These books deal with trauma, its aftermath, healing, and renewal.  [front cover art for BAD SEED: The Midnight Cries of an Island Girl, A Novel by Cherry Dawn Fagbemi; a night scene with a starry sky above a home with its exterior and interior lights shining on the first floor]  BAD SEED: The Midnight Cries of an Island Girl by Cherry Dawn Fagbemi  contemporary fiction  November 2024  "Montego Bay was where I should have died in the summer of 1985."  And with that first sentence, Vivienne Pearson's harrowing saga of being haunted by the resurgence of disturbing memories of past events relevant to her present life and choices starts a compelling tale of heavy themes and dangerous circumstances. It's a potent blend of mystery, thriller, family conflict, social commentary, and romance.  Vivienne confronts her confusion, devastating heartache, alienation and more as she navigates a series of traumas in order to heal and to reclaim herself and her life....

Still many gifts to wrap, goodies to bake, package & deliver, finish decorating the tree... and reading for pleasure remains a necessity!   [front hardcover of Fat Girls Dance by Cathleen Meredith showing 3 curvaceous women striking poses; book is arranged atop an open piano with cords displayed]  Fat Girls Dance by Cathleen Meredith  contemporary fiction   2024  Don't wait.  Don't wait to be your authentic self. Don't wait to dance, to love, to pursue your heart's deepest desires... This story of friendship and audacity offers angst, humor, and compelling reasons to live life with unapologetic intention.  Currently reading  [Bad Seed: The Midnight Cries of an Island Girl held over a horizontal bookstack of 4 books - Just Playing House, Magical Meet Cute, Christmas Sweater Weather, The Royals Upstairs]   Pre-Christmas gifts: garlic bread with zero calories! Zero fat! Zero sodium! Zero everything! Typos make it true, right??...

Last weekend's Local Author Expo event sponsored by the Prince Goerge's County Memorial Library System offered too much bookish goodness to list it all, but here's a sampling...  [collage of 7 images; 3 on the right & left and 1 down the center: Lofty Stories author Jamila Romero standing behind her display table, Prince George's County Memorial Library System Local Author Expo 2024 poster, Accountability in the Classroom Author Renee Carr next to her daughter behind their table, Fueled from the Heart: a collection of inspirational poems author Samuel R. Jackson holding a copy of his book while standing behind his table, Positive Vibes Kids author Preston Mitchum, Jr. holding one of his books while standing behind his table, Unseen Victories author Juliet Agocha holding 2 of her books while standing behind her table, I Love My People author Kim Singleton holding her book while standing in front of her table]  [collage of 5 images: Digital Assassins author Danielle S...

Being other-ed [Seen Yet Unseen: A Black Woman Crashes the Tech Fraternity by Bari A. Williams hardcover facing forward next to a stack of 7 books from top to bottom: One and Done, The Book Swap, She Who Knows, Lady Eve's Last Con, How to End a Love Story, Stay, There Should Have Been Eight]  Seen Yet Unseen: A Black Woman Crashes the Tech Fraternity by Bari A. Williams  non-fiction  Blackstone Publishing, May 2024  An introduction, twelve chapters that report and examine, a conclusion, acknowledgments, and extensive notes, together reveal the numerous ways in which excluding Black women from every aspect of the tech industry perpetuates harmful stereotypes (despite feedback supported by legitimate hard data) that are ultimately problematic for everyone, eventually.  Maybe that's the intention.  from Chapter 7: This Is What True Allyship Looks Like  Diversity exhaustion is the feeling of being tired of hearing about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE...

Current reads that offer real and imagined dangers   [two hardcover books: Seen Yet Unseen: A Black Woman Crashes the Tech Fraternity by Bari A. Williams, There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh]  [front cover of a hardcover book: Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble]  Algorithms of Oppression:How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble  non-fiction information technology  NYU Press, 2018  This wonk-erful text is compelling and accessible for non-wonks. The information provided is also disturbing.  On page 29 the author declares her intentions:  ...In the ensuing chapters, I continue to probe results that generated by Google on a variety of keyword combinations relating to racial and gender identity as a way of engaging a commonsense understanding of how power works... By seeing and discussing these intersectional power relations, we have a significant opportunity to transform ...

Currently reading fiction and nonfiction, alternating one J. California Cooper short story with one or two Jessica Valenti chapters.   [one trade paperback book - Homemade Love by J. California Cooper and one hardcover book - Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win by Jessica Valenti]  [zoomed in closeup of The Strong Black Woman by Marita Golden] The Strong Black Woman, How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women by Marita Golden   Non-fiction   Mango Publishing, October 12, 2021   https://maritagolden.com/ Our TWWBF2021 interview here:  https://youtu.be/dQ5lIMx66Vo   With a mix of surgical precision, lyrical phrasing, keen observations, testimonies, and profound insights from the author, experts in assorted fields of study, and a broad spectrum of other Black women, The Strong Black Woman challenges and deconstructs pervasive stereotypes superimposed upon them to reveal the inherently ...