Monday, December 5, 2011

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas!! - Well, maybe!

NUMBER 100
I made it to 100.  I'm so proud of myself.  I did not think I could do it, but I did it and I want to thank all of you for helping me get there.  No my goal is 1,000.  Oh, I will do it, you just watch!!

You cannot tell me that this year people were not “tripping” as much as last year.  It’s gotten worse.  We got women and men killing each other over bullshit.  We got kids being hurt and abused and no one is telling until it’s damn near too late.  We got folks looking for a job, any job, and folks looking for that dream job, which no longer exist.  I work with people who come to work to just socialize, talk on Face book and Twitter, have lunch then come back and “eat” lunch at their desk.  Or they just complain all day about how they have not moved up in the world and everyone else they trained have.  
OK, it’s not working for you.  It has been a bad year.  No money, or not enough, friends still looking for a job and you trying to better yourself and find a better paying job.  I know how you are trying (at least the ones who are really trying).  I know it’s so hard and tough right now and being that it’s Christmas, it brings out the worse and best in people.  You or someone you know may not have enough money/food/time to give their own families everything they want to give.  I know it’s hard, but for God’s sake, don’t give up hope.  Keep your faith.  Keep your positive attitude.  Keep writing your story.  Keep buying books by and about us.  I believe in you!! (You are and/or have subscribed to my blog, so you must be special!!).  Please believe in yourself.  Please.
As promised - 99 Cents books
NONA WESLEY - A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION (INTERRACIAL ROMANCE) - $ 99 Cents - - - From my searching and searching on the web (there are times I find some crazy ass things), I found that she writes lots of interracial books, so here’s a recap of this one and a listing of the others.  As I’ve told many women, “Do you want a color or do you want a good man.”  
When her company hosts a Hollywood-themed party, Viola Howard dresses as her favorite actress. Problem is, nobody seems to know who that is. Just as she's about to give up on a good time, along comes Elvis,  actually Vi's secret crush Jim Byers, who guesses correctly and shows her exactly who is King. Don’t men always think they are Kings?  Well, some actually are.  Once the party's over, however, can Vi and Jim go back to a working relationship, or will Jim ask Vi to love him tender?  Elvis is dead!! Let it go people, let it go!
You know what’s weird, I never knew it was that many erotic and right down nude book covers out there.  Ding Dong, if I see one more half naked but in my face, I’m going to scream!!!
AHMAD WILLIAMS - STOP TAKING ALL THE COVERS - - 99 Cents - - - This series of short stories is for those that are searching for, or are now in, meaningful relationships. The ironic thing about being in a meaningful relationship, is that most of the disagreements couples have are over trivial matters! This work is a compilation of experiences communicated to me by couples that I have ministered to, as well as gracious people that I have had the opportunity to speak with over the years. I am certain that many of the stories and anecdotes you read in this book will prove to be ones that you may very well relate to. You will read about everything from issues arising from not putting the toilet seat down to one partner not wanting to be intimate on the same night as the other. I encourage you to sit back and enjoy this humorous work, written with love, to those who have had good times and bad with their partner. If your relationship is on the rocks, consider trying to patch things up, because chances are, if you move on you will just meet someone else with habits that get under your skin.
JADA TEMPLE - A HOE IS A GARDEN TOO! - - 99 Cents - - - I don’t think I need to tell you what this book is about, young, stupid and pimping.  But, hey, it’s short and cost one dollar.
Well, my e-mail friend contacted me and here are his books.  Of course I brought them and will drum it down your “reading mind” to buy it too.  Got to get the world out.
ALAN CRAMER - BOURGEOIS (AKA) BOOJEE (DETECTIVE HONEY SINCLAIR) - - 99 Cents - - - She’s back!!! Detective Honey Sinclair is back. A prominent doctor has been killed in an apparent home invasion, but Honey’s street instincts tell her there’s more to the story than what’s being told. The only witness to the crime is the doctor’s beautiful wife.  Doniece Mowbe wants out of her marriage. But since her husband made her sign a prenuptial, there’s only one way to get rid of the man and keep the money. She plans the perfect murder. And the only cop who suspects she did it is on the verge of being fired.  


Now I know why I like this guy.  I love mysteries.  
ALAN CRAMER - CHRISTMAS IN THE HOOD - - 99 Cents - - - It's Christmas. Brandy and Kyle's relationship is strained because they don't have, during a time when its all about giving.  This story is an Urban Fiction remix of The Gift of The Magi.
K’WAN - THE LEAK - Free (I said it, FREE!!) - - - The Leak is a complimentary short prequel story that leads into K’wan’s hit novel, Welfare Wifeys.
JAMES PATTERSON - KILL ALEX CROSS - FREE PREVIEW: THE FIRST 27 CHAPTERS - Free - - - You might as well get this book since Tyler Perry will be playing Alex Cross next year.  Personally, I want Idris Elba from “Luther” or Michael Ealy from “For Colored Girls,” he played the Vietnam vet and in the movie Takers.  They just look damn good and to play a character who grew up around the hood in DC, they would fit.  Of course Tyler, could probably pull it off.  We will see in 2012 and he is also playing in “Good Deads” with Thandie Newton, Gabrielle Union and Phylicia Rashad.  The movie trailer states, “Right before his wedding, an affluent man (Perry) develops complicating feelings for a single mom.”  We will see. 
BLAKE KARRINGTON - TRAPSTAR - - 99 Cents - - - Brianna Cambell had a tough road to travel growing up in a household where she was unwanted. A constant reminder of her mother’s indiscretions, Brianna is unwilling to continue to be the target of her step father’s anger. She leaves her suburban life style for the streets of Charlotte NC. In true Charlotte faith Brianna is linked up with Treshawn Nash, a local hustler. Tre has lived the alternate life; raised by his grandmother who showered him with love in the midst of violence, drugs, and poverty. The two are made for each other. Brianna provides the genuineness and innocence Tre has longed for. While he gives Bri the unconditional love she desperately needs. However, when tragedy strikes their world is turned up side down.
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  
This woman knows how to write romance without the slutty, Toys R Us sex romp. Just plain old fashioned romance.  Come on, you know there are times you just want to read and be romantic.  OK, even I had to take a few steps back on that line!!  Her books are just good, damn good!!
BRENDA JACKSON - SPONTANEOUS (HARLEQUIN BLAZE) - 86 cents (strange number if you ask me) - - Kimani Cannon knows she's in trouble the second she lays eyes on 6'4" of luscious male. The best kind of trouble, too...mm-mmm! Duan Jeffries turns out to be the perfect man (that’s in my dreams too!!), charming, considerate and the best lover she's ever had. Too bad Mr. Delicious is just a one-night stand.  (Yeah, too bad, sure, why not!!!)  
Until Kim needs a date to her mother's (fifth) wedding! Duan's willing to act the part of her fiance as long as it means full benefits. More amazing sex? No problem!
Then Kim finds out that Duan's got his own private agenda. Suddenly, she doesn't know what to believe. Her head and heart are telling her to be careful. But the sensual thrumming in her blood is turning out to be much more persuasive.  
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Saturday, December 3, 2011

Not quite up to my Bookwala!!

NUMBER 99 

Oh, I’m back alright, but still a bit slow in the mind and heart.  That job is driving me crazy.  Yes, yes, yes, don’t complain, be happy you have a job and I am and feel very, very blessed.  I’m just disappointed with myself.  I’m trying to stay happy and positive each day and it seems that that damn devil is enjoying me too got damn much.  Go thing I’m going to church in the morning to pick me up again and bring me back to me.  
Not all gloom and doom, I volunteered at the Library book fair yesterday.  I was suppose to go in the previous day and work from 3 to 7:30 pm, but my job got in the way and I was tired.  So I came home and sat in my cozy beat-up blue reclining chair and watch DVDs and read a book with my dog sitting next to me.  We stayed up to 2am in the morning, so the next day I was not up to snuff and only worked 8 hours instead of my usual 12 hours.  Oh, yeah, I can live in a library and stay there for hours and hours until my body falls apart and require sleep.  You do not find many African American books at these book fairs.  Not enough blacks either read enough or buy enough books.  We have a guy who sells urban books at the local mall and I try to buy from him at least once a month, but my little bit of money is not enough and his selection is geared to blacks who want to read about sex, drugs and drama and more drama.  I live those books too, at times, but not much is new about them.  It’s a reality show with woman dressed like sluts with men selling drugs and/or trying to get off of the street.  The story is the same.  They need to change the story, it’s getting on my nerve, but I will continue to buy them because someone has a job and maybe, just maybe the more they right the better the story will get and change.  
Here are some books I did find at the book fair:
MARY MONROE - RED LIGHT WIVES - $4.47 - - - When I work at these local book fairs, I’m one of the staff members who take the books out of the many boxes and I see first hand what we have.  Since I did not do that the previous day, I was still able to find African American authors.  We don’t get many books donated from blacks, except the usual like Toni Morrison or Terry McMillian, but when I do, I’m the one who persuade the blacks coming in there (No, we don’t get many blacks patrons or volunteers), but when we do, they come to me, asking, “Are there any black books,” and yes, that’s when my speciality comes in.  
They’re about as different as six women can be.  Haughty and humble, beautiful and plain, young and not-so-young, black, white, Latina, and origins unknown. But aside from a gift for laughing hardship in the face, they have one very important thing in common, a man name  Clyde Brooks. You might say that Clyde is their “manager.” And you might say that Lula Mae, Ester, Megan, Rosalee, Helen, and Rockelle are colleagues, in the world’s oldest profession. Clyde likes to refer to them as his “wives.”
Maybe it’s their love for the high life and for each other that makes the bond between Clyde’s ladies so unbreakable. Maybe it’s their private demons that keep them so loyal to Clyde, or so he thinks. For as hard as they try to distract themselves, nothing can quell the women’s longing for a life free from Clyde and what he represents, until one daring act of defiance changes everything.  
I have a three of Monroe’s books, but did not know she had others.  
THE UPPER ROOM - $4.47 - - -  The Upper Room
MAMA RUBY - $9.03 - - - Mama Ruby
GOD AIN’T THROUGH YET - - - God Ain't Through Yet
GOD AIN’T BLIND - $8.69 - - - God Ain't Blind

SHE HAD IT COMING - $8.69 - - - Review from “PrinceLuva79, Loves a good book!!” - - - Mary Monroe writes a book like no one else can!!! I love reading her work. I find myself laughing out loud at the descriptions she gives that are so vivid I can picture what she is describing. The descriptions about Noble, Moanin' Lisa and Glodine had me near tears!!! 
In this novel you meet Dolores Reese a young woman who grew up in foster care. Valerie is Delores' best friend, and Valerie and her entire family (including the elderly grandfather Paw Paw !!) suffer the wrath of her psycho step father Mr. Zeke. Valerie will do whatever it takes to ensure that her family is protected. Dolores ends up involved in Valerie's family drama, although she is an unwilling participant. Meanwhile, Dolores falls in love with another foster child, Floyd Watson, a neighbor from down the street, and they vow to be together, until an innocent Floyd winds up in jail, for life! 
DELIVER ME FROM EVIL - $4.49 - - - Deliver Me From Evil
GOD STILL DON’T LIKE UGLY - $4.30 - - - God Still Don't Like Ugly
GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS - $8.69 - - - Gonna Lay Down My Burdens
THE COMPANY WE KEEP - $8.69 - - - The Company We Keep
Boy, I knew she was good, but didn’t know she was that damn good!!!  Another book I found,
BILL WRIGHT - ONE FOOT IN LOVE - $9.99 - - - I found it in paperback.  Happen to see the cover and read the back that’s when I saw a picture of Bill and brought the book immediately.  Now remember, I was able to buy so many books because since this was a book fair, the prices were 50 cents to $3.00.  Great finds, I must say!!
Rowtina Washington is devastated when her adoring husband, Turtle, is killed in a tragic accident. When his ghost begins to appear to her, she delights in the opportunity to rekindle the passion they had. (I’ve read this type of love before, but can’t remember it), but then Turtle's visits stop abruptly. Confused and desperate for answers, Rowtina is convinced to join the feisty and irrepressible Leave Him and Live Sisterhood, a tiny band of women who vary in age, race, and life experience. Osceola McQueen conceived the group, as she says, to "grab a hold of your sister till she can see the road." Lucy Antiglione is a waitress-warrior fighting off a punch-happy husband, while Egyptia Nelson is happiest on her way to the altar. And then there is Nelda Battey, sharp tongued and irreverent, who lives by her own definition of what it means to be a woman.  This tender yet humorous page-turner shines a light on the faith, optimism, and romantic possibilities that inspire and sustain us all. God, do we need it!
One Foot in Love


A few other books I found, but they were not written by African Americans.  BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S by TRUMAN CAPOTE - $8.49 - - - Breakfast at Tiffany's  I brought it for a Xmas present and I’m a member of the New York Times “Big City Book Club,” which was discussed for the month of November.  I also like the movie and I read that Hollywood is thinking about remaking this movie with black actors/actresses.  What the hell are they thinking?  They haven’t learned yet that remaking some classic movies should not be done.  We love old movies, well at least I do, something about them during that period of time, and that time could trigger a memory, we want it to stay as it was.  I just can’t see Cuba Gooding, Jr. playing George Peppard part and Nia Long playing Audrey Hepburn’s part either, but what the hell do I know.  I don’t watch reality shows.  I got enough in books.
While looking for the cost of the book by Truman Capote, I saw another BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S by LYNN LORENZ - $4.00 - Breakfast At Tiffany's What caught my eye was the same title, but with a black and white guy on the cover, so I investigated and found it is a gay interracial relationship book written by a white woman.  It still amazes me how many books are out there, just amazes me.  Check it out if you wish.  
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  

Another find at the book fair, two of Edward P. Jones books - THE KNOWN WORLD - - $9.99 - -  The Known World and  ALL AUNT HAGAR’S CHILDREN  - - $9.99 - -  All Aunt Hagar's Children.  I got a black woman to buy both.  She did not know about him and that still amazes me how many of us do not know out black writers.  
Since I was just mulling around at the fair during a quiet moment, I stepped into the library to look around and found two young black girls looking for books.  It was on, my “Batman/Black Woman on the Pursuit of getting every single black person to read and buy books - Black/Green/Red Cape," and got these girls some books.  Carl Weber, Kimberla Lawson Roby, E. Lynn Harris and more.  They were still in the library looking over those books when I returned an hour later.  One of them ask, “Are there any sex scenes in these books?” I asked, why.” “Because I’m sorta of tired and I’m trying to stay Christian, but it’s hard, child.”  “Yes, but I think you can handle these authors, they know how to write without being slutty.”  Let’s hope they give them a try.  I gave them my card and told them to call or e-mail me any time they want more.  I will even buy them.  Thank God I got a gift to give!!!
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Saturday, November 26, 2011

How can anyone hate the library (You drugged, you!!)

NUMBER 98
Well, I’m finally back on track and getting my “Book Buffer” on.  Reading, buying and borrowing from book stores, book sales, book conferences, libraries, books, books and more books.  I have to admit that I do have an “obsessenation” and the other day, someone wrote a complaint about me and the Charleston County Library.  That I am pushy, becoming irritating and too totally aggressive with buying books and such and putting them on the spot to do the same, (You know, I looked up the word Pushing in the Urban Dictionary and it dawned on me that I need to find another dictionary.  Some of the words on that website is un-be-live able!!! - “Pushin it,” “Pushing a Palin,” “Pushing diarrhoea uphill with a rake,” and so many crazy ass words meaning so much sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Un-Be-Live able!!!)  Its not that they don’t appreciate libraries, but I guess my hobbyhorse book craze self was driving them insane, even though some of them are as dumb as sticks, I do understand.  Many people and I mean many people do not read as much as I do, but I also note that these same people are living the same “country ass slave mentality with collards greens for brains life in a slow moving Cadillac.”  No one can make you happy but you, no one can promote or give you a job if you don’t apply yourself and apply for the job.  No one is giving any handouts.  I’m not referring to people who are out there struggling every single day to look for a job, keep their faith, raise there kids right and willing to take any job to get someplace better than they are at, I’m talking about those same people who complain ever day or every life that “life sucks and I cannot get ahead because no one will take on my problems and solve them for me.”  The same people who fuss, fight, poo poo anything positive.  Whether it’s reading a book or reading to a child or taking care of their own children and help others.  The same damn people who make me sick. 
Stop the fighting and complaining about little crap and leave the “positive” people alone.  We are getting damn tired of YOU!!!
OK, I feeling better, let’s get on with books-my world, my life, my heart, my soul and my being on earth!!
ROCHELLE ALERS – SECRETS NEVER TOLD - $9.99 - - - Married to one of Washington, D.C.'s, most powerful African American attorneys, mother of two wonderful grown children, and owner of an elegant bridal gift shop, Morgana Johnson-Wells seems to have it all until her mother suddenly passes away and she learns that her husband has been unfaithful. Desperate to escape, Morgana returns to her mother's home in Salvation, Georgia, where she visits with her kind Uncle Julian and discovers her mother's journals. Soon Morgana learns that her mother also suffered deeply, and harbored destructive secrets of her own. She also meets sexy photographer and painter Erick Wilson and is instantly attracted to his zest for life and art. The two share a passionate affair that begins to heal Morgana's damaged spirit and to give her hope again. But eventually Morgana must choose between her husband of 20-plus years and the man who reawakened her heart. Alers' engaging tale is rich in family secrets, lost love, and women who never forget their strength, or their roots.  I don’t ever remember having to make a decision like that before, ever!
TRACI BEE – TWO TEARS IN A BUCKET - $2.99 - - - A review from “Leona, APOOO BookClub - - - Okay, so I have to admit that it took me entirely too long to finish reviewing this novel by Ms. Bee. Admittedly I had a number of obligations that sidetracked me for months, but Hurricane Irene forced me to sit down and finish my journey. Let me just say, I was not one bit disappointed by the ending. Fantastic, well-written, and a can't-put-this-down page turner, Ms. Bee knocks this story out of the park! I think there's a saying that says if something is really meant for you, set it free, and if it comes back to you, it's yours. That is definitely an underlying theme of Two Tears In a Bucket, which details the kind of on-again, off-again relationship between Kevin and Simone. After life and misunderstandings tear them apart, can a twist of circumstance bring them back together after years of separation? I've always kind of assumed, based on other reviews, that this was an Urban Lit novel, but after reading it in its entirety, I'm not sure I would classify it as such. To me, it's more of a contemporary drama with urban elements and without question a a few cuts above its competitors. As a matter of fact, if this is an Urban Lit novel then Traci has set a HIGH bar for similar authors to reach in terms of story structure, editing, and professionalism--I hope they take notice! Traci Bee is an author to watch and I look forward to reading the sequel to this page-turner! The cliffhanger on this book is a DOOZIE!! --K.L. Brady, Author of The Bum Magnet.
Blip! Bam! Whomp! KaNakia R. Laushaul, Author of Running from Solace - Running from Solace
TRACI BEE – ANOTHER TEAR - $3.99 - - - Kevin Kennard gazed into the precious face of his newborn son, the offspring of the intoxicating love he shared with his wife, Simone. Closing his eyes, Kevin whispered a prayer of thanks. Life had given him a second chance at happiness far greater than anything he'd fathomed from inside the concrete walls of his prison cell.

While Kevin and Simone bask in their familial bliss, those scorned by their union collect the pieces to their shattered hearts and plot the couple's demise. Darkness covered the Kennards when their newborn baby becomes the target for revenge. A tidal wave of fatal events stifles the sanctity Kevin and Simone have come to cherish.

Kevin had promised those he loved that his gun-toting days were a thing of the past. But with nothing else to live for, he journeys to find the person responsible for the devastation reeked in his world. Someone will pay for what they've done to his family, even if it cost Kevin his own life.
Another Tear

PAT SIMMONS – IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE - $99 cents - - - It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23  God’s mercies are sure; His promises are fulfilled; but a dawn of a new morning is God’ grace.  If you need a testimony about God’s grace, then If I Should Die Before I Wake will encourage your soul. Nothing happens in our lives by chance. If you need a miracle, God’s got that too. Trust Him.  Has it been a while since you’ve had a testimony? Increase your prayer life, build your faith and walk in victory because without a test, there is no testimony.
BRIAN W. SMITH - MAMA’S LIES-DADDY’S PAIN - $14.95 Paperbackk - - -  Review from Keesha Berry - Whew www. This book had me on an emotional roller coaster. It made me laugh, cry, and mad. Tracy and Jamal are teenage parents. Jamal decides that he doesn't want to be the kind of father that his father was so he made the decision to be the best father he could be for his daughter, Jada. For seventeen years he provided emotional and financial support for her all while dealing with the typical baby mama drama. So many dead beat fathers are walking around not taking any responsibilities for their kids and we find one that is a true father through and through. You have to read the book to understand his pain and any other good father's pain.
MARCUS MAJOR - FOUR GUYS AND TROUBLE - $6.99 - - - When four young men make a pledge to their dying fraternity brother to take care of his little sister, Bunches, a delightful story unfolds. Each of these successful African American men takes his responsibility as a brother seriously, giving gifts and advice as well as compliments and scolding. As Bunches matures from their friend's little sister into a young woman, the men find it increasingly difficult to accept her independence. Ibin, the consummate lady's man, learns the hard way that the old double standard is only true for those who choose to believe it. Colin, the henpecked boyfriend, is dating a woman who uses negative energy to keep him in line. Michael, the romantic nice guy, rekindles a relationship with a college friend. Dexter, the man with the plan, is stopped in his tracks when his girlfriend becomes pregnant. But most central to all their lives is Bunches, the little sister that each of them loves. But, of course, she has to make her own love choices--even if all the "boys" do not agree. 
MARCUS MAJOR - A FAMILY AFFAIR - $13.99 - - - This sequel to Major's first novel, Good Peoples - $7.84 Hardcover Good Peoples, Myles and Marisa Moore are recently and very happily married. Meanwhile, Myles' attractive, intelligent, and strong-willed teenage cousin, Jasmine, has moved in with his parents. She is very enamored of Marisa, although her circumstances have made her angry and bitter. Myles' brother, Amir, and his wife, Kenya, share in the family's concern for Jasmine, especially when Darius, a resident of the halfway house that Kenya runs, is released at 18 and begins to date Jasmine. Marisa convinces Jasmine that if she is determined to date Darius, then she must introduce him to the family and not sneak behind her aunt's back. The family's woes are compounded when Myles' and Amir's father is caught cheating. Now the brothers and their wives must show tough love for the rebellious Jasmine and also provide unconditional support for their mom as she rebuilds her life without her husband of 40 years. A loving portrait of a family sharing good and bad times. 


NELSON GEORGE - HIP HOP AMERICA - $12.99  - - - Although it's been part of the cultural sound scape for over 25 years, hip-hop has been the focus of very few books. And when those books do pop up, they tend to be either overtly scholarly, as if the writer in question has just landed on some alien planet, or a bit too much like a fanzine. If there's anyone qualified to write a solid, informative, and entertaining tome on the culture, politics, and business of hip-hop, it's Nelson George. A veteran journalist, George is one of the smartest and most observant chroniclers of African American pop culture. Much as he broke down and illuminated R&B with his acclaimed book The Death of Rhythm and Blues - $12.99, George now tackles hip-hop with the clarity of a reporter and the enthusiasm of a fan, which is fitting, because George is both. A Brooklyn native, he began writing about rap back in the late 1970s, when the beats and the lifestyle were not only foreign to most white folks, they were still underground in the black communities. Hip Hop America is filled with George's memories of the scene's nascent years, and it tells the story of rap both as an art form and a cultural and economic force, from the old Bronx nightclub the Fever to the age of Puffy. Highlighting both the major players and some of the forces behind the scenes, George gives rap a historical perspective without coming off as too intellectual. All of which makes Hip Hop America a worthwhile addition to any fan's collection. 
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  
OCTAVIA BUTLER - KINDRED - $4.95 - - - It has been years since I read this book and now I need to go back and read it again. I kinda miss it.  
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.
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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Slowly I'm coming back on track!! I miss my blog!!

NUMBER 97
Hey, I’m just 3 blogs short of 100.  The magic number of 100.  I cannot believe you have hung in there with me and I truly and godly hope I have made your day and your reading life, it has for me.  I will never, ever give up this blog, I’m having too much fun and enjoying the hell out of it.  I could not believe some of the comments I have received.  It was, “Yes, you have lots of fans of your blog,” “Girl, keep going!!! I”m loving it!! and a kid who I met in DC last year asked his mom to get him a kindle and subscribe to my blog.  Hey, it’s only $1.00 a month, even that chump change can handled most budgets.  She did and she did not know that many books by African American were out there.  It takes time to go thru each page on any web site and look and look, so I’m saving you time and money with the best deals.  Get ready for Black Friday, I will bring the 99 cents deal and don’t forget, you can now borrow books from the library if your money is too, too short.
I saw my man, my love, my honey-pot-oh-romagical man, Idris Elba on the cover of Essence.  He plays in the detective series, “Luther” on BBC and played in Takers, Legacy, Obsessed (where I think Beyonce` did not act well), Daddy’s Little Girls, The Gospel, and of course “The Wire,”  Got damn it!! I just love that man and love British mysteries.  Am I in heaven Ga Ga Land or what!!! I’m in heaven.  Melody Lopez “BookBuff” says about the TV show Luther, “EX. CELL. ENT!!!!” With Idris in it, yeah, I like it too!!!
Which brings me back to books because on page 72 of Essence, there is an article entitled, “Our Smart Guys” with Toure`, Colson Whitehead and Nelson George.  The last time I saw such a group of Black men writers was in the 1993 article in Ebony called, “Wordsmiths - Contemporary Black Male Writers. I still have my copy.  On a side note, I’m listening and watching on Amazon, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, The Adventure of Clapham Cook.”  I told you I love British mysteries.  Back to my "unrambling." In both articles, even though the articles are 18 years apart, the newest article mentions how the mid-1990s were over taken by the Waiting to Exhale books and the street lit.  In other words, books by blacks have become one urban, drugged induced, slap the bitch/whore, or fall into the arms of the perfect man of your dreams in romance trilogy or the church is on fire and still sisters cannot find a man with family drama continually surrounding our lives.   Both articles spoke the same language, not enough black men writers.  Still.  Toure`, Colin and Nelson are writing a new way, about our lives but from a new window, where we see President Obama, the lost of Black middle class, values, compassion and, once again, the media really portraying us, badly!  
It’s amazing, the 1993 article does mention Nelson George.  The same article mentions the same thing, black men finally getting their groove on in a sea of black women writers.  The 2011 article shows these guys as long overdue writers, but the 1993 articles show black male writers not just trying to squeeze in with the women, but how to get the black men in the groove and saving the young men.  Here it is 2011 and an article 18 years ago on black male writers is still saying the same thing, black woman rule the publishing arena and black men don’t.  I’m glad I kept that article because over the next two weeks, I’m going to try to get you to buy their books and bring them back to life. 
I’ve said a mouth full and still eating!
TOURE` - WHO’S AFRAID OF POST-BLACKNESS - $11.99 - - - I just got the book, but Jarrod Jenkins’s review gave me a heads up as someone who is light skinned and not running for President or married to a white guy, how this book relates and do not relate to being who you want to be and and not just “black.”  Here’s his comment, “This is a great book. I don't think Toure broke any new ground in this book. Rather, he provided comfort to those who think like him. A coming-out party if you will. All too often, Blacks who do not think or act "Black" (whatever that means) find themselves persecuted by their own race.
The biggest issue that I have is the chapter on how to have more Pres. Obama. Toure sets the book up to say that it's okay to be post-Black. Indeed, he encourages people to be who they are not conform to any type of societal expectation. However, he says -- and I agree -- that President Obama's complexion helped him get elected. This, of course, begs the question how are we supposed to raise more President Obama if skin complexion is immutable? Also, he says -- and again I agree -- that President Obama would not have been elected if he had a White wife. This flies in the face of his it's-okay-to-be-post-Black theory because if it truly were okay, one would not have to choose between marrying someone and running for President. This is the type of confined thinking that the book was intended to thwart.”
NELSON GEORGE -THE PLOT AGAINST HIP HOP: A NOVEL - $9.99 - - - The stabbing murder of esteemed music critic Dwayne Robinson in a Soho office building is dismissed by the NYPDKanye West, and Russell Simmons.  D Hunter has his own secrets, his own vulnerabilities, which he fights to overcome as he becomes a reluctant private eye. After reading The Plot Against Hip Hop, you'll never hear the music the same way.
COLSON WHITEHEAD - ZONE ONE: A NOVEL - $12.99 - - - I have been a fan of his since THE INTUITIONIST: A NOVEL - $6.95 paperback. I thought it was the strangest thing to write about the first African American female elevator inspector as well as a graduate of Institute for Vertical Transport (Elevators!! that got me), then I got into it and my mind went crazy.  An elevator crashes and it’s blamed on Lila Mae.  She has a quirkiness about her in that she can “senses” the condition of an elevator and has a drawn battle with the so call “Empiricist” who uses mob connections to win an election.  Don’t ask me, it was a trip and a long voyage which to this day I’m still trying to figure out and can’t get it out of my mind.  The unusual characters are the ones who will get you, that’s some world they live in and it’s funny and scary.
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  

I have Colson’s other book, SAG HARBOR - $11.99, but have not read it yet, but I do know some guys who lived it.  The year is 1985 and 15-year-old Benji Cooper, one of the only black students at his elite Manhattan private school, leaves the city to spend three largely unsupervised months living with his younger brother Reggie in an enclave of Long Island's Sag Harbor, the summer home to many African American urban professionals. Benji's a Converse-wearing, Smiths-loving, Dungeons & Dragons-playing nerd whose favorite Star Wars character is the hapless bounty hunter Greedo (rather than the double-crossing Lando Calrissian). But Sag Harbor is a coming-of-age novel whose plot side-steps life-changing events.  The book's leisurely eight chapters mostly concern Benji's first kiss, the removal of braces, BB gun battles, slinging insults (largely unprintable "grammatical acrobatics") with his friends, and working his first summer job. And Whitehead crafts a wonderful set piece describing Benji's days at Jonni Waffle Ice Cream, where he is shrouded in "waffle musk" and a dirty T-shirt that's "soiled, covered with batter and befudged from a sundae mishap."
Whitehead pushes his love of pop culture into hyper-drive. Nearly every page is swimming with references to the 1980s--from New Coke and The Cosby Show to late nights trying to decipher flickering glimpses of naked women on scrambled Cinemax. And music courses through the book, capturing that period when early hip hop mixed with New Wave. Lisa Lisa and U.T.F.O make a memorable cameo at Jonni Waffle, and McFadden Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," heard throughout the book in passing cars and boom boxes, gets tagged as "the black national anthem." Like that ubiquitous song, the soulful, celebratory, and painfully funny Sag Harbor and its chronicle of those lazy, sun-soaked days sandwiched between Memorial Day and Labor Day, will stick with you long after closing its covers. 

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Saturday, November 12, 2011

More just Books!!! I just love it!!

NUMBER 96
I do have a Kindle, (Duh!! I wouldn’t be promoting these books on the kindle if I did not have one, but someone actually thought I didn't, duh!!).  I want the new one, the $79.00 one.  I also want to buy about 25 of them to give to the kids who come to the “Bring your child to work day," in April 2012.   I do have a reputation to keep up (These kids think I’m crazy and they have told their brothers and sisters to try to come each year).  The ages are nine to 13, and that's an age to really get kids into reading or before.  Did you know that I made a deal with these kids.  I give a big bag of goodies filled with candy, toys and books, lots of books.  For every book that they read and bring a book report to me, I will give them $5.00 for each book report.  Out of 25 kids, three did it and a year later, the same three.  I was willing to get a second job to keep up, but my hopes were dashed.  Will try again next year.  I also sent an e-mail to Mr. Bezos, owner of Amazon, and ask for a discount if I ordered 25.  Have not heard yet, but nothing beats a failure but a try.  So I may still have to get that part time job and take a little each week to pay for them.
In the meantime, I will buy the new Kindle and sell my old one for some chump change.  Still buy hard and paper back books because I love the smell of new and old books and will continue with this blog.  I got nothing to lose and a million times to gain.  Living in this world during these times is harder than a crack addict looking for a score and since I have to live in this world, I’m going to push, promote, bite, and shove every single book I find into someone’s hand.  That’s my world!!!
I met RICKEY TEEMS in Houston and Atlanta with his friend MOSES MILLER.  You know how you hear and see on the cover of magazines or on TV, good, handsome and smart Black men?  Well, as the Lord says, "here are two of them."  I call Moses my “Coke Cola Smile Man” from the commercial and I call Rickey, “The type of man I want my daughter to marry.”  They are happily married, good, intelligent men with the biggest heart around.  Please Face book them, you will see.  Here are Rickey’s books and I told you about Moses’s books, but it would not hurt to repeat it.
RICKEY TEEMS II
REGRESSION - $2.99 - - - You will find that this story is one you are living in and not just reading along, the ride is something else.  What if you woke up one morning to find Hip Hop banned throughout the country? African-American athletes boycotting U.S Olympic teams? Welfare abruptly cut-off to the public? School classrooms assigned by ethnicity? Black students kicked out of colleges? Secret Hispanic plans to regain control of Southern California? Presidential plans to lock up all members of one culture? Racial restructuring of the entire United States?  

Aeneas Mayes just wants to move on from the troubled streets he was raised on and get his life together to be a better example for his son, Naashon. But when he wakes up late for his African-American History mid-term one morning, he quickly learns that his troubles are just beginning. One by one, racially charged decisions by the U.S. government are seemingly turning back the hands of time on civil rights, and Aeneas and the Black community are soon slapped with a first-hand history lesson of discrimination and injustice. The action is non-stop as Aeneas is now forced to rely on his street savvy and some of the unlikeliest of allies to get his son and loved ones back to freedom. But when local law enforcement receives assistance from the military to handle the riotous uprisings throughout urban America, the stakes rise beyond control. And when his best friend is apprehended and thrown in confinement camp for African-Americans, Aeneas will have to make a decision that will impact every life around him.   Sounds like the Civil War era? The turbulent 60’s? No, it’s 2008, and this is: Regression
KEEP IT 100: REAL TALK ON BEING A REAL MAN with CHARLES COOPER - $3.99 - - - We need our young men to grow up and be strong, but they need YOU!!! Please mentor them!

THE HEALING OF LOVE & LAUGHTER - $2.99 - - - Some smiles reflect more than just good times, occasionally they are a mask for pain. Comedian Isaac Golden learns the bright lights of Hollywood may shine for triumph, but in the shadows, drugs, wild women, and the fast life are waiting to take their toll on his soul. With the health of his children's' mother on the brink, a sex-crazed mistress on the side, the criminal woes of his inept younger brother, and increasing stage opportunities, trying to balance ambitions of stardom with reality is no laughing matter. When his faith and obligations are challenged beyond his control, Isaac realizes that overnight success can be tomorrow's biggest failure. He soon finds himself in a deep and dark hole, clueless how it all happened so fast. Will he have any friends and prayer left to help him overcome the guilt and remorse of his ways, or will time run out before he can truly discover: The Healing of Love and Laughter.
MOSES MILLER
THE TRIFLING TIMES OF NATHAN JONES - $9.99
NAN: THE GAME OF TRIFE - 9.99
NAN: THE TRIFECTA - $9.99
LEONARD PITTS JR - BEFORE I FORGET - $7.69 - - - This powerful novel of three generations of black men bound by blood — and by histories of mutual love, fear, and frustration, gives author Leonard Pitts the opportunity to explore the painful truths of black men's lives, especially as they play out in the fraught relations of fathers and sons. As 50-year-old Mo tries to reach out to his increasingly tuned-out son Trey (who himself has become an unwed teen aged father), he realizes that the burden of grief and anger he carries over his own estranged father has everything to do with the struggles he encounters with his son. Part road novel, part character study, and part social critique, and written in compulsively readable prose, Before I Forget is the work of a major new voice in American fiction. Pitts knows inside and out the difficulties facing black men as they grapple with the complexities of their roles as fathers.
ANDREA CLINTON - LIFE KNOWS NO BOUNDS: ONE WHO LOVES YOU MORE - $99 CENTS - - - From Khaleelah, “Very good love story, I'm a sucker for a love story especially a good hood one. Alisa and Omar are your typical urban characters with a uniqueness about them. Andrea (the author) could have done a better job with explaining the Arabic phrases I'm sure most of the readers aren't Muslim. Another flaw with the read were the usage of the different fonts , I wasn't understanding the need for font or typesetting change throughout the entire book. Andrea has great storytelling skills maybe the font changes was part of the characters mental mess, but for readers sake stick to one font next go around. The author is truly having a conversation with her readers, I found myself talking to the characters. I'm looking forward to more of Alisa and Omar Mental Mess!!!”  I guess she knows, because I brought it. 
APRIL SINCLAIR - I LEFT MY BACK DOOR OPEN - $4.81 Paperback  - - - Sometimes, reviewers are honest and I like that, but I will still give the book a try.  Here’s S. Thompson “casual reader” review - I thought this book was so overwhelmingly predictable I just couldn't enjoy it at all. I've read Sinclair's other books, (Coffee will make you black & ain't gonna be the same fool twice - Coffee Will Make You Black: A Novel - $5.25 Paperback) so I really thought I'd enjoy this one. But I found the characters uninteresting and utterly contrived so that the author could just spout her agenda. She moralizes everything, from spanking to teenage pregnancy. Afterwards, I felt as though I'd been cheated out of a good story because the author just wanted to rant about what she didn't like about society today.  If you're a April Sinclair fan, don't expect much. If you're new to this author, read Coffee Will Make You Black. Sooooo! much better.
MARISSA MONTEILH - HOT BOYZ - $6.99 - - - It is not what you are thinking. There are no siblings more charmed than the Wilson brothers of Ladera Heights, California. Fine and famous pro golfer Mason has money, respect, a beautiful, loving wife and two wonderful teenage children. Claude's the most successful realtor in the "Black Beverly Hills." And handsome, carefree "baby boy" Torino, who runs big brother Mason's club, Foreplay, can pick and choose the honeys he wants to share his time and his bed with. But beneath the surface of ideal lives are secrets that could shatter three perfect dreams and shake a family to its core. Legacies of loss and obligation, of tragedy and madness, threaten everything the Wilsons have worked so hard to achieve, exposing deep, raw, and devastating wounds that an outside world cannot see -- wounds that can be healed only through honesty and love. 


Hot Girlz: Hot Boyz Sequel
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  

JESSICA McCANN – ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF FREE - $8.99 - - -  A historical novel, well executed, emotionally engaging, illuminating an important Supreme Court case and the heart of a heroic woman." A free woman of color in the 1830s, Margaret Morgan lived a life full of promise. One frigid night in Pennsylvania, that changed forever. They tore her family apart. They put her in chains. They never expected her to fight back.  In 1837, Margaret Morgan was kidnapped from her home in Pennsylvania and sold into slavery. The state of Pennsylvania charged her kidnapper with the crime, but the conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was the first time a major branch of the federal government had made a pro-slavery stand, and the ruling in Prigg v. Pennsylvania sewed the bitter seeds of the states' rights battle that eventually would lead to the Civil War.
Yet, the heart of this story is not a historic Supreme Court ruling. It is the remarkable, unforgettable Margaret Morgan. Show More Her life would never be the same. Her family had been torn apart. Uncaring forces abused her body and her heart. But she refused to give up, refused to stop fighting, refused to allow her soul to be enslaved.

NOTE:  When you have the time, would you please do me a favor and go to blog on Amazon and write  a comment.  I don't care if it's bad or good, but tell me if you want more or too much, or not funny enough.  Just want to know what you want.  Thank You - - Black Kindle 
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