We Love Black Books!!!

A couple of years ago, this trending audio said, “If it’s got a Black girl on it, I’ma buy it!” For some reason, I received some slight backlash. Yes, I read books by all authors who write about topics across the board with a plethora of skin tones on the covers, but at the end of the day, representation matters to me! And if I can spread the word about a book that has some melanin on it, well, by golly, I will do just that!

One of my earliest memories of receiving a book with a little Black girl on it was the American Girl series featuring Addy! I can’t remember how many books there were, but my Grandfather gifted me the entire collection, and I could not wait to dive into it. (I have recently gotten ahold of a few and have gifted them to my kiddo).  Unfortunately, in the 90s, there just wasn’t a lot of representation being pushed out with characters that looked like me on the cover; or if there was, you had to dig, and even then, it was the same old story – we did not have a fun “Harry Potter – esque” setting with magic and adventure or a beautiful coming of age story.

Moving forward to Middle School and High School, I honestly cannot immediately remember many books with Black characters, which now serves as a problem. What I remember was Black History Month, with the same 5-10 influential people every year and the slave ships (did we get uncomfortable a little bit? Yep, and I get it. But this is the problem.) And then in college, heck the only time you’ll see Black or African literature is if you take a specific class for that subject matter. At one point, I was just taking classes for a minor in African American Studies just so I could be fed with some substance, but even then, that was 4-6 works of literature in the span of my 5-year college career.

The love for leisure reading is almost a lost art.

In today’s age, especially when COVID-19 swarmed the world, we navigated solely by social media. I’m so thankful for platforms like Bookstagram and TikTok. They brought so many amazing stories to light by readers like you and me, stories that haven’t gotten the chance or opportunity to shine like they deserve because of how the publishing world works. I’ve linked a few fav’s below, there’s a plethora of knowledge to share and I’m sure you’ll find yourselves down a literature bunny hole!

Do you have a favorite book you’ve read recently by a Black author?

This is a very small, minuscule, mustard seed-size list of recommendations across multiple genres that can help give you a starting point. And please feel free to add more in the comments below; I’d love to read your recommendations as well. Remember, this is your space too!

One goal of mine is to always encourage diverse reading; just because the main character or author may not look like you doesn’t mean you can’t empathize with the message within the pages. And hey, maybe, just maybe, you’ll come across a new favorite author! 

Happy Reading!

Book Reviews & ARC’s

_{Firstly, I want to say thank you for considering me for your book reviewers; I am super excited. I love to read and encourage adult readers to take the leap, pick up a book, slap on a pair of headphones, and listen to an audiobook. While I love reviewing ARCs and books from authors, I want to provide guidelines and answer frequently asked questions on our process}.

_{See HERE for further ARC requests}