books
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12 Days of Gifting, Day 11: For the Bibliophiles
As the days are at their shortest and coldest, is there anything better than curling up with a good book? Better yet, in lieu tromping through store after store or guessing at sizes online, is there anything better than walking your fingers to the laptop and gifting a good book (or several) to the bibliophiles…
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Mama Said Knock You Out! Tyra Banks and Her Mom Team Up for a New Book
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include an interview with Tyra Banks. Modeling costs, baby! Perfect Is Boring, the new book from Tyra Banks and her mother, Carolyne London, a former nurse and photographer-turned-Tyra’s-sometime-manager-and-always-confidante, details the pitfalls of both Tyra’s life and career, and gives advice on finding ways to pick yourself up…
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Black, Bookish and Beautiful: This All-Black, All-Female Publishing Team Is Ensuring That Authors of Color Get Their Shine
Publishing is notoriously rough terrain for authors of color. Jack Jones Literary Arts—an all-black, all-female firm—is seeking to change that, committing to publishing and promoting books by writers who have traditionally been pushed to the margins of a historically white and male-dominated industry. Founded by Kima Jones in 2015, Jack Jones Literary Arts boasts an…
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We Were 8 Years in Power Moves Ta-Nehisi Coates to Top of Black America’s Draft Board
On Jan. 21, 2004, Comedy Central’s groundbreaking Chappelle’s Show debuted the iconic “Racial Draft” sketch. In it, comedian Dave Chappelle imagined a draft in which each race selected and traded individuals to represent the race. The Asians drafted the Wu-Tang Clan, and Jews picked Lenny Kravitz. The concept quickly became an inside joke that still…
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11-Year-Old Mo. Boy Launches Books N Bros Reading Club, Focusing on African-American Children’s Literature
Sidney Keys III loves to read, and about six months ago he concocted a plan to start a reading club for boys his age to band together and celebrate their love of literature. The reading club, which he dubbed Books N Bros, strongly emphasizes making reading fun while focusing on and celebrating African-American literature and…
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On Falling And Staying Madly And Deeply In Love With…The Library
I still remember my first library card. It was tan and all the private information that could be used for identity theft — name, age, face, favorite member of SWV, etc — was typed on its face. I don’t remember it because I have a great memory, but because my mom still has it. She is…