AkooBooks Audio: Audie Awards 2019 / Celebrating Black Talent

A cutting satire of race relations in the age of Trump and Black Lives Matter from the hugely popular comedian—one of "The Original Kings of Comedy"—and author of the New York Times bestseller Black Man, White House.

"White people are always giving out ‘helpful’ advice, such as: ‘Comply with the police and you won’t get shot.’ They’ve been doling...

Barracoon

“Barracoon would be a significant document were it only about Cudjo (Kossola) Lewis, the last survivor of the last recorded slave ship to the US. His memories, recounted orally, preserve a trans-atlantic history that has long-been suppressed. But Barracoon is also a story about Zora Neale Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance, and the reclamation of African-American folklore. Woven throughout Hurston and Lewis' conversations is a yearning for roots and a fight for identity.”

Clara, Bookshop Santa Cruz

A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in this fun and flirty multicultural romance debut by New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory—author of the Resse Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick The Proposal.

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER
#5 LibraryReads Pick

“A swoony rom-com brimming... Read more »

If you enjoyed We're Going to Need More Wine, then you’ll love Everything's Trash, But It's Okay.

“Phoebe Robinson narrates her collection of essays and she is so much fun. Her laugh makes you want to laugh with her and her personality just sparkles through. This essay isn't all fun and games as she in honest about personal matters such as debt, dating and struggle as well as feminism (and it's lack of intersectionality), beauty standards and other toxic issues. I especially enjoyed how she owns her faults and her successes and you will be either cringing or cheering as you delve into these essays.”

Audrey , Belmont Books

The last book written by King his final reflections after a decade of civil rights struggles

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement, rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone, and labored over his final manuscript. In this significantly prophetic work, which has been unavailable for... Read more »

"Adjoa Andoh performs much of Housegirl, Michael Donkor's accomplished, affecting debut novel, in sparkling Ghanaian English, immersing listeners in the world of Ghana and the Ghanaian diaspora." — BookPage

Nominated for the Edinburgh First Book Award
One of The Millions' "Most Anticipated Books of the Year"
One of The Guardian's "Best Summer...

Children of Blood and Bone

“A sprawling fantasy teeming with deep and meaningful magic. One of the things I like most about this debut is that it raises very real and important issues of our time through multiple character's perspectives. No character is one-dimensional, and every character must learn from failure and introspection to become who they were meant to be.”

Kelly, Mysterious Galaxy Books

Drawing on his own life and career and the rich lore of The Lion King, Alton Fitzgerald White, Broadway’s longest-running “King,” delivers his message of service—taking responsibility for and deriving happiness from commonplace achievements—as a philosophy that anyone can get through each day with satisfaction, pride, and a sense of...

An American Marriage

“Tayari Jones comes in fierce with An American Marriage. Delving into the lives of the newly married Roy and Celestial, this is a novel that pulls no punches from beginning to end. I won't ruin the surprise, but they're hit with a harrowing event that will define not only their relationship, but each of their lives, forever. Writing with an intensity and pace worthy of Donna Tartt, Jones yanks us into her characters' lives with a grip that never lets up. I cannot wait to put this in people's hands!”

Angela Spring, Duende District

A stunning new talent in literary fiction, Nafissa Thompson-Spires grapples with black identity and the contemporary middle class in these compelling, boundary-pushing vignettes.

Each captivating story plunges headfirst into the lives of new, utterly original characters. Some are darkly humorous—from two mothers exchanging snide remarks through... Read more »

When eleven-year-old Langston's mother dies in 1946, he and his father leave rural Alabama for Chicago's brown belt as a part of what came to be known as the Great Migration. It's lonely in the small apartment with just the two of them, and Langston is bullied at school. But his new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in...