I recently went through my 200+ books on my pink bookshelf. I pulled all of the books by BIPOC I have. Sadly, my bookshelf is not as diverse as it should be. I, a woman of color, wondered why that is.
I acquired a majority of my books from local library book sales. I live in a small Texas town, so it’s very common to find books by white authors here. I have seen tables full of James Patterson, Danielle Steel, and John Grisham (no offense, I like them too). As much as I love books, I cannot afford to spend much on books. The library book sales price range from $0.50-$1. I have a big family to provide for so I don’t have the ability to by the latest new book(s).
These are the books I have written by Black Authors.
5. I have 5 books by Black authors. 200+ books and only 5. That’s an eye opener.
Now, these books, I did not find them at the local library sales. Oh no.
1. “The Proposal” by Jasmine Guillory, I bought that one at Walmart. It was about $8. To be honest, I bought this one because of all of the hype around it. I’m so glad I did.
2. “War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi is the very first physical ARC I ever received for free. I got it through Bookfirst. I was super excited when I got it and will not be letting this one go. I would like to continue with this series when the second book comes out in October.
3. “The Wedding Date” by Jasmine Guillory. I just won this on Instagram, thank you Ellery Adams. I can’t wait to read this one.
4. “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon. A friend of mine bought this for me. We both read the book and then saw the movie. I also read “The Sun is also a Star” by Nicola Yoon. Both books are great reads!!
5. “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi. I bought this one myself, I saved what change I could. I will say, this is one the most expensive books I have bought for myself. I have not read this one yet, I am waiting for the right time. By that I mean, when the kiddos are back at school and I can read uninterrupted. I just know this one will be so good and hard to put down.
I am currently reading “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. My local library has it, so I checked it out. I hope to check out “On the Come Up” soon. At the moment, there is a long waiting line for it (only one copy).
Alright y’all. I’m going to end this blog and get back to “The Hate U Give”. Until next time, read just one more chapter 🤗
Pigpen_Reads 