PageTurners: These Titles Were Written in the Stars…Literally

If you live in a place where you can’t see the stars but still want to go stargazing, have no fear, this week’s literary releases are here.

Before we go into the 6 star-studded releases that dropped, we have to talk about Amazon’s newest literary venture: Amazon Original Stories presents Black Stars. 6 titles by prominent Black authors are available free to read and listen to with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.

The titles include 2043…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) by Nisi Shawl, The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor, The Visit by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, These Alien Skies by C.T. Rwizi, Clap Back by Nalo Hopkinson and We Travel the Spaceways by Victor LaValle.

Each read is under an hour long and explores how the future for us all, but particularly for Black people, varies from varied perspectives. The audio narration features a cast of characters such as LeVar Burton, Indya Moore, Naomi Ackie and more, according to a press release provided to The Root.

Individuals who don’t have Kindle Unlimited have the option of purchasing the book as a digital copy and receiving a free audiobook file along with it. The collection is now live on the Amazon Originals homepage.

Speaking of the stars, Stephon Alexander wants to show us a new way of viewing the universe through a Black—and Blackhole—lens in Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics. The celestial theme continues on a more earthly realm with Queen of Urban Prophecy by Aya de León, as hip hop musician discovers what it means to be a star and the consequences that come with it. Moving even further into the stratosphere, Ishmael Reed offers a space for Broadway critics to openly critique the lack of space given to Black performers on the Broadway stage in Bigotry on Broadway.

There’s a lot happening in the universe—and the world—right now, but these new releases make it a bit easier to understand. 

Bigotry on Broadway – Ishmael Reed (Nonfiction)

12 accomplished writers, cultural commentators and critics pen their stories and critiques on the bigotry on Broadway and how it has never been checked. Ishmael Reed and Carla Blank offer these writers space to offer commentary on longstanding Broadway traditions in a way that they’ve never been allowed to before—specifically around the treatment of non-white people. In addition to Reed and Blank, the anthology includes writers Lonely Christopher, Tommy Curry, Jack Foley, Emil Guillermo, Claire J. Harris, Yuri Kageyama, Soraya McDonald, Nancy Mercado, Aimee Phan, Elizabeth Theobold Richards, Shawn Wong and David Yearsley.

September 1, 2021, Baraka Books

Coq au Vin: Nanette Hayes Mystery Series Book 2 – Charlotte Carter (Fiction)

Readers of this series left leading character Nan in her small New York City apartment, a murder solved and figuring out her next steps. In this sequel, she’s finally heading back to the City of Light—Paris—where her heart has always been. Things are getting back to normal, but a desperate call from her mother alerts her that her Aunt Vivian is missing, and like before, she finds herself enamored with a mysterious person who makes it hard to hold on to the task at hand: find Aunt Viv. Trouble always finds Nan, but can Nan evade trouble until she finds what she came for?

August 31, 2021, Penguin Random House

Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics – Stephon Alexander (Nonfiction)

Physics isn’t afraid to be wrong. At least, that’s what cosmologist Stephon Alexander hopes to teach us in his new book, Fear of a Black Universe. According to Alexander, “great physics requires us to think outside the mainstream — to improvise and rely on intuition,” something that Black people have been doing for generations in order to survive. He approaches different cosmology principles and breaks them down for readers to better understand and appreciate: the principle of invariance, the quantum principle and the principle of emergence.

“The rabbit hole gets wrestled here,” Chuck D, rapper and co-founder of Public Enemy, writes in an endorsement of the book. “An [old-school] saying applies: the more you know, the more you don’t know. Dance along this read into the unknown and find out that this book may be the best ever answer to ’What is soul?’”

Melody Knight a Vampire’s Tale – Tony Lindsay (Fiction)

Melody lives a double life. By day she’s a highly successful CIA operative responsible for busting a $51 billion human organ market, but by night she’s a vampire. However, as much as her successes bring her joy, there’s a new product on the market that can turn vampires human—and Melody is not having that. The novel explores the “found family” trope as well as looking at the history of vampires in America. It shows Melody’s growth from a “depressed human bride” to a vampire with a drive for humanity all while following a thrilling storyline of murder, black market dealings and the true stories behind the CIA.

August 31, 2021, Atmosphere Press

The Education of Nevada Duncan – Carl Weber, C.N. Phillips (Fiction)

As the heir to the Duncan and Zuniga fortunes—and their criminal origins—Nevada Duncan has to make an important decision. In order to successfully run the family business, Nevada must learn how to be in power and be educated about all matters surrounding it. With support from his father and his father’s father, Nevada enrolls at Chi’s Finishing school—the world’s most elite boarding school for children of crime families. Within the first few hours, he has assembled a crew of his own and quickly falls into a swirling pit of chaos he has no clue how to get out of. After relying on his family to pull him out of sticky situations, Nevada is forced to learn what it truly means to be responsible and hold the power for himself.

August 31, 2021, Urban Books

Queen of Urban Prophecy – Aya de León (Fiction)

It’s her tour and she’ll party if she wants to. Musician Deza always thought her life and career were in the hands of other men, but when she becomes the face of a big clothing brand, gets her own tour and is backed by other female musicians, her outlook on her career begins to shift. That is, until she’s caught partying a little too hard and a lot too often, and her DJ quits, signaling the label to Deza’s party-girl ways. A last-minute replacement, male DJ—one Deza has already hooked up with—disrupts her all-female tour, and the facade begins to crumble.

As it all starts to spiral out of control for Deza, she’s left wondering if it’s worth it to continue working in the industry or if she should throw in the towel and forget it all.

August 31, 2021, Kensington Publishing