The Reading Diva

Thanks to Sourcebooks and Edelweiss for the advance copy. Opinions are my own. Summary: Antonia "Toni" Bennette does not want to be a rock star. She's fine playing her guitar, doing shows in Philly's indie music scene and doing session work. What she wants is to be part-owner of a recording studio. But Toni gets an opportunity of a lifetime when she is recruited to be a temporary guitarist for up-and-coming band The Lillys. But it also reunites her with Sebastian, the manager of the band and her old friend who shared her dreams as a teen. Review: I really like this book! It touches on a lot of issues that many have dealt with, but not all deal with them in a Rock and Roll setting. Toni has modest dreams despite her tremendous talent. She is also dealing with the absence of her mother (who is also a guitarist and abandoned her to follow her own Rock and Roll dreams) and her aloof father. As a teen, she found comfort in her friendship with Seb (who had similar goals), ...

Summary: A biography of  Kamala Harris, the first Black, Asian and woman to be elected Vice President of the United States. The book is written by Dan Morain, a  reporter who has covered California politics for more than 40 years. Review: If you looking to learn more about Kamala the person, this isn't the book for you. If you are looking to learn more about how Kamala got to where she is today, this is the book for you. Sort of. The book talks very briefly about her personal life. Morain mentions her mother, sister and niece in brief clips. Second Gentleman Doug gets one small chapter. And I didn't know until I read this book that her father was still alive. Kamala doesn't talk about him, so I just assumed that he was dead. The book is mostly about her political life and the rise from Bay Area prosecutor to Vice President. But this book left a bitter taste in my mouth. One reason is that this book comes off as very gossipy and it was to the point that I almost gave up re...

Congratulations to all of the National Book Award nominees ! The Man Booker Prize shortlist was announced this week. The New York Times has created a fellowship in the memory of David Carr. Maya Angelou's art collection sold for over $1 million . Looking for some new African-American female authors to read?   Kalisha Buckhanon has some recommendations . Legendary basketball star and author Kareem Abdul Jabbar is now trying his hand at fiction with a new book about Sherlock Holmes' brother . Beverly Jenkins was featured in a recent Book Riot podcast . Shout-out to romance writer Christine Jones, who started a new blog and podcast about African-American romance called  Girl, Have You Read . A woman wrote a book about hiking in the wild  and it's not called Wild. Girl on The Train author Paula Hawkins  may be coming to a city near you ! A new publishing company has been started by a daughter of one of the Koch brothers . Yes, those wealthy broth...

Relax in Paradise Rhoda Lerman  and William Grier. Congrats to the winners of the PEN Literary Awards ! Congrats also go out to the nominees of the Scotiabank-Giller Prize ! President Obama presented arts and humanities medals Thursday to several people in the arts . Stephen King, Jhumpa Lahari and Larry McMurthy were some of those who received awards. I am still experiencing sadness from missing the Decatur Book Festival.  Looks like last Friday's main event with Roxane Gay and Erica Jong was tense.  Recaps are here and here .  And one writer from Book Riot got to attend the festivities . The National Book Festival was also last weekend.   This video  has Walter Mosley being interviewed by Book View Now host Rich Fahle and Kwame Alexander. Two beloved children's books are celebrating anniversaries soon: Harold and the Purple Crayon and (one of my childhood favorites) Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry . A fully illustrated version of the firs...

As some of you who have followed my Twitter feed know, I was trying very hard to get to the Decatur Book Festival this weekend. Not only because the awesomeness that is Roxane Gay is going to be there , but there will be a lot of authors I haven't seen in person.  But the universe was trying to tell me otherwise.  Got a medical bill that was almost $200.  Hotels were hard to come by (especially with DragonCon  and Atlanta Black Pride Weekend going on and being Labor Day weekend).  And then the unthinkable happened: the car I've had for almost 15 years broke down. Just decided to stop in the middle of the street.  So instead of going to the book festival, I will probably be at a car dealership to buy a new car.  And why did I just find out on Tuesday that Roxane was in Savannah last night ? *tears* Relax in Paradise Oliver Sacks , Dr. Wayne Dyer , Wes Craven and Noah Davis . Unless her unfinished works are in a closet, there are no other works ...

Relax in Paradise Tony Gleaton  and Soror Amelia Boynton Robinson . This year's Hugo Awards brought a whole lot of drama .  And here's a nice little reminder that women have always been in science-fiction . People who live in Harper Lee's hometown are concerned about the lawyer who has been handling her affairs . An African-American book club was removed from a Napa wine train tour .  The company apologized, but the damage has already been done. This article talks about the history of African-American romance novels. African-American editor and publisher Dawn Davis talks about her career in the publishing industry . Jonathan Alter is working on a biography of President Jimmy Carter . Model Beverly Johnson's memoir was released this week.  Here is an interview with Time . One book that has been getting press is the memoir Negroland.  Read about it here and here . Another book that has been getting press ( and a brand new movie deal ) ...

Relax in Paradise Julian Bond and  Russell Poole . Congrats to the nominees of the First Novel Prize  and the St. Francis College Literary Prize ! Sir Elton is not here for banning LGBT books . Other writers are not here for Jonathan Franzen's recent comments . Remember the story about Pat Conroy opening a gym?   A medical scare inspired him to live a healthier life , which eventually lead him to open the gym. Attica Locke talks about writing for books and for the small screen . Here is a new review of The Turner House . This fantasy book written by an African-American man (and with an African-American narrator) sounds interesting. R.L. Stine says  he doesn't like to read nonfiction books . One writer admitted that she hasn't read most of the classics .  I feel you, sister. A new children's book claims to get children to sleep in minutes and people say it works. Soccer star Cari Lloyd will be releasing a memoir . Ballerina Michaela D...

Relax in Paradise Carol Brown Janeaway and Alan Cheuse . Congrats to the nominees of the African-American Literary Awards Show ! Publishers Weekly has suggestions on what you should read this fall . NPR was able to compile 100 great romance novels based on listeners' and readers' recommendations. A bookstore is giving refunds for those who didn't like Go Set A Watchman. A female author got a rude awaking when she tried to publish a book in her name and a male nom de plume .  Guess who got the most inquiries? Judy Blume came to the rescue of a man who accidentally gave away his wife's copy of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Steve Hamilton left his publisher a few weeks before his new book came out, based on (what he felt was) lack of publicity for the new book.   Luckily he was able to find a new publisher . N.K. Jemisim was able to get a review for her new book in the New York Times ! Walter Mosley writes about how Louisiana...

Book News out of Charleston this week: A woman wrote a letter to the local paper's editor complaining about a book her daughter (who will be a freshman at one of the local high schools) had to read for English class.  Her complaint was that it was too vulgar and that the book should be off the summer reading list (even though the child could have read another book off the list).  To make a long story short, she got her way and the school pulled the book almost three weeks before school starts.  One, if her daughter doesn't know some of that stuff that's mentioned in the book, she will by the time she graduates.  And if I was a kid or a parent of a kid who read that book and it was pulled from the reading list, I would be ticked.  Just because one parent has a problem with it doesn't mean that other parents feel the same way.  Here are reactions from the local library's YA department and the author of the book .   There is a campaign to raise money ...

Relax in Paradise Chenjerai Hove , E. L. Doctorow and Tom Moore . Prayers go out to Alan Cheuse , who was seriously injured in a car crash. Congrats to Deborah Johnson for winning the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction! Is Go Set a Watchman an indictment of the limits of liberalism ? Sebastian Junger is writing a book about how solders deal with stress after returning from wars. Pledged, a book about how it goes down in (mostly white) sororities, has been recently updated.  Author Alexandra Robbins talks about how some sororities deal with sexual assault claims . Reshonda Tate Billingsley talks about stereotypes and violence while promoting her new book Mama's Boy. Edwidge Danicat talks about how she wrote her first Young Adult novel . Toni Morrison talks about the inspiration behind The Bluest Eye . Nigerian author Dillibe Onyema talks about the many authors that have come from his home country . A new book discusses the impact of the late 60s-early 70s PBS...

Congrats to Tracey K. Smith, who was named director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing ! Ida B. Wells was honored with a Google Doodle  yesterday. Is there a third Harper Lee novel out there ?   A fourth ? A Charleston native spoke about his feelings after reading Go Set A Watchman and how it relates to his family and life.  And Jabari Asim has been rethinking his thoughts on To Kill a Mockingbird. Another book that received a lot of hype this week was Ta-Neishi Coates' new book, Between the World and Me.  Based on his Facebook post, Dr. Cornell West wasn't a fan (and Michael Eric Dyson told him to get over it).  And this guy from the New York Times missed the damn point. Booksellers and authors are demanding the federal government investigate Amazon over anti-trust violations. Publishers Weekly is already talking about fall releases.   And The Million has also dropped their list of books to look forward for the rest of the year. ...

Relax in Paradise Vincent Bugliosi . Congratulations to the winners of the Nebula Awards! Congratulations also go out to Juan Felipe Herrera, who was named U.S. Poet Laureate ! I hope the person who stole the new 50 Shades of Crap Gray manuscript did the world a favor and threw it in the recycling bin. The new Robert Galbraith book has a cover and a release date. The Fault in Our Stars was the best-selling e-book of 2014. Authors,  just stay away from Goodreads reviews . Kim Kardashian impersonator Glee star Naya Rivera landed a memoir deal . A new book about Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown says that Whitney was extorted over a possible lesbian affair and gives theories on what happened to Bobbi Kristina. A cover has been released for Sara Bareilles' book. I already had mixed feeling about making movies based off the Flyy Girl series (because the first one is the only one worthy of a movie), but I really can't see Sanaa Lathan as Tracey . ...

Congrats to Jacqueline Woodson for being named Young People's Poet Laureate ! Congrats also go out to Ali Smith for winning the Baileys Women Prize ! Flannery O'Connor was recently honored with her own USPS stamp . Be on the lookout for a signed copy of To Kill A Mockingbird that is missing from Blue Bicycle Bookstore. Maybe the book will show up in the auction where Harper Lee's letters are being sold . Judy Blume gave some advice to the people of the Internet. Why is there another 50 Shades of Crap Gray book coming out? Showrunner Shonda Rhimes will be releasing her memoir in November . Also working on their memoirs are Gabourey Sidibe and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell . Speaking of possible memoirs, publishing insiders are wondering how much a Bruce Caitlyn Jenner memoir would be worth . Wendell Pierce's book about Katrina and New Orleans' recovery now has a cover . Pharrell's book for children also has a cover (with lots of happy...

The New York Times came out with their summer reading recommendations last weekend. And it was an epic fail. THERE WERE NO BOOKS WRITTEN BY PEOPLE OF COLOR ON THE LIST. SERIOUSLY?!   Of course, the Internet universe ripped the publication apart about the lack of authors of color on their list.  Read this one from Roxane Gay . And this one from Gawker .  There have been a ton of diverse summer reads lists created since then (including The Root and The Grio , which I will address those lists in another post), but BuzzFeed's list was one of the best. And the Los Angeles Times also did a good job.  And with BEA and BookCon this week I know there will be a lot of think pieces on the lack of diversity in publishing coming in the next few days. Relax in Paradise Hugh Ambrose  and Tanith Lee . James Patterson's domination in the literary world continues with his new imprint for kids . Mat Johnson's new book was released this week and  it ...

Relax in Paradise Peter Gay and William Zinsser . Congratulations to the winners of the African Poetry Prize and the PEN Awards ! New stories about Attica Locke are here , here and here . Rachel Howzell Hall talks about the lack of color in the mystery genre . Toni Morrison responds to The New Progressive Agenda , which was announced this week. Here is an excerpt of Judy Blume's new book . The Big Little Lies series will be on HBO ! Are we surprised that the Obama Presidential Library will be in Chicago ? If this book about Hilary Clinton had so many errors , why was it printed in the first place? I don't know who this Tyler Oakley fellow who is writing a book , but I do know who Luvvie is and she's writing a book too! #internetstars If you are in the Columbia area this weekend, check out the South Carolina Book Festival .  Most likely, I'm skipping it again this year.  If you look at the author list , you will know why. What do you get if yo...

Relax in Paradise Ruth Rendell , Josh Ozersky and Marcia Brown . Congratulations to Alice Notely for winning the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize ! Ashley and Jaquavis aren't my cup of tea, but their hustle game is impeccable . Roxane Gay got to talk to Toni Morrison ! Here is an podcast about the new book The Fishermen . Here is a nice review of Pleasantville.   And one on Ordinary Light . Thank God the Internet wasn't around when Marvin Gaye dated and married his second wife .  He would have been the R. Kelly and Tyga of the 1970s. The Mindy Project may be over on Fox, but at least Mindy Kaling can celebrate her new book . ABC show Resurrection, which was based off the Jason Mott book (and not the British TV show), has been canceled .  I think I may put my thoughts into why in another post. The Warmth of Other Suns is being developed as a drama for FX . The Magicians is also being developed for television . So is the Bone Street Rumba series . Reese Wit...

Congratulations to all of the Triangle Award and Edgar Award winners!  Congrats also go to Marion Coutts for winning the Wellcome Book Prize ! The Broadway musical Fun Home, which is based off an autobiography ( that caused much controversy at one of the local colleges two years ago ), was nominated for 12 Tony Awards. More than 90 authors are protesting PEN American Center giving a free speech award to Charlie Hebdo .  But Salman Rushdie feels that the authors should get over it . Publishers Weekly has come out with their Summer Reads book list for 2015!  So has Huffington Post . Angela Fournoy's The Turner House was reviewed in the New York Times ! And Roxane Gay reviewed God Help the Child for The Guardian. Speaking of Toni Morrison, if you were like me and missed her speak during her short book tour this week, here is video of her event in New York City on Monday . And this chick got to meet Toni .  I'm jealous. Here are some new stories abo...

I'm starting off today's post with a picture of Eric Jerome Dickey and myself at the 2011 South Carolina Book Festival.  I know you are wondering why I have this picture up.  One, his latest book One Night came out this week.  And two, I will be seeing him again tomorrow at the Sandhills Books-A-Million in Columbia!  So we will most likely take a new picture together that won't have Eric's locs. And I'll be carrying a few more pounds.  Learn more about One Night here , here and here . Relax in Paradise William Price Fox  and Frederic Morton . Congratulations to the winners of the Pulitzer Prize (shout-out to the hometown paper, The Post and Courier ) and the L.A. Times Book Prize ! Pulitzer Prize Poetry Winner Gregory Pardolo is getting use to his sudden fame .  And I didn't know his brother was in City High ! Another author who released a book this week was Attica Locke.  She talks about Pleasantville here (with Rachel Ho...

Relax in Paradise Gunter Grass and Edwardo Galeno . Congratulations to all of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award nominees , the Pen Award nominees and the  International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards ! Haruki Murakami and Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche made this year's  Time 100 Most Influential People list . The American Library Association named the most challenged/banned books of 2014 . It also shows that authors of color are the most affected by book banning attempts. Tavis Smiley has been winning lately.  His latest book, My Journey with Maya (which he talks about here ), will become a Broadway play.  Now Death of a King will be adapted for TV . This looks like an ordinary press release about TVOne's future projects .  But if you scroll down to the end of the movie section of the article, you will find that TWO of ReShonda Tate Billingsley's books will be movies next year. Can someone ask BET what happened to the Let the Church Say A...

The last few weeks has been a roller coaster.  My grandaunt passed away last Friday, while I was still mourning the loss over a classmate who died suddenly.  I was also fighting something that was going on in my nasal passages (the doctor said a virus, I say it was allergies).  On top of that, the shooting of Walter Scott happened and when the video came out, the whole incident blew up.  I hate that my hometown will now be associated in the same vain as Ferguson, New York City, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Sanford. Thank God local and state law enforcement took quick action on this or it would have been a ton of chaos on the streets.  Ironically, news of the first video came out when I was having dinner with Lisa from Reads for Pleasure (who was in town on vacation), who lives not far from Ferguson.  And it has been a busy month with work and sorority events. I also decided earlier this week that I was not going to go t...