The Reading Diva

Author's note: I was on the committee for Black Ink the first three years of its existence and was on a panel during last year's virtual conference. I attended the in-person portion of the 6 th Black Ink Book Festival on January 14. The event was at Trident Technical College’s Complex for Eco nomic Development. This was the first in-person event for Black Ink since 2019 and the first time it was held outside the peninsula . This year’s theme was “Black to the Future”, which focused on Black futurism, science fiction and fantasy.   About 25 a uthors e xhibited at the event . Several of them were from the Charleston area and the stat e b ut there were also some from out of state . As in previous years, most of the authors were self-published but there were a few that were published by the major publishers (or will be published soon). There were also three independent publishers in attendance. Turning Page Books hop , t he only African American owned bookstore that has a p...

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...

Several months ago, I was cleaning the house and I came across this business card.  You're probably wondering what is The Booksmith and why you never heard of it. The Booksmith is the predecessor to Turning Page Bookshop (which I mention  here and where I volunteer). My friend Valinda bought a bookstore that was already in business in Seneca, which is about 3 hours from here (it's in the Upstate, near Clemson). Her and Arrylee (her BFF and store manager) tried their best to keep the store afloat, but due to circumstances beyond their control, they had to close shop there (and that is their story to tell, not mine).  Family and friends encouraged them not to fully close the store, but move it closer to Charleston. And two years ago, Turning Page opened in Goose Creek. With my help, the store's opening went viral and there was a lot of press coverage. And a lot of authors came out of the woodwork and wanted their books in the store. 😂 Things were steady...then the pandemi...

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...

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...

Dear 2015, You started out so nice.  I thought you would be a continuation of the great year that was 2014.  And January and February started out pretty uneventful.  Then March rolled in. One of my classmates from Burke and Carolina suddenly passed away.  And then my 90-year-old aunt died.  But I was gratefully that she lived to 90. Then you stayed quiet.... until the night of June 17 . I lost two friends that night. And so many of my friends lost relatives and friends.  It was so heartbreaking to go to funeral after funeral, wake after wake.  But Charleston, as always, came together. And I was still reeling from that when I got that call from my stepfather on September 18 that would change my life forever. I did not know that you would be the year that would take my mother from me.  There are days that I think that it's just a dream and that she will be calling me on the phone or walk in my house. And it seemed like after that, ever...

On the evening of September 18, around 9ish, I was talking to my mother on the phone about the day's events.  I asked her if I got a package from Amazon.  She said I did and at the end of the conversation, I told her to go ahead and open it. A few minutes later, she called back.  She thanked me for the cookbooks that she got for her birthday.  She was going to read one that night and the other one when she came home from work the next day. Little did I know that would be the last time I would hear her voice. Around 11, my stepfather called.  Paramedics had rushed my mother to the hospital. Turns out she had suffered a massive aneurysm and based on where it was, there was nothing doctors could do. On Monday, September 21, the day after her 59th birthday, my mother made her Heavenly transition. I don't know if and when I will be back to the blog.  I hope you understand.  Please pray for me and my family.

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 ...

South Carolina Book Festival in 2012 News came out of Columbia yesterday that the  South Carolina Book Festival is no more .  Instead, the state Humanities Council decided that it would be best to do author events across the state.  To be honest with you, I have not been to the state book festival since 2012 when they brought Kimberla Lawson Roby, Zane and Eric Jerome Dickey.  I was in Chicago last year and the other two years they didn't bring people that interested me enough to roll out of bed and drive almost two hours to Columbia.  There were a lot of things I think they did wrong, which lead to the book festival being the thing of the past. Inviting the same people OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I can see them inviting Dorothea Benton Frank every year because she comes out with a new book every year.  But inviting Pat Conroy (and some others) just for the hell of it got old. NOT ENOUGH DIVERSITY.  There were some years (like this one) you can count...

Hello!  I'm still in recovery mode from what's been happening in Charleston the last few weeks.  I'll be back next Friday with the return of Book News.  Have a safe and happy holiday! Picture is from Healthline.

Program at the Charleston NPHC Prayer Vigil on Saturday Several of you have asked about ways you would like to help the families of the Emanuel Nine or donate funds in their memories.  Here is a short list (which will probably grow in the next few days) on ways you can help. Picture I took at Mother Emanuel when I visited the church on Tuesday The biggest fund is the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund.  This fund will help family members with funeral and burial expenses.  Any remaining money will go to the AME Church, in which the leadership will determine how to use it.  There are three ways to donate: 1. By check to: Mother Emanuel Hope Fund c/o City of Charleston Post Office Box 304 Charleston, SC 29402 2. Stop by any Wells Fargo Bank nationwide and make a donation. 3. And texting 'prayforcharleston' to 843-606-5995 or going to www.bidr.co/prayforcharleston .  Passcode is FAMILY. Another fund that was started is the...

Hey ya'll. Today's normally the day I post Book News You Can Use, but not today. As many of you had heard, my hometown was struck by an unthinkable tragedy Wednesday night. Nine people were shot and killed at (Mother) Emanuel A.M.E. Church, right in the heart of downtown Charleston. Some of you may have also heard that I knew three of the victims.  The pastor was a state senator who represented the area that my parents live in. Another was the manager of the library that I often go to and would have conversations about library issues and life in general.  And one was a member of my beloved Delta and was in my alumnae chapter. Many of my friends and neighbors lost loved ones during this tragedy.  And our area has gone through so much already this year, with the killing of Walter Scott (who several of my family members knew), a killing of a mother who was driving her car and just left a Mother's Day celebration, another woman who was killed in her car while s...

I received an ARC from Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley .  Opinions are my own. Drama in the Black Family continues in Kimberla Lawson Roby's new book, The Ultimate Betrayal , which is out TODAY!  This book focuses on Alicia, Curtis' oldest daughter, and her best friend Melanie. Alicia is engaged to Phillip, her first husband.  They broke up years ago because of Alicia's addiction to shopping and her affair with Levi, a drug dealer.  Levi's been locked up for a few years and now he's out of prison. And wants Alicia back.  Will she stay faithful to Phillip or will the Black genes kick in and cause her to be unfaithful again? Melanie has a weight problem. Or so she thinks. She's the ideal weight for her height, but constantly thinks that she's fat.  Will her weight problems cause her to loose her marriage and her life?  And what's up with the money that her husband Brad keeps taking out of the bank account? If you are a fan of Kimberla...

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...