Our Selected Readings for 2023/24

MonthBook TitleAuthor
JanuaryWay Forward w/Broken...Alice Walker
FebruaryWolf PointIan Smith
MarchRare DangerBev Jenkins
AprilAs the Wicked WatchedTamron Hall
MayViolin ConspiracyBrendan Slocumb
SeptemberSay Her NameDreda Say Mitchell
OctoberHidden SinsSelena Montgomery
DecemberPersonal LibrarianMarie Benedict & Victoria Murray
January '24Carolina BuiltKianna Alexander

How Books Make Our List for the Year

One of the questions the book club gets asked most often is how we decide which books we want to read for the year. The following is a more detailed response to this question given by two of our current book club members.

We just finished selecting our books for 2019.  So, you ask how does it happen?  How do we do it?

In our earlier history as a book club, we picked our books one month in advance.  Since we wanted to read books by African-American authors, there were not nearly as many to choose from in 1991 as there are today.

At the end of a book club meeting, we would decide on the next month’s book to read by just throwing out titles and authors that we knew about.  Reviews from Essence Magazine were often referred to, as were readings from local book stores.  We often and usually had spirited, sometimes hilarious discussions, (depending on the theme of the book) deciding which book to read each month.  Then the decision was voted on by a quick show of hands, what the next book would be.

This process worked for several years until the genre of African American authors became a much larger part of the publishing industry.  Now there all kinds of books and topics to choose from, including more from African-American men who were also writing fiction. We definitely needed a better system for choosing our books!  We also had heard a rumor that another successful book club was choosing their books a year in advance.

In the fall of 2009, we finally decided on a new process for picking our books. We would now start during our October meeting, which is when we created a list of potential reads.  Some members brought books they might have read during the year or on their own.  A few members consistently suggested books they had signed at a bookstore or a reading event during the year, and everyone submitted the names of books they had heard about or read a review on.

By doing it this way we then ended up with about 30–35 suggestions.  As you can imagine, this October meeting became a regular debate as favorites were lobbied and supported.  The discussion sometimes got heated, but remember the goal was to end up with the best books for our group.  After all the suggestions were recorded, we took another couple of weeks to forward the list to one member who organizes the titles for VOTING.  During these weeks some new titles may drift in, but then at the November meeting the magic happens.

We each get a copy of the list about a week before the voting.  The list includes descriptions of the books which we get from the internet, and the rating for the book on Amazon.com.  The rating occasionally tips the scale once we’re voting.  In an effort to keep the “smack talking” under control, we simply run through the list with each member saying yes to her choices.  Usually 6-8 are chosen by each person in this first round.  In the next round, we just vote for the titles getting the most votes in the earlier step.  It’s during this final round that things move along a lot quicker and we settle on the books to be read in the coming year.

For 2018 our selection list ended up with several political subjects and a few non-fiction titles.  So our focus in 2019 is to relax a bit and to emphasize reading less intense, more fun titles instead. Hopefully learning about our process for choosing our books was insightful but whatever process you use we hope it gets you reading some good books!

Book Review: Rose Gold, An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley

Our February book this month was an “Easy Rawlins” mystery.  We’ve read several of Walter Mosley’s works over the years and everyone generally looks forward to seeing what our man, Easy (Mosley’s main character) is up to.

Rose Gold was published in 2014. So years ago when we met Easy, it was the late 1940’s. Now Easy has matured and it’s the late 1960’s. Easy is a private investigator and his assignment is to find an heiress named Rosemary Goldsmith (Rose Gold), who may have been kidnapped.  The kidnapper may be an ex-boxer or possibly a revolutionary leader. There are just so many maybes we can handle as we read through the story. In Rose Gold however, one certainty is that Easy is hired by the Los Angeles Police department.

All of Easy’s novels take place primarily in LA, but we also follow him to many other towns and communities around southern California.  He moves smoothly around various ethnic neighborhoods making connections and taking in favors as he follows leads about Rose’s whereabouts.

While Rose is the focus of Easy’s assignment, the innocent young black boxer is the real victim as the police have orders to shoot him on sight.  But even as Easy travels about doing his job, he’s a sitting target for all sorts of police harassment.  (Nothing much has changed in the last 50 years).  Easy’s client is a high-level group of police officials but the cop on the street is none the wiser.  Thus, Easy must refer cops to call his contacts to verify his need to do whatever it is he’s doing.

Mosley handles the racial tension totally in context and makes readers, especially some of a certain generation relive in great detail the language, the clothing, and the changing social scene.  He has an amazing way of telling us about skin color, language and the way a dress fits.

Rose is a Patty Hearst-like character and just like with Patty we are left not quite sure about Rose.  How much of a victim is she?

Our book club members were concerned about the plethora of characters.  A few went back and re-read portions of chapters to keep them all straight.  We also missed Mouse.  Mouse is Easy’s best pal in crime and he really is our favorite in all the other thirteen Easy Rawlins mysteries.  Mouse is fast talking, slick, and doesn’t give a damn about anyone’s life.  But in Rose Gold he’s strangely out of town.  Easy summarizes and closes some of the open questions for us at the very end of the book in a phone conversation with Mouse.

None of the book club members remember this technique in any other novel and we decided we didn’t like it. At a recent book signing in Seattle, Mosely stated he sometimes doesn’t know how a book will turn out. We all agreed we would rather Mosely wrap up the loose ends as part of the novel narrative.

We strongly recommend “Rose Gold.” Our book club meeting was at The Raconteur Restaurant in Third Place books in the Seward Park neighborhood.  It’s the perfect place to have a meeting and discuss our latest read. Hopefully you found this review to be insightful and if so, let us know by leaving us a comment here on our website.

Excerpt from Holidays by Doris Hill

My experience was traumatic, life changing, and scary as hell.

It was the Fourth of July 1997, and instead of thinking about the fun we were going to have on a friend’s boat this afternoon, I was wondering what to expect at the examination scheduled for the following Tuesday.

Two days before the Fourth of July, I got into the shower around six in the morning, as I normally do. Something told me to put my hand to my right breast, and I did. What is this? I thought. No, it is nothing. No! It is something! It’s a lump! It was tiny—about the size of a very small pencil eraser tip. I jumped out of the shower and ran to my sleeping husband. “Honey, feel this! What does this feel like to you?”

“What …” he mumbled. “It’s nothing. I don’t feel anything.”

I got back into the shower. “It’s a lump,” I said to myself. “Oh my God, I have a lump in my breast!”

“Guess what,” I said to my sister. “Don’t tell Mom, but I found a lump in my breast. I have an appointment to see my doctor next week.” “Not to worry,” she said, “I have had lumps in my breast, and so

has Vanessa (our youngest sister), and they have always been benign, not malignant. It should be okay, really. Make sure you let me know what your doctor has to say.”

It was reassuring talking to my sister Clara. Now, if I could only be sure, I thought. But I told myself that there was no need to worry about it now. I had an appointment, and there was nothing more I could do until then. Life goes on … you must go on.

Almost right away, I started looking at things a little differently. Do I have cancer? And If I do, what does that mean? Will this be my last Fourth of July? Don’t think about that now. Enjoy this Fourth of July holiday. Yes, that’s what this is—another day to be with friends, doing something fun and not thinking about work.

Finally it was time for my doctor’s appointment. My regular doctor wasn’t available, so I saw another doctor who was able to see me on short notice. I will always remember her first words to me. She said, “Show me where you think there is a lump.” I pointed to the spot. She felt there. “There’s a lump there, all right. It feels pretty solid. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. When did you have your last mammogram?”

“Let me see,” I said. “I’m not sure … my last mammogram.” Did she really expect me to remember? “My last mammogram … Oh, yes, my last mammogram was just about a year and a half ago. Yes, I had my last mammogram in February 1996.” Damn, I thought, I’m six months late. But so what. I just had a full physical in January—or was it February—of this year, and I didn’t have a lump then. That’s reassuring, I couldn’t have a cancerous tumor develop that fast. Yes, good. What do I have to worry about? Cancer doesn’t run in my family.

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do by Helen Harris Excerpt

 

The clock says four fifteen. I know by the bus ticket in my pocket that I must leave soon in order to make the four forty-five to Los Angeles. The house is full; everyone is excited about the beginning of summer vacation and the new red ’63 Chevy parked outside. I’m excited too— anxious, really—not only about summer vacation and the new red car but also about what I’m getting ready to do. How am I going to get out of the house? What if I’m caught? Exactly where is the bus depot?

Around four thirty, I walk through the kitchen toward the back door. I pick up the garbage pail and mumble, “I’m taking out the garbage.” Bertha is standing at the stove by the back door but doesn’t say anything. As I walk across the backyard to the garbage cans, my heart is beating so hard I think it’s coming through my chest. When I get to the cans, I look out of the corner of my eye to see if anyone is watching me. I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so. I actually empty the pail and then set it down and just start running! I can’t be caught, and I can’t be seen by anyone who knows me! I must make that bus! Down one street, up the other. On this side of the railroad tracks, there are no sidewalks and the roads are not paved; the gravel hurts my feet and makes me stumble. I cross the tracks and stop. Which way?

In the distance, I can see the big greyhound on the depot sign—not far now. My throat is dry; my chest hurts, but I keep running. Just as I turn into the depot, the bus pulls out. No! It can’t leave without me! I can’t go back! I’ll never be able to explain where I’ve been. I stop—just for a second—and then run in front of the bus. It’ll just have to run me down!

The bus skids to a stop, and the driver opens the door. I get on, hand him my ticket, and try to show him the other papers I have—the papers from my mother’s attorney that say I’m en route to her in Seattle from Texas via Los Angeles and no one should stop me.

3 Good Reasons We Decided to Self-Publish Our Book

When our book club decided to write a collection of short stories that would eventually get made into a book, little did we know that writing the book was going to be the easy part. Once the decision was made to publish it, then the real work began.

Initially we decided to use an independent publisher also known as a vanity publisher that would essentially take care of getting the book formatted and edited to online standard, registered and copyrighted in all the correct places, and then placed on a few of the popular book sites for exposure, distribution and purchase.  This may seem like a lot to receive from an online publisher, but this is typically the standard program they generally provide.

To our frustration, there was no additional marketing or promotion done to drive up sales for the book. Thus, the majority of sales came from us. We actually did our own promoting on social media, obtained local press coverage, used word of mouth and organized various book signings.

Now just to be clear, this is not a post about not using an online publisher, because they did help get the ball rolling so we could get our first book published, and helped us see how the process comes together. So if you’re new and just starting out and you’ve decided to take this route, then that’s a great thing! The ultimate goal is to get your book published, and that’s all that matters.

That being said, this post is specifically about how and why we decided to self-publish. We wanted to have more control over our book so we could reap more of the reward of our hard work at marketing and promotion, rather than continue to share the bounty and profit with the publisher who was making significant money from our efforts, but not helping with any part of this process that would ensure the book became a success.

Reason #1- Control

So we wanted more control over our book.  That meant deciding to self-publish. Yes this would mean more work and not having the support of a team, but we also wouldn’t have to wait for the publisher’s approval to do certain things with our book. Essentially our first reason to self-publish comes down to us wanting to decide what the future outcome of our book would be.

If we didn’t get back control of our book, then the publisher was always going to tell us how things would be managed as long as there was a contractual agreement in place about distribution and royalties. Also they decided how much of a royalty to take to cover their administrative costs and expenses, and they dictated the terms of payment to us based on quarterly sales and units sold. In our case, this was not negotiable.

With self-publishing there are no quotas of any kind and any sale we now make comes directly to the book club and we don’t have to wait for any type of quarterly report.

Reason #2- Access + Exposure

Before we severed the contract with the publisher, we decided on a new marketing and promotion strategy that would involve more social media, and other popular book sites to generate exposure for our book. Initially, book signings and word of mouth definitely helped generate interest in the book, but in this era of high social media usage, we would have greater success putting our book on multiple platforms. This would also garner more exposure not just in domestic markets, but potentially international markets since everyone these days has access to the world wide web.

Reason #3- Future Outcomes

With a new marketing strategy in place, deciding to sever the contract with the publisher didn’t seem so daunting after all. We were already doing the majority of the promotion ourselves. Plus, after a little over a year we also had an understanding of what was involved with the publishing process, and knew we could sell books even without a heavy presence on social media.

Now we would not only reap the rewards of how we decided to market the book, but we would be able to springboard into other directions as well. We could decide to do a sequel, make an audio book or focus more specifically on certain stories of the book and write something new. The point is, the possibilities were endless since deciding to self-publish for ourselves instead of leaving it with a traditional style publisher.

We realized once we took back control, set a plan, and executed that plan, that bringing our ideas to life shouldn’t be in the hands of anyone, but us.

When its Actually a Good thing to Miss the Bus

In February of 1995 on a rainy, overcast morning, I missed my express bus to work. So the next bus I took was the regular local.  Unlike the express, this bus traveled a few blocks, then turned to go up a long, imposing hill, before entering the expressway to downtown Seattle.

I sat by the window when I got on and at the next stop on the hill, several people entered. One of the women passengers sat next to me and proceeded to open a novel she was reading.  I noticed it was White Butterfly by Walter Mosley, his third book in the Easy Rawlins mystery series.  I was already a fan of the author from the first book in the series, Devil In A Blue Dress, as well as, the movie with Denzel Washington as the lead character.  She told me she was enjoying this book as well as his previous ones.

We chatted for the rest of the bus trip and found out that we had some things in common, including her son and my daughter who were classmates at the high school.

Doris also told me about the book club she was in that concentrated on African-American writers, a growing segment of the book publishing industry at the time.  She invited me to their next meeting, to see if I would be interested in joining the book club.  I thanked her, gave her my phone number, and said I would come to the next meeting.

When I attended that initial meeting, who knew it would be the first meeting of many for years to come.  I was warmly welcomed by a group of women, who I would later learn I had lots in common with.  I decided right then to join the group and have been a member since almost the beginning. When I think back at how things happen and are at times meant to be, what a blessing it was that I actually missed that express bus on that particular morning.

The Genesis of Our Own Book

Have you ever read a book and even before you finish you’re thinking you could have done it better?  That’s the collective thought we shared one Sunday afternoon back in 1997 at our regular book club meeting.  We were reviewing the latest by one of our favorite female writers and were quite simply disappointed.  Our assumption was she must have had a publisher deadline and just threw something on the paper.

We put on our most professional sounding voices and criticized her character development, the plot lines and the abrupt ending.  After all, we’d been reading and discussing together for about 8 years!

This was the genesis of our own book.  The conversation went something like . . .. “I could have done better than that.”  “Well why don’t we write one ourselves?”  At the time there were 16 of us sitting around an apartment living room in North Seattle.

Our informal leader, Edna, (a most avid reader, poet, free-lance editor and greeting card designer) was determined and didn’t let the topic die.  For the next few meetings she poked and prodded us to brain storm and organize in order to write a book.

We floated several ideas around and finally agreed we’d each write our own short story and put them together as a collection.  It sounded so easy during that first conversation.  It took over a year for each of us to complete our stories.

Along the way we agreed on a title that summarized the feel of the collection.  The stories touched on many facets of life and each of them was very personal and mattered to us.   We quickly settled on “Life Matters”.

Excerpt from The Best-Laid Plans by Harriet A. Slye

 

Sometimes the day can drag on when you’ve got plans for the evening, and I was having one of those days. It had been a particularly horrendous couple of days, and I was looking forward to Wednesday evening. I was to meet my sister, Althea, and longtime friends Pat and Sheila to attend a reading by a famous author at a local bookstore. Clients had been calling with annoying questions, coworkers had been behaving equally stupidly, and bosses had been making impossible demands. Wednesday had begun as badly as the two previous days; this job and these people were working my last nerve!

The day ended and, boy, was I ready for a relaxing and pleasant evening with friends. It had been a long time since the four of us had been able to get together, and tonight was going to be a treat.

We expected a crowd for the seven-thirty reading, so we decided to meet at Anderson’s Bookstore around five so we could get good parking places there. Then we would take one car to Sammy’s for drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

I was the first to arrive and found a parking spot across the street. I parked in two spaces so whoever drove to Sammy’s could park in front of or behind me when we returned. My sister, Althea, was next, and we waited for Sheila and Pat, who were notoriously late for everything. When they finally arrived, we exchanged hugs and greetings and headed for Sammy’s Soul ’n’ Spirits.

Sammy’s is a small but popular restaurant that doubles as the local watering hole on weekends. Professional and nonprofessional African Americans meet there after work for drinks, food, and conversation. During the day, old-timers gather to have a drink, play dominoes, and solve the problems of the world. It has been a restaurant for years but has been through several owners. The area was undergoing much-needed renovations. It had become a dangerous place at night, with gangs in the area; but the face lift was looking good, and people were returning to the neighborhood. Sammy’s was on the ground floor of an office building in the central business district. We chose Sammy’s because it was close to the bookstore and none of us had been there in ages. It was the only soul food restaurant around that could accommodate more than fifteen people at a time.

We arrived at about five thirty. As we entered, we noticed that some remodeling was being done. There were several groups of people scattered throughout the restaurant, having drinks and talking. The bar was straight ahead, but we could hear raucous laughter, so we opted for the restaurant. There was a table for four in the corner, and we quickly claimed it. After scanning the room for familiar faces and feeling fairly confident that we hadn’t missed anyone we knew, we began to chat among ourselves, looked at the menu, and decided on drinks. The atmosphere was light; people were talking, laughing, drinking, and having a good time; and we were anxious to join in.

A full twenty minutes later, the waitress, whose name tag identified her as Brenda, finally sauntered over. Althea was discussing her impending laser eye surgery when Brenda chimed in, saying, “I know what you mean, girl. My eyes are so bad I have to wear contacts and glasses!”

Pat’s eyes were rolling, and I was holding my breath. I knew how we could be if people insinuated themselves into our conversations.

Sheila muttered, “As long as you can see well enough to write our orders down right.” It was going to be that kind of evening.

Find out what happens in The Best Laid by Plans by Harriet A. Slye by getting your copy of Life Matters by The BookClub Seattle today!

Ready to Unfold by Mona Lake Jones

 

Stand back and watch me

I’m getting ready to unfold!

I’ve decided to let my spirit go free

I’m ready to become the woman I was meant to be.

I’ve either been somebody’s daughter, mother or wife

And now it’s time for me to take charge of my life.

I’ve been pondering all this time trying to decide just who I am

At first I thought it depended on whether I had a man.

Then I thought that simply just because

Others had more seniority; they could decide who I was.

I played all the roles that were expected and

I seldom asked why I’ve had my wings closed up,

but now I’m ready to fly

I’ve been awakened and I finally see the light

I’m about to make some changes

and set a few things right.

With my new attitude and the knowledge I possess

I might create a whole new world order

and clean up all this mess!

Stand back and watch me

I’m just getting ready to unfold!

Mona Lake Jones The Color of Culture II

 

To read more quality African American fiction by The BookClub Seattle, get your copy of Life Matters, A Collection of Short Stories.