Before you check out my other book selections, please check out my interview with my favorite female author, Karen Siplin. Click "Q&A interview with Karen Siplin" or check out her Web site. What I like about her work is that it's different. I appreciate authors who don't rely on sex scenes, long-winded descriptions of one scene or negative stereotypes to tell a story. Her plots, dialogue, and scenes always get me. I've read all her books at least three times each.

FICTION

Bland, Eleanor Taylor "A Cold and Silent Dying: A Marti MacAlister Mystery"

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 "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"

Goines, Donald "Daddy Cool: A Father Out to Revenge His Daughter's Shame"

Goines, Donald "Eldorado Red"

Goines, Donald "Inner City Hoodlum"

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"

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 Ways of White Folks"

Hunter, Travis "A One Woman Man"

Hunter, Travis "Something to Die For"

Hunter, Travis "Trouble Man"

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"

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 "Twilight" (read "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" movie review)

Miller, Moses "The Barack in Me"

Milne, Kevin Alan "Sweet Misfortune: A Novel" 

Monroe, Mary "God Don't Like Ugly"

Moses, Shelia P. "I, Dred Scott"

Moses, Shelia P. "Joseph, A Novel"

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"

Picoult, Jodi "Nineteen Minutes"

Picoult, Jodi "Salem Falls"

Picoult, Jodi "The Tenth Circle"

Ptah, Heru "A Hip Hop Story"

Rhodes, Jewell Park "Douglass' Women"

Senate, Melissa "The Breakup Club"

Senate, Melissa "The Solomon Sisters Wise Up"

Senate, Melissa "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?"

Sinclair, April "Coffee Will Make You Black"

Singer, Gammy L. "A Landlord's Tale"

Siplin, Karen "His Insignificant Other"

Siplin, Karen "Such a Girl"

Siplin, Karen "Whiskey Road"

Souljah, Sister "Midnight: A Gangster Love Story"

Souljah, Sister "The Coldest Winter Ever"

Stovall, Taressa "Proverbs for the People"

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

50 Cent and Greene, Robert "The 50th Law"

Altman, Susan "The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage"

Ardis, Angela "Inside a Thug's Heart"

Asante, Molefi Kete "Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation"

Baisden, Michael "Never Satisfied: How & Why Men Cheat"

Bentley, Fonzworth "Advance Your Swagger: How to Use Manners, Confidence, and Style to Get Ahead"

Bykofsky, Sheree "Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published"

Campbell, Chris "The Essential Neo Soul"

Canfield, Jack "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul"

Chapman, Jack "Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute"

Cochran, Johnnie "A Lawyer's Life"

Compton-Rock, Malaak "If It Takes a Village, Build One"

Conyers, Jr., James L. "African American Sociology: A Social Study of the Pan-African Diaspora"

Cosby, Bill "Congratulations! Now What? A Book for Graduates"

Cosby, Bill "Fatherhood"

Davis, Sampson "The Pact"

Ellsworth, Scott  “Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921”

Fraser, George C. "Click: Ten Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships"

Golden, Marita "It's All Love: Black Writers on Family, Soul Mates, and Friends"

Grenlee, Sam "The Spook Who Sat By the Door"

Harper, Hill "The Conversation: How Black Men and women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships"

Harris, E. Lynn "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted: A Memoir" (R.I.P. "Memories of E. Lynn Harris")

Jackson, Michael "Moonwalk"

Johnson, Michelle T. "Working While Black: The Black Person's Guide to Success in the White Workplace"

Jones, Ricky L. "Black Haze: Violence, Sacrifice, and Manhood in Black Greek-Letter Fraternities"

Kimbrough, Walter M. "Black Greek 101:The Culture, Customs, and Challenges of Black Greek Fraternities and Sororities"

Kobak, James "How to Start a Magazine"

Kornweibel, Jr., Theodore "Railroads in the African American Experience"

Maher, Bill “New Rules”

Krut, Avery "Barack Obama Presidential Vault"

Laird, Taneisha Nash and Roland Laird "Still I Rise: A Graphic History of  African Americans"

Libert, Barry and Rick Faulk "Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign"

Meeske, Milan D. "Copywriting for the Electronic Media: A Practical Guide"

Mitchell, Finesse "Your Girlfriends Only Know So Much: A Brother's Take on Dating and Mating for Sistas"

Mundy, Liza "Michelle, a biography"

Nissel, Angela "Mixed: My Life in Black and White"

Nissel, Angela "The Broke Diaries"

Obama, Barack "Dreams from My Father"

"The Obamas: Portrait of America's New First Family," Editors of Essence Magazine

Oliu, Walter E. "Writing that Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job"

Passante, Christopher K. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Journalism"

Patton, Erin O. "Under the Influence: Tracing the Hip-Hop Generation's Impact on Brands, Sports, & Pop Culture"

Perry, Tyler "Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings"

Reiss, Fern "The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days"

Reverend Run and Justine Simmons "Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents"

Ro, Ronin "Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records"

Simmons, Russell "Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success"

Smith, Dr. Ian K. "Happy: Simple Steps to Get the Most Out of Life"

Sterling, Dorothy “Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman”

Steffans, Karrine "Confessions of a Video Vixen"

Sussman, Vic "The Vegetarian Alternative: A Guide to a Helpful and Humane Diet"

Williams, Terrie M. “Black Pain: Real Talk for When There’s Nowhere to Go But Up”

Zelezny, John D. "Communications Law: Liberties, Restraints, and the Modern Media"

COMEDY/COMICS

DeGeneres, Ellen "The Funny Thing Is"

Halpern, Justin "Sh*t My Dad Says"

Harvey, Steve "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment"

McGruder, Aaron "A Right to Be Hostile: The Boondocks Treasury"

McGruder, Aaron "Public Enemy 2: An All New Boondocks Collection"

POETRY

Angelou, Maya "A Song Flung Up to Heaven"

Drew, Ain "[If] Life's Rotten, Write to the Core"

Giovanni, Nikki "Bicycles: Love Poems"

Sanchez, Sonia "Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam"

Simmons, Russell "Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway...and More"

COOKBOOKS

Leneman, Leah "The Tofu Cookbook"

Shelf, Angela "The Ethnic Vegetarian"

©2008 Shamontiel L. Vaughn| All rights reserved