books about New Yorkers – Equal Opportunity Reader

[Review] Life After Death, Sistah Souljah

A Kindle lays flat on a dark, plum-colored velvety blanket. It displays the black and white cover the Life After Death, which depict a pair of full women's lips above the book title.

(If you don’t love yourself today, you can buy this here at Bookshop) Did any of y’all ever read Christian end times spec-fic? By that I mean books like Left Behind, This Present Darkness, and other religious novels focused on spiritual warfare, heaven, hell, and salvation. There are a lot of odd things about evangelicultureContinue reading “[Review] Life After Death, Sistah Souljah”

[REVIEW] The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah

A Black woman(me) is partly visible, holding a tablet displaying the cover of The Coldest Winter Ever. The book cover shows a Black girl's face from the nose down, her full lips painted bright pink. The woman holding the book is also only visible from nose down and wearing a similar lipstick

(Buy it on Bookshop) Back in 1999, I was an 18-year old nerd who spent way too much time reading.(Big surprise.) I was a soft, weak naive thing without an ounce of fight in me–but I hated this book and would have happily beat the brakes off of somebody like Winter Santiaga in real life.Continue reading “[REVIEW] The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah”

[REVIEW] Marie of the Cabin Club, by Ann Petry(published as Arnold Petri)

A Black woman's hand holds the colorful cover of Ann Petry's Marie of the Cabin Club in front of a dark city street.

(This title is not currently available for download. Find other works by this author at Bookshop.) Around this time last year, there was a whole lot of sound and fury surrounding the Reclaim Her Name project from Bailey’s and the Women’s Prize, which republished 25 titles by famous women that had originally been released underContinue reading “[REVIEW] Marie of the Cabin Club, by Ann Petry(published as Arnold Petri)”

[REVIEW] The Meaning of Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey

(Buy it HERE.) 🎶⠀This isn’t the best book I’ve read all year, but it’s certainly the most surprising. I was expecting Mariah Carey(the glamorous award-winning diva) to fill a few frivolous pages with brand names, romantic liaisons and shady entertainment gossip with a few childhood anecdotes sprinkled in. What I was not expecting was MariahContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Meaning of Mariah Carey, by Mariah Carey”

[REVIEW] Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo

(Buy it HERE.) 🛫⠀Yano Rios is on a flight from NYC to Santo Domingo when a mechanical error causes the plane to crash. There are no survivors, and his teenaged daughter Camino is devastated when the anticipation of her father’s yearly visit turns into unspeakable grief and sudden financial insecurity for her and her aunt.Continue reading “[REVIEW] Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo”

[REVIEW] Half-Resurrection Blues, Daniel José Older

(Buy it HERE.) First things first–I read this on the MyMustReads app for Android and absolutely hated it. It’s poorly designed and made my reading experience far less enjoyable. 0/10, will not use again unless they overhaul it entirely. Delete, block, ban. UGH.🧟‍♂️⠀Fortunately the book in question was more enjoyable than the app I usedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Half-Resurrection Blues, Daniel José Older”

[REVIEW] Invisible Life, E. Lynn Harris

(Buy it HERE.) Raymond Tyler Jr. is Black, middle-class, and upwardly mobile. He has a job at a hot law firm in NYC, a loving Southern family, a supportive friend group and a really nice apartment. He’s a catch on the dating market, and everyone wants to know when he’ll get married. He’s also inContinue reading “[REVIEW] Invisible Life, E. Lynn Harris”