Mel – Page 2 – Equal Opportunity Reader

[Review] Honey and Spice, by Bolu Babalola

The Kindle cover of Bolu Babalola's Honey and Spice, depicting two young Black lovers standing side by side, lays on a pink , red and white camouflage mat, surrounded by a fancy candle, a pink set of earbuds, and a tall pink cup with XOXO written on the side.

(Buy this cute book here.) This would make a really cute movie. Kiki Banjo hosts the hottest campus radio broadcast for Black students at a PWI. Malakai Korede is a transfer student and an up-and-coming filmmaker. Both of them are fit, fine, and have no time for relationships. But when professional opportunity comes knocking, theseContinue reading “[Review] Honey and Spice, by Bolu Babalola”

Last Week In Books: Oh, Bother?

Winnie the Pooh stares moodily through the blinds

Two months into the year and the drama in the book world is legion, beautiful people. I’m working on a mega-roundup of it all for next week’s LWIB, but this week, let’s focus on a few of the nicer things to read and one very weird Winnie the Pooh reboot. And that’s this week’s roundContinue reading “Last Week In Books: Oh, Bother?”

Last Week In Books: Roald Dahl, Many Migrations, and Stop Sending Me That Pedro Pascal Bookshelf Picture

A young Black woman with a big afro and bright yellow eyeshadow sits in a cozy corner,reading a hardcover book.

Greetings, fellow readers. I spent President’s Day weekend at Boskone 60, where I spent a significant amount of time cursing both my forgetfulness and my commitment to ebooks. This is because I met both Nalo Hopkinson and Andrea Hairston(if you don’t know who they are–I have a booklist or two for you). I forgot myContinue reading “Last Week In Books: Roald Dahl, Many Migrations, and Stop Sending Me That Pedro Pascal Bookshelf Picture”

[REVIEW] How High The Moon, by Karyn Parsons

A young Ukrainian man in a Black sweater smiles down at the blue and gold cover of How High The Moon. Behind him are a world map, an orange map, and an open window looking out onto a public square.

(Buy this book.) I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but my current day job is in an ESL school. Perhaps this is a bit too on-brand, but I’m always telling my students that if they want a good English vocabulary, they need to read. Our school even has a little library that IContinue reading “[REVIEW] How High The Moon, by Karyn Parsons”

[LAST WEEK IN BOOKS] Love, Immigration, and Leave Prince Harry Alone

So last week I posted a review of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare and it’s attracted a whole new spate of fellow readers. Welcome! It’s also attracted a lot of people with nothing better to do than post nasty comments about people so famous they’ll never meet either of us, and to those folks I say;Continue reading “[LAST WEEK IN BOOKS] Love, Immigration, and Leave Prince Harry Alone”

[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex

The Kindle cover of Prince Harry's Spare, depicting his face in closeup, lies on a wooden table in between a glass of white wine and a burger.

(Buy this book from my shop.) I’m not much of a royal watcher, despite having lived in Britain for some years in my late twenties and early thirties. The only members of the family I’ve ever paid any attention to are the late Princess Diana and her youngest son, and I really only started payingContinue reading “[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex”

[Last Year In Books] What I Read in 2022, and How I’m Reading in 2023

A full bookshelf, mostly titles in foreign languages and by Black authors.

Finally, I’m getting around to making a post about my last year in reading, and what I hope to read in 2023. 2022 was a bear of a year for me, fellow readers. It was also a banner year, in many ways. I’ve alluded to my personal struggles on Instagram and also in this readingContinue reading “[Last Year In Books] What I Read in 2022, and How I’m Reading in 2023”

[REVIEW] Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed

The beautifully designed colorful cover of the graphic novel Shubeik Lubeik is held up by a Black woman's(my) hand on a white shelf in front of a white wall . A matching circular mirror frame and a delicate painted ceramic cup are in the background. The cover illustration depicts an Egyptian woman's hands reaching out in the darkness to grab an illuminated bottle containing a wish.

(Buy this brilliant book here.) “In Arabic folktales, Shubeik Lubeik is the first part of the rhyme a genie speaks once released from a lamp. It means “Your wish is my command.“ It’s been a very long time since I read something so captivating. This graphic novel, recently translated from Arabic into English, drew meContinue reading “[REVIEW] Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed”

[REVIEW] The Weight of Blood, by Tiffany D Jackson

(Buy this book.) The blurbs call this a Black version of Stephen King’s Carrie, and they’re mostly right. The author set out to write this as an homage, only shifting the tone of the main character’s terror, not the source. Instead of sheltered, abused, religiously traumatized Carrie White, this book focuses on Madison Washington. MaddyContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Weight of Blood, by Tiffany D Jackson”

[REVIEW] Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn

he black and white ebook cover of Bloodmarked, depicting a young Black woman and white man back to back in a battle stance surrounded by magical energies. The cover is displayed on a Kindle that is being held by a Black woman's hand(my hand) in front of an old-fashioned historical American building on a cold rainy day.

(Buy this book) What I expected from the hotly anticipated sequel to Legendborn: Our heroine Bree, having discovered she’s the bearer of a magical legacy from her slave-owning white ancestors that supercharge the gifts inherited from her mother’s ancestral line, raises up a network of fierce Black women rootcrafters, takes on the Round Table, andContinue reading “[REVIEW] Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn”