The Perfect Marriage

Meet Denise and Derrek Shaw.  Married for fifteen years, they have a wonderful teenage daughter, live in a big house, drive nice cars and work in high-paying jobs.  

But behind this facade is a dark secret: both Denise and Derrek are on drugs.

The Perfect Marriage, Kimberla Lawson Roby's latest novella, explores what happens to a family that becomes hooked on drugs.

Denise and Derrek start off using drugs as recreation. But when pressures from the job and a family member's illness affects the couple, their drug use increases.  Before they know it, their lives start spiraling out of control.  Will they loose everything before it's too late?

Even though this book is less than 200 pages, this book was able to pack a punch.  This book shows not only how drugs can devistate a family, but also family secrets, people's expectations and figuring out the meaning of personal success.

This is a good read for first time readers of Kimberla or long-time fans who are just waiting on the new Curtis Black book.

Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing and Netgallery.  Opinions are my own.

The Man in 3B and Carl Weber Coming to South Carolina

 

Carl Weber fans who have enjoyed his past novels will enjoy his latest book, The Man in 3B.

Neighbors in a apartment building in Jamaica Queens are up in arms about their new neighbor, Darryl Graham. He's down to earth, has a lot of swag and is easy on the eyes.  He winds up getting entangled in some of his neighbor's lives and has a few secrets of his own.

Unlike some of his previous novels, Weber tells Darryl's story from the viewpoint of five of his neighbors. They are:

• Connie, an overweight and unhappy wife who takes comfort in Darryl's attention.

• Avery, Connie's husband who is unhappy in his marriage and his finances.  When an opportunity arises to make money, he will let nothing stand in his way.

• Krystal, who is Darryl's first love, has a new man in her life.  But she wants Darryl too.  Deciding on which man she wants turns out to be the least of her problems.

• Benny, a young college student that Darryl takes under his wing.  This relationship turns Benny's world upside down.

• And Nancy, the building gossip queen, who also has her eyes on Darryl.  Did I say that she's married and has a boyfriend on the side?

But all five of them are brought together even more when someone dies in their building and they all become suspects in a murder.

Like several of Weber's other books, The Man in 3B has drama, surprises and an ending that you won't forget. And I LOVED the ending of this book. I rooted for several of the characters in this book (and others I wanted them to kick rocks).  It's an enjoyable read and it's recommended for long time fans and those who are reading Weber's works for the first time.

There is good news for those who would like to see Weber in person. He will be touring in support of this book and he's coming to my home state! 

Carl Weber is returning to South Carolina this weekend and will be appearing at three Books-A-Million stores.  On Friday (February 1), he will be at the Northwoods Mall location in North Charleston at 7 p.m.  This is the signing I will be attending.  On Saturday (February 2), Carl will be at the Sumter store at noon and the Sandhills store (in Columbia) at 5 p.m.  See Weber's tour schedule to see if he is coming to a city near you!

Here is when he came to North Charleston in support of The Choir Director two years ago.

Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing and Netgallery.  Opinions are my own.

The Best of 2012

Happy Holidays everyone!  As 2012 comes to a close, I would like to recap the book events that attended this year.  There were several books signings I attended this year (and I hope to have the bell hooks and Jonathan Safran Foer recaps up on the blog soon).  I also attended the South Carolina Book Festival in Columbia, where I got a chance to meet a lot of authors and go home with a lot of books (and did I tell you I got to meet Eric Jerome Dickey?).

I have also been away for a while due to my busy schedule.  I did a lot of volunteering for the Obama campaign in my hometown, which involved a lot of phone calls and paperwork.  After the president won reelection (YAY!), I started to get prepared to go to Little Rock, AR for work.  I spent almost a week there and even got to go on my first plane ride (it had been pretty much cars and buses before this).  Now that the holidays are here and I got over a week off from work, I have a little time to read and write before the new year kicks in.

This year, I have read 51 books (so far).  I have selected 10 as my favorites for 2012.  They are broken up  by fiction and nonfiction and they are in no particular order. And if anyone follows me on Twitter, knows that 50 Shades of Gray is not on this list (I couldn't get pass page 100).

FICTION

Gone Girl: If I talk too much about this book, I will give it away. All I can say is that it's about a married couple who lives in the Midwest. And the wife goes missing. It started off slow at first, but it turned out SO GOOD. My book club is going to discuss this book at our next meeting and I can't wait to hear the discussion.

Gathering of Waters:  I did a video review of this book, so you can see it here.

Perfect Peace:  After seeing Daniel Black at last year's National Book Club Conference, the book club I'm in decided to make Perfect Peace as our January book club selection. And we loved it! It's about a mother, who wanted a girl so bad, that she decided to turn her youngest son into a girl. And he lived that way for the first seven years of his life. It's a very deep, but enjoyable book.

Beautiful, Dirty, Rich:  I know, I am late to the J.D. Mason party. This was the first book I've read of hers.  But this book about a woman who inherits the estate of the man she killed as a teenager and the events that happen after her release from jail draws you in.  Can't wait until the sequel!

South By Southeast: Out of all of Tennyson Hardwick novels, this one goes down as my favorite.  In this installment, Tennyson works on tracking down the killer of one of Chela's friends. Little does he know that it will take a lot to bring this killer down. I liked that not only do we get to hear from Ten, but from Chela (his adopted daughter) and April (his on-again, off-again girlfriend).

NON-FICTION

Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience: This autobiography about former Rep. Gabby Giffords  and her husband Mark Kelly was awesome.  Their story, about two people from two different backgrounds, who found each other and survived through Gabby's horrible injury was wonderful. I admired them both after reading this book, which I read before Gabby resigned from Congress (the paperback version reflects that). 

Ladykiller: For a first-time true crime author, Donna Fielder did a bang-up job with this book.  Vicki Lozano was found dead in her bedroom.  Was it a suicide, or did her husband Bobby did it?  Fielder did a great job of putting this story together and making it an enjoyable read.

Brothers and Me:  After a recommendation from another blogger, I decided to read this book and I'm glad that I did.  Columnist Donna Britt discusses how her life has been affected by having brothers, sons and husbands in her life.  She also talks about loosing one of her brothers, who mysteriously died by the hands of police.

One Last Kiss: The True Story of A Minster's Bodyguard, His Beautiful Mistress and a Brutal Triple Homicide: It is very rare that I seek out true crime books after I have seen the case on television. After seeing this case on 48 Hours, I wanted to see if there was a book.  And behold, this book was scheduled to come out two months after the show aired. And it didn't disappoint.  Did Chris Coleman, bodyguard for a popular evangelist, kill his wife and two sons? Or was it the person who was stalking him? Author Michael Cueno did a wonderful job with this book.

Life After Death: Damien Echols is known as one of the West Memphis Three, who were charged and convicted on killing three young boys in West Memphis, AR in 1993.  Recanting his life through journal entries and recollections, Echols tells the story about his life, how he maintained sanity despite being wrongfully convicted (which I believe he was) and sentenced to death, and how he is now enjoying life since he and the others were freed last year.

I hope to write a few more posts before I go back to work on January 2.  I do have plans to attend one book signing in February, celebrate Delta's centennial in Washington in July (where several authors will be there), and hopefully return to the National Book Club Conference in August.  I would like to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season and a wonderful 2013!

Missing Dee

Dee and I at the South Carolina Book Festival in May

I have returned to the blog with a heavy heart.  Dee Stewart, also known as Miranda Parker, passed away on Friday.

I got a chance to meet her twice.  The first time was last year at the National Book Club Conference, where my friends and I met her at the chocolate social.  Her first book had just been released and she was giving out chocolate cupcakes.  She was very nice and took the time to talk to us.

After NBCC, we stayed in contact via Facebook and Twitter. When she announced that she was going to be in Columbia for the South Carolina Book Festival, I told her that I would make sure that I would make an effort to see her.  At the festival, she was a part of a new authors panel and even discussed her upcoming book, which was about to be released at the time.  We got a chance to talk afterwards and she was grateful that I attended her panel and signing.

We still communicated on social media after that, but I didn't know that the South Carolina Book Festival would be the last time I would see her.

Not only Dee was an author, she was a well-known public relations specialist, mostly focusing on Christian literature.  She also was the co-founder of Twitter's Black Lit Chat.

Please pray for her daughter, parents, siblings, other family members and friends during this difficult time.

Dee was a very down-to-earth and sweet person and is loved by those who knew her. She will be missed, but I know she is in a better place.

How To Find Black Literature

First, I would like to apologize for not writing any posts lately.  I have been busy with my professional life and have been going through long-term writer's blog. I have been wondering what book I was going to review next and what direction the blog was going to take.

Then, this afternoon, I saw this.  It asked what happened to the type of black literature that was popular in the 90s and early 2000s.

Let's go over the authors that are listed in the beginning in this article. Yes, Bebe and E. Lynn are no longer with us. But E. Lynn's estate has released three books since his passing.  Asha Bandele came out with a book two years ago.  And Bernice McFadden came out with a book this year (which I reviewed here) and an ebook.

My point is this: that type Black literature is still around. You just have to find it.

Here are a few tips.

Google/Yahoo Search/Bing is your friend:  I don't care what kind of search engine you use.  Just look up African-American books or African-American literature and you can find something.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers are your friends:  Look up an author on one of these sites and they usually suggest books that others have bought. There are also smaller booksellers online that just sell African-American books, like Hue-Man (soon) and Mahogany Books. Employees at the bookstores will also tell you what's hot.

Social media is your friend: Ask your Facebook and Twitter friends what they are reading. They may give you some good suggestions. Many authors are also on Facebook and Twitter and some even give suggestions. There's also social media for book lovers, like GoodReads, Shelfari and LibraryThing.  And you see that long list on the right hand side of your screen?  Many of those are blogs about African-American books.  I'm not the only one.

Librarians are your friends: (puts on librarian hat) The library is a great place to discover new books. The librarians and other staff will know what's the hottest book right now and will give you recommendations.  Some libraries also have databases to help you find your next read. (takes off hat)

Friends are, well, your friends: I know not everyone is like me and got friends who like to read. But I know you got to have a friend or two who likes to read and can recommend a book.

It's 2012.  There are several ways to find books now.  Use them. Find something that floats your boat. If you like the book, tell friends and encourage them to read. This way, black literature won't die.

Guest Post: God Don't Make No Mistakes

Several weeks ago, I received an advanced copy of God Don't Make No Mistakes by Mary Monroe.  I admit that I hadn't read the "God Don't" series (but I do plan to!). I knew my friend Flashette (which you met here) had read the series and would like to have the opportunity of reading and reviewing it. I gave her my copy to check it out and she gave me a review.  Flash is a teacher, reviewer for OOSA, avid reader and friend. 

Here is her review:

God Don’t Make No Mistakes is the final installment in the “God Don’t” series by Mary Monroe. The series follows the lifes and adventures of two childhood friends: Annette and Rhoda. These ladies have survived it all from molestation to breast cancer, from prostitution to the death of a child. They make it through these challenges because of their unshakeable friendship. This bond is again tested as the ladies find themselves at odds about the best interest of their daughters. 

Annette’s daughter Charlotte, once again finds herself involved with the wrong crowd. When she tries to tell her mother about what is going on, Charlotte mistakes her attitude for moodiness. Will Charlotte be able to get through to her mother before things take a dangerous turn? Then there’s Jade, Rhoda’s rebellious daughter. Jade does everything in her power to bring her mother pain and sorrow. Through it all, Rhoda still loves her. So, she hatches a plan to get her daughter on the right path once and for all. In addition to our two stars, Monroe brings back the rest of the quirky family members. These characters provide just enough comic relief to keep the storyline moving. 

I have read every novel in the “God Don’t” series and I must say that this novel is my least favorite. This is probably because I have grown tired of the group and am no longer interested in their life stories like I did in the past. However, I still found the story to be entertaining with quite a few LOL moments. I will truly miss these characters, especially Scary-Mary. I like the fact that Monroe gives true closure to the story and its characters. The reader definitely will not be wondering about what happens to the main characters later in life. For an author to truly end a series, this closure is necessary. So, while I bid farewell to Annette, Rhoda and the gang, I look forward to Monroe writing more books with characters that I will grow to love and be entertained with for many years (and series) to come.

Thanks, Flash!

Disclaimer: Received advanced copy from Kensington Publishing.

The One

Note: this blog post has spoilers for two books. 

About three years ago, I read In Love With A Younger Man by Cheryl Robinson.  It's about 43-year-old Olena Day trying to decide between two younger men.  Matthew is 25 and has his life together at a young age. Jason's 32 and a retired football player. While reading this book, I really wanted Olena to get with Matthew because he seemed to be a pretty decent guy.  Something about Jason always seemed off and I wasn't feeling him.

At the end of the book, Olena finds out that Matthew is the son of a man she dated in college (and got pregnant by, which resulted in an abortion).  That leaves her with only Jason, who just found out he has prostate cancer.

So when I heard a sequel was coming out, I was happy, but cautious.  I was hoping that Olena had enough sense to give Matthew another chance. But based on the description of The One, I wasn't holding my breath.

This book starts out with Olena nursing Jason back to health after prostate surgery and dealing with ED. After loosing her job and not getting prospects on the novel she's written, Olena gets an opportunity to take part of a reality show. The One is like The Bachelor/Bachelorette with the travel elements of The Amazing Race.  She takes the opportunity, which causes Jason to break up with her (and gets his lawyers to tell her not to mention his name on TV, one of many trifling things he would do in this book).

While Olena jet sets around the world meeting bachelors, Jason continues to act stupid.  After not being able to sleep with Olena because of his condition, he sleeps with the first chick he meets at CVS. And she turns out to be crazy.  Meanwhile, Olena meets a new girlfriend in Tilley, her bald stylist, and bachelor Porter, a musician who has feelings for her.

Like the first book, this was an OK read. Both books are those kind of reads that you read on a quite and/or rainy day and can finish them fairly quickly.  I cared for Olena and want her to make the best decisions, but to me, she doesn't make them. My feeling for Jason went from getting bad vibes from him to wishing he dropped off the face of the earth. He's a entitled jerk, a spoiled brat and thinks with his little head at times.

The twists at the end of the book gives room for a third book. I hope Robinson writes a conclusion to this series so I can find out what happens to Olena.