Books by Americans – Page 8 – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Our Black Year: One Family’s Quest To Buy Black In America’s Racially Divided Economy, by Maggie Anderson

(Buy it on Bookshop here. Or not.) To cut right to the chase, this book really pissed me off. On its face, it’s a real life account of an affluent, educated Black family in Chicago who decided to spend all of 2009 buying from only Black businesses in order to demonstrate the ethnic disparities inContinue reading “[REVIEW] Our Black Year: One Family’s Quest To Buy Black In America’s Racially Divided Economy, by Maggie Anderson”

[REVIEW] Pashmina, by Nidhi Chanani

A black tablet displays the cover of Pashmina, which depicts an Indian-American teenage girl wrapped in a red and gold pashmina shawl that floats above her and forms a background for the title of the book. The tablet rests on a blue and gold pashmina, with a tiny black statue of Ganesh peeking over the right side of it.

(Buy it on Bookshop.) Something that I’m always learning is that discussions of trauma don’t always have to be epic. There is a time to dive deep into injustice, of course. But sometimes, it’s right to acknowledge something happened, commit to examining its effect on your life and community, and fold that understanding into theContinue reading “[REVIEW] Pashmina, by Nidhi Chanani”

[REVIEW] Girls of Might And Magic, An Anthology by Diverse Books With Magic

PHOTO ID: Black and white e-cover of Girls of Might and Magic displayed on a black Kindle. The device is on a wooden table, resting on a strip of red volcanic rocks and another strip of grass.

(This book is only available on Amazon, and y’all know how I feel about that. Still, as an indie, it gets the rare link-to-Amazon special–find it HERE.) Does anyone remember when it was “weird” for women to read fantasy? I distinctly remember getting into an argument with a total stranger who walked up and startedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Girls of Might And Magic, An Anthology by Diverse Books With Magic”

[REVIEW] Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko

A Black woman's hand holds the brightly lit black and white Kindle cover of Raybearer in front of a round mirror

(This book seems to be out of stock at Bookshop, beautiful people. To check if it’s been added since this was posted , please click HERE.) There’s a moment in this book where our heroine Tarisai is awoken in the dead of night to go rescue someone. The scene isn’t really unusual in a fantasyContinue reading “[REVIEW] Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko”

[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] Dreadnought, by April Daniels

(Buy it from Bookshop) Danny Tozer is an awkward teenage girl surviving the worst part of high school. One day, while hiding behind the mall and painting her toenails, trying desperately to grab a few moments of peace, a superhero fight breaks out overhead. In Danny’s world, these aren’t unusual. What is unusual is theContinue reading “[REVIEW] Dreadnought, by April Daniels”

[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”

[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] This Is How You Lose The Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

ID: A black tablet displaying the cover of This Is How You Lose The Time War(sky blue background with red and blue cardinal birds reflecting each other surrounded by title text). The tablet is held in front of a leafy green bush by a black woman's hand.

(Buy it from Bookshop) This may be the unlikeliest romance novel I have ever read. Red and Blue are super soldiers in the time war, traveling across the 4th dimension bending history through sheer violence. Somehow, they begin a mocking correspondence, taunting each other while busy sinking Atlantis and riding with Genghis Khan to manipulateContinue reading “[REVIEW] This Is How You Lose The Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone”

[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”