Need new book club reads? Here are some new titles by Cincinnati Black authors.
Multiplying day by day, Cincinnati Black authors are telling their fictional love stories, life testimonies, in-the-moment poetry and detailed research into the strenuous lives and roles in the Black community. It only makes sense to add these to your bookshelf!
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Love Carousel (2017)
Marissa Staples
Here is a woman who is in love, with love. A woman whose heart has been broken, put back together, revived and broken again. With every relationship comes a lesson. Some easy. Some difficult. Some funny. Some sexy. This assortment of poems tells them all. Leaning on faith, the search continues for true, genuine love. A modern-day fairy tale kind of love. Another soul with love, for love. A love that truly cares for her.
Against All Odds, Persevere! Finding Peace Through the Pain (2018)
Veronica McCall
This is an interactive book that will encourage and empower you to Persevere no matter what detours, curveballs, obstacles, heartache or pain comes your way. This is a book of several short stories of real women who are sharing their testimony of how they persevered when life happened to them. Topics discussed in this book include matters related to loss and grieving, domestic violence, divorce, suicide, feelings of hopelessness, being a teenage mother, a single parent and more. Life happens to ALL of us, but how we respond when “Life” happens makes all the difference. Remember, Against All Odds, Persevere!
Exfoliate Doubt to Hydrate Your Purpose (2018)
Nora Jay
This self-help book will teach you to recognize self-debilitating thoughts, correct bad habits that cripple your purpose, contour your specific life to manifest your desires and access your authentic powers.
King (2018)
Qiantria McNear
King and The Family have created a legacy in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, but the choices they’ve made along the way have hurt the one person who’s sacrificed the most. As they all come to terms with their fate, the hard part is dealing with what they’ve caused. Living by the motto that every choice made has deadly repercussions, the men are ready to take on whatever the world throws at them under the leadership of Tristen King. But the ultimate decision will be whether King will make it out the underworld, or drag the person he cares about the most into the darkness with him.
Life… Before and After Cerebral Palsy (2018)
Tammy Floyd-Westmoreland
In this story, the author, Tammy, takes us on a whirlwind of events and one heck of a roller-coaster ride. She allows us in her life to show us what it was like being a young, teen mother of a child with a disability. She talks about the trials and tribulations of being a young mother and dealing with diversity and disappointment. She speaks about how what she went through made her into the woman she is today. She shows us that despite all the challenges in life that you can still live life and not allow the turmoil of life to keep you down.
Too Beautiful for the Earth (2018)
Cara Shelton
In this heart-wrenching narrative, Cara shares her story of the tragic loss of her twin daughters and how she and her husband fought to overcome their grief and hold on to their hope. Each chapter ends with an inspiring message of encouragement and advice for both the bereaved and their support group.
As Sure As Tomorrow Comes (2017)
Danielle and Christopher Jones
Danielle and Christopher Jones were married for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. They just never imagined they would experience all of those things in their first few years of marriage! Unemployment. A car accident. A terrifying medical diagnosis. The loss of a loved one. The death of their 10-day-old son, Junior. Through it all, Danielle and Christopher held tightly to their faith, and to each other, taking each day and each step as it came and remaining committed not only to their marriage, but to turning their pain into a positive for other families.
Beautifully Graced, Broken Beginnings (2017)
Precious Carter
Broken Beginnings, Beautifully Graced is the first novel in the Precious in His Sight series. Author Precious Carter has a passion for seeing people life to its fullest, and hopes this book will help people realize that troubled family history, poor choices, sexual, physical and mental abuse can be overcome. This is a story of life, its ups and downs and ultimately love. Love is a powerful thing, it motivates, builds up, encourages and causes triumph. May all who read be blessed and encouraged.
Embracing a New Normal (2017)
Rhonie McBerry
Take a glimpse into her struggle to forge a new path when faced with a sudden health crisis that threatens to throw her off course. Her story is one of courage and strength gained by faith in God who has stitched her life into a beautiful tapestry interwoven with new trails and passageways as she adjusts to the changes. Rhonie has used her new normal in a variety of ways to encourage others to see past their darkest days to a brighter horizon.
Money Seeds: 30 Financial Principles (2017)
Lawrence Cain
Money management is not always the easiest. Let this book assist you with attaining clarity around their finances, and strategies to get to financial success.
Rebel: Resist Every Bias on Every Level (2017)
Robert Collins
REBEL is a book about the journey of a Black male in American whose life depended on defying the odds to attain success. It captures the process of maturation of a young boy raised by a single-father to a seasoned father and husband all before 30 years of age. It is meant to serve as an inspiration to the masses of young men who strive to reach higher heights yet struggle to unlock their potential.
The Nonfiction Outline Book: How to Write a Book Includes 50 Outlines (2017)
Frankie Johnnie
This is a step-by-step guide that walks you through how to write a book. The first step to writing is creating the book outline which leads to a first draft and then a revised, and after that, you pull it all together into a finished manuscript. This book is perfect for nonfiction authors as it shares strategies to streamline your argument, and then outline which keeps you from repetitions or tangents which is essentially book fluff. Creating an outline keeps you from getting sidetracked with your writing.
Unwavering Perseverance (2017)
Mary Wineberg
The story of Mary Wineberg is one of extraordinary perseverance. She overcame astronomical odds and monumental challenges to grace the top step of the Olympic Podium. Her path to Olympic Gold is unlike any the sport has ever seen. She was not a high school standout. She was not a star in college, and she came up short five years in a row trying to run post-collegiately. How could a young girl, abandoned by her mother, and from a disadvantaged background take what seemed to be an average talent all the way to Olympic Gold? She is truly an inspiration to all!
Bold Love: A Letter to My Young Sisters (2016)
LPC, Terri M. Bolds MS
This is a love letter full of personal experiences, science and deliberate encouragement to help one move through the challenges related to self-esteem, absent relationships and racial challenges. This body of work is written through the eyes of the writer as if she was her younger self. Bold Love speaks to young ladies and women that may not understand the pathology of their behaviors. Bold Love uses poetry and anonymous testimony to normalize any reader that may feel like their problem is one that only they have faced. This book is also available at the main library downtown.
The Uncommon Millionaire: Financial Success Begins With Behavior (2016)
Al Riddick
Do you dream about creating a better financial life? Stop dreaming and start acting. The Uncommon Millionaire reveals a small-town boy’s journey from the North Carolina tobacco fields to achieving millionaire status in his late 30’s. Al’s common sense approach is mixed with humor accompanied by personal stories of financial challenge and triumph. His story captures your attention and prompts you to maximize your financial potential. Reading this book will help you understand how simple it is to take control of your financial life and create the outcomes you desire.
Vision. Future. Reality: How to Budget Like a Boss (2016)
Emerald Sparks
Take back control of your pocketbook and live the life you want to live. Falling in love with your money is so much better than trying to keep with those traditional old, boring ways of the dreaded “B” word…BUDGET. Instead, I like VISION. Because how else do you manage life without one?
Everyone Plays Chess (2015)
Felipe Morris
We constantly ask, “Where are all the good black men and women?” We are all searching for good inside of a 12” by 12” box. If we stop limiting ourselves to our specific social settings, we will begin to learn that good and bad lies in ALL people. Love, lust, and happiness have nothing to do with income status and educational background. Inside, you will find a tale of African American men and women, who through extreme circumstances, were forced to look outside of that box. Turn the page and peek into a world where there are no boundaries, and friendships, lovers, haters, and enemies emerge from all walks of life.
Loyal to Love (2014)
Tori D.
Oblivious to knowing what life is like transitioning from the suburbs to the ghetto, the ambitious, beautiful, young Desiree longs for the life and love she once knew. She becomes intrigued with the fast life and elegant lifestyle that hustler’s girlfriends and wives flaunted. She fails to realize the streets came with an entirely different meaning of stability. She captures the attention of Cee, a handsome, chocolate, hustler, and begins to live out her dreams.
The Capacity to Succeed (2014)
Melvin J. Gravely II, Ph.D
In The Capacity to Succeed, Dr. Mel Gravely unpacks a well-researched approach for minority firms to build an ongoing capacity to succeed. In his most aggressive book to date, Gravely makes the case for why minority spend rules must give way to building capacity as the only solution for sustainability. This fast-paced, easy-to-read book articulates the activities, thinking, and measures that work.
The Most High’s Natural Health Plan (2014)
Ishyah Yisrael
The Most High’s Natural Health Plan is a book designed to be a simple guide to eat according to the ways of YAHWEH; the only Creator and God of the World! Many books have been written about why, what, when, where and how we should eat, but never has anyone just explained what the Creator of the Earth has spoken about how he wants us to eat. The Most High’s Natural Health Plan is revolutionary because it only deals with the Most High’s ways of eating.
Kelly’s Whisper (2012)
Whitley Silance
In Kelly’s Whisper, secrets were gold. You might as well lay down and bare all, if you considered telling one detail. Kelly believed that even the walls had ears, so she got in the habit of speaking in a whisper. Loud enough for her to hear. For a long time, Kelly’s whisper was silenced, until she stumbled upon a wounded bone in her closet and realized she had covered all her tracks. She realized someone heard her whisper. A whisper so powerful she was willing to do whatever she could to protect it. What will she sacrifice this time?
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Marissa Staples, Writer
The Voice of Black Cincinnati