Friday, November 19, 2010

Black on Black Friday

portrait of a young adult business woman in a grey suit as she sits in a chair and smiles
The publishing world, particularly the feminine side, has been abuzz lately regarding what books are reviewed most, promoted most, etc.  It's not surprising that an overwhelming majority of those books are written by white men.  Recently female authors like Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner, two female authors that enjoy healthy book sales, took newspapers to task for their treatment of commercial lit (read: chick lit written for and by white women).

As I watched the blogs blow up talking about this, I kept waiting on the women to point out all of the other literary work that's overlooked.  Sure, they threw them in as an afterthought, but I got the distinct impression that they were most concerned about their brand of chick lit getting as fair a shake as the latest Tom Clancy.  Well I'm a Picoult fan, but I'm also a fan of well written books by African American female authors and, quite frankly, I'm tired of them being overlooked.

In anticipation of holiday shopping, I'm sharing with you my list of no less than 240 books that you and yours need on your shelves.  There's everything from children's lit and chick lit to non-fiction.  Word has it that Borders is participating in Black Friday this year.  So I encourage you to go through the list and pick out some of my favorites that are sure to bring some happiness not only to the recipients, but to the authors that have written them.



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