Black Writers – Page 7 – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] The Black Traveler’s Guide To Daegu, South Korea by The Blerd Explorer

(Buy it on Amazon, Google, or Apple) (Click here to see my review of the previous installment in this series, The Black Traveler’s Guide To Incheon.) The world seems to be slowly opening up again, doesn’t it? Travel is back on many minds and tourism is ramping back up in many economies, including here inContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Black Traveler’s Guide To Daegu, South Korea by The Blerd Explorer”

[Booklist] Let The Circle Be Unbroken: A Few Favorite Books About Black American Families

Black family sitting down and having a meal at a table.

We all come from families and have family stories– whether epic, painful, dramatic, loving or joyful. It’s the last two that I think are particularly important to find in stories of Black American families, especially in the current climate. No matter the trauma and oppression we may face in America, Black families still have love,Continue reading “[Booklist] Let The Circle Be Unbroken: A Few Favorite Books About Black American Families”

[REVIEW] Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams

(Buy it from Bookshop here.) I want to fight Queenie. Okay, maybe not fight. Not physically, anyway. I just want to take her out for coffee and a very stern junior auntie-in-training chat about her life and her choices, ending with one question–“Girl, why don’t you love yourself at all?” She’s twenty-five, works at aContinue reading “[REVIEW] Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams”

[REVIEW] The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw

(Buy it from Bookshop) sigh I don’t think this collection of short stories was meant for me, y’all. I wanted it to be. Nine stories about Black women and their connections to themselves and the church seemed right up my alley, and I was genuinely excited to get into this and see myself and myContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw”

[REVIEW] Survivor, by Octavia Butler

A tablet displaying the cover of Survivor(a woman trapped in a green tree with a furry blue man growing from the top of it, on a red background) held in front of metal stakes chained together standing in the grass

(UPDATE, May 11 2021: I just found out that the Afro-Speculative bookshop Sistah SciFi has this title available as an ebook! Find it HERE and enjoy!) (This novel is out of print. Find other works by Octavia E Butler HERE.) This novel was originally published in 1978. It’s been out of print since 1979–unlike allContinue reading “[REVIEW] Survivor, by Octavia Butler”

[Review] M.C. Higgins, The Great, by Virginia Hamilton

(Buy it HERE.) I read this book because I felt like I was missing out on something. I’d heard nothing but glowing reviews of this from folks who read it in school and loved it. That, plus its inclusion on a lot of #blackboyjoylit lists made me expect this to be a very different middle grade coming-of-ageContinue reading “[Review] M.C. Higgins, The Great, by Virginia Hamilton”

[REVIEW] The Gatekeeper’s Staff(TJ Young And The Orishas Book 1), by Antoine Bandele

A black and white ebook standing on a cement block, underneath a halo-shaped fluorescent light.

(Find it HERE.) I LOVED THIS. Before I get into the review, let me just say–if you know a pre-teen boy who loves magic and adventure, get him this book. If he’s Black, get him two copies. This is the first book I’ve read in 2021 that made me want to clap and cheer andContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Gatekeeper’s Staff(TJ Young And The Orishas Book 1), by Antoine Bandele”

[REVIEW] Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Blue paperback book lying on shiny polished wood dining table in front of a white coffee cup and saucer. The cup is full of latte with a fleur-de-lis pattern in the foam.

(Find it HERE.) Some books show you the lives of other people. Some books show you yourself. Some books do both. Song of Solomon has always been the last for me, although it’s always been hard to put my finger on exactly why. ⠀ This is a deceptively dense novel, packed with story and detail,Continue reading “[REVIEW] Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison”

[HEAR ME OUT] Eric Jerome Dickey, in Memoriam

It was a shock to wake up this morning and discover that best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey has passed away at the relatively young age of 59. I read a lot of Dickey in my 20s, and the news really rocked me–he was a Black cultural institution of sorts, and his work had a hugeContinue reading “[HEAR ME OUT] Eric Jerome Dickey, in Memoriam”

[REVIEW] Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black woman with afro-puff seated, reading a copy of Black Sun

(Find it HERE) First review of the year! This is the first published novel in the Between Earth and Sky epic, a fantasy series based on the histories and mythologies of pre-settler Meso-America (think Maya, Inca, Aztec, etc). Despite the very unique worldbuilding, in many ways it’s still a very traditional fantasy story. There’s aContinue reading “[REVIEW] Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse”