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The Best New Books for the Week Ending January 16, 2022 and More - Jan 13, 2022


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WhenWinterRobensonCame AALBC 28655 3P
 

The whole world seems to transform during the summer of 1965 in When Winter Robson Came. Eden’s cousin from Mississippi comes to visit her in L.A. just as the Watts Riots erupt in this stirring new novel by Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods. Buy Now ▶

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9781454943785

Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path to the White House by Malaika Adero

America has a love-hate relationship with pioneers, the people who break impossible barriers to forge a successful life. Kamala Devi Harris, who was sworn in as 49th Vice President of the U.S. on January 20, 2021, is a member of this remarkable club. Editor-writer Malaika Adero, a legend in the publishing industry for more than 30 years with stints at Simon & Schuster and Amistad Press, puts together a stylish collection of text and image to pay tribute to this politician, who is the first woman to serve in the second-in-command, the first Black and South Asian – Caribbean American Female to occupy that office. The coffee-table book of this high achiever, Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path To The White House, is more than the usual scrapbook of her triumphs. More ▶

 

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9781982163167

Yonder by Jabari Asim

The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.

 

They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors’ tongues and their beliefs but they have a language and rituals all their own.

 

In a world that would be allegorical if it weren’t saturated in harsh truths, Cato and William meet at Placid Hall, a plantation in an unspecified part of the American South. Subject to the whims of their tyrannical and eccentric captor, Cannonball Greene, they never know what harm may befall them: inhumane physical toil in the plantation’s quarry by day, a beating by night, or the sale of a loved one at any moment. It’s that cruel practice—the wanton destruction of love, the belief that Black people aren’t even capable of loving—that hurts the most. More ▶

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9781400231256

Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan, Illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo

The true story of Black activist Opal Lee and her vision of Juneteenth as a holiday for everyone celebrates Black joy and inspires children to see their dreams blossom. Growing up in Texas, Opal knew the history of Juneteenth, but she soon discovered that many Americans had never heard of the holiday that represents the nation’s creed of freedom for all. More ▶

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9781950912063

Friday Foster: The Sunday Strips by Jim Lawrence

The Friday Foster comic strip is the story of a former nightclub “camera bunny” turned photographer’s assistant turned fashion model. With an innate inclination to help others and a natural beauty that makes her a magnet for men, Friday often finds herself in some very sticky situations and world class adventures.

 

For the first time ever, the classic Friday Foster newspaper color comic strip created by James D. “Jim” Lawrence (of Buck Rogers and James Bond fame) and illustrated by Jorge “Jordi” Longar n then later Gray Morrow is collected. The strip ran from 1974-1970 and inspired the 1975 movie of the same name starring Pam Grier. The strip is the first mainstream comic strip starring an African-American character in the title role. More ▶

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01132022-newsletter-new

All 346 Newsletters, going back 20 years, are available on our website. These archived newsletters can still provide you with valuable information about books you can still enjoy. The older newsletters are also time capsules, providing a historical snapshot of Black books.

 

AALBC’s Newsletters, emailed June 2019 to the present may be found here. Newsletters sent from May of 2019 to February of 2001 may be found here.

 

Our newsletters are free by default, but if you find our newsletters valuable, please consider a paying a voluntary minimum annual subscription of $17.99. Your financial support helps fund our mission to help you discover the Black books you are most likely to enjoy. Subscribe Today ▶

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Troy-D-Johnson-AALBC-Founder-2020-news

Dear Troy,

Always remember Troy, you are why we’ve been able to make AALBC the premier online platform for books by, or about, people of African descent.

 

In this eNewsletter, I’ve highlighted the importance Your paid subscriptions to our newsletter. In a country where so much of our information and entertainment is controlled by a small number of purely profit driven entities, we are not being provided with the information that best serve our needs. In the Black book world this means we are simply not going to be informed about all of the great books that are available. Independent platforms like AALBC can help us retain some control over how our story is told and to deem which books are important. Your financial support make this possible.

 

A world in which Amazon is working hard to be the only place one can buy a book readers — especially readers of Black books — will be increasingly underserved. The only way to prevent this is to support independent booksellers including AALBC. Your book purchases, suggestions, engagement on the site, commenting, social sharing, and advertisements will do the trick.

 

Peace and Love,
Troy Johnson
Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com

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This message is sponsored by sponsored by Nancy Paulsen Books
Consider sponsoring our eNewsletter or a dedicated email.
★ AALBC.com eNewsletter – January 13, 2022 - Issue #346

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