Teamwork Makes It Happen

Losing an hour of reading time to gain more daylight offers a worthwhile exchange.

[7 books, stacked from top to bottom: Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress, The Shop on Hidden Lane, Restore Me, Husband of the Year, And Now, Back to You; Fight, and one book showing only its bottom edges]

Read

Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress by Lorissa Rinehart

non-fiction

St. Martin's Press, 2025

"Go! Go! Go!" quoted from Congresswoman Rankin's journals and "Pivot!" as offered by the author in summary of the subject's life, sum up the scope of a challenging and rewarding life that ultimately benefitted millions of people.

The author's admiration echoes throughout this intimate biography that also chronicles the evolution of the U.S. parallel to technology and industries, and reflects present-day societal struggles of voter apathy, an unpopular war, redistricting, ranked choice voting, and the archaic nature of the electoral college.

This passage from chapter 27 reads with particular relevance:

"Our democracy has atrophied because the process by which political candidates are selected is under the control of an enormously powerful military-industrial establishment."

The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz

contemporary speculative romance

Berkley, January 2026

Whether writing as Jayne Ann Krentz, Jayne Castle or Amanda Quick, this author's writing has offered me satisfying comfort reads for decades. She's always included a variety of characters (aside from Black and Brown people - sigh) in a range of ages and sexualities before doing so expanded into titles from the dominant publishing houses.

TBR BACissues (Book Acquisition Compulsion)

Restore Me by J.L. Seegars

Husband of the Year by M.A. Wardell

And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison

Fight by Sloane St. James

Always wishing you good health, peace of mind, safety, joy & some pleasure every day

Comments

Legacies of Octavia Butler & June BAC Issues

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:...

When What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Funny

Need to laugh out loud? To feel inspired? To feel seen? To feel encouraged to pursue your heart's most ambitious desires despite overwhelming odds against succeeding? Read Zarna Garg's memoir, which offers an intimate, compelling coming of age, immigrant's journey, family saga, and keen observations about humans and life as experienced by a hilarious, intrepid individual. [front cover of "Zarna Garg, This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir" showing the Statue of Liberty holding the author in her arms with the New York City skyline in the lower half of the background] This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg non-fiction memoir Ballantine Books, April 2025 Universal themes of family love and family conflict, support and abandonment, grieving as a years' long process with lulls, parenting and being parented (or not), finding your people in friendship, romance, community presented and dissected with the author's sharp wit ...

New Arrivals Giving BRBF Vibes + BAC Issues

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...

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