African – Cannonball Read 17

All That She Carried – a powerful and important book

All That She Carried by Tiya Miles

November 23, 2022 by MarkAbaddon 2 Comments

What can a simple sack tell us about the past? As it turns out, an absolutely incredible amount. Sometime in the 1850s, a slave named Rose sent her daughter Ashley out of South Carolina to escape slavery with a sack that contained a tattered dress, 3 handfuls of pecans, a braid of her mom’s hair and love. With these talismanic items, Ashley (who was still a child) was able to escape the hellish conditions of the South to freedom in the North. How do we […]

Anansi Boys-An incredible novel

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

March 27, 2019 by MarkAbaddon Leave a Comment

I admit it, I am a Neil Gaiman fanboy. So, when I tell you that this is one of the best works Neil has ever written, please believe me. This is Gaiman’s second novel and the growth from American Gods, which takes place in the same universe as Anansi Boys, is remarkable. Anansi begins, as so many tales do, with the tragic death of a main character on stage, performing karaoke, and accidentally exposing the breasts of a young woman as he tumbles off the […]

Happy African Feminist

March 8, 2017 by Gracey the Giant 6 Comments

I have been meaning to read We Should All Be Feminists for some time and then finally, today, on International Women’s Day of all days, my sister lent me her copy. And, because it’s only 52 pages including the Introduction and the About the Author section, I read it with my morning granola. And it is brilliant. I will say that one of the personal reasons it appealed to me is that my fiancé is African. Not from Nigeria, but from a small, West African […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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