Shamontiel's Bookshelf & Author Interviews
I am the author of two fiction novels, "Change for a Twenty" and "Round Trip," available on all major book outlets.
Scroll down to see what authors I've interviewed and what books I recommend. Additional book reviews I've written for the Chicago Tribune are here.
Scroll down to see what authors I've interviewed and what books I recommend. Additional book reviews I've written for the Chicago Tribune are here.
Karen Siplin
E. Lynn Harris
Sister Souljah
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Steve Harvey
Ekiuwa Aire"African history through the eyes of a child ~ How Ekiuwa Aire and ‘The 1619 Project’ educate all from childhood to adulthood" (Featured in Substack's "I Do See Color"
Dr. Natalie Wilson
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Christopher Herz
Kevin Alan Milne
Erin O. Patton
Sheryl Matthys"Single, dogs welcome, parents need not apply," Black Girl In a Doggone World™, January 11, 2021
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LATEST BOOK REVIEW
August 25, 2025 Note: The latest review (below) will be typed in maroon. Once a new book is recommended, that review will be deleted, and the next one will be posted. |
Recommended FREE Amazon KindleGet 6 months FREE on Amazon Prime!
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Recommended Purchase:
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FICTION
Bland, Eleanor Taylor "A Cold and Silent Dying: A Marti MacAlister Mystery"
Brown, Sandra "Smoke Screen"
Carter, Ernessa T. "32 Candles"
Cleage, Pearl "Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do"
Coleman, Andre "A Liar's Tale"
Coleman, Andre "Blackbirds: Volume I"
Curnyn, Lynda "Engaging Men"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Chasing Destiny"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Drive Me Crazy"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Friends and Lovers"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Tempted by Trouble"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Thieves' Paradise"
Draper, Sharon "Tears of a Tiger"
Files, Lolita "Scenes from a Sistah"
Flake, Sharon G. "Begging for Change"
Flake, Sharon G. "Money Hungry"
Flake, Sharon G. "The Skin I'm In"
Flake, Sharon G. "Who Am I Without Him? Short Stories About Girls and Boys In Their Lives"
Going, K.L. "King of the Screwups"
Grant, Donna "Tryin' To Sleep in the Bed You Made"
Green, Carmen "Atlanta Live!"
Griffin, John Howard "Black Like Me"
Han, Jenny "The Summer I Turned Pretty"
Han, Jenny "To All the Boys I've Love Before"
Han, Jenny "P.S. I Still Love You"
Harmon, Byron "All the Women I've Loved"
Harris, E. Lynn "A Love of My Own" (R.I.P. "Memories of E. Lynn Harris")
Harris, E. Lynn "Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writing" (R.I.P. "Memories of E. Lynn Harris")
Harris, E. Lynn "In My Father's House"
Hayes, Lee A. "Passion Marks"
Herz, Christopher "The Last Block in Harlem"
Hill, Ernest "A Life for a Life"
Hill, Ernest "Cry Me a River"
Hill, Ernest "It's All About the Moon When the Sun Ain't Shining"
Hughes, Langston "The Simple Omnibus"
Hughes, Langston "The Ways of White Folks"
Hunter, Travis "A One Woman Man"
Hunter, Travis "Something to Die For"
Hunter, Travis "Trouble Man"
Hyzy, Julie "Buffalo West Wing" (Part 4)
Hyzy, Julie "Eggsecutive Orders" (Part 3)
Hyzy, Julie "Hail to the Chef" (Part 2)
Hyzy, Julie "State of the Onion" (Part 1)
Johnson, Freddie Lee "Bittersweet"
Johnson, Dana "Break Any Woman Down"
Johnson, Mat "Hunting in Harlem"
Johnson, RM "Dating Games"
Johnson, RM "The Harris Family"
Johnson, RM "Love Frustration"
Johnson, RM "The Million Dollar Divorce"
Jones, Solomon "Pipe Dream"
Jones, Solomon "The Bridge"
Jones, Tayari "Leaving Atlanta"
Jones, Tayari "Silver Sparrow (Chicago Tribune review)" or "Silver Sparrow"
Lange, Tracey "We Are the Brennans"
Martin, Ann M. (Every single "Babysitter's Club" book she's written was beneficial to me as a pre-teen, and I'd stand by them all. I had 81 of her books.)
Mason, J.D. "Don't Want No Sugar"
Mason, J.D. "One Day I Saw a Black King"
Massey, Brandon "The Other Brother"
McCarthy, Susan Carol "Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands"
Mckinney-Whetstone, Diane "Blues Dancing"
Meriwether, Louise "Daddy Was a Number Runner"
Merullo, Roland "American Savior"
Messina, Lynn "Fashionistas"
Messina, Lynn "Tallulahland"
Meyer, Stephenie "New Moon"
Meyer, Stephenie "The Short Second Life of Bree Turner"
Meyer, Stephenie "Twilight"
Miller, Mary "Biloxi"
Miller, Moses "The Barack in Me"
Milne, Kevin Alan "Sweet Misfortune: A Novel"
Monninger, Joseph "Whippoorwill"
Monroe, Mary "God Don't Like Ugly"
Moses, Shelia P. "I, Dred Scott"
Moses, Shelia P. "Joseph"
Mosley, Walter "Blonde Faith"
Mosley, Walter "The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray"
Mosley, Walter "The Man in My Basement"
Murphy, Richard "Confessions of a Contractor"
Myers, Edward "Far From Gringo Land"
Naylor, Gloria "The Men of Brewster Place"
Packer, ZZ "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere"
Perkins-Valdez, Dolen "Wench"
Picoult, Jodi "Change of Heart" (Page 1, Page 2)
Picoult, Jodi "Keeping Faith"
Picoult, Jodi "Leaving Time"
Picoult, Jodi "Nineteen Minutes review" or "Nineteen Minutes"
Picoult, Jodi "Salem Falls"
Picoult, Jodi "Small Great Things"
Picoult, Jodi "The Tenth Circle"
Ptah, Heru "A Hip Hop Story"
Rhodes, Jewell Park "Douglass' Women"
Rosenberg, Joel C. "The Auschwitz Escape"
Senate, Melissa "The Breakup Club"
Senate, Melissa "The Solomon Sisters Wise Up"
Senate, Melissa "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?"
Shotz, Jennifer Li "American Dog: Poppy" (Click here for the "Black Girl In a Doggone World" review.)
Shotz, Jennifer Li "American Dog: Star" (Click here for the "Black Girl In a Doggone World" review.)
Sinclair, April "Coffee Will Make You Black"
Singer, Gammy L. "A Landlord's Tale"
Siplin, Karen "Such a Girl"
Siplin, Karen "Whiskey Road"
Souljah, Sister "The Coldest Winter Ever"
Sparks, Nicholas "Two by Two"
Stead, Rebecca "Goodbye Stranger"
Stovall, Taressa "Proverbs for the People"
Thomas, Angie "The Hate U Give"
Tyree, Omar "Flyy Girl"
Tyree, Omar "Single Mom"
Tyree, Omar "Sweet St. Louis"
Weber, Carl "A Dollar and a Dream"
Weber, Carl "Baby Momma Drama"
Weber, Carl "Married Men"
Weber, Carl "Player Haters"
Weber, Carl "The Preacher's Son"
Youngblood, Shay "Soul Kiss"
Brown, Sandra "Smoke Screen"
Carter, Ernessa T. "32 Candles"
Cleage, Pearl "Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do"
Coleman, Andre "A Liar's Tale"
Coleman, Andre "Blackbirds: Volume I"
Curnyn, Lynda "Engaging Men"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Chasing Destiny"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Drive Me Crazy"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Friends and Lovers"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Tempted by Trouble"
Dickey, Eric Jerome "Thieves' Paradise"
Draper, Sharon "Tears of a Tiger"
Files, Lolita "Scenes from a Sistah"
Flake, Sharon G. "Begging for Change"
Flake, Sharon G. "Money Hungry"
Flake, Sharon G. "The Skin I'm In"
Flake, Sharon G. "Who Am I Without Him? Short Stories About Girls and Boys In Their Lives"
Going, K.L. "King of the Screwups"
Grant, Donna "Tryin' To Sleep in the Bed You Made"
Green, Carmen "Atlanta Live!"
Griffin, John Howard "Black Like Me"
Han, Jenny "The Summer I Turned Pretty"
Han, Jenny "To All the Boys I've Love Before"
Han, Jenny "P.S. I Still Love You"
Harmon, Byron "All the Women I've Loved"
Harris, E. Lynn "A Love of My Own" (R.I.P. "Memories of E. Lynn Harris")
Harris, E. Lynn "Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writing" (R.I.P. "Memories of E. Lynn Harris")
Harris, E. Lynn "In My Father's House"
Hayes, Lee A. "Passion Marks"
Herz, Christopher "The Last Block in Harlem"
Hill, Ernest "A Life for a Life"
Hill, Ernest "Cry Me a River"
Hill, Ernest "It's All About the Moon When the Sun Ain't Shining"
Hughes, Langston "The Simple Omnibus"
Hughes, Langston "The Ways of White Folks"
Hunter, Travis "A One Woman Man"
Hunter, Travis "Something to Die For"
Hunter, Travis "Trouble Man"
Hyzy, Julie "Buffalo West Wing" (Part 4)
Hyzy, Julie "Eggsecutive Orders" (Part 3)
Hyzy, Julie "Hail to the Chef" (Part 2)
Hyzy, Julie "State of the Onion" (Part 1)
Johnson, Freddie Lee "Bittersweet"
Johnson, Dana "Break Any Woman Down"
Johnson, Mat "Hunting in Harlem"
Johnson, RM "Dating Games"
Johnson, RM "The Harris Family"
Johnson, RM "Love Frustration"
Johnson, RM "The Million Dollar Divorce"
Jones, Solomon "Pipe Dream"
Jones, Solomon "The Bridge"
Jones, Tayari "Leaving Atlanta"
Jones, Tayari "Silver Sparrow (Chicago Tribune review)" or "Silver Sparrow"
Lange, Tracey "We Are the Brennans"
Martin, Ann M. (Every single "Babysitter's Club" book she's written was beneficial to me as a pre-teen, and I'd stand by them all. I had 81 of her books.)
Mason, J.D. "Don't Want No Sugar"
Mason, J.D. "One Day I Saw a Black King"
Massey, Brandon "The Other Brother"
McCarthy, Susan Carol "Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands"
Mckinney-Whetstone, Diane "Blues Dancing"
Meriwether, Louise "Daddy Was a Number Runner"
Merullo, Roland "American Savior"
Messina, Lynn "Fashionistas"
Messina, Lynn "Tallulahland"
Meyer, Stephenie "New Moon"
Meyer, Stephenie "The Short Second Life of Bree Turner"
Meyer, Stephenie "Twilight"
Miller, Mary "Biloxi"
Miller, Moses "The Barack in Me"
Milne, Kevin Alan "Sweet Misfortune: A Novel"
Monninger, Joseph "Whippoorwill"
Monroe, Mary "God Don't Like Ugly"
Moses, Shelia P. "I, Dred Scott"
Moses, Shelia P. "Joseph"
Mosley, Walter "Blonde Faith"
Mosley, Walter "The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray"
Mosley, Walter "The Man in My Basement"
Murphy, Richard "Confessions of a Contractor"
Myers, Edward "Far From Gringo Land"
Naylor, Gloria "The Men of Brewster Place"
Packer, ZZ "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere"
Perkins-Valdez, Dolen "Wench"
Picoult, Jodi "Change of Heart" (Page 1, Page 2)
Picoult, Jodi "Keeping Faith"
Picoult, Jodi "Leaving Time"
Picoult, Jodi "Nineteen Minutes review" or "Nineteen Minutes"
Picoult, Jodi "Salem Falls"
Picoult, Jodi "Small Great Things"
Picoult, Jodi "The Tenth Circle"
Ptah, Heru "A Hip Hop Story"
Rhodes, Jewell Park "Douglass' Women"
Rosenberg, Joel C. "The Auschwitz Escape"
Senate, Melissa "The Breakup Club"
Senate, Melissa "The Solomon Sisters Wise Up"
Senate, Melissa "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?"
Shotz, Jennifer Li "American Dog: Poppy" (Click here for the "Black Girl In a Doggone World" review.)
Shotz, Jennifer Li "American Dog: Star" (Click here for the "Black Girl In a Doggone World" review.)
Sinclair, April "Coffee Will Make You Black"
Singer, Gammy L. "A Landlord's Tale"
Siplin, Karen "Such a Girl"
Siplin, Karen "Whiskey Road"
Souljah, Sister "The Coldest Winter Ever"
Sparks, Nicholas "Two by Two"
Stead, Rebecca "Goodbye Stranger"
Stovall, Taressa "Proverbs for the People"
Thomas, Angie "The Hate U Give"
Tyree, Omar "Flyy Girl"
Tyree, Omar "Single Mom"
Tyree, Omar "Sweet St. Louis"
Weber, Carl "A Dollar and a Dream"
Weber, Carl "Baby Momma Drama"
Weber, Carl "Married Men"
Weber, Carl "Player Haters"
Weber, Carl "The Preacher's Son"
Youngblood, Shay "Soul Kiss"
NONFICTION
Altman, Susan "The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage"
Anderson, Maggie "Our Black Year: One Family's Quest to Buy Black in America's Racially Divided Economy"
Ardis, Angela "Inside a Thug's Heart"
Asante, Molefi Kete "Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation"
Bahr, Iris "Machu My Picchu: Searching for Sex, Sanity, and a Soul Mate in South America"
"Barack H. Obama: The 44th President of the United States" (Conde Nast Special Editions)
Bell, W. Kamau "The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian"
Biden, Jill "Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself"
Bollinger, Michele and Dao X. Tran "101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History"
Boyd, Herb "The Harlem Reader: A Celebration of New York's Most Famous Neighborhood, From the Renaissance Years to the Twenty-first Century"
Braxton, Toni and Michelle Burford "Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir"
Brian Smith and Robin Bronk "Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts" (Chicago Tribune review) or "Art & Soul"
Brown, Bobby and Nick Chiles "Every Little Step: My Story"
Cagan, Michele "Personal Finance in Plain English: Definitions. Examples. Uses. (Financial Literacy Guide Series)"
Campidonica, Anthony C. "Outsmarting the System: Lower Your Taxes, Control Your Future, and Reach Financial Freedom"
Carlos, John Wesley and Dave Zirin "The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World" (Chicago Tribune review) or "The John Carlos Story"
Cline, Elizabeth L. "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion"
Crowder, David and Andrew Bailey "Creating Web Sites Bible" (2nd Edition)
Earl, Sari "Benjamin O. Davis Jr. : Air Force general & Tuskegee Airmen leader"
Ebong, Ima (edited) and A'Lelia Bundles (foreword) "Black Hair: Art, Style, and Culture"
Ellis, Shaun and Monty Sloan (photography) "Wolves: Capturing the Natural Spirit of these Incredible Animals"
Eve "Who's That Girl?" (I Do See Color book review)
Folan, Karyn Langhorne "Don't Bring Home a White Boy: And Other Notions That Keep Black Women From Dating Out"
Gibson, Tyrese and Rev Run "Manology: Secrets of Your Man's Mind Revealed"
Golden, Marita "It's All Love" (Chicago Defender review) and "It's All Love" (Kindle)
Good, C. Edward "Who's/Whose Grammar Book Is This Anyway? All the Grammar You Need to Succeed In Life"
Gorman, Hogan "Hot Cripple" (Kindle)
Harper, Hill "The Conversation: How Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships"
Harper, Hill "The Wealth Cure" (Chicago Tribune book review) and "The Wealth Cure" (Kindle)
Harriot, Michael "Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America" (Click here for the "I Do See Color" review.)
Harris, Kamala "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey"
Harrison, Sam "Idea Spotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea"
Haygood, Wil "The Butler: A Witness to History"
Henson, Taraji P. "Around the Way Girl" (Kindle)
Hughes, Langston "Langston Hughes and the Chicago Defender" (Chicago Defender review)
Jean, Wyclef "An Immigrant's Story: Purpose" (Kindle)
Kerman, Piper "Orange Is the New Black: My Year In a Women's Prison"
NEW! Knowles, Tina "Matriarch"
If Tina Knowles had not been interviewed by FLOTUS Michelle Obama, I would have never read this book because I mistakenly assumed it was a tell-all and just going to be a "Beyonce's mom" book. But the more Michelle talked about the book (and half-jokingly complained about Matthew Knowles), the more curious I was. I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued to find out the first half was all about Tina and nothing to do with Beyonce. (Huge fan of her and all of Destiny's Child, but the only time I want to read THEIR stories is if that trio writes their own three books.)
Let's get the cons out of the way first:
1. It seemed like absolutely no one called her this long nickname but herself. Even when she quoted someone else, it was always "Tina" or "Lucy," but she called her own self "Bad Ass Tina B" like she wanted it to catch on. "Stop trying to make Fetch happen."
2. The second half of the book spent a LOT of time giving readers a rundown on EVERY outfit she created for Destiny's Child, how everybody but the label loved them, and how she worked so hard in a short time to do it. It was slowing me down because I kept trying to look up album covers, performances and videos to figure out what she was talking about. That section would have worked better in a photography-fashion book, not a memoir with no photos of the outfits. She put her baby photo in her TWICE. One of those pages could have been an outfit collage.
3. I was BEYOND tired of reading about Matthew. Thirty years of cheating and forgiving. Rinse and repeat. The man even cheated while she was pregnant. Why did we need to see MULTIPLE photos of him, including with her leg hiked up by his waist, for a zillion examples of cheating? I wish she would have dedicated one page of her memoir to him (married, manager, divorce) and moved on. I had zero interest in her thoughts on his new wife. I would have rather read more about her second husband after their first date. Ten years was described in about three pages and RIGHT BACK TO Matthew. Again.
4. I cringed at her meddling in Solange's engagement (phone call included) but then getting upset when Solange weighed in about the zillionth time Tina took Matthew back. Kinda hypocritical.
5. The book had so many examples of her buying this house, that outfit or this car. My shoulders slumped when she forced Kelly and Beyonce to use their own money to buy church vans. The meddling in their money (FOR $40K) was overbearing and almost made me stop reading. Especially for legally grown women.
6. She had a dismissive attitude when it came to money and business, weirdly shrugging Beyonce off for being upset she couldn't book a hotel or wash dishes. She had more of a "let your people" do that even if Beyonce seemed to want to do it. I think it is admirable that Beyonce was trying NOT to be a diva.
Now for the pros:
The BEST PARTS of this book was Tina talking about herself: getting arrested, standing up to nuns, learning hard lessons about her parents, describing the relationship with her siblings, cracking up with her friends, calling out racism, standing up for social justice, discussing her breast cancer and mammogram experience, attorneys fighting for her family and that horrible incident with the fried fish. (I actually agree with the police on the burn incident. Domestic violence is too often overlooked, and I was more shocked that police even thought to try to protect a Black woman in that way.)
I learned a whole lot about Solange, who I knew bare minimum about outside of an elevator and a few songs. I found their bond fascinating. Minus the peculiar comment about washing dishes and hands, I was tickled by her story with Mickey and Annie as well.
I liked when I had to go back and forth to her family tree to figure out her bond or story with this or that relative. The first part of the book is by far better than the latter half because we stopped getting to know her as a person. I would read the first half all over again.
First half: 5 stars
Second half (once Matthew and DK outfits became every other word): 2 stars
Krensky, Stephen "Biography Barack Obama ~ A Photographic Story of a Life"
Livingston, M.D., Gordon "Too Soon Old: Too Late Smart, Thirty True Things You Need to Know"
Lyons, Dan "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble"
Merritt, Jennifer and Roe D'Angelo "13 Things Rich People Won't Tell You: 325+ Tried and True Secrets to Building Your Fortune No Matter What Your Salary"
Morris, Monique W. "Black Stats"
Noah, Trevor "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" (Kindle)
NOLO "Represent Yourself in Court: Prepare & Try a Winning Civil Case" 11th Edition (Kindle)
Norwood, Mandi "Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion"
Packer, Will "Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big"
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex "Spare" (Kindle)
Ro, Ronin "Have Gun will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records"
Simmons, Rev Run and Justine "Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents" Page 1, Page 2 (Chicago Defender review) and "Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents" (Kindle)
Smith, Will and Mark Manson "Will" (Kindle)
Souza, Pete "Obama: An Intimate Portrait"
Stodghill, Ron "Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America's Black Colleges and Culture" (Kindle) (Note: The Higginbotham-Brooks part went on way too long. Skip those parts.)
Strauss, Neil "The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships" (Kindle)
Tatum Ph.D., Beverly Daniel "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"
Timbaland and Veronica Chambers "The Emperor of Sound: A Memoir"
Toure "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now" (Kindle)
Turner, Tina and Kurt Loder "I, Tina: My Life Story"
Union, Gabrielle "We're Going to Need More Wine" (Kindle)
Union, Gabrielle "You Got Anything Stronger"
Wade, Dwyane "A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball" (Kindle)
Whitaker, Mark "Cosby: His Life and Times" (Kindle)
X, Malcolm "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" (Chicago Tribune op/ed piece) (Kindle)
Youssef, Bassem "Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring"
Anderson, Maggie "Our Black Year: One Family's Quest to Buy Black in America's Racially Divided Economy"
Ardis, Angela "Inside a Thug's Heart"
Asante, Molefi Kete "Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation"
Bahr, Iris "Machu My Picchu: Searching for Sex, Sanity, and a Soul Mate in South America"
"Barack H. Obama: The 44th President of the United States" (Conde Nast Special Editions)
Bell, W. Kamau "The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian"
Biden, Jill "Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself"
Bollinger, Michele and Dao X. Tran "101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History"
Boyd, Herb "The Harlem Reader: A Celebration of New York's Most Famous Neighborhood, From the Renaissance Years to the Twenty-first Century"
Braxton, Toni and Michelle Burford "Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir"
Brian Smith and Robin Bronk "Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts" (Chicago Tribune review) or "Art & Soul"
Brown, Bobby and Nick Chiles "Every Little Step: My Story"
Cagan, Michele "Personal Finance in Plain English: Definitions. Examples. Uses. (Financial Literacy Guide Series)"
Campidonica, Anthony C. "Outsmarting the System: Lower Your Taxes, Control Your Future, and Reach Financial Freedom"
Carlos, John Wesley and Dave Zirin "The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World" (Chicago Tribune review) or "The John Carlos Story"
Cline, Elizabeth L. "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion"
Crowder, David and Andrew Bailey "Creating Web Sites Bible" (2nd Edition)
Earl, Sari "Benjamin O. Davis Jr. : Air Force general & Tuskegee Airmen leader"
Ebong, Ima (edited) and A'Lelia Bundles (foreword) "Black Hair: Art, Style, and Culture"
Ellis, Shaun and Monty Sloan (photography) "Wolves: Capturing the Natural Spirit of these Incredible Animals"
Eve "Who's That Girl?" (I Do See Color book review)
Folan, Karyn Langhorne "Don't Bring Home a White Boy: And Other Notions That Keep Black Women From Dating Out"
Gibson, Tyrese and Rev Run "Manology: Secrets of Your Man's Mind Revealed"
Golden, Marita "It's All Love" (Chicago Defender review) and "It's All Love" (Kindle)
Good, C. Edward "Who's/Whose Grammar Book Is This Anyway? All the Grammar You Need to Succeed In Life"
Gorman, Hogan "Hot Cripple" (Kindle)
Harper, Hill "The Conversation: How Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships"
Harper, Hill "The Wealth Cure" (Chicago Tribune book review) and "The Wealth Cure" (Kindle)
Harriot, Michael "Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America" (Click here for the "I Do See Color" review.)
Harris, Kamala "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey"
Harrison, Sam "Idea Spotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea"
Haygood, Wil "The Butler: A Witness to History"
Henson, Taraji P. "Around the Way Girl" (Kindle)
Hughes, Langston "Langston Hughes and the Chicago Defender" (Chicago Defender review)
Jean, Wyclef "An Immigrant's Story: Purpose" (Kindle)
Kerman, Piper "Orange Is the New Black: My Year In a Women's Prison"
NEW! Knowles, Tina "Matriarch"
If Tina Knowles had not been interviewed by FLOTUS Michelle Obama, I would have never read this book because I mistakenly assumed it was a tell-all and just going to be a "Beyonce's mom" book. But the more Michelle talked about the book (and half-jokingly complained about Matthew Knowles), the more curious I was. I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued to find out the first half was all about Tina and nothing to do with Beyonce. (Huge fan of her and all of Destiny's Child, but the only time I want to read THEIR stories is if that trio writes their own three books.)
Let's get the cons out of the way first:
1. It seemed like absolutely no one called her this long nickname but herself. Even when she quoted someone else, it was always "Tina" or "Lucy," but she called her own self "Bad Ass Tina B" like she wanted it to catch on. "Stop trying to make Fetch happen."
2. The second half of the book spent a LOT of time giving readers a rundown on EVERY outfit she created for Destiny's Child, how everybody but the label loved them, and how she worked so hard in a short time to do it. It was slowing me down because I kept trying to look up album covers, performances and videos to figure out what she was talking about. That section would have worked better in a photography-fashion book, not a memoir with no photos of the outfits. She put her baby photo in her TWICE. One of those pages could have been an outfit collage.
3. I was BEYOND tired of reading about Matthew. Thirty years of cheating and forgiving. Rinse and repeat. The man even cheated while she was pregnant. Why did we need to see MULTIPLE photos of him, including with her leg hiked up by his waist, for a zillion examples of cheating? I wish she would have dedicated one page of her memoir to him (married, manager, divorce) and moved on. I had zero interest in her thoughts on his new wife. I would have rather read more about her second husband after their first date. Ten years was described in about three pages and RIGHT BACK TO Matthew. Again.
4. I cringed at her meddling in Solange's engagement (phone call included) but then getting upset when Solange weighed in about the zillionth time Tina took Matthew back. Kinda hypocritical.
5. The book had so many examples of her buying this house, that outfit or this car. My shoulders slumped when she forced Kelly and Beyonce to use their own money to buy church vans. The meddling in their money (FOR $40K) was overbearing and almost made me stop reading. Especially for legally grown women.
6. She had a dismissive attitude when it came to money and business, weirdly shrugging Beyonce off for being upset she couldn't book a hotel or wash dishes. She had more of a "let your people" do that even if Beyonce seemed to want to do it. I think it is admirable that Beyonce was trying NOT to be a diva.
Now for the pros:
The BEST PARTS of this book was Tina talking about herself: getting arrested, standing up to nuns, learning hard lessons about her parents, describing the relationship with her siblings, cracking up with her friends, calling out racism, standing up for social justice, discussing her breast cancer and mammogram experience, attorneys fighting for her family and that horrible incident with the fried fish. (I actually agree with the police on the burn incident. Domestic violence is too often overlooked, and I was more shocked that police even thought to try to protect a Black woman in that way.)
I learned a whole lot about Solange, who I knew bare minimum about outside of an elevator and a few songs. I found their bond fascinating. Minus the peculiar comment about washing dishes and hands, I was tickled by her story with Mickey and Annie as well.
I liked when I had to go back and forth to her family tree to figure out her bond or story with this or that relative. The first part of the book is by far better than the latter half because we stopped getting to know her as a person. I would read the first half all over again.
First half: 5 stars
Second half (once Matthew and DK outfits became every other word): 2 stars
Krensky, Stephen "Biography Barack Obama ~ A Photographic Story of a Life"
Livingston, M.D., Gordon "Too Soon Old: Too Late Smart, Thirty True Things You Need to Know"
Lyons, Dan "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble"
Merritt, Jennifer and Roe D'Angelo "13 Things Rich People Won't Tell You: 325+ Tried and True Secrets to Building Your Fortune No Matter What Your Salary"
Morris, Monique W. "Black Stats"
Noah, Trevor "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" (Kindle)
NOLO "Represent Yourself in Court: Prepare & Try a Winning Civil Case" 11th Edition (Kindle)
Norwood, Mandi "Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion"
Packer, Will "Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big"
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex "Spare" (Kindle)
Ro, Ronin "Have Gun will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records"
Simmons, Rev Run and Justine "Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents" Page 1, Page 2 (Chicago Defender review) and "Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents" (Kindle)
Smith, Will and Mark Manson "Will" (Kindle)
Souza, Pete "Obama: An Intimate Portrait"
Stodghill, Ron "Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America's Black Colleges and Culture" (Kindle) (Note: The Higginbotham-Brooks part went on way too long. Skip those parts.)
Strauss, Neil "The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships" (Kindle)
Tatum Ph.D., Beverly Daniel "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"
Timbaland and Veronica Chambers "The Emperor of Sound: A Memoir"
Toure "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now" (Kindle)
Turner, Tina and Kurt Loder "I, Tina: My Life Story"
Union, Gabrielle "We're Going to Need More Wine" (Kindle)
Union, Gabrielle "You Got Anything Stronger"
Wade, Dwyane "A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball" (Kindle)
Whitaker, Mark "Cosby: His Life and Times" (Kindle)
X, Malcolm "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" (Chicago Tribune op/ed piece) (Kindle)
Youssef, Bassem "Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring"
HEALTHY FOOD/FITNESS
"101 Best Vegan Foods" (Flexibound)
NEW! Akeroyd, Simon "Grow Your Groceries"
I hired a freelance food writer at my first newspaper job who would constantly insist that I should grow at least one vegetable on my window sill. And he was from New Jersey so I couldn't just dismiss him as somebody from a rural community. This book was a refresher for everything he said but with photographs, which makes it that much harder for me to make excuses for buying groceries at a nearby store when I can easily grow them.
Hudson, Jennifer "I Got This"
Leneman, Leah "The Tofu Cookbook" (Kindle)
Obama, Michelle "American Grown" (Kindle)
Parkes, Sally "The Yoga Healing Bible: Finding the best postures, meditations, relaxation techniques, and breathing exercises for complete physical and spiritual balance"
Shelf, Angela "The Ethnic Vegetarian"
Snyder C.N., Kimberly "The Beauty Detox Foods" (Kindle)
Straten, Michael van "The Omega 3 Cookbook"
Sussman, Vic "The Vegetarian Alternative: A Guide to a Healthful and Humane Diet"
NEW! Akeroyd, Simon "Grow Your Groceries"
I hired a freelance food writer at my first newspaper job who would constantly insist that I should grow at least one vegetable on my window sill. And he was from New Jersey so I couldn't just dismiss him as somebody from a rural community. This book was a refresher for everything he said but with photographs, which makes it that much harder for me to make excuses for buying groceries at a nearby store when I can easily grow them.
Hudson, Jennifer "I Got This"
Leneman, Leah "The Tofu Cookbook" (Kindle)
Obama, Michelle "American Grown" (Kindle)
Parkes, Sally "The Yoga Healing Bible: Finding the best postures, meditations, relaxation techniques, and breathing exercises for complete physical and spiritual balance"
Shelf, Angela "The Ethnic Vegetarian"
Snyder C.N., Kimberly "The Beauty Detox Foods" (Kindle)
Straten, Michael van "The Omega 3 Cookbook"
Sussman, Vic "The Vegetarian Alternative: A Guide to a Healthful and Humane Diet"
COMEDY/COMEDIANS
DeGeneres, Ellen "The Funny Thing Is"
Goldberg, Whoopi "Is it just me? Or is it nuts out there?" (Chicago Tribune review) and "Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There?"
Halpern, Justin "Sh*t My Dad Says"
Halpern, Justin "I Suck at Girls"
Hart, Kevin "I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons"
Harvey, Steve "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment"
Kaling, Mindy "Why Not Me?"
Lopez, George "Why You Crying? My Long, Hard Look at Life, Love and Laughter"
McGruder, Aaron "A Right to Be Hostile: The Boondocks Treasury"
McGruder, Aaron "Public Enemy 2: An All New Boondocks Collection"
Murphy, Charlie "The Making of a Stand-Up Guy"
Wolf, Josh "It Takes Balls: Dating Single Moms and Other Confessions"
Youssef, Bassem "Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring"
Goldberg, Whoopi "Is it just me? Or is it nuts out there?" (Chicago Tribune review) and "Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There?"
Halpern, Justin "Sh*t My Dad Says"
Halpern, Justin "I Suck at Girls"
Hart, Kevin "I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons"
Harvey, Steve "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment"
Kaling, Mindy "Why Not Me?"
Lopez, George "Why You Crying? My Long, Hard Look at Life, Love and Laughter"
McGruder, Aaron "A Right to Be Hostile: The Boondocks Treasury"
McGruder, Aaron "Public Enemy 2: An All New Boondocks Collection"
Murphy, Charlie "The Making of a Stand-Up Guy"
Wolf, Josh "It Takes Balls: Dating Single Moms and Other Confessions"
Youssef, Bassem "Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring"