Books by Black American Men – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Successful Failure, by Kevin Fredericks

The Kindle cover of Successful Failure, depicting comedian Kevin Fredericks power posing in a tux, lays against a flowered wallet on a dining table. Behind it are a dish of salad and a glass of white wine.

(This book is available at the Equal Opportunity Bookshop) Read time: 3 minutes They don’t all have to be deep, but sometimes they unexpectedly are. If “just keep going” was a person, it would look a lot like Kevin Fredericks, aka KevOnStage. I remember seeing his Scandal recap videos years ago and debating with friendsContinue reading “[REVIEW] Successful Failure, by Kevin Fredericks”

[REVIEW] The Colored Museum, by George C Wolfe

The colorful cover of the play The Colored Museum, depicting a Black woman in a headscarf stirring a cauldron, is held u in the aisle of a busy commercial flight. Sorry to my fellow passengers.

(Buy this book ethically at Bookshop!) About 3 minutes read time A hostess on the Middle Passage gives grim travel instructions. A Vietnam vet recounts how he helped his fellow soldiers reconcile with their futures. A drunk, impassioned drag queen tells it like it is, and still remains. An upwardly mobile Black man comes faceContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Colored Museum, by George C Wolfe”

[REVIEW] Black Star, written by Eric Glover, drawn by Arielle Jovellanos

The Kindle cover of Black Star, depicting a woman trapped in a glowing space tube, is held up in a dark movie theater in front of a projection screen. The movie playing is the classic camp film Dark Star.

(Buy this book here.) I’ve had a remarkably pleasant year in reading, by which I mean I’ve liked almost everything I’ve read. If I haven’t liked it, I’ve understood it, so my reviews in 2024 have all been pretty positive, although mildly so. Everything’s been good, but nothing’s really knocked my socks off. (Let’s ignoreContinue reading “[REVIEW] Black Star, written by Eric Glover, drawn by Arielle Jovellanos”

[REVIEW] Blood At The Root, by LaDarrion Williams

The Kindle cover of Blood At The Root, depicting a magical Black boy standing in front of an ancient tree, is held up in front of a slightly less ancient, very green real world tree.

(Buy this book here.) Malik Baron has had the usual fantasy hero’s rough start in life. He’s an orphan who’s finally aged out of the abusive foster homes he grew up in, and he has the prickly, exasperatingly self-destructive, suspicious personality to show for it. He also has erratic magic powers and no idea whereContinue reading “[REVIEW] Blood At The Root, by LaDarrion Williams”

[REVIEW]The Rose That Grew From Concrete, by Tupac Shakur

(Buy this book here.) So, the poems in this book are absolutely terrible and we need to talk about that. Put away your pitchforks and torches. I said what I said. This book of posthumously published poetry by one of hip-hop’s most lauded voices is…pretty bad. The rhymes are trite, the metaphors banal (when they’reContinue reading “[REVIEW]The Rose That Grew From Concrete, by Tupac Shakur”

[REVIEW] Elite Capture, by Olúfémi O. Táíwò

The paperback version of Elite Capture is open facedown on a wooden kitchen table, next to a delicious dish of greens, egg and tomato. The cover depicts a silhouetted Black hand stealing the dot from the "i" in "elite". The title of the book is all in black typeface except for that "i".

(Buy this book here.) I think at this point we all realize that this idea many millennials have been fed of working really hard, socially climbing, and getting into powerful rooms and important tables to make changes is more or less a pipe dream. It’s not that it isn’t possible, it’s just that it’s notContinue reading “[REVIEW] Elite Capture, by Olúfémi O. Táíwò”

[REVIEW] The Lies of the Ajungo, by Moses Ose Utomi

A Kindle displaying the cover of The Lies of the Ajungo lies on a kitchen table next to a full blue glass of water.

(Buy this book here) There is no water in the City of Lies. Let me make this easy. 5 stars, ten out of ten, gold medal, everybody go buy and read this now. Why are you still here? Fine, let me explain… This short, sweet West Africa-inspired fairy tale is my second favorite 2023 readContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Lies of the Ajungo, by Moses Ose Utomi”

[REVIEW] Black Vans, by Alex Smith and James Dillenbeck

There are two comic books laying on a multicolored confetti rug--Black Vans issue 1&2. The covers depict Bo, a chubby Black superhero''s helper in techie combat gear, in various action poses.

(Buy this directly from the artist’s NSFW website here.) I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what I should tell you first about this cool, colorful indie comic. Maybe it’s that these are INDIE-indie books. I literally bought them out of a backpack in a nightclub. It was the writer’s backpack, but still…Continue reading “[REVIEW] Black Vans, by Alex Smith and James Dillenbeck”

[LAST WEEK IN BOOKS] All Black Everything

This week I feel like doing an all-Black, all-excellent diverse book news update. Y’all down? Let’s start with some iconic Black reader excellence. Legendary actor Sidney Poitier made a name for himself by starring in a lot of great film and stage adaptations of books, including Cry, The Beloved Country, To Sir, With Love, TheContinue reading “[LAST WEEK IN BOOKS] All Black Everything”

[REVIEW] The Ballad of Perilous Graves, by Alex Jennings

(Buy this book here.) (Disclosure: I met Alex aka @magicknegro at Under The Volcano 2022 and have been known to message him whiny existential writer complaints on occasion. This is still an honest review and I bought my own copy of this book because Paying Writers Cures Foolishness.) The publisher blurbs for this book allContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Ballad of Perilous Graves, by Alex Jennings”