The African-American Read-in and YA

Martin Luther King Day seems like a good time to break my...um...long radio silence to point your attention to this, pasted  from Reading in Color:

Doret of theHappyNappyBookseller had the brillant idea that we book bloggers should do something in honor of the African-American Read-In. What is the African American Read In you ask? Well I had no idea either until Doret shared a link with me.

From the NCTE website

"Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations, and interested citizens are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting and coordinating Read-Ins in their communities. Hosting a Read-In can be as simple as bringing together friends to share a book, or as elaborate as arranging public readings and media presentations that feature professional African American writers."

Ari, Doret and Edi are asking readers to vote for one of six YA books to be read and discussed in February, and then to participate in said reading/discussion.

The books are:

Tyrell, by Coe Booth
Bleeding Violet, by Dia Reeves
Jumped, by Rita Williams Garcia
Yummy, by G. Neri
A Wish After Midnight, by Zetta Elliott
When the Black Girl Sings, by Bill Wright

Personally I've read the Booth, Reeves, and Elliott titles and they are all excellent--Tyrell is unforgettable.  I'm looking forward to reading the others on the list, but I voted for A Wish After Midnight because Zetta Elliott's book is self-published and I want to see the author's work get the attention it deserves.  For SF/F enthusiasts, Bleeding Violet and A Wish After Midnight are both on the mark.  It is nice to see a good proportion of genre work included on a YA list, too--and no vampires in sight although the Reeves is rife with monsters and imaginative mayhem :-) 

To find out more and/or participate, please to clicky.

And even if you don't have a taste for YA, here's an opportunity to check out and maybe even share with others the works of Nalo Hopkinson (last I checked Canada was still America and anyway, her stuff is awesome), Nisi Shawl, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Samuel Delany and the late, great Octavia E. Butler.  (I am sure there are a fair few others that I'm forgetting due to a flu-addled brain).  Or for that matter, if you needed an excuse to read recently published and highly acclaimed titles Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor or The Broken Kingdoms by NK Jemisin, here it is.

{Also...I have not actually dropped off the face of the earth.  I'm just creating a convincing facsimile.  I went through a bit of a...patch...during the dark months, and I'm trying to keep the internet at arm's length for now for the sake of my mental health.  I do lurk and very occasionally swoop in for the odd comment, but psychologically I am shaky & so, not posting.  Hi, though, btw :) }