“Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton” by Martha Ackmann c.2026, St. Martin’s Press $30.00 304 pages Not too bright. That’s what people once thought about you. Your language didn’t conform, you had your own sense of style, and you were ignorant about modern things and places and foods. But you were no dummy. You were different, and you had a secret: as in the new biography, “Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton” by Martha Ackmann, you knew exactly where you were going. When Avie Lee Owens and Lee Parton first married, they…
Author: Terri Schlichenmeyer
“Mahalia Jackson, Moving On Up a Little Higher: The Story of An American Civil Rights Pioneer” by Timothy B. Tyson & Mary D. Williams c.2026, Liveright $28.99 256 pages Your actual job is one thing. It’s what you do with a third of your weekday, what pays the bills and puts food on the table. You might really love the job and consider it a calling but like most folks, you need more Yes, you work, you have a job – but as in the new biography, “Mahalia Jackson, Moving On Up a Little Higher” by Timothy B. Tyson &…
“The Cruelty of Nice Folks: Why Minneapolis Is the Story of America” by Justin Ellis c.2026, Harper $30.00 419 pages Two blocks up, two down. Once upon a time, that was your entire world. You lived here, Grandma’s house was around the corner, uncles and aunties lived along the way, school was nearby, church across the street. That real estate held everything you needed. But what if things changed? What if, as in the new memoir, “The Cruelty of Nice Folks” by Justin Ellis, your hometown, the place that held your memories, betrayed you? Chances are that when you think…
c.2026, Gallery Books $30.00 238 pages Okay, let’s just say it: you’re tired of lies. They come from above, behind, from either shoulder. They’re repeated, laid out in a line, told as if they’re true but they’re not. You wish people would stop lying to you. As in the new memoir “Transcendent” by Laverne Cox, you wish you could tell the truth about yourself. Sissy. If the bullies in the neighborhood weren’t constantly calling Leverne Cox that name, then Cox’s mother was. “Sissy,” was just one word, though; the others were worse. The boys would say those things while they…
Good old Dad. He’s there for you every day, playing with you, tucking you into bed, teaching you to do fun things, helping you. He and Grandpa, they’re the greatest – and this month, it’s time to read books about the Dads and Father-figures in your life… Who’s your best buddy? You’d probably say that your Papa is, and in “Dear Dad,” illustrated by Natalie Lundeen (Flamingo Books, $9.99), you’ll read a love letter to one youngster’s father, a gator who is the little guy’s “favorite dude.” This is a quick, colorful, adorable, fast-to-read story that’s full of love and…
c.2026, Black Privilege Publishing / Atria $30.00 324 pages So what do you think? No doubt, you have an opinion on the subject at hand. You have something to say, a POV, a side you’ll take or a stand to make. You have thoughts, info to gather, intel to share. Talk-talk-talk, maybe it’s a calling. Maybe, as in the new memoir, “Arsenio” by Arsenio Hall with Alan Eisenstock, it’s livin’ the dream. Back when he was small, everyone assumed that little Arsenio Hall would grow up to be a preacher like his Daddy. Sunday mornings, Hall says, were spent listening…
The history books seem to be full of men. Galileo, Frederick Douglass. Abraham Lincoln. Jesse Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, the list goes on. So this month, put a few women on your radar by reading these great Women’s History Month books… Soon, your mind may turn to gardening and greenery and “When Trees Testify” by Beronda L. Montgomery (Henry Holt, $27.99) is a great place to start. Written by a renowned biologist, this book explains how African Americans have made their mark on the world of botany, and vice versa. Trees, especially, have been essential in Black history, and Montgomery writes…
For weeks now, you’ve been remembering, studying various subjects, and celebrating Black History Month. But just a reminder: every day is a good day to learn about Black History. These great books can help… About a year or so ago, we marked the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and we remembered the men and women who served. Now step further: in “Until the Last Gun is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America’s Soul” by Matthew F. Delmont (Viking, $32), you’ll read about Black soldiers, activists, and protesters who…
You gotta start somewhere. First, you crawled, then you toddled before you ran, which is exactly how most things are. There’s a foundation from which to spring, a base from which to jump, and you need to figure out how to best proceed so you can succeed. You gotta start somewhere, and in the new book “I’ll Make Me a World” by Jarvis R. Givens, it started with racism. James McCune Smith was just fourteen years old the day New York passed its Emancipation Act. Smith had been born into slavery but was officially freed that July 4 of 1827.…
There’s a reason for everything. That doesn’t mean an excuse or a guess made of ignorance, but an explanation for what was, a kind of thought process that says if this happens, then that. A reason is a why, and in the new book, “The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery” by Brooke N. Newman, you’ll see why the story of Black America didn’t start in 1619. In late November 2021, the Caribbean nation of Barbados held a celebration to mark the fifty-fifth anniversary of the day they removed Queen Elizabeth II as head of…