A non-religious definition of  communion from Webster's Dictionary: the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level  [4 books on a tabletop, from left to right: communion: The Female Search for Love, Archangel's Eternity, The Started Ex, The Last Lady B]  communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks  non-fiction memoir(ish)  William Morrow, 2002  This third book in the bell hooks Love Trilogy zooms in on the impacts of patriarchy and narrow gendered expectations on individuals, then zooms out to examine the radial effects on romantic relationships, families, friendships, academic and career pursuits, and how it all infiltrates society .  from the preface:  The women in our culture who have the most to teach everyone about the nature of love are the generations of females who learned through feminist struggle and feminist-based therapy that self-love was the key to f...

It's so exciting to read about a trailblazer who was ethical, thoughtful, generous, and funny in addition to being diligent and multifaceted.   [Positive Obsession atop a bookstack of 7 books - The Last Lady B spine showing, then 6 books showing page edges; Communion propped to the left of the bookstack]  Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris  non-fiction biography  Amistad, 2025  Opening with a quote from Parable of the Sower, this biographer uses every word in the O.E.B. chronology, author's note, introduction, six chapters, epilogue, and acknowledgements to engage readers in an intimate personal study of this extraordinary, talented, driven woman who was vulnerable and complicated in her brilliant humanity. The author's access to the O.E.B. archives adds layers of emotional depth that enrich the context of the details of the author's personal life and creative and professional development. from the Author's Note:...

Even as my friends and I enjoyed a fantastic community event yesterday in and around the Bowie Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System, there was envy in my heart for all of the attendees and participants at the Black Romance Book Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. Reports of issues of crowding just made me happy for the event organizers' success while they posted apologies and corrective strategies for crowd control during the last day.  In the meantime, the new arrivals shelves at the closest library in the neighboring county offered a variety of books by BRBF authors. "Where the Melanated Are Celebrated" indeed.   [9 books, from left to right: Positive Obsession, Communion, Big Girl Blitz (atop a bookstack), The Started Ex, Fire Sword & Sea, Leave Your Mess at Home, Archangel's Eternity, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, First Sign of Danger]  Currently reading Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Mo...

In addition to making time to express gratitude toward military service members who've made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms, a rainy, cold holiday weekend means more time to read (books from the public library that earlier generations of my family were forbidden to access)!    [a bookstack of 9 books, from top to bottom: Happy Ending, Seven Points, Dog Person, Unbound, Innocence Road, After Hours at Dooryard Books, Dom Com, Accidentally Married to a Werewolf, Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies; arranged at the edge of a tabletop with bookshelves filled with games in the background]  Happy Ending by Chloe Liese  contemporary romance  Gallery Books, April 2026  a slow burn, friends-to-lovers romance in women's fiction style  from chapter 16:  Maybe, when it comes to telling the stories of our failed relationships, there are only unreliable narrators, too much hurt warping our perspectives, thwarting any chance to land on the truth of w...

Fate has been generous enough to grant me the privilege of face-to-face encounters with a few of my absolute favorite, most respected authors. My goofy geek outs are all on me.  [a 3 in. x 5 in. index card with a heart-shaped inset with 8 authors' names handprinted: Octavia Butler, Jasmine Guillory, Lesley Penelope, (Ms.) Beverly Jenkins, Xio Axelrod, Marita Golden, Nora Roberts, Nikki Giovanni; white tissue paper covered in small gold hearts as backdrop]  Octavia Butler at a Book Con in Chicago 2003 or 2004: Just seeing her from a distance made me too teary-eyed and tongue-twisted to approach her table. She and her work enrich/ed my life and inspired me to write and to publish.     Jasmine Guillory at the Javitz Center in 2015 or 2016: After a lively discussion in which she was one a few panelists, we shared a moment of appreciation for the dad (RIP John Mahoney) in Say Anything (even as my eyes watered with the overwhelming emotions of being within touching cl...

Reading about bumpy, grumpy, dangerous, funny paths to love    [2 trade paperback books, from left to right: The Re-Do List with a German Shepherd sitting on a porch step above a woman and a man seated on the step below while in a kissing clinch; A Ghastly Catastrophe with the silhouette of a man and woman dancing]  The Re-Do List by Denise Williams  contemporary romance  Fundamental themes of Alice Walker's The Same River Twice rendered in poignant romance fiction  A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell #10) by Deanna Raybourn  historical mystery with romance  Tempting fate, betting against the odds, and a lovers' joyous romp (with a winky nod to this author's first beloved series?)  Better Than a Duke by Suzanne Enoch  historical romance  beleaguered adults + incorrigible children = love that's worth the effort  [Better Than a Duke trade paperback with a man wearing 19th-century attire]  Continuing BAC Issues (Book Ac...