Sankofa
A Novel
By Chibundu Onuzo
Narrated by: Sara Powell
Length: 9 hours 2 minutes
Sankofa
“After her mother’s death, Anna finds a diary among her possessions. The diary of Anna’s father, a man she has never known and her mother has told her little about. As Anna reads the diary of the young man who fell in love with her mother, she begins to feel that she knows him and is understandably curious to learn what happened to him. At a crossroads in her life anyway, she decides to head to his home-country in Africa to look for him. With many surprises along the way, her journey leads to finding her father and also begins the journey to finding herself. This is an excellent story of self-discovery, family relationships, and racial issues.”
Nancy, Raven Book Store
The Dating Playbook
By Farrah Rochon
Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
Length: 9 hours 3 minutes
When a personal trainer agrees to fake date her client, all rules are out the window in this delightful romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Boyfriend Project!
When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell kicks serious butt. Unfortunately, her bills are piling up, rent is due, and the money situation is dire. Taylor... Read more »
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Novel
By James Baldwin
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 7 hours 7 minutes
In this honest and stunning novel, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad.
Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is...
Read more »Somebody's Daughter
A Memoir
By Ashley C. Ford
Narrated by: Ashley C. Ford
Length: 8 hours 44 minutes
"Ashley C. Ford brings listeners into her life in this outstanding coming-of-age story...Listeners will cheer as Ford attends college and weep as she visits her father in prison, and when he is finally released." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner
This program is read by the author, and includes a bonus conversation between the author...
Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In The Sky
Tristan Strong: Book #1
By Kwame Mbalia
Narrated by: Amir Abdullah
Length: 10 hours 56 minutes
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Kwame Mbalia's epic fantasy, a middle grade American Gods set in a richly-imagined world populated with African American folk heroes and West African gods.
Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he... Read more »
Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by: Ruby Dee
Length: 6 hours 44 minutes
“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith
One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love...
Read more »Pleasantville
By Attica Locke
Narrated by: JD Jackson
Length: 13 hours 13 minutes
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEY’S WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION
From Attica Locke, a writer and producer of FOX’s Empire, this sophisticated thriller sees lawyer Jay Porter—hero of her bestseller Black Water Rising—return to fight one last case, only to become embroiled in a dangerous game of shadowy politics and a witness to how far those in power are...
Read more »The Poet X
By Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo
Length: 3 hours 30 minutes
The Poet X
“The Poet X is written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo. It is a novel made up of poems by a teenager, Xiomara Batista, growing up in Harlem. Acevedo's narration is wonderful and brings the story to life. Xiomara's dad is MIA even though he lives at home; her mother is extremely religious and pushes her faith onto her daughter; her twin brother is quiet and also working through his own feelings; she starts her first relationship with a guy; and all the time Xiomara is told what she can and cannot do, gets accosted by men, has to defend herself because no one else will, is questioning God and has no one to open up to. She releases her pent of feelings in a notebook. It isn't until her new English teacher introduces her to spoken poetry that she realizes that is what she is meant to be: a poet. This is a lovely story of a young, misunderstood girl, coming of age and showing the world that she is worth it. Great for adults who enjoyed Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and extremely relevant literature for the #metoo movement.”
Kelly, M. Judson Booksellers
Dread Nation
By Justina Ireland
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 11 hours 56 minutes
Dread Nation
“Two days before Jane McKeene was born, the dead on the battlefields of the Civil War began to walk the earth. Though she was born to plantation owners, Jane’s mixed-race heritage and dark skin means she is now training at combat school to be an Attendant: a zombie-killer whose job it will be to protect the White woman she is contracted to. But her tempestuous and curious nature embroil Jane and her friends in the politics and treacherous landscape of post-Reconstruction America in this alternate history. Cinder meets The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pride & Prejudice and Zombies featuring a new kick-ass heroine whose no-nonsense approach to life and zombie killing make for inspired storytelling.”
BroceAroe, River Dog Book Co.
Just as I Am
A Memoir
By Cicely Tyson
Narrated by: Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis & Robin Miles
Length: 16 hours 8 minutes
“In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only exceeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history.” –President Barack Obama, 2016 Presidential Medal of Honor ceremony
"Just As I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. Here, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been...
Read more »Get a Life, Chloe Brown
A Novel
The Brown Sisters: Book #1
By Talia Hibbert
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Length: 10 hours 41 minutes
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
“This is a beautifully inclusive novel that made me cry and laugh harder than I’d like too. Chloe and Red were amazing characters that I didn’t want to leave when the story ended. I can’t get over Chloe being a larger lady and the story not focusing on that. I was bracing myself so many times for her to feel sad about her weight or talk about how much she might eat to de-stress herself but the story never gave me that, and I appreciated it so much. She was fine with her appearance and it’s that type of attitude and writing that made me love Chloe even more. I also loved how determined Chloe was to not let her disability take over her life. It’s important to me to see stories like this getting written because representation is huge as a bookseller. I believe everyone deserves to be seen and this was a pure gem.”
Macey, Penn Book Center
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
An Oprah’s Book Club Novel
By Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton & Prentice Onayemi
Length: 29 hours 48 minutes
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
“This is the best book I’ve read this year. An ambitious debut novel tracing the history of one family against the backdrop of American history and showing the stories that are remembered and the ones that are forgotten.”
Benedict Tanter, Main Point Books
On the Corner of Hope and Main
A Blessings Novel
By Beverly Jenkins
Narrated by: Lynnette Freeman
Length: 9 hours 30 minutes
NAACP nominee and USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins celebrates her beloved Blessings series with a heartwarming novel set in Henry Adams, Kansas.
“If you haven’t yet gotten your hands on [this] author’s work, you should do so immediately.”—Shondaland
Citizens of Henry Adams, Kansas, know there’s never a dull moment in their small...
White Smoke
By Tiffany D. Jackson
Narrated by: Marcella Cox
Length: 8 hours 56 minutes
The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!
Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California...
Read more »When No One Is Watching
A Thriller
By Alyssa Cole
Narrated by: Susan Dalian & Jay Aaseng
Length: 8 hours 54 minutes
When No One Is Watching
“Cole’s thriller exposes the underbelly of gentrification and prosperity, taking a searing look at systemic racism. When a pharmaceutical firm plans to move its headquarters to a historically Black Brooklyn neighborhood, an influx of rich white people displace Black residents from their homes and their roots. Timely, groundbreaking, and thought-provoking, When No One Is Watching is essential reading for the #BlackLivesMatter movement.”
Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books
Concrete Rose
By Angie Thomas
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Length: 8 hours 17 minutes
International phenomenon Angie Thomas revisits Garden Heights seventeen years before the events of The Hate U Give in this searing and poignant exploration of Black boyhood and manhood. A Printz Honor Book!
If there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter knows, it’s that a real man takes care of his family. As the son of a former gang...
Read more »Amari and the Night Brothers
Supernatural Investigations: Book #1
By B. B. Alston
Narrated by: Imani Parks
Length: 11 hours 11 minutes
Amari and the Night Brothers
“WOW!! This is my new favorite Middle Reader book, hands down!! Amari Peters is a fantastic character full of spunk and determination. She is on a mission to find her brother when she dives headfirst into a brilliant, brutal world of imagination and magic, a world of supernatural affairs. But in this world of supernaturals, magicians are illegal and the worst criminal masterminds. When Amari joins the school at the Supernatural Bureau, her dormant magical powers are unleashed. She must fight to prove herself to all those who fear her as a magician. Amari stands strong and true to herself in the face of controversy–she is a great role model to all. This is a fun, addictive book, filled with many twists and turns.”
Anna, The Well-Read Moose
Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business)
Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom
By Tabitha Brown
Narrated by: Tabitha Brown
Length: 5 hours 49 minutes
You are seen, you are loved, and you are heard!
Before Tabitha Brown was one of the most popular personalities in the world, sharing her delicious vegan home cooking and compassionate wisdom with millions of followers across social media, she was an aspiring actress who in 2016 began struggling with undiagnosed chronic autoimmune pain. Her...
Read more »Invisible Man
By Ralph Ellison
Narrated by: Joe Morton
Length: 18 hours 38 minutes
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching--yet always with... Read more »
Of Thee I Sing
A Letter to My Daughters
By Barack Obama
Narrated by: Andre Braugher
Length: 16 minutes
Barack Obama delivers a tender, beautiful letter to his daughters in this powerful picture book illustrated by award-winner Loren Long that's made to be treasured!
In this poignant letter to his daughters, Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation. From the... Read more »