#houstonreads

[books4us]

Another Sunday is here and you know what that means, THE SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT!! And today it is on the satirical novel Harry Sylvester Bird. This one fell a little short of the mark for me, but you may feel different. I surmised ✍🏾 Some high improbabilities in this one. Harry Sylvester Bird is unhappy with his parents. He could be described as hating them, though from what the book describes you would be hard pressed to grasp the why. I think she failed at really giving the reader enough to feel Harry’s pain. I kept thinking to myself ok, so they’re racist and inattentive but is that enough to make one want to abdicate from whiteness? I think not. This is clearly written as satire and as such contains some humorous moments but not nearly enough to cover for its flawed lack of a strong foundation. Just ended up being barely average. So sorry. #harryslyvesterbird #harpercollins #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #bookblogger #pushingbooksainteasy #bookreview #bookreviewer #readmorebooks #makereadinglitagain #blackbooksmatter #houstonreads #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #blackbibliophile #goodblackreads #booksaremylife (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChzQaT4uMZA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[chrismullenwrites]

How do you know when to stand and fight for yourself or the ones you love when the consequences could mean living or dying and you are just a boy? Rowdy: Wild and Mean, Sharp and Keen now available at Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston! Make an appointment, swing by, and get your copy today! Read an except at www.chrismullenwrites.com. Thx @bluewillowbooks ! So excited! #ReadRowdy #texasauthor #indieauthor #bluewillowbookshop #houston #shoplocal #indiebookstore #Fiction #houstonreads (at Blue Willow Books) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIO_794B9Wy/?igshid=wywnz9h47mbk

[kayjay63]

US orders China to close its consulate in Houston US orders China to close its consulate in HoustonRead More

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT!! Finally got around to reading this memoir and obviously I believe it’s Spotlight worthy, so check it out. If you are looking for some reasons as to what prompted the Oscar’s slap, Will’s life story offers up a few clues. I wrote ✍🏾 As memoirs go, this one was superb. Superb in the sense that he gives a good accounting of his formative years and he lets the reader in. And that can be a dangerous undertaking in a memoir, because some readers may come away disliking the man, in this case Will Smith because of his flaws and outsized ego. But, to be fair, anyone who has accomplished greatness has generally a huge ego, that just seems to be an attachment to greatness. So, kudos to Will for not trying to censor that part of himself at great risk to his reputation. It was great taking a walk down memory lane through rap of his time and his meteoric rise in Hollywood. Although it is a hefty book it reads very fast. So if you want to know what makes Will Smith, the key is inside these pages. #willsmith #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #readmorebooks #sundayspotlight #blackbooksmatter #bookreview #blackbibliophile #bibliophile #bookstagram #readingismylife #readologist #houstonreads (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChhnHZ-Log8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT! We are going back to back with Toni Morrison. Last week we featured the short story Recititif and the Spotlight today is on Jazz. For whatever reason(and years of shame) I had never read Jazz. Well that sin has been corrected. This year I’m rereading or reading( in the case of Jazz and Tar Baby) all of Toni Morrison’s novels. About Jazz I wrote ✍🏿 Yep. Finally read Jazz, in this my year of Morrison. 20 years after contemplating this novel, I did it. I always thought, erroneously, that Jazz music played a prominent part on this novel, but it’s more jazz the form used literarily to compose a story. In that way, the novel is brilliant. The flow of the story for me was a bit scratchy, even though I appreciated the improvisation, the solos, and the foundational groove. You can never go wrong with Morrison prose. The lyricism and the breath stopping sentences. That was all present and the back story of Joe and Violet was amply filled with vital look backs to buttress the present circumstances. The beginning of the book, is also the end, a nod to a consistent jazz melody. It works just fine. But there are some missed notes, some too short solos, some loss of melody and missed rhythms that take this story down a few stars. Not her best, but certainly worth the time. #tonimorrison #jazz #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #bookreviewer #goodblackreads #goodreads #blackbibliophile #houstonreads #makereadinglitagain #readmorebooks #readingislife #booksaremylife #bibliophile #blackbooksmatter (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgZVc5qLGSU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT! We are officially half way through 2022. Time is moving fast. And in this Sunday Spotlight we are shining on Keisha Blain”s examination of Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer. Ms. Blain thoroughly understood the assignment on this one. She managed to capsulize Ms. Hamer in a slim volume yet provided valuable insight to this Shero’s life! I got my book @kindredstorieshtx I wrote ✍🏿 Serves as a great introduction to the life of Fannie Lou Hamer. She is one of the most fearless freedom fighters that ever struggled on behalf of her people. In many ways, the professional civil rights class let her down. She was non-compromising and took no tea for the fever. She wasn’t interested in playing politics, she wanted no parts of the quid-pro-quo. She wanted freedom from oppression and was unwilling to continue waiting. She was often ahead of the “men” leaders who pepper the history books at the expense of a Fannie Lou Hamer. For a glimpse at what people centered serious leadership looks like, read this slim volume and update your definition of leadership. 5⭐️ #ownvoicesreviews #untiliamfree #keishablain #pushingbooksainteasy #bookpusher #bookblogger #bookreview #blackbibliophile #blackbooksmatter #goodblackreads #fannielouhamer #beaconpress #houstonreads (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfjVD6srVxN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT! Let’s go. A great big dose of thanks to @legacylitbooks for gifting me an ARC of Black Boy Smile. And it is our featured book in the SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT. I’ve always liked D. Watkins from his first book and now his memoir in moments, which is masterful in moments. I wrote ✍🏿 D. Watkins takes you inside his East Baltimore community and gives you a real unflinching representation of what he faced in those streets. All the horrors of drugs and the collateral damage done by the presence of an unchecked culture where violence is more the norm than the exception. D. Watkins writes with an emotional bent that easily allows the reader to feel. Really feel. That’s D. Watkins’ super power. It’s not all doom and gloom here, there are some moments that bring levity to the page and humanizes the community. It’s important to have these stories told, because of the potential for inspiration and in-depth information. It’s always much more impressive and important when you get the story of a community from a loving, knowing native! D. Watkins is a chronicler that the reader can trust. Well done! #dwatkins #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #bookreviewer #bookstagram #blackbooksmatter #blackbibliophile #bibliophile #goodblackreads #legacylit #readmorebooks #makereadinglitagain #booksarelove #readologist #houstonreads #booksbooksbooks #bookblogger (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfRTrj6LDNY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT!! It’s Sunday already and today we spotlight a book that is as hot as Houston weather 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥! Why should you be a part of this heat wave? The book is inspiring and easily relatable, even if you’re particular circumstances were far different from Viola’s. I got mine @kindredstorieshtx and I wrote ✍🏿 Viola. Davis. She unfortunately internalized some beliefs about beauty and blackness; couple that with poverty and you have all the makings of a very deep hole with life pouring in thick mud daily. To have persevered and achieved her dream of being an actress is a tremendous overcoming and her baring the truth of her journey makes this a remarkable read. No way you come away from this book, without being inspired in some way. It took her some time to find HER! But she did. And as you relive the journey to Viola, you will cheer, sneer, laugh, and cry. At the book’s end you will stand and clap as if Viola is in the room and you’ll say “well done lady!” #ownvoicesreviews #violadavis #findingme #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #makereadinglitagain #bookreviewer #bookreviews #goodblackreads #blackbooksmatter #bibliophile #blackbibliophile #harperonebooks #ebonymagazinepublishing #houstonreads #getcaughtreading #r4 #lovereading #bookstagram #booksaremylovelanguage (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CetMhLjrVX-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT! Let’s go! Get set for Aug. 30, 2022. This⬅️crazy book drops then and you better be strapped in for a wild literary ride!! I wrote ✍🏿 Quite an experience. Wild. Hilarious. Unconventional. Saucy. The rules of writing are being absolutely obliterated in this uncategorizable crazy tale of Carlotta Mercedes née Dustin Chambers. Just flat out different in not only the way the story is revealed but the style of writing. There are point of view changes within paragraphs, hell sometimes in the same sentence. Going from first-person to third-person with a quick turn. There are the phonetic spelling of words, which will drive language purists crazy. “You couldn’t look at no boring-ass caterpillar and recanize the gorgeous butterfly that it done become after, right?” If you come to this book with an open mind and can be a nonconformist for a few hours then you will get a good solid tale of a struggle to live one’s truth. And you will meet an array of odd characters as witnesses to Carlotta’s fight to be free, in every sense of the word. Not giving plot summary as the blurb encircled the book quite decisively. I can definitely see this landing on best of year lists, just for the sheer hilarity and off the edge style of writing. This is a book not to be just read, but to be experienced. The title alone is unlike anything currently in the fiction market, it was the impetus for me to request this book. So, many thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown &Co. for an advanced DRC. Book lands everywhere on Aug. 30, 3022 #ownvoicesreviews #didntnobodygiveashitwhappenedtocarlotta #jameshannaham #littlebrownandcompanybooks #goodreads #goodblackreads #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #blackbibliophile #bibliophile #blackbooksmatter #bookstagram #bookreview #bookreviewer #makereadinglitagain #r4 #houstonreads #readology (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeJOBE-Ltw4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

Another Sunday! So you know the Spotlight is shining. And today it is Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm. I wrote ✍🏿 It’s hard to really nail down what this book is about. Is it the dangers of loving a jazz musician? Well, yes a little of that. How about a father-daughter relationship dynamic? Yep, some of that. The life of a jazz musician that is a constant struggle for relevance? In a nutshell, the writing is good enough to keep you connected to the novel, but the story is so scattered that at times it seems like short stories with jazzman Circus at center. But the book taken as a whole leaves much to be desired. The story never congeals to the point of a cohesive focused narrative. Ultimately the story mirrors the central character, Circus. A fading jazz trumpeter who hits the wrong notes in life, and his music suffers because of it. This jazz novel is off key in a way that challenges its own relevance. Thanks to Netgalley and Pantheon for an advanced DRC. Book will play everywhere September 20, 2022! #ownvoicesreviews #pushingbooksainteasy #bookpusher #bookstagram #goodblackreads #goodreads #sweetsoftplentyrhythm #makereadinglitagain #laurawarrell #readingislife #houstonreads #blackbibliophile #bibliophile #pantheonbooks #penguinrandomhouse #bookstagrammer #bookreview (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3ApZsr4qG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

Good Day Bookstagram. We are back with another Sunday Spotlight and it’s a wonderful read. Two Lives Of Sara! I wrote ✍🏿 Oooh. So good. Some flat moments, but this one is a winner. Apparently, there was a book before this one that perhaps has the answer to my most burning question. What happened in that house, Sara? Catherine Adel West does an absolute excellent job of showing, not telling! That is supposed to be the number one calling card of great fiction. In fact, the allusions are so strong as to what went on, but I want certainty. Sara has left Chicago for Memphis in an attempt to forget the old Sara and start anew. She is somewhat surly, and unlikeable but grows on you, as you move through the story and her mental state. Catherine Adel West crafts some beautiful sentences and when she writes of grieving I may have dropped a tear or it could have been allergies. Sara is a complicated character but she found a place in my heart and is one of those fictional characters you tend to think about long after the book is closed. She is the definition of perseverance and resilience and although I disagreed with some of her choices, I found understanding without having to dig deep for it. Sara has seemingly turned a difficult corner and she met a young man, through whom she sees the possibility of finding her way back to love. Love of not only others, but love of herself. Tragedy strikes. “Loss no matter how it’s experienced takes something from us. Opens something aching and jagged. And why is this sensation, this mournful dance, something I almost welcome? Because it’s expected. I know pain and hurt. We are comfortable enemies. And I think maybe Momma always told me to watch where I was, take note of my position, because knowing where I am and who I am no matter how ugly, is better than wondering who I could’ve been.” I thank Park Row and Edelweiss for an ARC and the book will be published Sept. 6, 2022. #ownvoicesreviews #twolivesofsara #catherineadelwest #goodblackreads #blackbooksmatter #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #parkrowbooks #makebookslitagain #blackbibliophile #sundayspotlight #bibliophile #houstonreads (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdlQP_rrIJu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT is here! In the mood for a fast paced “crime” drama? Well you can’t do any better than Blacktop Wasteland. Once you start, you won’t stop until the end. A one sitting novel! I wrote ✍🏿 Ohh man. Buckle up.S. A. Cosby takes the reader on a ride that’s fast-paced and thrilling. Bug is a good man, good husband and striving to be the best father, better than his own. He is a solid mechanic but a superb wheelman. The kind of guy you can use to drive the getaway car in a robbery. He makes moves behind the wheel that make your jaw drop. And S.A. Cosby makes the reader feel the angst and anguish that Bug is dealing with. He writes in such a way that the reader must grapple with race, raising Black boys in an environment that doesn’t always see them as being worthy. What happens when the financial pressure is bearing down on you and you are offered a chance to be the getaway driver for a nice chunk of change? Does Bug make the right choice? Mr. Cosby does a superb job of exposing this dilemma with great writing always sprinkled with timely humor and a cast of characters that add to an exhilarating joyride. I’m hooked now, and will be reading his other works. He knows how to spin a good crime tale, but centered in human choices and emotions. Crime adjacent, if you will. Onto the next one. #ownvoicesreviews #bookstagram #bookpusher #blacktopwasteland #flatironbooks #sacosby #pushingbooksainteasy #sundayspotlight #r4 #goodblackreads #goodreads #blackbibliophile #bibliophile #houstonreads #booksarelife #blackbooksmatter #bookreview #bookrecommendation #makebookslitagain (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccc-A7SrWQe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[books4us]

Sunday Spotlight! Upon finishing SOUTH TO AMERICA by @imaniperry I was at a lost to describe how the prose hit me. I just think you should get and read this book. I got mine from @kindredstorieshtx I eventually wrote ✍🏿 Imani Perry is a musician with a pen. A lyricist with page as composition, she writes as if she is singing a song and it reads so beautifully. I’m a big fan, in fact I’m moving her into rarified territory. She is the newest member of my event category. Where her books are now events, not just another book, but an event I must attend to. This one is a love letter to the “South” written as part travel diary, part memoir, with history as foundation for present. She manages to tell a story that is both personal yet not constricted. She highlights different Southern cities summarizing their particular idiosyncrasies, always with a nod to their particular histories. And the prose is always commanding and demanding that you keep reading through these pages. There are so many passages I highlighted that if I start quoting them here, this review will go on and on. Just read it! Imani Perry, you have done it again. I’m eagerly awaiting the next Imani Perry event. #southtoamerica #imaniperry #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #sundayspotlight #goodblackreads #bookreview #bookreviewer #blackbooksmatter #blackbibliophile #goodblackreads #bibliophile #houstonreads #eccobooks (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbVBHg5LPyl/?utm_medium=tumblr

[books4us]

The Sunday Spotlight! Four Hundred Souls! An orchestra of scholarship brilliantly conducted by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. This is one of those books you need to have in your home! I briefly wrote ✍🏿 A tour de force! What can I say, that hasn’t already been said? Buy it! Read it! Learn from it! Share with others! Be inspired! Outstanding contributions from dozens of scholars. I won’t name any favorites. The whole is much greater than any individual parts! The resilience and determination of Black people is a wonder to behold. #ownvoicesreviews #fourhundredsouls #ibramxkendi #keishanblain #oneworldbooks #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #readmorebooks #r4 #blackbooksmatter #goodblackreads #lovereading #bibliophile #houstonreads #bookish #randomhousebooks (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CafCb3uL3bq/?utm_medium=tumblr

[books4us]

Andre’s Aces! Of course on Sunday! THE FABULOUS FIVE OF 2021. Here we are! The end of 2021 and Covid-19 is still a beast. Still, we read and there were some great books available to us. Here are my five fabulous favorites, with no regard to genre and in no particular order! Andre’s Aces I call them. You heard of the red carpet? Well I have the Red Curtain! Scroll left to check them out ⬅️ Let’s go! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ THE TREES⭐️⭐️⭐️ Yes! Percival Everett has no peer. This book didn’t have the marketing impact as some of the others, but trust me on this one! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ HOW THE WORD IS PASSED⭐️⭐️⭐️ Our story can be told in many ways, including through institutions. Clint Smith does an excellent job of exposing the stories that are hidden in plain sight! ⭐️⭐️⭐️READ UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND ⭐️⭐️⭐️ A master class on literary criticism yet very approachable. The importance of books has never been so well discussed! There isn’t any good reason to miss reading this gem. ⭐️⭐️⭐️THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DuBOIS ⭐️⭐️⭐️ How can one read 800 pages and still want more? That speaks to the creative brilliance of Honoree Fanone-Jeffers. I promise this is the best biggest book you may ever encounter. EVER! ⭐️⭐️THE 1619 PROJECT ⭐️⭐️ And if you don’t know, now you know! I call this one the excuse executioner. No longer can one stand in willful ignorance about the legacy and impact of slavery on America. So, that’s my story and my fabulous FIVE! If 2022 is half as good as 2021, another great year of books is ahead! Happy New Year to All! And READ READ READ, then READ some more! All books can be purchased from @kindredstorieshtx #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #readmorebooks #bookstagram #bookreviews #goodblackreads #houstonreads #bibliophile #bestof2021 #lovebooks #blackexcellence #readingislife (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CX9DncUrzUE/?utm_medium=tumblr

[books4us]

Dec. 5. Sunday Spotlight. Greyboy by the young talented Cole Brown. Part memoir. Part essays. Part social commentary. I got my copy from @kindredstorieshtx My thoughts ✍🏿 Hmmn. Mr. Cole Brown has a bright future as an essayist. He writes this series of essays with a maturity that is rare of someone his age. His eloquence and humor make this an entertaining read as he recounts his young growing experiences as a token. At times the book has a bit of, ‘woe is me’ feel because he wanted to embrace the ‘blackness’ that he viewed as authentic but his upbringing-private schools, country club access, etc.,- often put him in spaces where he was the only Black person, the token! So, at times he was too black, in other settings, not black enough. It’s easy to get how trying to fit in, especially during the high school years can be a difficult task, so in that respect I think the book will resonate with anyone who has tried fitting into a space that seems to reject them. And that’s the big takeaway for all, the only authenticity is your authentic self. Embrace that. And let the chips fall where they may. “Token times proved instructive. Life as the only teaches one to parse the ignorance of the ill-informed from the ignorance of the malicious. And hopefully, to curtail the power of those microaggressions that comprise the former.” To have the prolific and esteemed author, scholar, professor Michael Eric Dyson write the afterword of your first book, is quite the coup. I think it speaks to the talent and potential of Mr. Cole Brown. We will most definitely see him again. #ownvoicesreviews #bookpusher #pushingbooksainteasy #readmorebooks #greyboy #bookreview #bookrecommendations #goodblackreads #goodreads #bibliophile #arcadepublishing #houstonreads #blackbooksmatter (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXG2zihLhSm/?utm_medium=tumblr