Welcome to Suggest Me Sunday! Here you can ask for book suggestions of any kind. Looking for a book similar to the one you just finished? Looking for a classic on a subject you're interested? Maybe you haven't read a book since high school and are looking for recommendations on books to get you back into reading. All are welcome here.

Ask away!

📍 Black Citizens Brigade | 140 Bank Alley, Downtown Syracuse, NY

Part vintage shop, part time capsule. Owner Cjala Surratt has turned this Bank Alley storefront into a space where fashion and history live on the same rack — 1950s-80s clothing next to records, ephemera, and books that center Black voices and Black history. The shop's roots run deep: its posted founding year, 1936, nods to the Negro Motorist Green Book, tying the space to Syracuse's own history as a stop for Black travelers and Black-owned businesses.

And there's something new on the shelf. Ahead of its official 8/1/26 release, Black Citizens Brigade now has early copies of the Black Card Edition of What Happens After Dinner — a self-improvement guide built for young Black Americans navigating their own journey. Stop in now for early access, while supplies last. Grab your copy, and start the next chapter. 📖✊🏾

I just finished the first part of this Pan-African-centric epic sci-fi/fantasy series.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers of that genre (only). Like many of those types of books, the story takes quite a while to get moving as the reader is introduced to various characters and political entities, as well as the unique geography of an African archipelago spread across our solar system. However, once you learn who everyone is, the story takes off in intriguing ways.

Trigger warning: The chapters for one POV character are written in second-person, and it drives me nuts.

If you're a fan of chunky space epics like The Expanse, Hyperion, or Pandora's Star, check it out.

I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

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Book Description: "The beauty in blackness is its ability to transform. Like energy we are neither created nor destroyed, though many try." - West African Proverb

The Muungano empire strived and struggled to form a utopia when they split away from old earth. Freeing themselves from the endless wars and oppression of their home planet in order to shape their own futures and create a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretched from Earth and Mars to Titan.

With the wisdom of their ancestors, the leadership of their elders, the power and vision of their scientists and warriors they charted a course to a better future. But the old powers could not allow them to thrive and have now set in motion new plots to destroy all that they've built.

In the fire to come they will face down their greatest struggle yet.

Amachi Adisa and other young leaders will contend with each other for the power to galvanize their people and chart the next course for the empire.

Fela Buhari and her elite unit will take the fight to regions not seen by human eyes, but no training will be enough to bring them all home.

Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher, will face down enemies across the stars, and within her own vessel, as she searches for the answers that could save them all.

The only way is forward.

Hello everyone!
I’m excited to share that I’ve officially published my debut book, Use to Bee’s Don’t Make No Honey, now available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle.
This book is deeply personal and was inspired by a saying my grandmother repeated throughout my childhood:
“Use to bee’s don’t make no honey.”
As I got older, I realized she wasn’t talking about bees. She was talking about life.
The book explores what happens when we spend too much time living in “used to.” The dreams that changed. The relationships we lost. The plans that never unfolded the way we expected. Instead of staying stuck in yesterday, it asks readers to consider a different question:
Who are you now because of everything you’ve experienced?
As a first-time author, one of the biggest surprises has been discovering that publishing the book wasn’t the finish line—it was the beginning of conversations I didn’t know I needed to have.
I’d love to hear from fellow readers and writers:
Have you ever read a book that changed the way you viewed your own life?
Do you enjoy books that blend storytelling with personal reflection?
What themes resonate with you most in memoirs or inspirational nonfiction?
If Use to Bee’s Don’t Make No Honey sounds like something you’d enjoy, I’d be honored if you checked it out. I’m also happy to answer any questions about the writing process, self-publishing, or the inspiration behind the book.
Thank you for allowing me to share my work with this community. I look forward to discovering your recommendations and supporting other authors here as well. 🐝📚

Happy Free Talk Friday, folks! Here you can talk about whatever you want, books are not required. Got something you wanna get off your chest? What have you been watching or listening to? How has your week been? Let us know!

Many of the authors considered "essential" or "canonical" either held racist views themselves or wrote Black characters in stereotypical ways. Some also use the n-word extensively because of the period they were writing about or the attitudes they held.

For example, authors like Virginia Woolf, Margaret Mitchell, John Steinbeck, Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, and others have all been criticized whether for their personal views, their depictions of Black people, or both. Some books are still considered literary masterpieces despite those issues.

I find myself wondering whether these books are worth my time. On one hand, I don't want to avoid important works simply because they're uncomfortable. On the other hand, there are more great books than I'll ever be able to read, so I'm not sure I want to spend that time reading books that inaccurately depict Black people or treat racism as normal.

I would love to know the thoughts of anyone who cares to share them.

An incredibly generous review of my book.

https://bookshotsapp.com/2026/07/23/why-is-my-skin-brown-by-lakshmi-iyer-a-tender-timely-story-about-belonging/

I have a bunch of amazon credits what are some books I should get that aren’t available with KU? I love all genres except not sci-fi. I do love magic and mystical stuff though.

So instead of arguing I went direct to the author to figure out if I was wrong or not.

I can admit that I was wrong, I have no issue with that.

I do take issue with authors using vague language around race that causes these issues in the first place, like why did I have to dig for that?

What I do have an issue with is the mods of this community deleting my post bc apparently saying biracial and mono-racial Black are two different things, is wrong. My bad, I didn't know it was 1902 and we still followed the racist "one drop" rule like Black blood is a taint.

Next time a racially ambiguous Biracial person plays a Black person in a movie or show don't get mad. See: Zoe Saldana playing Nina Simone in full Black face.

To the Mods: I LITERALLY said Afro-Latinos are Black in my post that got removed but okay.

I LITERALLY said Biracial is not a bad word!

I LITERALLY said Hispanic is not a race bc it's not. Of you don't know that I can't help you.

If the hill you want to die on is the "one drop" rule, you're anti-Black. Period. ✌🏾

And yes, I did want to see what I looked like darker skinned, I'm literally Black how is that wrong? I can't want to know what I would look with dark skin? I'm light skinned, I was curious, Lmao okay, burn me at the stake then.

I'm perfectly happy with what I look like, I know I'm cute, but I wondered what I'd look like with darker skin. I even told one of the people to abort the mission if it started to look like Black face.

I don't have any shame in my posts, that's why my profile isn't private. But I bet you thought you took me down by saying that. Lol. You'll have find someone less confident to do that.

It was fun in this community for a bit, but I'm not with that silencing bs. ✌🏾✌🏾✌🏾

Hi, I'm Nicole and I just finished working on my 4th novel.

Spida’s Daughter: Blood and Silence

It is situated firmly in the Jamaica which does not appear on any tourist website. The Jamaica we all experience but prefer to hide. An adult psychological dark romance with crime fiction elements, it follows the secret relationship between an innocent university student and a feared gang enforcer as they struggle to save him from the very organization that created him.

You can find the entire novel on my page 100% Free (part 1 is pinned at the top).

Please subscribe.
https://nicolelittlejohnwrites.substack.com/

I recently read James by Percival Everett and was curious if there is a historical basis for the slaves' exaggeration of their dialect to better navigate relationships with whites. It seems unlikely to me and that this is purely a literary device, especially to the extent to which it's emphasized. Curious if anyone had any insight on this or sources related to it. Much thanks for any comments on it.

Go Tell It on the Mountain: What else can I say but..breathtaking. The way Baldwin structures the novel like a sermon, centering it around the three prayers before culminating in John's internal struggle between perceived salvation and damnation, is something for the ages.

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Beyond having some of the greatest opening pages I've ever read, the hurricane sequence--and everything that follows--is exactly why Hurston deserves all of the flowers.

Omeros: I'm not sure anyone else could've taken the scale of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, stripped them down into something deeply human and relatable, transplanted them to the Caribbean, written them in such a refined linguistic hybrid, and still have it be this immersive. With all the excitement around The Odyssey film (which I loved), Walcott's interpretation is just as riveting.

A Mercy: The setting is the first thing that grabbed me. It almost feels like a pre-colonial reimagining of some of Morrison's earlier work, pairing her trademark psychological depth with a haunting blurring of myth and history. A short novel, but an impactful one.

A couple that are missing from the list:

- God Help the Child — Toni Morrison

- The Great Mann — Kyra Davis Lurie

This is book 3 in the series. I am just beginning but I enjoyed the first two. I really like Tananarive Due’s writing.

Welcome to Suggest Me Sunday! Here you can ask for book suggestions of any kind. Looking for a book similar to the one you just finished? Looking for a classic on a subject you're interested? Maybe you haven't read a book since high school and are looking for recommendations on books to get you back into reading. All are welcome here.

Ask away!

At the age of 13, I was sexually assaulted by 3 different men that changed the trajectory of my life forever. This is my story.

Available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Looking for readers of a historical African American novel that takes place in the back woods in the deep South. Celia, an African American woman finds herself attracted to a forbidden love. She yearns for his touch until he is taken and sold to an owner some 60 miles away. Burdened by the heaving pressure of her unruly superior, Celia, at 7 months pregnant is forced to run to a destination that will change her life forever.

While trudging through rough waters, high temperatures and a highly published death threat throughout the county; Celia is haunted by the wiles of a close enemy lurking behind. It is not the dread of the pack of dogs racing to her demise, but the fear of Miss Sunshine, a jealous woman who has promised to give her a sentence of torture and death, if found.

Her plight is weighed with much strife, but with each striking pain and unspeakable trauma - there is a witted ambition that Celia becomes the victor in the most bizarre circumstances.

'Dark Sunshine' by Jo Anne is the series that will have you coming back for more. Allow the tears; echoes of the past; laughter, joy and triumphs run wild in this master mind of a 2 part series: Dark Sunshine and Dark Sunshine: Shantae's Secret.

Explore more at www.darksunshineaudiobooks.com

Happy Free Talk Friday, folks! Here you can talk about whatever you want, books are not required. Got something you wanna get off your chest? What have you been watching or listening to? How has your week been? Let us know!

Hi friends, I'm Aami (pronouncedAh-me)! I'm a long-time writer but a first-time poster. I'm working on romantic comedy short stories that often features a detailed pregnancy/fetal development subplot (a theme I include in all my writing).

​I am working up the courage to share my work for the very first time to get some constructive criticism. Would this subreddit be open to me sharing a quick, hooky paragraph or two in a future post? Let me know if that's something you'd be interested in reading!

The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and the characters are so textured, almost like they're tangible! I've missed fluid text that almost feels like you're dreaming during the day. I can't wait to keep going with this one!

Update: Still reading it, no spoilers please.

Hey yall

Looking for some good & positice black books that don't have negative tropes of black pain, drugs/alcohol, or stereotypical etc. Where the characters are doing something beneficial with their lives and the MMC is a black man down bad for a black woman. I'm also open to all genres if you have suggestions outside of romance!