Books by Americans – Page 9 – Equal Opportunity Reader

[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”

[REVIEW] Homey Don’t Play That!: The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution, by David Peisner

Tablet displaying colorful cover for the book Homey Don't Play That. The tablet is lying on a red blanket, surrounded by multicolored balls of yarn.

(Buy it HERE.) I’m often grateful that I came of age during the 90s. While I didn’t have the easiest of childhoods (who did?) there was something magical about the Black cultural renaissance happening in that decade. Hip-hop, neo-soul, comedy, tv shows, literature, films–there was something special happening then and I’m glad it was theContinue reading “[REVIEW] Homey Don’t Play That!: The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution, by David Peisner”

[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] Signs of Attraction, by Laura Brown

A brightly lit tablet displays a book cover photo of a bearded Latino, held up in front of a narrow dark urban street.

(Find it HERE.) There’s a lot of things I expect from romance novels, and intersectionality is not one of them. However, that’s exactly what this book offers and it’s an interesting surprise. Main girl Carli is a Hard Of Hearing undergrad from a troubled background. Main guy Reed, a handsome grad student, is not onlyContinue reading “[Review] Signs of Attraction, by Laura Brown”

[REVIEW] In The Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado

(Buy it HERE.) “The memoir is, at its core, an act of resurrection. Memoirists re-create the past, reconstruct dialogue. They summon meaning from events that have long been dormant.” A long time ago, for what seems like a very long time, Carmen Maria Machado was abused by her girlfriend. While the abuse was emotional ratherContinue reading “[REVIEW] In The Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado”

[REVIEW] Can’t We All Disagree More Constructively? by Jonathan Haidt

[Buy the full book HERE.] Okay, so first of all, no. No, we cannot. I have to admit I feel some type of way about these conciliatory centrist hot takes from white academics (and other public figures) who have relatively low existential stakes in the present US situation. This kind of jolly elitist water coolerContinue reading “[REVIEW] Can’t We All Disagree More Constructively? by Jonathan Haidt”

[REVIEW] The Powder Mage Trilogy, Brian McClellan

A maroon book cover displayed on a black and white hand-held tablet. The tablet rests on a wooden table with a variety of large Korean food dishes--soup, rice, side dishes-- laid out on it.

(Find it HERE.) I think all serious readers have their comfort reading habits, right? When I need words but my powers of concentration are low, I read poetry. When I feel the need to wrap up in creativity like a blanket, I find a long fantasy or sci-fi series and immerse myself in another worldContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Powder Mage Trilogy, Brian McClellan”

[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”

[BOOKLIST] Earth Is Ghetto: A Booklist Where Aliens Land Everywhere

Yellow brick wall with red mosaic "Space Invaders"-style alien in top right corner.

“Earth is ghetto / I want to leave / Can you beam me up / I’m out on the street by the corner store / You know the one on 15th…“ I’m sure many of you have heard the viral song by Aliah Sheffield by now–it’s the toast of TikTok. If not, take a moment andContinue reading “[BOOKLIST] Earth Is Ghetto: A Booklist Where Aliens Land Everywhere”