Shannon Harris

In celebration of Black History Month, I would like to share some new fiction titles written by Black contemporary authors that either highlight current social issues or show positive representation in their works. Providing books to a community that are written by people of color is important because books have the ability to educate the reader about the struggles and triumphs Black people have endured and still face in America.

“Black Buck” by Mateo Askaripour is the author’s debut novel and is already receiving a lot of buzz. “Black Buck” is a satirical novel about a young Black man named Darren Vender who is completely content working as a manager at Starbucks, living with his mother, and spending time with his girlfriend in New York City until one day he reverse-sells a cup of coffee to Rhett Daniels, a CEO of tech startup Sumwun. Rhett likes what he sees and hires him for a sales position at Sumwun. Pressured by his mother to find a better job, Darren reluctantly takes the position and discovers that he is the only Black man working there and he immediately encounters racism. Darren decides to completely flip the system by creating a job training program for people of color to help empower them in the workforce. Reminiscent of the cult classic “Fight Club,” this sharp book will hook you in at page one.

If one is looking for something on the lighter side to read, “Take a Hint, Dani Brown” by Talia Hibbert is the perfect book for you. “Take a Hint, Dani Brown” is a contemporary romance novel about casual acquaintances, PhD student Dankia Brown and Zafir Ansari, a retired rugby player and security guard at the university Dani attends. When a video of the two of them goes viral, in which he’s heroically rescuing her from a disaster drill, things between them start to heat up. When describing her work, Hibbert says that “she writes sexy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation.”

Aside from these two new titles which we have available for check-out, here are a few other new novels to read in celebration of Black History Month.

“His Only Wife” by Peace Adzo Medie

“Yellow Wife” by Sadeqa Johnson

“This Close to Okay” by Lessa Cross-Smith

“The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” by Deesha Philyaw

“The Kindest Lie” by Nancy Johnson

“The Rib King” by Ladee Hubbard

Call, email, or go online to reserve one of these titles today. Information on how to reserve an item can be found on our website, www.akspl.org.

It’s hard to believe that the end of the year is rapidly approaching. With that in mind, the end of year is usually filled with ‘best of lists,’ so I want to share the top three books that I really enjoyed reading this year.

“The Regrets,” by Amy Bonnaffons, is a unique novel about love, life, and death. This isn’t a typical love story, if one would even consider it a love story. The two main characters, Rachel and Thomas, meet and fall in love, but there is one small problem, Thomas has recently passed away. Before Thomas can cross over to the afterlife he has to stay on Earth for 90 days, with one condition, he cannot get involved with a living person, otherwise he will incur ‘regrets.’  This is a beautifully written story that will keep the reader wanting more.

“We Ride Upon Sticks,” by Quan Barry, is also one of my favorite books this year. The novel transports readers to 1989 to Danvers, Massachusetts (neighboring town to the infamous Salem, Massachusetts) and follows the mainly all-girls and one-boy varsity field hockey team. Let’s just say the team isn’t known for winning. Sick of being on the losing side, the team takes matters into their own hands and decide that they need some supernatural assistance. This book has it all: 80s references, overly processed bangs referred to as ‘the claw,’ and most importantly, the power of friendship. Get swept up in this fun and empowering book and find out if the Danvers Falcons make it all the way to the state championship, with or without a little help from the dark side.

“Shuggie Bain,” by Douglas Stuart, is a hauntingly beautiful novel that has recently won the prestigious Booker Prize award in England for 2020. The novel takes place during the Thatcher administration in Glasgow, Scotland, and focuses on a young boy named Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain and his unwavering devotion to his mother Agnes, who would rather spend her weekly government allowance on beer than on food. Shuggie struggles to survive in an environment where the odds of survival are stacked against him. To say this novel is a feel-good read would be a lie. This book is gritty, harrowing, and, at times, you almost feel like your heart has been ripped out of your chest, but Stuart’s words and imagery are too beautiful to not want to continue to read about young Shuggie Bain.

You can check these titles out by using our Books-to-Go service. For more information call the library at 909-798-7565 or visit our website at www.akspl.org.

I have a confession, I absolutely positively love Halloween. The crisp fall nights, the crunching of leaves being stepped on, the smell of candle wax burning inside a jack-o’-lantern, and the copious amounts of candy. Unfortunately, Halloween might look a little different this year, but luckily for you, I have conjured up some fun and safe Halloween ideas that can be done from the comfort of your own home. A.K. Smiley Public Library has a cornucopia full of books that will surely put you in the Halloween spirit.

One of my favorite things to do for the entire month of October is read spine-chilling books late into the witching hour. Here are some spooky suggestions to check-out that will have you sleeping with the lights on: “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Vampire Slaying” by Grady Hendrix; “Stake” by Kevin Anderson; “The Ancestor” by Danielle Trussoni; “The Boatman’s Daughter” by Andy Davidson; “Hunted” by Darcy Coates; and “Sealed” by Naomi Booth. Read at your own risk.

If reading alone into the witching hour isn’t your thing and you would rather spend time with your coven than alone, then it sounds like a good ol’-fashioned Halloween themed movie night is in order. We have two options for you from which to select some macabre movies: you can either check out DVDs from the Library or you can use our Kanopy database to stream movies. We have cult classics, such as “Beetlejuice,” “Hocus Pocus,” “The Shining,” “The Conjuring,” and the “Harry Potter” series. On our movie streaming database Kanopy, there are plenty of Halloween gems that will surely keep you up all night, such as “The Witch,” “Let the Right One In,” “Nosferatu,” “Night of the Living Dead,” and “Hereditary.”

Now that we have your entertainment all lined up, the next item on our list of Halloween fun is snacks. Every movie night needs appropriately themed snacks. The cookbook, “The Feast of Fiction Kitchen,” by Jimmy Wong and Ashley Adams is the answer to all your movie themed snack needs. The authors have recipes that coincide with all sorts of movies and TV shows, such as a shrimp cocktail-shaped hand from the movie “Beetlejuice” and home-brewed butterbeer and savory pumpkin pasties to accompany your “Harry Potter” marathon.

If your walls are looking a bit bare and need some spooktacular decorations, we have books for that too. “A Halloween How-To: Costumes, Parties, Decorations, and Destination” by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, “The Big Book of Holiday Paper Crafts,” and “The Pumpkin Carving Book” for some ghoulish ideas. The last item to set the tone of your awesome Halloween-themed movie night is music. We have two ghastly choices: “New Wave Halloween” and “Spooky Scary Sounds for Halloween,” which will have you dancing to the “Monster Mash” all night.

Creep and crawl your way down to A.K. Smiley Public Library to get your hands on any of our spooktacular titles. We are now open to the public with limited hours and our popular books-to-go program is still available. For more information visit our website at www.akspl.org or call us at 909-798-7565.

Since traveling is limited nowadays, I have found other ways to get away–with my imagination and the power of the written word. Here at A. K. Smiley Public Library we have a library full of new books that are ready to transport you to far off destinations, be it to another country or to an entirely different decade. Luckily for you, a passport is not required.

“We Ride Upon Sticks,” by Quan Barry is one of my favorite books this year. The novel transports readers to 1989 to Danvers, Massachusetts (neighboring town to the infamous Salem, Massachusetts) and follows the mainly all girls and one boy varsity field hockey team. Let’s just say the team isn’t known for winning. Sick of being on the losing side, the team takes matters into their own hands and decides that they need some supernatural assistance. This book has it all: 80s references, overly processed bangs referred to as ‘the claw,’ and most importantly, the power of friendship. Get swept up in this fun and empowering book and find out if the Danvers Falcons make it all the way to the State Championship, with or without a little help from the dark side.

“Shuggie Bain,” by Douglas Stuart, is a hauntingly beautiful novel that has been long listed for the prestigious Booker Prize award in England. The novel takes place during the Thatcher administration in Glasgow, Scotland and focuses on a young boy named Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain and his unwavering devotion to his mother Agnes, who would rather spend her weekly government allowance on beer than on food. Shuggie struggles to survive in an environment where the odds of survival are stacked against him. To say this novel is a feel good read would be a lie. This book is gritty, harrowing, and, at times, you almost feel like your heart has been ripped out of your chest, but Stuart’s words and imagery are too beautiful to not want to continue to read about young Shuggie Bain.

“Mexican Gothic,” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a sweeping Gothic suspense novel. The novel transports the reader to 1950s Mexico where Noemi Taboada receives a frantic letter from her newly married cousin Catalina. Concerned for her cousin’s well being, Noemi rushes to her aid to ‘High Place,’ a remote mansion located in the Mexican countryside. Upon her arrival, Noemi is greeted by her cousin’s bizarre new family that may be up to something sinister. This is a tense novel that will keep you up reading into the night.

Reserve these titles now with our Books-to-Go service. For more information on this service call the Library at 909-798-7565 or visit our website, www.akspl.org. Travel safely, courtesy of A. K. Smiley Public Library.

“What the world needs now is love sweet love- it’s the only thing that there’s just too little of” – Jackie DeShannon

Books are powerful. Books can bring people together. Diversity in books is important. Representation is important. Books give the voiceless a voice. Books can transport you. Books allow readers to experience situations they may not usually experience. Here at A. K. Smiley Public Library we understand the importance of providing books written by diverse authors to the community in hopes of building a more compassionate, empathic, loving, and understanding place to live. Books can educate the reader about other people’s struggles and experiences without taking them out of the comfort of their own home. I want to highlight a couple of the latest arrivals in our new book collection that are written by authors who may not usually have their stories heard. These titles are available to check out using our Books-To-Go service.

“How We Fight for Our Lives” by poet Saeed Jones is a brutal and poignant coming-of-age memoir. Jones tells the reader what it feels like growing up black and gay in the South as he tries to navigate a place for himself in his family and society. Told in a series of vignettes, ranging from his boyhood to manhood experiences, each chapter explores the struggles Jones endured and what it is like being black and gay in America. You will never forget this heart-wrenching memoir.

If you prefer to read fiction over non-fiction try “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” by Cho Nam-Joo. This novel was originally released in 2016 in South Korea during the #Metoo movement. It is an international bestseller and has been translated into eighteen languages. “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982” is a social commentary on the struggles women face in South Korea. The main character, Jiyoung, becomes suddenly ill and starts to impersonate different women. Women who are dead, alive, known, and unknown. Her distraught husband takes her to a male doctor to ‘cure’ her. Can Jiyoung’s illness really be ‘cured,’ living in a male dominated society? This is a timely and powerful novel that will stay with you for days.

Aside from these two new titles that we have available for check-out, here is a list of books in our new book collection that are also written by authors whose stories need to be heard.

Fiction: “The Beauty of Your Face” by Sahar Mustafah; “The City We Became” by N. K. Jemisin; “A Long Petal of the Sea” by Isabel Allende; “Real Life” by Brandon Taylor; “Little Gods” by Meng Jin; “Afterlife” by Julia Alvarez; “Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick” by Zora Neale Hurston; “Under the Rainbow” by Celia Laskey; And “Riot Baby” by Tochi Onyebuchi.

Non-Fiction: “Wow, No Thank You” by Samantha Irby; “It’s Not About the Burqa” edited by Mariam Khan;  “Hood Feminism” by Mikki Kendall;  “Beautiful on the Outside” by Adam Rippon; “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla Saad; “How to be an AntiRacist” by Ibram Kendi; And “What Doesn’t Kill you Makes you Blacker” by Damon Young.

Call, email, or go online to reserve one these powerful books.  Information on how to reserve an item can be found on our website, www.akspl.org or call us at 909-798-7565.

“Love is all you need” – The Beatles