The Reading Diva

October will make 16 years working in libraries. I have worked in college libraries (two and four year schools). I have worked in a medical library which served a medical college and a hospital system. I have even been on the board of trustees of my local public library system. I now work for that same system, over a decade after I got my first library job working for another public library system in the state. When I read an excerpt of Overdue in Electric Literature , my initial thought was "this reads like BS, but I'll give it a shot." But I didn't buy the book. Instead, I had the library order it and put it on hold for me (like a good patron). And for the most part, my feelings were right. Amanda Oliver spent seven years working at libraries until she gave it up. Most of that time, she was a elementary school librarian in Washington, DC. After she got burned out from that, she worked nine months at Northwest One, a branch of the DC Public Library System. The librar...

Disclaimer: Received an advance copy from Berkley Publishing and Netgalley. Opinions are my own. TWs: prolonged grief, stress from library closing/job uncertainty, death of character Summary: June Jones works as a library assistant in her English village. This is the library where her mother, who died when she was a teenager, worked as a librarian. She's stuck in her grief and the most excitement she gets is seeing the regular patrons every day. But when the library is threatened with closure, June and the patrons get together to work on saving their library.  Review: Let me start off with two quotes from the book from two of the characters, who are regular patrons of the library. "What these management consultant with their calculators and spreadsheets will never work out is that the library is about so much more than simply books. Libraries are like a net, there to catch those of us in danger of falling through the cracks. That's what we're really fighting to prote...

It was taped yesterday but since it's Monday, let's keep the theme going!

I got some great news on Valentine's Day! It wasn't chocolate or flowers, but a baby nephew! I'm an auntie! Little Ozzie is the first child of my sister and brother-in-law, and the first grandchild of both sets of grandparents. So he's getting lots of love, which is much needed after some very sad times over the last few years. And what kind of gifts you give to a baby who has an aunt who likes to read and parents who are starting a library for him? Books! When I told my coworkers that I was looking for books for the baby before he was born, they jumped in and helped right away. They even sent emails with recommendations! I am very grateful for their help. In the first shipment that I sent before he was born, I gave him All Because You Matter and The ABCs of Black History . And I also gave him some onesies and pajamas, because a baby needs clothes. This is the picture of the second shipment, after he was born. I went to Barnes and Noble and found some great reads for h...

Since I started my current job when the pandemic was starting to hit the United States, I have not been able to do in-person library programming. But thanks to technology, I can reach not only the patrons of Charleston County, but around the world through virtual programming. I have been doing a number of book talks, mostly on African American debut fiction.  Here are the two that I did from home. One is about female authors. They are only on Facebook. Women Authors African American Debut Authors The next set of videos were filmed after the staff was able to get back into the library. We have a digital studio in the building and my coworker films and edits the videos (and makes me look good on camera). Fortunately, our communications department has started putting all videos on YouTube as well as Facebook. I recently taped two more videos that will be on CCPL's Facebook and YouTube pages in late March and April. I have to tape them weeks in advance so the communications and outreac...

In the last blog post, I mentioned that I help start a book festival in Charleston called Black Ink . Now the festival is in its fifth year and it's going virtual! Black Ink 2021 will be starting tomorrow (January 14) and ends on Saturday (January 16). This year's headlining author is Kwame Mbalia , New York Times best-selling author of the Tristin Strong series. They will also have another New York Times best-selling author, Kiley Reid , who wrote Such A Fun Age. This year's theme is "Amplify Black Voices".  Most of this year's panels are focused to help Black independent authors, including tips on publishing and how to promote their works. I am honored to be a panelist for this year's event.  I will be participating in the " Cultivating and Maintaining Author-Reader Relationships" panel Friday at 3 p.m.  Also, Valinda will be on a panel called "Looking Beyond Amazon". Her panel will also be Friday, but at noon. Charleston County Publi...

After more than five years, I decided to make a comeback. The world has changed a lot since 2015. Including mines. 1. After 12 years at the same employer, I decided to take a leap of faith and return to public libraries. As of March 13 (I know I started when the world went to Hell), I am an Adult Services Librarian at one the suburbs of Charleston . There have been bumps in the road (including working from home for two months, not meeting patrons until June and loosing a coworker in October), but it's been a great experience. 2. I also work part-time at Turning Page Bookshop , the only Black-owned bookstore in South Carolina. My friends Valinda and Arrylee opened their store in Goose Creek almost two years ago. I help sell books at events (when there were events), write promotional materials and press releases, help with social media and suggest books to be ordered.  They listen to me...most of the time. LOL. 3. I did a lot of traveling in the Southeast (before the pandemic) with b...

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...

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...

Many people are awaiting Tuesday's release of Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman , which is the "sequel" for To Kill A Mockingbird.  PBS will be showing the American Masters episode chronicling Harper's life tonight and will include an update about the new book.   Here is a picture of Harper receiving a finished copy of the book.  And you can read the first chapter here . Relax in Paradise James Tate . Congrats to the Andrew Carnegie Award winners ! Congrats to  Chimamanda Ngzoi Adichie, who is expecting a little one ! Congrats to Lawrence Hill, who was honored with the Order of Canada . The huge news that is coming out of my home state is that the Confederate Flag is FINALLY off the Statehouse grounds. THANK GOD. This recent interview of Percival Everett (who is releasing a short story collection) and his thoughts on the Confederate Flag were…interesting. Speaking of the flag coming down, poet Nikky Finney wrote a passage to commemorate this day. ...

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 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...

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...

Can we please make this into a movie? Please Hollywood? Relax in Paradise Ellen Conford  and Martyn Goff . Congratulations to Akhil Sharma for winning the Folio Prize ! Congratulations also go out to Kwame Alexander for winning the Hopkins Poetry Award !  Did you catch him on PBS Newshour yesterday? The nominees for the Man Booker Prize were announced this week. The hills are alive...with a new Julie Andrews memoir ! A posthumous Nelson Mandela memoir will be released. Also releasing a memoir is Elvis Costello . Ethan Hawke is will be releasing his first book in over ten years . A new Dr. Seuss museum will be opening in Massachusetts. A grant is helping to digitalized works of African-American poetry . Here is an article about poet and Columbia native Terrace Hayes. If you have not read The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, you need to.   Let this article convince you even more. New Toni Morrison essay ! Hear this interview  w...

I found out earlier this week that Toni Morrison was coming to DC the end of April.  The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I could pull the trip off.  I could take off from my full-time job and my part-time job would be closing early that week (finals would be over by then).  I had looked at flights and hotel rooms.  I have even started to ask friends to come along.  All to find out yesterday that the event sold out .  The other two dates of her tour are in Philly and in NYC (which is sold out, but has a waiting list).  My friend Valinda is going to check to see if we can still get in to the DC event since she knows the owner of the bookstore who is hosting. Pray for a miracle. Saturday, I got a chance to meet motivational speaker Valerie Burton at this year's Charleston Black Expo.  Her speech was great and she was very nice. Congratulations to all of the Pen Literary Award nominees! I know this is comparing apples to...

As some of you know, my job allows me to travel all over the great state of South Carolina, exhibiting for the website I work on.  And this week, I found myself exhibiting at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians  Annual Conference.  And they had authors...and book signings! So I got a chance to meet Sharon Flake at the conference yesterday. It was great to have something different to do during the humdrum that is exhibiting. Relax in Paradise Terry Pratchett. Congratulations to all of the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Awards ! Also congrats to the nominees of the Baileys Women's Prize , Pen Faulkner Awards  and Triangle Awards ! Speaking of school libraries, James Patterson is donating over $1 million to them! And this comes at a good time after a report that not all school libraries are equal . A no-no at the library: making a sex tape . People were so concerned about Harper Lee that the state of Alabama was looking in ...

My Friday Reads is the hit The Girl on the Train. I finally got it from the library this week after waiting over a month for to get it.  The library has to keep ordering copies because it's so popular and people keep putting it on hold. The hold list was in the 200s when I put it on hold and now there are over 500 holds.  I hope to start it today or tomorrow.  I hope it's worth the wait. Relax in Paradise  Mal Peet . Congratulations to all of the LA Times Book Prize nominees  and the Lambda Literary Award nominees ! The image for Maya Angelou stamp has been revealed . Hey Ya'll! Paula Deen is on the comeback trail with a new book deal . In today's "Crazy Politician Gets A Book Deal" post, Sen. Ted Cruz is releasing a book in June . Semi-retired NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw is releasing a book about his recent bought with cancer . Fresh off of the end of Parks and Recreation, fellow South Carolinian Aziz Ansari is releasing a book about moder...