| The #1 Site for African American Literature |
African American Literature Book Club'seNewsletter - March 1st 2010 |
| AALBC.com BEST SELLING BOOKS |
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The top 25 selling fiction and nonfiction books from All of 2009 (2,186 different titles sold!)
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 1 - Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans2 - The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors by Frances Cress Welsing 3 - Cool, Confident and Strong: 52 Power Moves for Girls by Cassandra Mack 4 - Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk About Sex and Love by Zane 5 - Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism by Dr. John Henrik Clarke |
| AUTHORS YOU SHOULD KNOW |
 Lucille Cliftonhttp://aalbc.com/authors/lucille_clifton.htmlIn 2007, Lucille Clifton (June 27, 1936 February 13, 2010) became the first African American woman to win the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, one of the most prestigious American poetry awards and one of the largest literary honors for work in the English language. Clifton has also won the National Book Award in poetry for Blessing the Boats, and is the only author ever to have two collections, Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir and Next: New Poems, named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in one year. |
 Carol Taylorhttp://aalbc.com/authors/carol_taylor.htmlTaylor, a former Random House book editor, has been in book publishing for over 16 years and has worked with many of today's top black writers. Carol has been featured in Essence, Ebony, Black Enterprise, Honey, BET, Heart and Soul, The Boston Globe, The Daily News, The Chicago Sun-Times and Publisher's Weekly among many other publications. She has also appeared on BET Tonight with Ed Gordon and ABC Eyewitness News. She is also the editor of the bestselling Brown Sugar series. |
 Leonce Gaiterhttp://aalbc.com/authors/leonce_gaiter.htmlRaised in New Orleans, Washington D.C., Germany, Missouri, Maryland and elsewhere, Leonce Gaiter is the quintessential army bratrootless, restive, and disagreeable. He began writing in grade school and continued the habit through his graduation from Harvard. He moved to Los Angeles and put his disagreeability to work in the creative and business ends of the film and music industries. His nonfiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, LA Weekly, NY Newsday, The Washington Post, Salon, and in national syndication. His short fiction has appeared in the literary magazine Archipelago. His thriller "Bourbon Street" was published by Carroll & Graf in 2005. He currently lives in Northern California. |
 James E. Cherryhttp://aalbc.com/authors/james_cherry.htmlCherry is the founder/president of The Griot Collective of West Tennessee, a 501(c)(3) literary arts organization where he conducts a monthly poetry workshop. He serves as Artist in Residence for the Tennessee Arts Commission with a primary focus of dealing with troubled teens through both the written and spoken word. He resides in Tennessee with his wife, Tammy. |
| AALBC.com BOOK REVIEWS (Fiction) |
 Cougar Tales by Evelyn Palfrey, Sandra Kitt, and Laura Castorohttp://aalbc.com/reviews/cougar_tales.htmlCougar Tales is a delightful set of stories about older women who are reluctant to accept the attentions of a younger man. I enjoyed them very much. What I didnt enjoy were the repeated and I mean REPEATED typos in the book. I am not talking about an uncorrected proof, or a review copy. I purchased this book at an on-line bookstore. The first story had so many errors that it was hard to keep the flow of the storyline. This was repeated throughout the book. All of the stories had too many errors. It pissed me off that the publisher did not care enough about the reader to give us a quality product. None of the authors in this anthology have released poorly edited books, so I am sure the errors can not be attributed to the authors, but to the publisher. |
 Secrets and Lies by Rhonda McKnight http://aalbc.com/reviews/secrets_and_lies.htmlRhonda McKnight's debut novel, Secrets and Lies is about a married couple who despite their comfortable financial situation are a family in crisis. Jonah Morgan's successful practice in Pediatric Cardiology allows his wife Faith to be a stay-at-home mother to their two children in a beautiful house in an affluent Atlanta neighborhood with good schools and wonderful friends and neighbors. They drive the best cars, wear expensive clothes and their children are exposed to everything good that life has to offer. The author makes good use of this crisis situation in Faith and Jonah's lives. You won't be disappointed with this story. It makes for a night of good reading as they both find healing in a way that mends their family's torn lives. |
 Not Guilty of Love by Pat Simmonshttp://aalbc.com/reviews/not_guilty_of_love.htmlRomance readers will enjoy this novel because it's not your usual Christian fiction. It's a real love story. Many times, Christian fiction is too preachy and full of literary fluff with a happily-ever-after storyline that only Christian folk can relate to. This is not the case with Not Guilty of Love. Simmons takes the time, the creativity and the imagination to give readers a story that almost everyone can relate to. I'm looking forward her next book. I hear this is a trilogy. |
 God Ain't Blind by Mary Monroe http://aalbc.com/reviews/god_aint_blind.htmlNow I have to admit that I am a long-time Mary Monroe fan. Her stories rate up there at the top of fiction reader's most loved novels. Her characters have always been some of the most interesting people that I have never met; so I am sorry to report that her latest in the series, God Ain't Blind; did not do it for me this time. Mary Monroe has been hailed as a masterful storyteller and is a New York Times bestselling author. Mary, Mary, Mary! Why didn't you re-think this one? |
 The Ex Chronicles: A Novel by Carol Taylorhttp://www.aalbc.com/reviews/exchronicles.htmlIf any of you have been following me for any length of time, you are well aware of how I feel about the 3, 4 sista-girlfriends novels that had become the staple of African-American literature. Novels that feature women characters who have no family other their small circle of friends, and the focus is always on how they lose love, or been with the wrong man, but after a tragic event, they solidify the romance to the man they did not expect to be hooking up with. I grew tired of these books years ago. I was not in the market to revisit those days. Imagine my surprise when I got a copy of The Ex-Chronicles by Carol Taylor. When the novel crossed my desk, I tossed it to the side and thought; somebody obviously did not know me. I was drawn to the novel anyway. When I became aware that Taylor was the editor of the Brown Sugar collection, I was intrigued. I read and loved Brown Sugar. On the back of Brown Sugars reputation, I put The Ex-Chronicles in my to read pile. Im glad I did. There was more substance in The Ex-Chronicles than I suspected. Easy to read, fast paced, and enthralling, The Ex-Chronicles is a damn good book. I enjoyed it! |
 Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Younghttp://www.aalbc.com/reviews/buying_time.htmlMurder mysteries are fast becoming one of my favorite genres and author Pamela Samuels Young comes highly recommended. Her books have a pretty large following of readers who trust her to give them a great storyline with a very well paced plot and plenty of action.Young's latest release; Buying Time lived up to her stellar reputation. I literally could not put this book down. The characters were varied. Waverly Sloan is a recently disbarred lawyer whose high-maintenance, spoiled wife Deidra spends his money faster than he can earn it. Waverly, a nice guy whose average looks normally puts a woman like Deidra out of his league, is so happy to have her that he has always allowed her mega spending. Deidra, on the other hand feels entitled. She married him expecting the good life. |
| AALBC.com BOOK REVIEWS (Non-Fiction) |
 Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D. G. Kelleyhttp://aalbc.com/reviews/thelonious_monk.htmlHighly detailed, stunning, and comprehensive, Robin Kelleys excellent biography of innovative jazz pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk dismisses the previously publicized myth of the allegedly eccentric, bizarre oddball, who was named the High Priest of Bebop. Many of the popular articles and documentaries about Monk perpetuated various rumors and falsehoods surrounding the man, musician, father, and husband, including the much acclaimed Clint Eastwood-produced film which showed the slow slide of the genius into emotional and physical disarray. With Kelleys incisive analysis of Monk, new light is shed on the man, without the negative psychological labeling or the tabloid warts-and-all viewpoint. |
 The Entrepreneur Guide 2010 Edition by Owen O. Danielshttp://aalbc.com/reviews/entrepreneur_guide_2010_edition.htmlThe book is the brainchild of Owen O. Daniels, who recently returned to the States after serving his second tour of duty over in Iraq. Besides rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, the author has also earned a Bachelors degree in Public Administration from John Jay College in New York, and a Masters in Computer Science with a minor in Business Administration from Webster College in St. Louis.This unique combination of skills obviously came in very handy in enabling Daniels to craft a sensible step-by-step resource designed to address any question which might arise in the mind of a budding entrepreneur en route to making that first million. Succinctly written in laymans terms the average educated person can understand, the user-friendly text virtually takes you by the hand and walks you through the typical start-up process in sequential fashion. |
 Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom Burrellhttp://www.aalbc.com/reviews/brainwashed.htmlEver since the dawn of the nation when the Founding Fathers deliberately rationalized slavery by spreading the big lie that black people were inferior, African-Americans have suffered from serious self-esteem issues. But why has this phenomenon continued to persist so long past emancipation and the elimination of the Jim Crow system of segregation?This is the nagging thought which inspired Tom Burrell to write Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. After all, as an advertising executive with 45 years in the business, he is well aware of the power of propaganda. So he knows that American society has done such a good job on the minds of blacks that they have not only internalized but have willingly participated in the perpetuation and further dissemination of nearly every negative stereotype propagated about them by the media. |
 Why Do Black People Love Fried Chicken? And Other Questions Youve Wondered but Didnt Dare Ask by Nashieqa Washingtonhttp://aalbc.com/reviews/why_do_black_people.htmlBasically, her book is designed to address 66 of the most common questions that curious white people have repeatedly asked her about African-Americans, ranging from What is CPT? (The true black ETA at an affair) to Why dont black people get wrinkles? (Because black dont crack) to Do blacks deserve reparations? (Yes, past due wages, plus interest) to Can black people be racist? (No.). Nashieqa doesnt presume to speak for all black people, instead stipulating that her conclusions were arrived at based upon anecdotal evidence and her own personal observations, not anything scientific. Thus, her responses are intended to entertain as much as they elucidate. Sometimes, she even admits to being stumped, like by the query, Why do black people talk to the movie screen? |
 The Denzel Principle: Why Black Women Cant Find Good Black Men by Jimi Izraelhttp://aalbc.com/reviews/the_denzel_principle.htmlAt first, I thought this book was just Jimis way of getting even, and settling a score in a very public fashion with ex-wives Frances and Leslie. But no, he sees their discontent and behavior as par for the course, since in his eyes black females in general set their standards too high and exchange vows with unrealistic expectations of brothers. So, it is no surprise that he would also blame the fact that two-thirds of all African-American marriages end in divorce less on black men and more on black women and their inability to make good choices. I doubt that this is the definitive primer on how to find a good black man, unless youre inclined to take advice from a guy who, for instance, would discourage you from falling for an ex-con by simply saying Thats [bleep]-ing stupid! Holy [bleep]! However, as the colorful, comical and relentlessly-raw reflections of a miserable two-time loser with some serious unresolved anger issues, this memoir rates an A+. But when it comes to dating dos and donts, you might want to get a second opinion. |
 The Black Clergy's Misguided Worship Leadership by Christopher C. Bell, Jr. Ed.http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/the_black_clergys_misguided_worship_leadership.htmWith this defiant publication, The Black Clergy's Misguided Worship Leadership, Dr. Christopher C. Bell, Jr. states his position that white idols have inflicted Blacks with "debilitating white superiority syndrome," adding an element of insidious "emotional emasculation" of Black men in an unfeeling American society. For Dr. Bell, he sees the detrimental effect upon our young males, who act out in negative ways of delinquencies, violence, and crime leading to prison.Framed as petition with supporting research, Dr. Bell implores the Black Church in this book to stop the worship of a white Jesus Christ, a blue-eyed and blonde deity resembling the actor Jeffrey Hunter or Max Von Sydow. The worship of a white idol stresses the traditional superiority of whites and promotes the notion that God is a white male, according to the author. He sees the open-minded innocence of Black children soaking up into their little minds, absorbing all the tenets of white racism, white privilege, and white supremacy. |
| AALBC.com INTERVIEWS |
 Zetta Brown - Scotland's Zane Hits Big in Publishing World http://aalbc.com/authors/zetta_brown.htmlThe international publishing world is taking notice off Zetta Browns red hot L-L Publications with its line of unorthodox commercial books. Based in Scotland, L-L Publications and its sister imprint, Logical-Lust, have made profitable inroads across the European continent, and now it has America in its sights. Several of its books have garnered acclaim and critical praise. The following interview with Robert Fleming and Zetta Brown covered many subjects such as censorship, self-publishing, the profit-loss obsession of mainstream publishing, erotica, sex, the craft of writing, and the difference between European vs. American sensibilities. |
 Joumana Kidd - The Lets Talk about Pep Interviewhttp://www.aalbc.com/reviews/joumana_kidd.html In the wake of the tabloid attention devoted to both her very rocky marriage and her messy divorce, Joumana devoted herself to raising her three children: son TJ, and twin girls Miah and Jazelle. Here, she talks about the delicate balance of her home and love lives, now that shes decided to date again and to let the cameras chronicle her every intimate moment on the new VH1 reality show Lets Talk about Pep. |
 Tracy Morgan - The Cop Out Interviewhttp://aalbc.com/reviews/tracy_morgan_the_cop_out.htmlBrooklyn-born Tracy Morgan started out in showbiz in his teens, doing standup until he was invited to join Saturday Night Lives ensemble cast in 1996. During his seven seasons on SNL, the colorful comedian played such memorable characters as Brian Fellows, Astronaut Jones and Woodrow while also doing impersonations of everyone from Al Sharpton to Star Jones to Aretha. Currently, Tracy is co-starring opposite Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on the Emmy-winning NBC series 30 Rock.Meanwhile, on the big screen, hes made such movies as G-Force, Head of State, How High, The Longest Yard, Little Man, Are We There Yet, First Sunday and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Last fall, he published his autobiography, I Am the New Black. Here, he talks about that memoir and about collaborating again with director Kevin Smith to make Cop-Out, a buddy comedy co-starring Bruce Willis. |
 Zane - The Sex Chronicles Interviewhttp://bit.ly/zane_interviewZane (not her real name) is the best-selling author of a plethora of African-American-oriented erotica, including Dear G Spot, Afterburn, Gettin' Buck Wild, The Heat Seekers, Addicted and The Sex Chronicles, to name a few. This iconoclastic phenom has also edited and/or contributed to such other titles as Love is Never Painless, Caramel Flava, Chocolate Flava, Best Black Women's Erotica, Brown Sugar 2, Twilight Moods, Dark Dreams, and Becoming Myself. Besides writing, Zane is the publisher of Strebor Books International for which she is responsible for acquiring dozens of titles per year and currently has nearly 50 authors signed to her imprint.She serves as the moderator of PlanetZane.net, where thousands of her fans who call themselves "Zaniacs" converge on a daily basis to discuss her work, as well as love and relationships. Zane has more than 35,000 MySpace friends and nearly 400,000 friends at BlackPlanet.com. Here, she talks about "Zane's Sex Chronicles" the daring Cinemax television series loosely based on her own real life sexploits, which premiered on Cinemax in October of 2008 and whose first season was recently released on DVD. |
| AALBC.com FILM REVIEWS |
 Preacher's Kid - Prodigal Daughter Learns Valuable Life Lessons in Moralizing Melodramahttp://aalbc.com/reviews/preachers_kid.htmlAs the only child of an overprotective, widowed father, Angie King (Letoya Luckett) almost couldnt help but feel smothered. But when you factor in her dads being both a preacher and a pillar of the community in their tight-knit community in Augusta, Georgia, youve got a serious recipe for rebellion. Thus far, the 23 year-old virgin has devoted herself to the needs of her asthmatic father, between singing in the choir, ministering around the hood and attending services several times a week.However, everything changes the day Angie decides to run away not to join the circus but a Tyler Perry-esque travelling troupe passing through town, a supposedly spiritually-oriented outfit putting on a faith-based fable featuring Aunt Bebe, a trash-talking character played by a big dude (Carlos Davis) in a dress. For she has developed an instant crush on the shows suave star, Devlin (Durrell Tank Babbs), a Romeo well versed in the art of seduction. |
 The End of Poverty?- Globalization Documentary Discusses Paradox of Poverty in Era of Unparalleled Wealthhttp://aalbc.com/reviews/end_of_poverty.htmlWhy have so many Third World countries remained impoverished and underdeveloped even after gaining their independence from the European nations which had conquered and colonized them? This is the basic question addressed by The End of Poverty, an incendiary expose directed by Philippe Diaz. In essence, this damning documentary is a history lesson about the ugly underbelly of Western Civilization from 1492 up to the present. For not long after Columbus discovered America, European countries began descending on the so-called New World, using both the bullet and the Bible to bend assorted indigenous peoples to their will. The Dutch focused primarily on Asia while the English assured themselves that the sun would never set on the ever-expanding British Empire. Even the Pope got into the act, awarding Africa to Portugal and South America to Spain by papal decree. |
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 Black Dynamite - Campy Spoof of Blaxploitation Era Comes to Blu-Ray http://aalbc.com/reviews/black_dynamite.htmlSet in 1972, the film stars Michael Jai White in the title role as a gun-toting, /span> two-fisted superhero bent on avenging the murder of his brother by the Mafia. Quite conveniently, the mobsters responsible have been flooding the ghetto with heroin and a penis-shrinking brand of malt liquor which afflicts black men with erectile dysfunction. Consequently, Dynamite rationalizes bloody retribution as he makes the most of beaucoup opportunities to even the score as he traces a trail back to the brains of the operation leading all the way to the White House.Essentially, the movie is a nostalgic throwback celebrating all of the trademarks of the blaxploit genre, from jive pimps in garish outfits with scantily-clad whores to evil politicians with corrupt cops in their pockets to a funky R&B soundtrack to foul-mouthed dialogue laced with both expletives and ethnic slurs. Still, the flicks salient feature is high-body count action, with Dynamite being responsible for the bulk of the butt-kicking. |
 Cop Out - Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis Co-Star in Mismatched Cops Comedyhttp://aalbc.com/reviews/cop_out.htmlSome of the funniest cop comedies ever made have revolved around a pair of mismatched partners. Such memorable, madcap adventures as Rush Hour and Bad Boys immediately coming to mind in this regard. But the genre has suffered its share of misfirings, too, and unfortunately the readily-forgettable Cop Out falls in that category.Directed by Kevin Smith, the film stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as NYPD detectives, with the former playing a wily veteran in contrast to the latters more mercurial, trash-talking village idiot. We learn that despite seemingly incompatible personas, Jimmy Monroe (Willis) and Paul Hodges (Morgan) have somehow been sharing the same police cruiser for nine years. |
 Lord, Save Us from Your Followershttp://aalbc.com/reviews/lord_save_us_from_your_followers.htmlHow is it that Christianity has come to be so closely associated with the Religious Right and conservative political causes? This is the fundamental question being asked by director Dan Merchant in Lord, Save Us from Your Followers an alternately humorous and sobering look at how far the practice of Christianity has deviated from the teachings of Jesus.You can tell youve created God in your own image, suggests one of his interviewees, author/activist Anne Lamott, when it turns out God hates all the same people you do. Her tongue in cheek assessment of the state of religion in the U.S. reflects the perspective shared by Mr. Merchant, who proves himself something of a Michael Moore here, as he perambulates the country, microphone in hand, deliberately provoking outrage amidst an array of self-righteous Bible Thumpers. |
| AALBC.com ARTICLES |
 Oscar Predictions 2010 - The Envelope Please: Who Will Win, Who Deserves to Win, Who Was Snubbedhttp://bit.ly/oscar_predAlthough Avatar and The Hurt Locker landed 9 Academy Award nominations each, I foresee the former and director James Cameron enjoying a clean sweep. Breaking all box-office records, Avatar is a juggernaut that nobody will be able to stop on Oscar night. This means that The Hurt Locker, which was directed by Camerons ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, might very well be shut out entirely, unless the Academy decides to split their votes between the two in the Best Director and Best Picture categories. The most hotly-contested of the major categories is Best Actress, where the least deserving, Sandra Bullock, is the sentimental favorite. However, I anticipate that perennial-nominee Meryl Streep (16) will prevail in the most difficult contest to handicap. Thats not the case for the other three acting categories where nominees Jeff Bridges, Christoph waltz and MoNique may as well be making room on the their mantels for a new trophy. |
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A year ago, newly-elected President Barack Obama dominated the NAACP Image Awards. But this go-round, the movie Precious enjoyed that honor, walking away with a half-dozen trophies in the movie categories, including Best Picture, Director (Lee Daniels), Independent Film, Actress (Gabby Sidibe), Supporting Actress (MoNique) and Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher).As for television, Tyler Perrys House of Payne proved the voters favorite, netting four awards. Among the evenings highlights were an array of gracious acceptance speeches, especially those by MoNique and her teary-eyed co-star Gabby Sidibe, and by their director/producer Lee Daniels who brought down the curtain by continue to speak until the closing credits began to roll. Tyler Perry dedicated his accolade to his late mother who just passed away last December. |
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1 - Total Eclipse of the Heart by Zane
Good Hair - Chris Rocks Lighthearted Look at Sisters Dos Arrives on DVD
2010 NAACP Image Awards - Precious Dominates Image Awards via Virtual Sweep of Film Categories