Book Contest

LaTonya from Color Online with post an interview with author Zetta Elliott on March 20. Three people can win a signed copy of A Wish Before Midnight. The deadline to enter is March 25. There is only one comment so far so the odds are in your favor, so go on over and enter Win a book

I Don't Mess W/ Pigeons

I won't cross the street when I see a bunch of pigeons but they do freak me out. Remember when there was a time when you could run into a large group of pigeons and they'd all fly away scared. Not anymore, now the pigeons don't even blink and a few of the bolder ones will walk towards you with a MF what attitude. So when I see pigeons chillin out together I leave them alone. It freaks me out when pigeons prefer to walk over flying .Why walk when you can fly, its almost as if a few are trying to evolve into walking birds. I don't think walking is an improvement over flying, though the pigeons walking across the street would probably disagree.

Sag Harbor Colson Whitehead

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead - When this advanced reader copy (arc) came in I had to wait my turn, Toni had dibs since she introduced me to Whitehead. Besides if I tried to take it home first she probably would've cut me for it, if you've ever read Whitehead you'd know I am only half joking. Sag Harbor is an autobiographical coming of age novel. Set in the summer of 1985 brothers 15 yr old Benji and 14 yr old Reggie Cooper are left relatively unsupervised at the summer family home in Sag Harbor. The brothers hang out with their friends, nothing major happens that part of the beauty of it. Whitehead's writing of the everyday and ordinary is amazing, thoughful, entertaining and funny as hell. Reading Whitehead is like listening to improv jazz. One minute your fully lost in the beautiful sound, then the artist takes you somewhere else you have no idea where they're going but it still sounds so good, if you're lucky enough you'll grasp every note and nuances, finally they pull it back to the beginning and all you can think is damn that was freakin amazing.
Sag Harbor would be a great suggestions for older teens. They'll easily be able to relate to Benji's first job experience, new found parental freedom and the logic by which Benji and his friends survive the summer. Teen readers may not get everything but they'll get more then enough to enjoy it. So please if you're a high school English teacher who has a summer reading list add Sag Harbor to it. Speaking of summer reading list (subtle transitions, I know ) I am tired of seeing the same Black authors every year. I know these list are updated because I since new books like Kite Runner, The Namesake and Secret Life of Bees. The only Black author I've seen added with any consistency is Zadie Smith. Its a literary slap in the face

Its time to add new Black authors to a reading list
If majority on the list wrote in time of prohibition or suffrage movement
If majority on the list wrote when Zoot Suits were all the rave or Swing was king
And if the answers yes, please check out White Readers Meet Black Authors

Sag Harbor's release date 4/28
PW Starred Review
Kirkus Review

Book Contest

YA author Jeannine Garsee has a book contest going on to promote her upcoming release Say the Word. I absolutely loved Garsee first novel Before, After, and Somebody in Between ,which is now available in paperback. Last month when I heard the author had a new book coming out I gave a happy squeal. Now the Garsee is giving readers a chance to win a signed copy of her new book, Say The Word http://onegrapeshy.livejournal.com/298587.html

Here's some info on Say The Word from Powells ( makes me want it even
more)


Dredging up the past can knock the present right off balance.
The world expects perfection from seventeen-year-old Shawna Gallagher, and for the most part, that’s what they get. She dates the right boys, gets good grades, and follows her father’s every rule. But when her estranged lesbian mother dies, it’s more than perfect Shawna can take. Suddenly, anger from being abandoned ten years ago is resurfacing along with Shawna’s embarrassment over her mother’s other family. As she confronts family secrets and questions from the past, Shawna realizes there’s a difference between doing the perfect thing and doing the right thing.
Shawna’s honest and relatable voice will draw readers in and hold them until the last page in this coming-of-age story. Jeannine Garsee has delivered a compulsively readable second novel, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson.

After her estranged lesbian mother dies, 17-year-old Shawna Gallagher's anger from being abandoned 10 years before resurfaces. As she confronts family secrets and questions from the past, Shawna realizes there's a difference between doing the perfect thing and doing the right thing.

Grammy Winning Artist Launches Online Book Club For Young Readers

Toni was kind enough to send me the link to the Felicia Pride article about Common launching an online book club, the Corner Book Club. One book is chosen each month, they are currently on the seventh book. I went ahead and joined the mailing list. I was already a Common fan but this makes me like him even more. Common using his popularity to encourage reading and book discussions is a beautiful thing.