-
The 2023 Reading List
by Shade LapiteI started a ton of books in 2022 but finished only a handful. Here’s the (very short) list of completed books: The Sweetest Remedy – Jane Igharo XOXO – Axie Oh Shine – Jessica Jung Dread Nation – Justina Ireland The Emma Project – Sonali Dev The Comeback – Lily Chu The Stand-In – Lily Chu Pachinko – Min Jin Lee My absolute favourites...
Comment 1 -
Video Review: The Comeback by Lily Chu
by Shade LapiteOne of my favourite books this year has been ‘The Comeback’ by Lily Chu. It’s a sweet, romantic comedy about a workaholic, corporate lawyer – Ariadne Hui – whose life is upended when her roommate invites her gorgeous cousin to stay in their small apartment. Unknown to Ari, the quiet, artistic South Korean guy loafing on her couch is one of the biggest k-pop...
-
Getting to Know West Africa – 3 Books I’m Reading
by Shade LapiteI’m on a mission to learn more about life in pre-colonial Africa. I’ve started with West Africa, specifically the Yoruba peoples and it is a fascinating journey so far. Here are three books I’ve been reading and how they come at the subject matter from different angles.
-
10 Black Books I plan to read in 2022
by Shade LapiteI’ve selected 10 books that I’d like to read or listen to (hello audio books) in 2022. Since I’m obsessed with Black Joy, I’ve tried to choose titles that have more light than dark.
-
Video Review: 7 Days in June by Tia Williams
by Shade LapiteA second chance romance about two successful writers – Eva Mercy and Shane Hall – who survived brutal childhoods and an epic romance that ultimately crashed and burned in their teens.
-
15 Black Boy Tween and Teen Novels
by Shade LapiteIt’s been three years since a I wrote a blog post lamenting the paucity of books with Black lead characters for tween boys. In that post I recounted how I’d tried and failed to find five books with a Black boy protagonist that wasn’t about police brutality, drugs, gangs, social injustice or any other trauma. This summer a friend messaged me asking for book...
-
Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
by Shade LapiteJane McKeene is born two days before the dead start to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg. She's drafted into one of many combat schools set up by the government for Black and indigenous children where they are prepared for a life as cannon fodder.
-
Review: His Only Wife By Peace Adzo Medie
by Shade LapiteA slice of life novel about a young woman living in impoverished circumstances in the Ghanaian village of Ho, who gets the opportunity to marry into a wealthy family. Afi, the protagonist, is beautiful and smart but has done poorly in her secondary school exams and can’t Ghana’s public universities. Instead she faces a life playing seamstress to the unexciting women of Ho.
-
Temi Oh: Space Girl
by Shade LapiteI remember the day I walked through Foyles bookshop in Tottenham Court Road and literally stopped in my tracks. I’d spotted Do You Dream of Terra Two? on a shelf in the distance and was trying to discern whether the cover truly featured a Black girl in an astronaut helmet. I ran over. No, I wasn’t hallucinating; she was really there. It sounds ridiculous,...