Unbound

This nonfiction has been on my TBR since I first saw it on the "new books" shelf at the library a few months ago. As with all things, it took me some time to get to it. Though especially in this case, knowing how intense of a read it was likely to be, I also…

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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

My 10th Aspen Words 2022 Longlist read done! And the one that was most intimidating, size-wise. I had actually bought this one for myself a while ago, I think before the longlist was even announced, actually. But I waited til I could get the audiobook from the library to go with it, because I knew I…

Hell of a Book

After a bit of a break reading other stuff, I'm back with a review for my 8th Aspen Words Literary Prize 2022 Longlist read. This one also happened to have won this year's National Book Award, so I was heading into it prepared for some intense literary fiction and some high expectations. Plus, it was set…

Brown Girls

So, I got this book as an eARC from Netgalley a few months ago. I had a goal, of course, of reading it before publication, but I am just terrible at following through on that. However, I am only a couple weeks late (so that's an improvement!). Plus, I have to say I'm not mad…

Open Water

This short novel's release felt like it went a bit under the radar, from what I could tell. I saw a few pub day reviews, but overall (to be horribly punny) it seemed to not have made too much of a splash. But right after reading that it had been shortlisted for the Costa Book Award…

All That She Carried

I'd seen this one on the "new books" shelf at our library, but didn't really have an idea what it was about. When it won the National Book Award for nonfiction this past year, I mentally moved it up my TBR. And I decided that Black History Month was the impetus I needed to go…

Assembly

This is another book, I've had a couple of these recently, that I got as an ALC from Libro.fm without really knowing anything about it or having seen any reviews of it. In fact, in the couple months that I have had it before getting around to listening to it, I still haven't seen many…

How the Word Is Passed

In this work of nonfiction, Smith presents a contemporary exploration of the history of slavery in America and the way it's inextricably intertwined with the formation not just of this country, but on an international historical scale as well. Combining investigative journalism, interviews/conversations, and personal stories/reflections, Smith guides the reader through the way this history…

Homie

This collection, and Smith's poetry in general, were put on my radar by @booksteahenny. I don't read a lot of poetry, as you know, so I added this to the list for the next time I was in the mood for it. And then, after a suggestion from @lifeofgabriellejane after I posted about the last collection I read…

Four Hundred Souls

Well, this is just one of those big-name recent releases that I knew I needed to read. And then I actually read an interview with Kendi and Blain and the audiobook producer (does anyone else that works/spends time in a library read Book Page?) where they talked about matching the full cast of narrators to each…