW Martin Luther King jr. once said "... to tell a bootless man to pick himself up by his bootstraps is a cruel jest." While the murdered leader referred to whites, once the enslavers, speaking to blacks, once the enslaved, in the U.S.A., the basis from which any succeed is extremely plus rarely bootless. While "Miles Of Style" functionally plus intentionally doesn't provide the most detailed biography of Eunice Johnson, founder of the Ebony Fashion Fair. Said book, written by Lisa D. Braithwaite, shows in brief how having boots is not irrelevant, unimportant, or inexcusable in the ability to strive in life, in the U.S.A. or anywhere else, at any time. The boots Eunice Johnson had, made by her parents plus community, led to Johnson creating, shepherding, or growing the Ebony Fashion Fair, the main subject of “Miles Of Style”, to a mandatory element of human history. Braithwaite's literature, accompanied by illustrations from Lynn Gaines, is truly chic; they provide a financially sparing while efficient biography of the Ebony Fashion Fair, centered on an incomplete while mandatory biography of a Black woman, born surrounded by elegance or contemporary fashion from inside a blockaded Black populace in the U.S.A. The boots she was born in supported her life path, a branch of which led to her showcasing the fashion she was born surrounded by to all outside her blockaded community, in the U.S.A. or beyond, in the style of a modern-day influencer. The book is full of positive, in color tone or composition, pastel illustrations of Black people in the USA mostly plus overwhelmingly, not totally, consistent in illustrative style or storytelling flow. The book delivers on all the promises in its summary concerning Eunice Johnson: rearing, education, marriage, Ebony Magazine, Ebony Fashion Fair. A rough approximation is half of the book concern Eunice Johnson before the Ebony Fashion Fair, and four fifths concern her life during and after the Ebony Fashion Fair. The Black populace in humanity, the tribes native to each continent plus immigrant communities through enslavement or free will, has many, not all or most, who adore stories about Black people who lived in no less glamour or peace than non-Blacks in times before the modern internet age. This book with its illustrations plus history delivers such a story. I am not six or eleven years old; I cannot say how a child will react while or after reading this book. But as an adult who has read to children, I think adult readers to children, in homes as well as the secondary educational institutions called schools, will have a chance to share Eunice Johnson's depicted story, and along the way may learn from the book while the book never stops trying to uplift the viewer or reader with positive, creative, energy. The book can inspire any child, any phenotype or age or location, to color more or design more or imagine more beyond any perceived or real limitations. Said creativity is the road to the destination of being truly chic. This book, if owned, will be part of the boots one needs to walk said road.

Paths of Bimshire: Book One- Path of The Hunt June 2, 2022 "As you know, my Path is one of the most feared of the Paths, and for good reason." A young boy has entered The Year of The Turning, the year when it will be determined if he possesses enough power to be deemed worthy of a Path. Few people believe in him, including himself. But on the ceremonial day of The Threshold, family secrets held by his stoic father will be revealed that will not only change the life of the boy forever, but the very reality of his home of Bimshire. In this Afro-Caribbean steampunk fantasy-adventure we are thrust into the world of Bimshire, a magical island full of fantastical creatures, wondrous sights, and people possessing numerous gifts in the form of The Paths. The entire Nation forms a society based off of these Paths, and life can be extremely rewarding, or extremely difficult, depending on your Path...or if you even have one. When one household reveals a dark secret, the entire Nation is thrown into upheaval and an epic quest begins. Join in on this immersive, dark and addictive coming of age fantasy tale set in a mythical version of Barbados, as a father and son must learn to understand, and save, each other. https://a.co/d/7OgsGH4

The Sword May 14, 2023 "The Woman in Black stared at the Little Girl as the buildings burnt all around them." A Swordslinger has a chance encounter with a little girl that will change both of their lives forever. Artist and Writer Shawn Alleyne takes us on another ride in his AfroFiction series of worlds. This time we enter a sci-fi Western frontier in a short story of death, discovery and destiny. https://a.co/d/hAz9Kmq

Coffee and Coloring with DeviantArt Friday August 29, 2025 6PM - 9PM Pacific Daylight Time @ Red Window Coffee 13365 Ventura Blvd. Studio City, CA 91604 One can get the FREE limited-edition DeviantArt 25th Birthday Coloring Book! thank @vagrantscout in @color-me-club from @team https://www.deviantart.com/team/journal/In-LA-Grab-a-FREE-coloring-book-at-a-mini-devmeet-1231669362 My most recent inks - tell me if you color them Message in a bottle moments https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Message-in-a-bottle-moments-1223287568 Alien-queen77's OC Deimyn's Morning Blossom https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Alien-queen77-s-OC-Deimyn-s-Morning-Blossom-1215980699 Sudowoodo at the Library submit to charity IT IS INCLUDED event [ https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/372-sudowoodo-at-the-library-for-charity-07032025/ ] link [ https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Sudowoodo-at-the-Library-submit-to-charity-1214090375 ] Draw Me Again Duo color https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Draw-Me-Again-Duo-color-1213279251 EMBED CODE