For the month of February, I stole an idea from the Currently Reading podcast and decided to read only books written by African American authors. I discovered so many new books and finally got around to some that had been on my list for months! I also started several books that I didn’t finish and hope to eventually. Those are listed at the bottom.
I didn’t intend to read only fiction, but that’s what ended up happening. I started The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson on audio and I plan on finishing it. It’s just really long and I haven’t gotten through it yet.
If you want to know more about what I’m reading, you can follow my Bookstagram @thelazybookshelf. Or you can follow me @heymeff for general silliness and sporadic posting.
The Nickel Boys got rave reviews when it came out last year, and they were well deserved in my opinion. Not only was the writing excellent, the story itself was told with such care and precision. It is heartbreaking. The fact that it’s based on true events gives me chills. Stories that expose America’s dark past and present are so essential to growth, even if they’re hard to face.
This book had me at “set in modern day Louisville” because it’s so rare to find a book set in my city! Leesa Cross-Smith has a book of short stories coming out this month and I’m hoping she’ll do more book events so I can meet her! Centering around three main characters, one dead and two alive, Whiskey and Ribbons examines grief, love after loss, the complexity of relationships, and secrets that don’t stay hidden. I loved it.
Angie Thomas does it again! I listened to On the Come Up on audio and it was amazing. Bri’s voice is so unique and real. I keep imagining teenagers in high school who are finally reading a book they can see themselves in, and it just makes me so happy. Representation matters. I laughed so much listening to this, and I loved pretty much every single character. 5 stars!
Okay this one is just further proof that the romance genre is just not for me. I didn’t dislike this one as much as The Bromance Bookclub, but it was pretty silly. (Which is the point of most romances, I know.) It was a good escape from a busy work week and would make a good beach read. I did really like the main character and was happy the drama wasn’t too juvenile.
I’m usually a little skeptical about books that get a ton of hype before they’re actually published. That’s how I felt about Such A Fun Age, but it was actually really good! Not ‘best book I’ve ever read’ good, but it was better than I expected. The plot takes a lot of surprising turns. I’m turning 30 this year, and I could relate to Emira’s sense of being directionless as a twenty-something. It was marketed as a book in which race is the central theme, but I didn’t feel that way. I was actually just happy to see a young black woman as the main character and all of the aspects of her life that are normal to her.
the lazy bookshelf 
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