Spotlight on Indies: Bound to be Read Books
1 commentsBound to be Read Books
by Jen (Devourer of Books)
Holiday Book Ideas - Book by Black Authors
0 commentsI blog about books by black authors at White Readers Meet Black Authors. Last year I designated December as National Buy a Book By a Black Author and Give It To Somebody Not Black Month. This year I created a list of 50 great gifts at IndieBound and I recommend that people looking for children’s books by black authors go to this list created by the Happy Nappy Bookseller.
Since I’m a writer of women’s fiction and mostly read women’s fiction (and since there was all the hoopla about Publisher’s Weekly best of 2009 list not including any women), I thought I’d contribute a list of 20 of my favorite novels by female authors that you may not have heard of. I tried not to repeat titles I’ve recently listed on my blog, IndieBound or Amazon. Not all of these were published in 2009; some are oldies, but goodies. All make great holiday gifts!
A New Kind of Bliss by Bettye Griffin
Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood
Blood Colony by Tananarive Due
Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
Finding Me by Darnella Ford
Getting Mother’s Body by Suzan-Lori Parks
Gotta Keep on Tryin’ by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant
Life is Short But Wide by J. California Cooper
Loving Cee Cee Johnson by Linda Leigh Hargrove
The Middle Sister by Bonnie Glover
Nappily Ever After by Trisha R. Thomas
No Girl Needs a Husband Seven Days a Week by Nina Foxx
Sassy by Gloria Mallette
Some Things I Thought I’d Never Do by Pearl Cleage
This Bitter Earth by Bernice McFadden
Tumbling by Diane McKinney-Whetstone
Ugly Ways by Tina McElroy Ansa
The Vow by Angela Burt-Murray, Mitzi Miller, Denene Millner
Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Carleen Brice is author of the novels Orange Mint and Honey and Children of the Waters.
The movie version of ORANGE MINT AND HONEY--"Sins of the Mother," starring Jill Scott--airs on LMN Feb. 7th!
www.carleenbrice.com
by Jen (Devourer of Books)
Spotlight on Indies: Old Firehouse Books
0 commentsOld Firehouse Books
We've been here for 11 years now, and still having a blast! We carry new and used books and love to do special orders. We have a great regional interest section and also carry cards & prints by local artists. We hold group signings in the summer, this year we had more than 40 authors plus David Delemare and 2 of his models. Authors who have joined us in the past include Patricia McKillip, Greg Rucka, Irene Radford, Robin Gunn, and many more.
by Jen (Devourer of Books)
Literacy Charity Profile: FirstBook
Tags: children's literacy, family literacy, First Book, literacy projects 2 commentsFor almost 20 years, First Book has been providing new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. The organization is the brainchild of Kyle Zimmer, a corporate lawyer who volunteered in an inner-city soup kitchen. When she realized that these kids had no books, she left her day job behind and, with two friends, launched First Book.
Accomplishments and Impact
- First Book has delivered more than 65 million books to programs serving children in need across the United States and Canada.
- There are more than 275 First Book Advisory Boards. Together, they form an extensive network of volunteer community leaders serving as ambassadors dedicated to fundraising.
- The First Book National Book Bank (FBNBB), created in 1999, now receives donations from more than 50 publishers.
- The largest single donation to the FBNBB was 1.9 million books from Random House in 2005.
- The largest single distribution of the FBNBB was 2 million books in 2002.
First Book calls its community organizations an Advisory Board network. An Advisory Board is a committee of local volunteers, representing a community or campus, that come together to raise awareness and funds in order to provide new books and educational materials to local programs serving children from low-income families. Click on this map to find an Advisory Board in your area. If there is no Advisory Board in your area and you are interested in starting one, you can send an email.
Can I Donate Books to First Book?
First Book accepts large-scale donations of new books directly from publishers. If you’re interested in becoming a publishing partner, contact the organization via the First Book National Book Bank.
First Book does not accept donations of used or new books from individuals. Through a partnership with Better World Books, you can sell your used books in the BWB online market place and have the proceeds donated to First Book. Learn more about this program here.
How Else Can I Help First Book?
Volunteer ~ First Book needs volunteers to help with book distributions and special events across the nation. Please click here for more information on getting involved: for more information on getting involved.
Bookmark First Book’s sponsor page ~ Another way to help is to bookmark the Click to Give™ Free Books link. There is a sponsors page on the First Book website. When you click the “Give Free Books” link each day, you are encouraging sponsors to buy books. Shop some of the sponsor links and First Book earns even more. 100% of these donations go to getting books to kids.
Shop online ~ Shop www.betterworld.com/firstbook and a portion of the proceeds will help First Book get more books to kids! Better World Books accepts pre-paid book donation shipments from the general public in support of First Book. Saleable donations will be made available for sale on more than 17 online marketplaces and a portion of the proceeds will benefit First Book. Non-saleable items will be made available to another one of Better World Books' non-profit literacy partners or recycled.
On it’s Get Involved page, First Book lists ideas on ways you can support their literacy work, from starting your own Advisory Board to sponsoring fundraisers to making donations.
Keep Reading
This concludes our series of profiles on literacy charities. That said, there are community book drives for communities near and far. In this week's Children's Literacy and Reading News Roundup, Jen Robinson has quite a few links to seasonal and ongoing initiatives around the world at Jen Robinson's Book Page.
Making sure that kids have books of their own is the most important thing we can do to encourage their growth as readers. If you know of other programs, please be sure to leave a comment.
*Social media icons courtesy of komodomedia.com and iconarchive.com. Both companies use a 3.0 Creative Commons license to promote sharing of their work, with attribution.
Posted in children's literacy, family literacy, First Book, literacy projects by Terry Doherty
Spotlight on Indies: Cover to Cover Books
0 commentsCover to Cover Books
We have poetry and writers' mixers each month; you can check out our Events page (http://www.covertocoverbooks.net/events.html) to see what's happening through the holidays.
by Jen (Devourer of Books)
The Perfect Stocking Stuffers...Paperbacks!
0 commentsWe're closing in on the holidays. Have you finished your shopping? As I write this, I'm hoping I have one more store to visit today and then I'll be done. One of the final things people have for their shopping is those little stocking stuffers. This is a prime place to stick a great paperback! It's an affordable treasure to fill out that stocking. Here are a few great crime fiction paperbacks you can consider for your crime drama fan:
LETHAL LEGACY - by Linda Fairstein takes readers into the bowels of the New York Public Library to investigate the crime with Homocide Detective, Mike Chapman and Special Crimes Assistant Prosecutor, Alex Cooper. You'll never believe the library can be so deadly.
A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART - by Timothy Hallinan is the first of his Bangkok Thriller series. I always recommend people start at the beginning with this series featuring travel writer Poke Rafferty because the character development and the character relationships build throughout the series, and these elements are among the great strengths of this series. A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART is available as a trade paperback and is a must read for any thriller lover!
TRIGGER CITY - by Sean Chercover has been racking up award nominations and award wins. In the follow-up to award-winning BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD (also available in paperback), Ray Dudgeon gets more than he bargained for when he investigates a woman's death on behalf of her father. The victim is not what she appeared and Dudgeon may become the next victim for discovering her true identity.
BLUE HEAVEN - is C.J. Box's Edgar-award-winning thriller about two young children on the run in Idaho from four retired Los Angeles policemen. The children witnessed the policemen commit murder, and the policemen plan to stop at nothing to silence them.
THE BOOK OF LIES - by Brad Meltzer brings the most famous murder, Cain murdering his brother Abel, together with the creation of Superman for a present-day, heart-pounding thriller.
ANGEL'S TIP - is Alafair Burke's second novel in her Ellie Hatcher series. Ellie Hatcher is a police detective in New York City and ANGEL'S TIP is a ripped from the headlines plot. A young woman visiting New York City wants to stay longer at the night club and her friends leave her behind...alone.
GOOD PEOPLE - by Marcus Sakey follows a couple who want nothing more in life than to be able to have a family. Their desperation leads them smack into trouble with a couple of ruthless men who will stop at nothing for revenge. Dennis Lehane calls Marcus Sakey the "electric jolt American crime fiction needs."
THE FURY and THE DARKNESS - were released back to back this year by author Jason Pinter. They share a story arc dealing with a drug cartel as books four and five of Pinter's Henry Parker series.
DOG ON IT - is Spencer Quinn's debut novel featuring P.I. Bernie and his canine partner Chet. Chet narrates the adventure of their search for a missing teen-age girl. Stephen King said DOG ON IT is "Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and in a few places terrifying...[DOG ON IT is an] enchanting one-of-a-kind novel."
For your readers who prefer something a little more on the cozy side, you might want to check out:
THE MISSING INK - by Karen Olson is the first book in Karen's new series about Brett Kavanaugh and her Painted Lady tattoo shop. Brett is scheduled to do a devotion tat on a woman who never shows. Not unusual, some folks re-consider their tattoo choices. However, when the woman winds up dead, this turn everything unusual, especially the fact that the "devotion" tattoo wasn't supposed to have the name of her very wealthy fiance.
AIR TIME - by Hank Phillippi Ryan brings TV reporter Charlotte McNally undercover into the world of high fashion. In this world of design, no one is who they seem to be and danger is very real. Who knew this world could be so deadly?
WHEN A MAN LOVES A WEAPON - is Toni McGee Causey's most recent installment of her hilarious Bobbie Faye Sumrall series. This time the spunky Louisiana gal is in a mess of trouble because of gems that folks wouldn't have any trouble killing Bobbie for.
Have readers on your list who like things a little darker? You could check out:
MANIA - is Craig Larsen's debut about a newspaper photographer in Seattle who gets caught up in the depravity of a serial killer dubbed Street Butcher only to find his own disturbing past.
CUT TO THE BONE - by Shane Gericke brings back Detective Commander Martin Benedetti and Detective Emily Thompson as they pursue the Executioner who is seeking revenge for a wrongful execution performed over forty years earlier.
THE GATEKEEPER - by Michelle Gagnon is the third book in her series featuring Special Agent Kelly Jones. This time a young girl has been kidnapped, and the kidnapping is connected to a terrorist plot hatched by American hate groups.
This is just a taste to get you started. There are so many great crime fiction books available in paperback. They aren't all ones that you will quickly find at Walmart or Target or even Barnes and Noble, but believe me when I say they are worth the little extra effort to hunt them down. Any of the great mystery independent stores that you've seen featured here on the blog can help you out on finding these books, as can some of my other favorites: Mystery Lover's Bookshop in Pennsylvania, The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles, Murder by the Book in Houston, and The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City.
Wishing you the happiest of holidays and hoping they are filled with crime....fiction! Happy Reading and Happy Shopping!
Jen Forbus
http://jensbookthoughts.blogspot.com/
by Jen Forbus
Spotlight on Indies: The Travel Bug
0 commentsThe Travel Bug
by Jen (Devourer of Books)
Spotlight on Indies: Inkwood Books
0 comments
Inkwood Books
Inkwood features chooses 25 Holiday Picks, wrapped and ready to go, at 25% off during the month of December. We always have free gorgeous gift wrap, and plenty of staff recommendations in every category to take care of everyone on your gift list.
Carla Jimenez
carlaj53@gmail.com
by Nicole (Linus's Blanket)


