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Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award-Arsenic and Adobo

May 31, 2021 Book It BabeLeave a comment

Award Who: Eleanor Taylor Bland, an African-American pioneer of crime fictionWhat: for an emerging woman of color crime writer When: annually since 2014Prize: a $2000 grant- "This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities."- from the sister's in crime websiteOther winners: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/eleanor-bland-past-winners Novel Arsenic and Adobo (Tita… Continue reading Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award-Arsenic and Adobo

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

May 22, 2021 Book It BabeLeave a comment

This is my second novel by this author. The first one was A Gentleman in Moscow which I highly recommend. Towles' masterful prologue still haunts me. I've never gotten so excited by a prologue. It sets the stage perfectly for a flashback of the main character's life. Set in 1930s New York City, Katherine Kontent's… Continue reading Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Robert Frost Medal- Selected Poems/Gwendolyn Brooks

March 28, 2021 Book It BabeLeave a comment

Did you know that every year the United States Library of Congress appoints a Poet Laureate to represent the art of poetry in America? Well, Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was a Poet Laureate from 1985-1986. She was also the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize. She has many more dazzling accomplishments that I will not… Continue reading Robert Frost Medal- Selected Poems/Gwendolyn Brooks

Flight of the Diamond Smugglers by Matthew Gavin Frank

March 14, 2021 Book It BabeLeave a comment

Rhodes hired mercenaries to slaughter the Matabele people who lived along the South Africa-Zimbabwean boarder, clearing the land for his mining endeavors. Diamonds are ubiquitous. They are in fact not a precious stone. This is the story of how the De Beers corporation turned diamonds into a "girl's best friend," while they oppressed the people living… Continue reading Flight of the Diamond Smugglers by Matthew Gavin Frank

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

March 1, 2021 Book It BabeLeave a comment

Named as one of the 10 Best Books of 2015 by The New York Times Book Review. After Macdonald's dad passes away she decides to put all the sadness from her grief into training a Goshawk. Everything about the hawk is tuned and turned to hunt and kill. Yesterday I discovered that when I suck… Continue reading H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald