Relationships!!! Here we go again and again!!!

DATE 12/18/10 - Number 42

Well, love is in the air and why the hell not.  The Holidays are here and you should be thanking the good Lord for a wonderfully, extremely “what the hell happen” year and that you are still alive and kicking.  It could be worse?  Let’s get you started with some smooth and easy reading books.  First up, my man Steve Harvey.  You need a laugh don’t you and some of you need some serious help in the relationship department.  Can I get an AMEN!!!

STEVE HARVEY - STRAIGHT TALK, NO CHASER: HOW TO FIND, KEEP, AND UNDERSTAND A MAN - $11.99 - - - I don’t need to tell you about the book, just get up off your but and buy it.  Your will understand a lot more than you did yesterday.  Can a Beautiful and Proud Sister get an AMEN!!!

Click Here - Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man

VANESSA MILLER - A LOVE FOR TOMORROW - $9.99 

Click Here - Love for Tomorrow (Second Chance at Love #2)

SHERRYLE KISER JACKSON - SOON AFTER (URBAN CHRISTIAN) - $7.99 - - - When Pastors Willie Green and Vanessa Morton got married and moved to merge their churches, they never expected so much resistance. Now it seems someone is sending a strong message by setting fire to the Harvest Baptist Church building.The newly unified Pleasant Harvest Baptist Church is no more than four months into business as usual before Co-Pastor Willie Green is drawn into the middle of an arson investigation. Alexis Montgomery, an overzealous reporter, sees the experienced pastor as a great source to latch onto as she tries to unearth the stories that might solve the crime. Instead of being bothered by the presence of this woman, Co-Pastor Vanessa uses it as a distraction to help conceal her own secrets.  Orchestrating the unification rift makes Deacon Charley Thompson a prime suspect. His unexpected silence only fuels the accusations of guilt, and his meek wife becomes his unlikely spokesperson. Meanwhile, his nephew, Abe Townsend, couldn’t care less about family allegiances. Led by an anonymous publicist, Abe and the remaining displaced members of Harvest Baptist Church gain notoriety when news reports garner an outcry of sympathy and support. What should have been a simple unification of two churches has turned into something much more complicated, and it will take plenty of faith to hold it all together.

Click Here - Soon After

WANDA B. CAMPBELL - RIGHT PACKAGE, WRONG BAGGAGE (URBAN CHRISTIAN) - $7.99

Click Here - Right Package, Wrong Baggage

ZARIA GARRISON - LOSING IT (URBAN CHRISTIAN) - $7.99 - - - Grammy award–winning gospel singer and Christian actress Sharmaine Cleveland is having a bad year. She has been arrested and charged with the attempted murder of her husband, Leon. This follows on the heels of another scandal involving sex tapes allegedly starring Sharmaine that have been distributed to news stations across the country. Her latest CD release is a flop, while her newest movie release has been placed on hold indefinitely. Believing she wants him dead, her husband Leon abandons her, and her mother-in-law forcibly takes her children. Sharmaine’s life is sinking fast. Will she go under, or will God be able to pick her up and put the pieces back together?

Click Here - Losing It

KENDRA NORMAN-BELLAMY - I SHALL NOT DIE: LIVING A PSALM 118:17 EXISTENCE - $7.20

Click Here - I Shall Not Die: Living A Psalm 118:17 Existence

ReSHONDA TATE BILLINGSLEY - THE DEVIL IS A LIE (POCKET READERS GUIDE) - $10.99 - - - Billingsley's latest (after Can I Get a Witness?) chronicles the devilishly rude awakening in store for Houstonite Nina Lawson after she wins $8 million in the lottery. Not only are family members she hasn't seen in years itching to share the loot, but her fiancé, Rick Henderson, starts counting on his piece before the check's in the bank. Things get even more complicated after Todd, Nina's ex-husband, ends up not being an ex; turns out his hoochie mama girlfriend, Pam, spent the divorce filing fee on a Fendi bag. Pam urges Todd to wrangle a chunk of Nina's dough, and he agrees, though with a near-reasonable motivation: to get his ailing Grams a new heart. The ensuing slapstick is fast moving and hilarious as Billingsley ponders how Nina's impulse to do the right thing gets her in trouble—and yet, somehow, love (and God) provides.

Click Here - Devil Is a Lie, The

Ok, I'm going to leave Christmas alone - It's too expensive!!!

Me and My Books Go A long Way Home!!!

Number 41

I’m going to leaving Christmas alone for now.  You probably already brought what you need and if you have not, you got some time.  Believe me, the stores are waiting for last minute shoppers.  There’s not enough money and time for the stores to play, “hey, we hold some items until the last minute and then change the prices a little bit higher or lower to get rid of these items.”  Oh, they are thinking of a million ways to get your money, and they will.  I want your money, but only $1.00 a month.  I said, One Dollar a month!! to look around my blog and buys books at really, really cheap prices.  

Hey, why not?  You got nothing to lose and it’s cheap.  Real cheap.  Now, stay with me and look around.  Here’s more bang, bang, get ‘em up and buy books!!!

JACQUELINE E. LUCKETT - SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER - - $11.99 - - - Lena’s husband, Randall, has been climbing the corporate ladder for years, and Lena has supported him every step of the way, glad to help him and raise their two children. But now she feels as though she has lost herself in the process, and is drowning in luxury. With his goal of becoming the first black CEO of his company in reach, Randall refuses to go to therapy; and with the same determination that has led to his success, he tells Lena to accept the status quo or get a divorce. At 52, Lena well knows how divorce changes everything as friends, and even children, choose sides. Seeking guidance and support, Lena discovers the wisdom of singer and survivor Tina Turner, using Turner’s story as a road map to finding her own happiness and a way back to her dreams. In her debut novel Luckett delivers a strong, likable heroine who comes through her crisis by recognizing her true worth and empowering herself. Luckett’s triumphant tale will rally readers of all backgrounds.

Click Here - Searching for Tina Turner

STACEYANN CHIN - THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE: A MEMOIR - $9.99 - - - Quote from Amazon - The Paradise of the title is the slum of Montego Bay, Jamaica, where Chin spent her hardscrabble adolescence, and her remarkable memoir is framed around her mother's rejection of her and her older brother, Delano, and the uncertainty about who Chin's father really was. Born to a young, street-savvy girl with a penchant for distinguished older men with money (in this case, a local Chinese businessman who always insisted he was not Chin's father), Chin spent her early years along with Delano under the care of their stern, God-fearing, illiterate grandmother. Early on, the spirited, defiant youngster learned to lie about her parentage, while the poverty and neediness of the siblings rendered them charity cases for relatives in Bethel Town and Kingston. Once, their mother came to visit them from where she lived in Montreal, Canada, though she quickly foisted them onto other relatives for good, leaving Chin, at age nine, to fend for herself in the shack of her harsh great-aunt whose boys routinely attempted to rape her. Nonetheless, Chin excelled at school, thanks to financial help from the man who refused to acknowledge his paternity, and became an emigrant success story later in New York. Her courage in coming out as a lesbian underscores her intrepidity in making this story her own.

Click Here - The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir

NANA EKUA BREW-HAMMOND - POWDER NECKLACE: A NOVEL (WSP READERS CLUB) - $9.99   Here’s a quote from Book ‘Em Danno ( I guess there are some "Hawaii Five-O fans of the old and new TV Show!!). “ There are so many things that happen in this coming of age story that you'll have to read it yourself to get the full affect. The author has managed to deal with so many issues in one novel - culture, class, divorce, fate, introspection - in a way that will make you laugh, be sad, or make you reminisce if you're past the teenage years. There's a great reading guide for groups as well as a Q & A with the author at the end. I highly recommend you read this novel, it's one you will think about long after you finish.”

Click Here - Powder Necklace

TERESA D. PATTERSON - SPIN CYCLE - $2.99

Click Here - Spin Cycle

KIKI SWINSON - WIFEY 4 LIFE (PART 5) - $9.68 - - - If you read Ms. Swinson’s other Wifey series, you are in for more on the “hood or living the fabulous life.”  Ms. Swinson always, always, keeps you reading her books from the first page to the last.  Think of it, you are in the doctor’s office or on the subway reading just to keep yourself busy and then, Damn!!!, you are called by the nurse that the doctor is ready to see you or your stop on the subway has arrived.  You don’t stop reading, you take your clothes off and lay on the table while still holding and reading the book or you step off the platform and walk with the book in your hand, that’s how bad (Good!!), it can get.  

Click Here - Wifey 4 Life

TRACY L. DARITY - LOVE...LIKE SNOW IN FLORIDA ON A HOT SUMMER DAY - $7.99 - - - Romeo and Juliet meets Desperate Housewives with a dose of Girlfriends.  I think you get the picture.

Click Here - Love....Like Snow In Florida On A Hot Summer Day

Is it still Christmas Holiday?

LOVE, LOVE BOOKS

Number 40

Now I’m at number 40.  It may not seem to be alot, but I am determined to stick to this blogging business.  Not to just make some money, but to keep my heart, soul, mind and destiny on track with BOOKS, and more BOOKS by us, to help us, and about us.  It keeps me going on days when I’m still trying to figure out what the hell am I suppose to be doing.  Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just having a bad week.  Sometimes people at my job just get on my last, and I mean my ever longing last nerve.  Let’s not talk about those people, lets get to some books.  If I did not have books, I know I would have left this damn, crazy ass planet a long time ago, but I digress.  Here’s today’s listing.  Stay Happy!!!

For you guys in the DC, MD, VA area, go to Busboys and Poets, a restaurant, bookstore, fair trade market and gathering place where people can discuss issues of social justice and peace (Their website description).  I have been to the one on 14th and V street, NW near the U Street Corridor (For you people who know U Street, it use to be all black, now, more white people than I care to number.  Ben’s Chili Bowl is still there and still good food).  They are also located in Arlington, Virginia and on 5th street, NW.  Here’s their’s website http://www.busboysandpoets.com  

One of the authors coming is JULIANNE MALVEAUX, an economist, author and commentator as well as Founder of Last Word Productions.  You have seen her on CNN and the special, "Black in America".  Her book, which is not in Kindle format, may still be of interest to you.  SURVIVING AND THRIVING: 365 FACTS IN BLACK ECONOMIC HISTORY - $14.95.  You may purchase her books from her website - http://www.juliannemalveaux.com

TINA BROOKS McKINNEY - LAWD, MO’ DRAMA - $10.99

Click Here - Lawd, Mo' Drama

Other books by Ms. McKinney - - 

ALL THAT DRAMA - $12.99

Click Here - All That Drama

FOOL, STOP TRIPPING - $10.00 

Click Here - Fool, Stop Trippin'

DUBIOUS - $9.99

Click Here - DUBIOUS

DEEP DECEPTION - $6.99 (Paperback)

SNAPPED (URBAN RENAISSANCE) - $7.99 - - -   At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Gina Meadows, a woman that is raising her boyfriend, Ronald’s, twin boys: Gavin and Merlin Mills. Gina is so in love with Ronald that she raises the twins as her own. Ronald and Gina may be considered married by common law but Gina still holds out hope that Ronald will get his act together, no matter how badly he treats her, and marries her. Gina makes the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of holding on to their relationship. The question is will it backfire and will Gina suffer from the consequences of her actions?

Merlin has always been the ” good twin,” the one to do what he was told, got the good grades, played sports and stayed out of trouble. No matter how good he was though, his twin, Gavin, always found a way to get him into trouble. Merlin is now older and a little wiser, and has separated himself from the only family he has known. He is now happily married and has a good career within the armed services. Things could not be better…that is until Gavin shows up unexpectedly.

Gavin has always disliked his brother, Merlin. Gavin has always been jealous of Merlin’s successes and his relationship with Gina. When Gavin shows up out the clear blue and lays his eyes upon Merlin’s wife, Cojo , he knows he has to have her no matter what the cost.

Click Here - Snapped

STEPHANIE JEAN SMITH - HEALING FOR YOUR SOUL - $.99 - - - A collection of inspirational and thought provoking short stories based upon precious memories of the author.

Click Here - Healing For Your Soul

MARC ABBOTT - A GAMBLE OF FAITH - $3.00 - Quote from Amazon, “When their friend Eddie dies from Cancer, childhood friends Terrence, Alyssa and Marquis go their separate ways to sort out their lives. Alyssa and Marquis are able to come to grips with the loss but Terrence is unable to forgive God for not answering his prayers to spare Eddie’s life. As his own private world around him crumbles, he turns his back on his faith in God and renounces his beliefs. 

Then Terrence meets Lucy, a vibrant and beautiful woman who has it all and is more than willing to share it with him. Her financial guidance and love help him regain his confidence and puts him on the path to recovery. So when he is invited to restart the traditional Friday Night poker game with his old friend’s, he brings her along. 

But that decision sets in motion a chain of events none of them are prepared for. It begins with the arrival of two men from Lucy’s past. As the night goes on, it becomes evident that their there for more than the game. Their persistent questions about Terrence’s faith and outbursts of anger toward Lucy bring emotions to a boiling point. When it all explodes, it does so as a revelation when Alyssa figures out the nature behind the men’s visit and the evil secret Lucy has been keeping from all of them. 

Click Here - A Gamble of Faith

It's Christmas, but save your damn MONEY!!!

Number 39

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!  The Holidays are here.  You will now be bombarded by ToysRUs, Best Buy, Target (I do like their commercials), Apple, Amazon, Marshall, Wal Mart, Nieman Marcus, Macy’s, etc, etc, etc.,  So, what’cha going do?  Buy, Buy until it hurts.  Listen to the Today Show, Good Morning America, Oprah, CNN, MSBNC (What every that means!), Suzy Orman, Dave Ramsey (I do like his rice and beans! beans and rice! I know about that.  I have lived on rice and beans and greens all year to get out of debt), and they tell you to save, save and save more.  What the hell are you suppose to do?  Stop buying!!! Stop buying toys, clothes, cars, homes, new shoes, more new shoes, jewelry, more clothes, furniture, pocketbooks, stockings, under garments, over garments, and anywhere garments!!!! Yes, stop spending.  Stop buying items you know you cannot afford.  Let me give you an example.  

I have a friend (Don’t we all have a friend like this one), she will write a check and don’t even care if the sucker bounce or not.  She will either not pay the water, electric of whatever bill until next month or next year, yes, I said next year.  She went to get a new phone because she just had to have the new iPhone.  Even though she does have a good phone in her damn expensive Gucci handbag when we go into the store.  They check her credit and everything (believe me, she does not care!!), and come to find out that the damn girl owe another phone company $1,234.18.  How do I know that exact amount, because I was in the store and started acting like a “Ghetto Hood Bitch” and said out loud, “Damn, your ass owe $1,234.18 on a got damn phone bill from last year? Is you crazy or what the hell drugs are you own!!! I did not mean to be loud, but I have known this girl all of my life and she still manages to pull some shit out of the bag and just takes me away into Star Trek.  Yes, the phone company did approve her new phone and made arrangements for her to pay back the old phone bill.  Yeah, right!! She is going to pay the old phone bill, sure!  

Don’t be like my friend.  I do have others like her. Stay focus PEOPLE during the Christmas holidays.  Stay within budget.  Stay true to you and buy only what you really, really, really, really need.  This “economic bull crap with no job, no money and no sex” is going to be around for a long time, so get your act together and get ready to save, save and save some more.  Hard times hitting the bottom is still coming around the corner.

Now, I am saving you money.  Instead of paying full price at the book store, the only exception is the black own book stores or black run stands in the mall, buy one or two or three of these books I am promoting.  I make sure that I provide you with low costs (less than $20.00), and you will help yourself to a great story and/or great advice as well as help the author.  Subscribe to my blog on Amazon.  It costs one dollar a month and you can click a book, which will be cheap and start reading it.  Hell, now that’s saving money!!!

CAROLYN M. BROWN - THE MILLIONAIRES’ CLUB: HOW TO START AND RUN YOUR OWN INVESTMENT CLUB AND MAKE YOUR MONEY GROW - $14.82

Click Here - The Millionaires' Club: How to Start and Run Your Own Investment Club and Make Your Money Grow

BLACK ENTERPRISE - WEALTH BUILDING JOURNAL: A DAY BY DAY JOURNEY TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE, A BETTER YOU - $9.99

Click Here - Wealth Building Journal: A Day-By-Day Journey to a Brighter Future, a Better You

AARON W. SMITH - IN THE BLACK LIVE FAITHFULLY, PROSPER FINANCIALLY - $9.99

Click Here - In the Black

JESSE B. BROWN - PAY YOURSELF FIRST: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GUIDE TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS AND SECURITY - $9.99

Click Here - Pay Yourself First: The African American Guide to Financial Success and Security

MICHELLE SINGLETARY - THE POWER TO PROSPER: 21 DAYS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM - $9.99

Click Here - The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom

MICHELLE SINGLETARY - SPEND WELL, LIVE RICH: HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT WITH THE MONEY YOU HAVE - $9.69

Click Here - Spend Well, Live Rich: How to Get What You Want with the Money You Have

JESSE B. BROWN - 101 REAL MONEY QUESTIONS: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FINANCIAL QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK - $14.95 Paperback

Click Here - 101 Real Money Questions: The African American Financial Question and Answer Book Paperback only

DAN MILLER - 48 DAYS TO THE WORK YOU LOVE - $ 9.68

Click Here - 48 Days to the Work You Love

DAVE RAMSEY - THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER: A PROVEN PLAN FOR FINANCIAL FITNESS - $9.50

Click Here - The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (3rd Edition Revised and Updated)

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas!!

I just love having books and more books!!!!

Number 38

Come on now, Christmas is 24 days away.  Have you checked your list?  Are you going to give your love one a Kindle or iPad.  Well, let me help you.  The new Kindle costs $139.00, but if your love one has an iPad, they can still order books from Amazon by getting the Amazon App and they can subscribe to my blog by subscribing to the App Blogshelf.  It costs $4.99 and you can add my blog and many others for free.  If you have any other e-readers, the Nook, Android, etc., you can also download books on the Kindle for the Blackberry, Kindle for PC, Kindle for Android, Kindle for Mac, Kindle for iPad and Kindle for iPhone.  Kindle! Kindle! Kindle!  You think I have an obsession with it!!! You, jest!!

You will never, never be without your favorite book.  Don’t you just love technology.  If my grandmother was alive today, she would be tripping that “us young folks” were not taking to each other except by a damn machine.  Oh, well, you cannot stop progress, can you?

MARYJANICE DAVIDSON - OUTTA THE BAG (ME, MYSELF AND WHY? PREQUEL) - $.00 - - - According to many comments, you will laugh until you cry.  I just ordered it, so I will let you know.  Oh, there are some who say that there is no way they are buying this book after reading this prequel, but you read it and make your own decision.  Hey, it’s free.

Click Here - Outta the Bag (Me, Myself and Why? Prequel)

Every once in a while we all need to read something else beside buck wild sex and horny women and men who think their crap is the bomb.   You know, those “two minute men,” don’t that piss you off, two minutes.”  Remember the scene in the movie For Colored Girls by Tyler Perry, two minutes and the brother was finished.  In more ways than one, thank goodness.  

These “ghetto” books are fine, and we need them so at least it keeps black writers going with the stories that they know, but just once in a while, lets change and read romance, non-fiction and just a plain old book with a plain old story.  Whew!!

SHELIA GOSS - A FOREVER LOVE - $2.99 - - - Trina Thompson has a promising career as one of the top CPA’s at her firm. (I’m an Accountant, so I can relate some what).  Since breaking Timothy Underwood’s heart in high school, she’s gone from one relationship to another-each ending in disaster. Trina has vowed off men, until a chance meeting with Tim at a party turns her world upside down.  Tim, a former NBA star, has been labeled “player of the decade” because of his refusal to commit to one woman. The chemistry between Trina and Tim is undeniably strong; however neither Trina nor Tim trust their emotions. Will their past be too much to conquer or will they be able to rekindle the love and happiness they lost years ago?

Click Here - A Forever Love

LORI D. JOHNSON - AFTER THE DANCE -$5.59 - - - In this lively debut romantic novel, Johnson creates an intimate portrait of two unlikely characters as they navigate the beginning of a relationship. In alternating first-person chapters entitled "Him" and "Her," we hear from pharmacist and cynic Dr. Margaret Faye Abrahams and her neighbor, Carl, a paycheck-to-paycheck single guy with three kids to support. Faye and Carl are just getting comfortable with each other when Faye's ex-boyfriend Scoobie reappears after a 12 year absence. Scoobie, now better known as Chef Vernard Payne, celebrity chef and cookbook author, admits to having been "a low-down, dirty dog" who once emptied Faye's bank account and abandoned her when she got pregnant, but claims to be a changed man who wants to make things right. Faye is willing to forgive and forget, but only because she and Scoobie share a painful past. As she tries to make the relationship work, she learns that Scoobie plans to mold her into someone she isn't, which, as Faye puts it in characteristically straight-forward urban language, is "some kind of skinny-ass Stepford wife."

Click Here - After The Dance

BEVERLY JENKINS - THE EDGE OF DAWN - $6.99 - - - The beautiful daughter of a prominent Michigan doctor, Narice has never strayed anywhere near the wrong side of the law. Then her father is brutally murdered -- and suddenly federal agents are swarming around her like flies, making accusations about a stolen North African diamond. But before they can interrogate her, she is wrested from their grasp at gunpoint by a shadowy figure -- and Narice Jordan is on the run.

But is this dark, good-looking stranger who calls himself Saint her kidnapper or her savior? Narice knows nothing about any missing gem, yet there are two things she knows for certain: Only at Saint's side can she find her way to her father's killers.

Click Here - The Edge of Midnight

And she'll have to trust this dangerous, ruthless, and deadly mystery man... if she wants to keep breathing.

ANGIE DANIELS - CAREFUL OF THE COMPANY YOUR KEEP - $8.96 - - - After finding her husband in a compromising position, romance author Renee Moore goes back to her hometown, hoping to start over. But once again, she finds herself looking for love in all the wrong places. To make matters worse, just as she decides a healthy relationship may not be her destiny, her ex delivers shocking news that could change her life forever.

Practical nurse Danielle Brooks' professional life is picture perfect, but her personal life is a mess. Her daughter is about to give birth to a baby believed to have been fathered by Danielle's ex. In an attempt to mend her shattered heart, Danielle has been dating Calvin Cambridge, a truly nice guy. But when Calvin proposes, Danielle wants to be sure she is ready to commit. She enlists Renee to test his fidelity, but when the seduction goes too far, all their relationships may be in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, their best friend is getting married, and she is counting on Renee and Danielle to help her plan the wedding--whether they are speaking to each other or not. But with Renee now being threatened by a mystery woman, and Danielle facing her most serious crisis yet, they can not help wondering if it is all going to get worse before it gets better.

As things come to a head in each woman's life, there is a whole lot of praying going on and Renee and Danielle soon realize they are blessed in spite of it all, with faith, second chances  and each other.

Click Here - Careful of the Company You Keep

Please give me any comments you have.  I want to make this blog better and I need your help.  Thank You A Million Times for reading my blog.