W.E.B Du Bois: A Biography 1868-1963 by David Levering Lewis

 

Hello my lovely readers! These biographies also languished on my shelves for a minute before I finally decided to pick them up. I partially read the first biography along with its new audiobook (heyyy Courtney B. Vance), but for the second biography, it was a 100 percent audiobook. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois—the premier architect of the civil rights movement in America—was a towering and controversial personality, a fiercely proud individual blessed with the language of the poet and the impatience of the agitator.  In his magisterial prose, David Levering Lewis chronicles Du Bois’s long and storied career, detailing the momentous contributions to our national character that still echo today.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Hello my lovely readers! I finally got around to reading this book after buying it in 2015! Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
Go Set a Watchman is Harper Lee's earliest known novel. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014, and is now published for the first time. Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman is set during an era of rapid change and significant progress in Civil Rights legislation, and it engages with questions of racial equality and justice that are still at the forefront of our national conversation.

Beyond the Shores: A History of African Americans Abroad by Tamara J. Walker

 

Hello my lovely readers! This book reinvigorated my love for travel. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS
Part historical exploration, part travel memoir, Beyond the Shores reveals poignant histories of a diverse group of African Americans who have left the United States over the course of the past century. Tying these tales together is Dr. Tamara J. Walker’s personal account of her family’s–and her own–experiences abroad, in France, Brazil, Argentina, Austria, and beyond. Together, the interwoven stories highlight African Americans’ complicated relationship to the United States and world at large.

Beyond the Shores is not just about where African Americans stayed or where they ate when they traveled, but about why they left in the first place and how they were treated once they reached their destinations. Drawing on years of research, Walker chronicles their experiences in atmospheric detail, taking readers from well-known capital cities to more unusual destinations like Yangiyol, Uzbekistan and Kabondo, Kenya. She follows Florence Mills, the would-be Josephine Baker of her day, in Paris, and Richard Wright, the author-turned-actor and filmmaker, in Buenos Aires. She relays tender stories of adventurous travelers, including a group of gifted Black crop scientists in the 1930s, a housewife searching for purpose in the 1950s, a Peace Corps volunteer discovering his identity in the 1970s, and her own grandfather who, after losing his eye fighting in World War II and returning to a country that showed no signs of honoring his sacrifice, set out with his wife and children on a circuitous journey that sent them back and forth across the Atlantic.

By sharing the histories of those who escaped the racism of the United States to try their hands at life abroad, Beyond the Shores shines a light on the meaning of home and the search for a better life.

The Talk of the Party by Foluso Agbaje

Hello my lovely readers! I'm just chugging along on these reviews lately! Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
In a family built on lies, what happens when the truth comes out?

Bukola Obanile’s 60th birthday party is the hottest ticket in town. But champagne isn’t all that is being served…

The Obaniles picture-perfect life is the envy of all Lagos society, and everyone wants a piece. So, when renowned matriarch Bukola’s birthday approaches there are no expenses spared, five hundred guests are invited, and her four children all in attendance. Everything will be perfect, just as planned.

Except living the dream comes at a price and, as the party draws closer each of the Obanile children find themselves embroiled in scandals that could shatter the flawless reputation their mother has carefully built.

As the music builds and chandeliers glitter, this one perfect night could be all it takes to destroy a family built on deception…

QUICK REVIEWS pt. XII

Hello my lovely readers! This collection of quick reviews were all audiobooks and surprisingly diverse! We have Thailand, South Korea, USA and South Africa all in the mix. Let's get into it.

Days of Feasting and Rejoice
Esther Maile, is an expat American living in Thailand in a house rented by the richer, more popular Christine. While on holiday in Bali, Christine is caught by an ocean wave and drowns. Esther rushes to save her, but in the chaos that ensues, the police arrive and confuse Esther for Christine. For someone who would prefer to be anyone but herself, this is the perfect solution — no matter the consequences.

*This was a decent book. A short, tight, crime novel, but nothing to write home about. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest
A stand-in girlfriend and a handsome business heir find that their fake summer fling is feeling way too real.

*This was cute, but I wish it would've had a bit more drama. They were immediately attracted to each other so there's no tension there. I would've liked to see Noel deal with her business as a hired bridesmaid longer before she takes this gig. I also would've liked to see more family tension with Noel. Jeremiah's family immediately accepts Noel with no hesitation. If I'm part of a family business conglomerate, I'm side eyeing anyone who just pops up as a significant other, simply because I want to make sure they're here for the right reasons. 3 out of 5 stars.

Black Folk Could Fly by Randall Kenan

Hello my lovely readers! Another day, another Randall Kenan book! Let's get into it. 

SYNOPSIS
"Rich in identity," as he described himself, Randall Kenan wrote widely and profoundly about what it meant to be Black, gay, and Southern. He confessed himself "elusive"--yet revealed himself in astonishing prose--memories of his three mothers (especially Mama, his great-aunt); recollections of his boyhood fear of snakes and his rapture in books; his sensual evocations of tobacco picking and hogkilling, butterbeans and scuppernongs, of the eastern North Carolina lowlands where he grew up. Here too is his intellectual coming-of-age: his passion for science fiction; his informed and ecstatic appreciations of James Baldwin, Ingmar Bergman, Gordon Parks, and Eartha Kitt; his grappling with the politics and meaning of race (a fiction) and home (an inescapable, visceral reality).

This powerful collection is a testament to a polymathic mind, a wise soul, and a sublimely gifted writer from whom readers will always wish to have more to read.

The Sisterhood: How a Network of Black Women Writers Changed American Culture by Courtney Thorsson

Hello my lovely readers! Another day, another book. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
One Sunday afternoon in February 1977, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, and several other Black women writers met at June Jordan's Brooklyn apartment to eat gumbo, drink champagne, and talk about their work. Calling themselves "The Sisterhood," the group--which also came to include Audre Lorde, Paule Marshall, Margo Jefferson, and others--would get together once a month over the next two years, creating a vital space for Black women to discuss literature and liberation.