In the mid-90s, the Lairds were used to publishing 36-page comic books; they were all about entertainment, not about a one-stop volume of African American history. It was quite a challenge for Roland and Taneshia Nash Laird to move from that kind of production, to a full-length book, and
It's been a long time since a book inspired me to create a Spelling It Out.* Generally speaking, it coincides with an author's shifting onto my MRE lists (Must Read Everything). Consider it official: Z.Z. Packer's Drinking Coffee Elsewhere makes her a MRE author for me, and now I'll
HarperCollins, 2012 Baratunde Thurston's book begins with a disclaimer; he announces straight-off that if you bought this book hoping to change your race, there will be no refunds. It sounds funny when he says it. Well, humour is hard to predict, right? But I thought it was funny when
Some reading months are just really exciting, right? That's my January 2012. Some of the thrills are pretty specific. For instance, my First Amazing Read of 2012, Edem Awumey's Dirty Feet (House of Anansi, 2011); I actually read it twice in January. Whenever I finish a book with that "Must
House of Anansi, 2011 Edem Awumey’s Dirty Feet is a slim volume, but its contents are hefty indeed. Askia’s story reminds the reader that one is wise not to judge insides by outsides, that the dimensions of an individual’s inner life expand even beyond personal experiences, that one
