|
African American Fiction & Non-Fiction December 2015
|
New and Recently Released Fiction
|
|
|
Female Hustler
by Joy Deja King
Despite growing up in poverty, Angel, the daughter of the notorious kingpin Nico Carter, uses her skills as a hustler to change her destiny.
|
|
|
Girl Singer
by Mick Carlon
"1938: eighteen-year-old Avery, aspiring singer, is heard by Lester "Pres" Young, Count Basie's tenor saxophonist. Pres recommends her to Basie, and Avery is whisked into the jazz life. Years later, with several hit records to her credit, Avery settles in Greenwich Village. But her life takes a sharp turn when she meets Karl, a Jewish refugee from Hitler's Germany"
|
|
|
Grant Park
by Jr. Pitts, Leonard
A tale set against the respective backgrounds of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and a bombing plot targeting the 2008 presidential election follows the stories of a disillusioned columnist and the editor he caused to be fired. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Freeman.
|
|
|
Her Sweetest Revenge 2
by Saundra
After her mother is beaten by a notorious gang, 17-year-old Mya Bedford launches a string of robberies to get her revenge, but then a dark secret, a risky romance and a tenuous scheme make things even more complicated.
|
|
|
Jezebel's Daughter
by Jacqueline Thomas
"Natalia Winters vowed revenge on Jessie Belle from the moment she discovered the reason her father committed suicide. Her pampered, rich girl reputation puts her at odds with almost everyone, but is she sinister enough to push Jessie Belle over the balcony? Reina Cannon spends her days as a much sought after hairstylist and her nights reliving the cruelty of her childhood. For years, she has lived for revenge; to make Jessie Belle suffer for the pain she caused Reina. Her sweet smile and look of innocence is a ruse, a carefully calculated effort to hide a surprising and dangerous truth. Chrissy Barton yearned to take revenge on Jessie Belle--to pay her back for the beating she suffered by unknown assailants. She was no longer a prostitute, but she had never forgotten the triumphant look Jessie Belle had given her...at that very moment, Chrissy vowed Jessie Belle would pay with her life. Three women from very different worlds...a common goal. However, Jessie Belle's family is determined to discover the truth behind the night she ended up on the pavement below her bedroom. And their search for answers will lead to stunning revelations for them all."--Back cover
|
|
|
Killer Dolls
by Nisa Santiago
When Aoki and her friends, Ri-Ri and Tisa, agree to help a friend with his drug game, their escapade is caught on camera and goes viral, but this newfound fame leads to jealousy and envy.
|
|
|
Luxe
by Ashley Antoinette
Despite receiving a scholarship to UCLA, Bleu Montclair falls into addiction and finds safety under the wing of the head of the West Coast's biggest drug empire.
|
|
|
A Moment of Silence
by Souljah
Returning to Queens from his international travels to reclaim his wife, Midnight exacts ninja revenge against his sister's attacker and is eventually imprisoned before bonding with Ricky Santiaga, who becomes a mentor and father figure.
|
|
|
The Pecan Man
by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
"In the summer of 1976, recently widowed and childless, Ora Lee Beckworth hires a homeless old black man to mow her lawn. The neighborhood children call him the Pee-can Man; their mothers call them inside whenever he appears. When the police chief's son is found stabbed to death near his camp, the man Ora knows as Eddie is arrested and charged with murder. Twenty-five years later, Ora sets out to tell the truth about the Pecan Man"--Page 4 of cover.
|
|
|
Playing For Keeps
by Deborah Fletcher Mello
When she unexpectedly falls in love with architect, single dad and co-owner of Raleigh, North Carolina's hottest jazz and blues club, independent and successful Cilla Jameson breaks her “no children” rule for this man who has intrigued her—and whose ex is determined is determined to keep him single.
|
|
|
Wherever There Is Light: A Novel
by Peter Golden
Describes the 30-year romance between a bootlegging Jewish immigrant and the granddaughter of a slave in 1939, following the pair from Miami to Greenwich Village and post-war Paris.
|
|
|
White lines III: All Falls Down
by Tracy Brown
A conclusion to the popular series finds Jada reunited with her son and determined to win back the heart of Born only to confront a shocking test to their relationship. By the best-selling author of Snapped.
|
|
New and Recently Released Non-Fiction
|
|
|
Alex Haley and the Books That Changed a Nation
by Robert J. Norrell
A deeply researched book examines the life and work of the author of Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, including his career as one of the first African-American star journalists during a dramatic time of change in American history.
|
|
|
Approaching Ali: A Reclamation In Three Acts
by Davis Miller
In an intimate look at Muhammad Ali's life after boxing, the author, who formed an unexpected friendship with Ali, draws on the remarkable moments he spent with the boxing legend to introduce the human side of a great man physically devastated but spiritually young. By the international best-selling author of The Tao of Muhammad Ali.
|
|
|
The Beast Side: Living and Dying While Black in America
by D. Watkins
Explores the economic, political, and social realities of being black in the United States. To many people in the Obama era, America finally succeeded in going beyond race, putting the divisions of the past behind us. And then 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot by a wannabe cop in Florida; and then Ferguson, Missouri happened; and then South Carolina hit the headlines; and then Baltimore blew up. Suddenly the entire country seemed to be waking to a stark fact: African American men are an endangered species.
|
|
|
Black Silent Majority: the Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment
by Michael Javen Fortner
Often seen as a political sop to the racial fears of white voters, aggressive policing and draconian sentencing for illegal drug possession and related crimes have led to the imprisonment of millions of African Americansâe"far in excess of their representation in the population as a whole. Michael Javen Fortner shows in this eye-opening account that these punitive policies also enjoyed the support of many working-class and middle-class blacks, who were angry about decline and disorder in their communities. Black Silent Majority uncovers the role African Americans played in creating today's system of mass incarceration.
|
|
|
The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy's Journey Into Manhood
by Kevin Powell
In a memoir by a child of post-Civil Rights America, an acclaimed poet, journalist, essayist and public speaker recounts the poverty of his youth; his struggles over a legacy of anger, violence and self-hatred; and his life-affirming journey to be a man and a voice for others.
|
|
|
The Emperor of Sound: A Memoir
by Timbaland
A memoir by the renowned music producer, Top 10 artist and executive music producer of the hit show Empire shares uncensored perspectives into his intentionally low-key lifestyle, his creative process and his relationships with such artists as Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams.
|
|
|
Heaven: Poems
by Rowan Ricardo Phillips
"A spectacularly vibrant and continually surprising collection from one of the poetry world's rising young stars "Who the hell's heaven is this?" Rowan Ricardo Phillips offers many answers, and none at all, in Heaven, the piercing and revelatory encore to his award-winning debut, The Ground. Swerving elegantly from humor to heartbreak, from Colorado to Florida, from Dante's Paradise to Homer's Illiad, from knowledge to ignorance to awe, Phillips turns his gaze upward and outward, probing and upending notions of the beyond. "Feeling, real feeling / with all its faulty / Architecture, is / Beyond a god's touch"--but it does not elude Phillips. Meditating on feverish boyhood, on two paintings by Chuck Close, on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, on a deadrooster by the side of the road in Ohio, on an elk grazing outside his window, his language remains eternally intoxicating, full of play, pathos, and surprise. "The end," he writes, "like / All I've ever told you, is uncertain." Or, elsewhere: "The onlyway then to know a truth / Is to squint in its direction and poke." Phillips--who received a 2013 Whiting Writers' Award as well as the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award--may not be certain, but as he squints and pokes in the direction of truth, his power of perception and elegance of expression create a place where beauty and truth come together and drift apart like a planet orbiting its star. The result is a book whose lush and wounding beauty will leave its mark on readers long after they've turned the last page"
|
|
|
I Feel Like Going On: Life, Game and Glory
by Ray Lewis
The legendary Baltimore Ravens linebacker assesses the state of football while recounting his troubled youth, his rise to athletic fame and the allegations that have threatened his NFL career.
|
|
|
African American Book Club
Saturday, January 16, 3:00 pm
South Regional Library - Study Room 2
Join us as we discuss nonfiction and fiction books about African Americans. January discussion is Mary B. Morrison's Triology If I Can't Have You. Call the Information desk at 919-560-7410 for the February and March titles.
|
|
|
African Writers Book Club
Tuesday, January 19, 2:15 pm
Southwest Library - Tutor Room 1
The African Writers Book Club focuses exclusively on books written by Africans. January's title is Segu by Maryse Conde.
|
|
|
LGBTQ Adult Book Club
Saturday, January 23, 1:00 pm
South Regional Library - Children's Program Room
Come and join the new LGBTQ Book Club where we will discuss LGBTQ fiction and nonfiction Adult and Young Adult books that are of interest to the group. January's title is Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva! Registration is required.
|
|
Heart Healthy Tips
Friday, January 8,
11:00 am
Bragtown Library
Learn how to keep your heart healthy with good food and rewarding exercise. The 'ole ticker will thank you!
|
|
Love Between the Covers
Saturday, January 9,
3:00 pm
Main Library - Auditorium
Join Durham County Library, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, and NoveList for a screening of the documentary, Love Between the Covers, about the little-known, surprisingly powerful community of women who read and write romance novels. The screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by DCL librarian and author Jennifer Lohmann with New York Times Bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries, editor and consultant on the film Sarah Lyons, and Romance Writers of America Librarian of the Year Lisa Schimmer. Enjoy movie treats while you watch.
|
|
Couponing Made Easy
Monday, January 11,
6:00 pm
Southwest Library - Tutor Room 2
Master the art of saving money by shrinking your grocery bill. Learning to maximize the benefits of using coupons and how to get more products with less money. Join us for a hands on presentation in saving money.
|
|
Bucking the Medical and Mental Bull
Thursday, January 21,
7:00 pm
Stanford L. Warren Library - Meeting Room
Bucking the Bull is a one-woman show written and performed by Anita Woodley about the Black Male experience with the Health Care System in Durham. The show is based on feedback from more than 300 African-American men in the City of Medicine to explore their unfiltered experiences and opinions regarding health. Based directly on the data generated from those discussions collected by FHI 360 & PCORI, this performance presents an entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking look at common beliefs about health and barriers to seeking care expressed by one of Durham's underserved communities: Black men.Trailer http://www.anitawoodley.com/shows/bucking-the-bull/
|
|
From the Steeple to the People: Writing Church History Institute
Saturday, January 23,
10:00 am
Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, 1007 S Roxboro St
The Writing Church History Institute project is designed to encourage, promote and empower local Durham area church bodies to document, record and write their history. Facilitators for this free workshop are Beverly Washington Jones, historian and retired professor of history at North Carolina Central University; Andre Vann, NCCU Coordinator of University Archives/Instructor of Public History; Benjamin Speller, genealogist and retired professor of library and information science at NCCU; T. Evan Faulkenbury, oral historian and PhD candidate in history at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill; and Trice Hickman, author, writer and publishing/marketing consultant.
|
|
Computer & Technology Classes
|
|
Computer Classes
During the month of January,
2016
Register at durhamcountylibrary.org/calendar/computer
Just learning how to use a computer? Need help typing or creating a document? Need to create a spreadsheet using Excel? Having a difficult time finding files on your computer? Looking for academic articles and resources? Need an online tutor or help studying for a test? Trying to figure out how to access the library's ebook, eaudiobook, and streaming video collections on your new tablet or device? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, register for a class at one of the Durham County Libraries. We will be offering the following classes in January: Computer Basics, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Brainfuse HelpNow, file organization, NC Works, researching tips, and digital collections.
|
|
Ballroom Dancing
Tuesdays, January 5, 12, 19, 26,
7:00 pm
East Regional Library - Meeting Room
Introduction to Ballroom Dancing with instructor, Michael Harris.
|
|
Yoga
Mondays, January 11, 25,
7:00 pm
South Regional Library - Meeting Room
Improve your physical health, learn to breathe deeply and increase your energy level! No prior experience is necessary. Please bring a mat if you have one. A limited number are available from the instructor. Registration is required.
|
|
Looking for More Great Books? Contact your librarian or try...
|
|
|
My Next 5 For personalized reading recommendations from Durham County librarians, you may want to try My Next 5! Simply complete an online form to tell us a little about what genres, books, and authors you like (or dislike). A DCL librarian will review your submission and reply within three days with a list of the next five books you should read.
|
|
|
NextReads e-Newsletters Subscribe to one of our NextReads e-newsletters to have reading recommendations delivered right to your inbox. Select from topics such as the weekly New York Times bestseller list, graphic novels recommendations, armchair traveler reads and so much more. Each newsletter comes with links directly to the library's catalog, so you can easily place holds on items that interest you. You can also sign up for a general DCL e-newsletter that highlights library news and upcoming events.
|
|
|
NoveList
NoveList is a comprehensive database of fiction and nonfiction titles for all ages, including recommendations, articles, and lists for your fiction and nonfiction needs. Durham County Library cardholders can access NoveList from any computer. |
|
|
|
Links to Previous Newsletters
|
|
|
If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Durham County Library at
919-560-0100, 300 N. Roxboro Street, Durham, NC 27702
librarywebmaster@durhamcountync.gov
|
|
|