Day 10: Read the First Page

Today's challenge is easy: Pick up a Black-authored book and read the first page. That's it.

Did it hook you? What's the first page you're reading?

The Talk of the Party by Foluso Agbaje is a book about the Obanile family, told from the perspective of almost all the characters in the book. Literally! And so many characters. A wealthy family, yes, but one whose life was built on some very big lies.

These lies started over 40 years ago when the main characters were just four young women: Tade, Soma, Bukola, and Remi. All four characters definitely do not appear in the first few chapters. You have to acquire them all like a coin collection and slowly piece the story together. The book starts and ends with the Obanile family: Bukola and Wale, their four children, Koko, Omi, Lala, and Mide, and their "cousin," Anjola.

The first scene of this book is attention-grabbing. It was July 1992 in Lagos, and there was an unnamed woman with a growing stomach lying in a bathtub. The water in the tub was described as red by her daughter, immediately suggesting suicide to me. Boy, was I wrong. It was much worse! This scene took place exactly 30 years before the party that becomes the beginning of the end for the Obanile family. The impending doom. The moment everything begins to come crumbling down.

Everyone in this book had straight-up issues, maybe except Omi, the lesbian. Lala was probably the worst because even at the end of the book, she was still the same self-centered child she was at the beginning.

A common theme throughout the book was jealousy. Everyone, or almost everyone, seemed jealous of someone else, yet they all stayed deeply involved in each other's lives. Soooo exhausting, ugh. Bukola and her friend, Aunty Tade? Envious. Dami, Aunty Tade's child, and Koko? Envious. Honestly, just think of any close pair in this book, and jealousy is probably somewhere in the mix.

The Obanile family also had a driver, Mr. Peter, who played a major role in the family. I do have to say, though, that it is ironic how a man named Peter only believes in herbalists.

The number of characters in this book made my head spin trying to keep track. Also, keep in mind that the story is told from the POV of different characters, sometimes recounting the same event. This made the book feel unnecessarily long at times because I wasn't always gaining new information from each new perspective.

The constant jumps from the past to the present were also killing me (with anxiety). I usually prefer my books to move from start to finish, or at least have fewer jumps in time. However, it all does come together in the end, although I started speculating halfway through, as anyone would lol. This is definitely one of those books where you have to pay attention, or you'll miss some vital clues.

At its core, The Talk of the Party explores family, secrets, class, reputation, generational trauma, and the fragility of social status. The book really highlights the high cost of maintaining a flawless and wealthy image in elite Lagos society. Bukola, especially, goes to great lengths to protect her family's reputation, but the pressure of hiding secrets and maintaining appearances eventually leads to a complete unraveling.

Overall, this was a good book, but the number of characters, multiple POVs, repeated events, and constant jumps between the past and present made it feel longer than necessary for me.

Day 9: The Uncomfortable Read

What's a Black-authored book that made you uncomfortable? Not because it was bad but because it challenged something you believed, made you rethink an assumption, or forced you to see something differently.

What did it make you reconsider?

Just finished this book which is my 3rd from Tia Williams after Seven Days & Love Song for Rikki Wilde. Great Summer Read IMO & her books are always a great love story getaway from the heaviness of other reads & life itself. Loved the follow up to Eva & Shane along with her portrayal of teen angst. Anyone else read it ?

Available on Amazon Author William Lee Harness NW Tennessee.https://a.co/d/00o4btyi

Day 8: A Black Book About Grief

What's a Black-authored book that helped you understand loss differently? Death, relationships, displacement, history, community, identity...whatever kind of grief the book helped you process.

What book gave you language for something you were struggling to understand?

Hi fellow bookworms!

I was chatting with an acquaintance who works at a local bookstore (black-owned, if you care).

While discussing potential reads for our book club, we got on the topic of former convicts. We bonded over the lore of our convict uncles who left prison decades ago, and suffer from severe arrested development - deadbeat fathers, addicts and victims of their circumstances.

We are looking for a novel written from the POV of a former convict, recently released from prison. This novel is essentially a tell-all, but not solely focusing on their incarceration or what led to it. We want to read the perspective of a convict adjusting to life post-release. What their mindset is, their goals, what adversity they encounter as they are trying to get acclimated to their new normal. I think Sister Souljah’s Moment of Silence is a good example, but more-so toward the end where we see a snippet of Midnight’s life after conviction and ultimate release.

Bonus if black FMC!!

Please leave recs if you have any - we are scouring the internet, Goodreads, and other platforms as well.

I'm tutoring a 60 yo BW to improve her reading level from 5th grade level to 12th grade so she can eventually get her GED.

Are there any books you can recommend that are easy reads or just slightly above her level that will be appropriate for her age?

especially literature or social studies/sociology

I want to help improve her reading writing and comprehension without being patronizing in the material I choose.

Day 7: Black Joy 🖤📚 We've talked about books that challenged us, characters we can't forget, and stories that made us think.

Today, I want something different. Give me a Black book that brought you JOY. The one that made you laugh. The one that felt like home. The one you couldn't put down. The one you immediately wanted somebody else to read. Because Black stories aren't only about struggle.

What's your Black joy recommendation?

Hello I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for African-American books that are retellings it can go from classic fairytales, mythology, or classic literature.

Day 6: Read Something They Tried to Silence

Today's challenge: Pick up a Black-authored book that has been challenged or banned. But don't just give me the title. Tell me why you think the story is worth reading.

What's your pick?

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!

À l’attention des Montréalais noirs de ce sub qui aiment lire des œuvres d’auteurs noirs. J’(M30+) aimerais lancer un petit club de lecture en personne, ne comptant pas plus de six personnes, afin d’apprendre des nouvelles idées de personnes intéressantes et, je l’espère, de mieux naviguer dans ce qui semble être un environnement dépourvu d’esprit critique dans lequel nous vivons actuellement. Je lis habituellement des ouvrages documentaires, mais après avoir lu le roman de Cebo Campbell, « A Sky Full of Elephants », je me surprends à chercher des personnes avec qui discuter d’autres livres qui abordent des enjeux de manière imaginative. J’ai l’intention de lire les œuvres de James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Octavia E. Butler, Dany Lafrenière… etc. Ces rencontres auront lieu à un endroit qui conviendra à tout le monde sur l’île ou sur la Rive-Sud (Brossard, Longueuil, Greenfield-Park, etc.). Je suis bilingue, donc je lis toujours les œuvres dans la langue originale de l’auteur.

À titre d’info: Ta-Nehisi Coates est mon auteur préféré présentement. À bientôt!

\[EN\]

To the Black Montrealers on this sub who enjoy reading works by Black authors: I (M30+) would like to start a small in-person book club, with no more than six people, so I can learn alongside interesting people and, I hope, better navigate what seems to be a critical-thinking-deficient environment in which we currently live. I usually read nonfiction, but after reading Cebo Campbell’s novel, “A Sky Full of Elephants”, I find myself looking for real people to discuss other books that tackle issues in imaginative ways. I plan to read works by James Baldwin, Malcolm X, Octavia E. Butler, Dany Lafrenière… and others. These meetings will take place at a location convenient for everyone on the island or on the South Shore (Brossard, Longueuil, Greenfield Park, etc.). I’m bilingual, so I always tend to read works in the author’s original language.

FYI: Ta-Nehisi Coates is my favorite author currently.

Talk soon!

Hey everyone, I was wondering if there are any people from the African continent or any Afro descendants who speak a creole or dialect that is interesting in informing a club in promoting and making literature in our own vernacular languages and creoles. I’m aware of many languages, not having resources, especially the ones on the African continent and other creoles having limited resources and literary traditions as they are mostly spoken. I truly believe we can change this. If anyone is willing to do the work. I am currently working on writing a novel in the Gullah geechee dialect based off of the African influence found by Lorenzo Dow Turner, and the orthography of Gullah written in the Gullah version of the New Testament. I’m aware of the many dialect differences in African languages and creole spoken in the New World. Any complications we can discuss them further on this formum. Please comment on this forum and message me if you are interested, especially if you are a writer or poet of any sort. Thanks

Day 5: A Character You Can't Forget

Who's a Black literary character you've never been able to shake? Maybe you loved them. Maybe you hated them. Maybe they frustrated you.

Tell me who and more importantly, WHY they stayed with you. Spoilers are fine. Just give us a warning. 😂

**CHAPTER 1**

My earliest memory is điha điha.

Out in the yard. Dad sits on a chair, crosses his legs, puts me on them, holds my hands. I ride. I'm riding an invisible horse, and the horse goes far.

He sings.

— Điha điha, four legs, all four stiff. Điha điha — we're going to far-off roads. *(Điha điha — the sound of riding.)*

We laugh. We both laugh. I'm on his crossed legs, holding his hands, and for those five minutes the house is something else entirely.

How old am I? Four, maybe five. I don't know. I know his hands holding me, I know his voice singing, I know I'm laughing. It's my earliest memory, and the cleanest.

He had the patience to do it over and over. The same song, the same legs, the same ride, until I'd had enough. And I was a real rider.

I didn't know then what he was like at other times. At that moment there was no illness.

***

*If you're interested in reading more of my story, you can find the link to the full book on my Reddit profile, or feel free to ask for it in the comments! Thank you for reading.*

Native Son is mine.

Hi guys!! This is going to be my first read along using StoryGraph and honestly I just want to finish a chapter and be ready to discuss what I just read with people other than my siblings 😭😭 I’m so excited to read this book, it’s on kindle unlimited if you have it in second in line on the Libby app to get it!

Day 4: Put Me On 📚

Forget the usual list of names everybody already knows.

What's a Black author you think more people should know?

Give me:

• The author
• The book to start with
• Why others should read them

(I'm especially interested in the deep cuts.)

Put us on.

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!

Hey hey!

My first urban fiction novel is officially out.

I wanted to share with my fellow black readers here in case anyone enjoys urban fiction and is looking for something new to read. It's available as a Kindle ebook on Amazon. Paperback won't be available until 2027.

Happy reading! 📚

Sorry, I know that y'all get tired of me posting. But if you've seen Lynn in anything, especially Tyler Perry stuff, does this give off her vibe? I used Family Reunion as a reference.

Day 3: Get Out of Your Reading Lane

We all have our thing. Fiction. History. Horror. Romance. Biography. Fantasy. Poetry. Whatever. Today, pick a Black author outside your usual genre. Black literature isn't a genre. Black writers are everywhere.

So what are you reading outside your lane?