By Troy Johnson
| Fiction: Walter Mosley’s “touching and contemplative” short story collection, The Awkward Black Man, makes Walter a 23-Time AALBC bestselling author with 10 AALBC bestselling books! Nonfiction: The top selling book, across all genres, this period is His Truth Is Marching on: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham. Children’s Books: Children’s sales are led by Jabari Asim’s all-time bestselling board book on AALBC, Whose Knees Are These? Poetry: Moments, the Minutes, the Hours: The Poetry of Jill Scott is our bestselling poetry book this period, continuing to sell well 12 years after it was published.Our bestsellers list has been published continuously since 1998 and is the most visible bestsellers list focused on Black Books. As a result, you will learn about books selling well, in the Black community, that may never show up on lists published by the NY Times, USA Today, and others. |
 |
| New Books |
| Different and the Same by Adijah & Atiya Brabham In this vividly illustrated children’s picture book, identical twins Nia and Nori share all the ways they are exactly alike … and also completely different.Adijah & Atiya Brabham, republished Different and the Same in a larger size — great for reading with a child. The new version also sports the AALBC Bestseller seal! The original version is a 2-time AALBC bestseller (Nov 1, Prairieclover Publishing). |
|
| A Promised Land by Barack Obama Reflecting on the presidency, Obama offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond (Nov 17, Crown Publishing Group). Pre-order A Promised Land, in print, by midnight November 4th, and get a free audiobook. |
|
| Judge’s Girls by Sharina Harris Beloved Georgia judge Joseph Donaldson was known for his unshakable fairness, his hard-won fortune—and a scandalous second marriage to his much-younger white secretary. Now he’s left a will with a stunning provision. In order to collect their inheritance, his lawyer daughter Maya, her stepmother Jeanie, and Jeanie’s teen daughter, Ryder, must live together at the family lake house. Maya and Jeanie don’t exactly get along, but they reluctantly agree to try an uneasy peace for as long as it takes… (Oct 27, Kensington Books) |
|
| African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song Edited by Kevin Young A literary landmark: the biggest, most ambitious anthology of Black poetry ever published, gathering 250 poets from the colonial period to the presentAcross a turbulent history, from such vital centers as Harlem, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, Black poets created a rich and multifaceted tradition that has been both a reckoning with American realities and an imaginative response to them. Capturing the power and beauty of this diverse tradition in a single indispensable volume, African American Poetry reveals as never before its centrality and its challenge to American poetry and culture (Oct 20, Library of America). |
|
| Book Reviews |
| The Clan of Southern Man by John Valentine Any serious student of African-American history could point to the rich, informative contents of two iconic publications: Chancellor Williams’ The Destruction of Black Civilization and Cheikh Anta Diop’s The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality. These two titanic resources have fired up the imagination and academic resolve of many scholars surrounding their subject, and John Valentine’s The Clan of Southern Man, promises to elevate the ongoing debate about the origins of humankind.Valentine, a historian and Egyptologist, is committed to getting to the genesis of the toxic global ills plaguing our community and developing world. Born the son of a poor sharecropper in rural Mississippi, the author knows the dual scourges of racism and prejudice firsthand. More ▶ |
