The Read On Book Club offers book lovers the very best of African-American fiction, from novels right off the press to dazzling and nostalgic sagas.  The books selected become the voices and clear visions of Black Americans that are shared and celebrated through the stories that we read. 

The Read On Book Club meets every 4th Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at Lincoln Branch Branch Library 1312 W Lincoln Avenue, 309-497-2600.

 

Read On Book Club 2010 Schedule

The Read On Book Club meets every 4th Tuesday of the month at 5:30 P.M. at the Lincoln Branch Library, 1312 W Lincoln Avenue, 309-497-2600.

January 26th: Push – Sapphire

An electrifying first novel that shocks by its language, its circumstances, and its brutal honesty, Push recounts a young black street-girl's horrendous and redemptive journey through a Harlem inferno. For Precious Jones, 16 and pregnant with her father's child, miraculous hope appears and the world begins to open up for her when a courageous, determined teacher bullies, cajoles, and inspires her to learn to read, to define her own feelings and set them down in a diary.

Feb 23rd: Big Girls Do Cry – Carl Weber

Isis and her sister, Egypt—two of the original curvaceous members of the Big Girls Book Club—have hightailed it out of New York and settled in Richmond, Virginia, where they've started a new chapter of the BGBC. The same rules apply here: You must be at least a bodacious size 14 to join.
 

Living in the plush suburbs, Isis has it all—almost. The thirty-seven-year-old plus-size beauty is happily married to Rashid, and they're living in the lap of luxury. There's just one thing missing. They want to start a family.
Enter Egypt, who's moved into her sister's McMansion with dreams of starting over. There's just one hitch: before her sister married Rashid, he was Egypt's man for ten years. Egypt thought she was over him, but the close quarters are giving both her and her sister doubts. She's ready to pack her bags until Isis and Rashid ask her for a serious favor. Egypt knows she shouldn't get involved, but she can't say no to her sister—even if the price might be way too high for them all.

Egypt isn't the only one with drama. Rumor has it that Loraine—Isis's brilliant boss and one of BGBC's newest members—is in the running to be her sorority's next national president. But Loraine has more than one secret that will ruin her if they ever see the light of day. Thank goodness only one other person knows them—BGBC's first male member, Jerome—and what he knows just might destroy him.
As friendships and familyand past and present collide, these book lovers are about to learn that drama can follow you wherever you go—and that big girls do cry…

March 23rd: Be Careful What You Pray For – Kimberla L Roby 

Her first marriage didn’t work out, but that isn’t going to stop Alicia Black, the privileged daughter of the charismatic Reverend Curtis Black, from getting what she wants. One month after her wedding to her second husband, she can’t believe her good fortune. God has heeded her prayers, blessing her with Pastor JT Valentine, a handsome, dynamic man of the cloth with his own large congregation, just like her father.

Unfortunately, Alicia doesn’t understand just how much like Curtis her new husband truly is. She doesn’t know JT has been sneaking around town with other women--or that he only married her to get close to her famous father’s money and fame. But while Alicia is blinded by love, her dad certainly isn’t. He warned his little girl that JT “simply can’t be trusted.” After all, it takes one to know one, and who better to see into the darkness of a sinner’s heart than Curtis?

It will take a miracle to save the day. But God acts in mysterious ways, and soon a host of lies, long-time secrets, and acts of betrayal come to light, and Alicia must face some very crucial and life-changing decisions. This time, though, she’s got to be careful what she prays for. . . .

April 27th: Cougars – Earl Sewell

Jasmine Sallie is beautiful, confident and has a sweet tooth for sex and younger men. At forty-three, Jasmine is a successful chemist, and director of a pharmaceutical research team that has been given the task of creating a female sexual enhancement drug.

When Travis Adams, a brilliant and handsome chemist joins the research team, Jasmine’s penchant for younger men ignites a sizzling affair that is a hair trigger away from dangerous consequences. The two manufacture an addictive and unstable designer drug which gets shelved because of its fatal side effects.

Impatient and ambitious, Travis secretly keeps experimenting until he creates a new and improved formula that hits the black market with a lethal impact. A senator dies, a criminal investigation is launched, and when Travis disappears suddenly, Jasmine’s world is tossed into a chaotic spin. With incriminating evidence pointing towards her, Jasmine finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the ultimate double-cross, unforgivable betrayal and the wicked world of sex and drugs. 

May 25th: Married on Mondays – Honey B (Mary B Morrison)

By day, Valerie Cooper, Dierdra Dawson, and Foxy Brown assist their husbands, all partners at the law firm Brown, Cooper, and Dawson. But at night, they run an upscale club. Their clientele include everyone from judges, lawyers, politicians, and police officers, to soccer moms and housewives. Business is booming at the hottest club in town. Until the police chief extends an indecent proposal to Foxy. With the whole town standing behind them, the women must decide whether to stand together and fight, or risk losing their business.

June 22nd: Captured – Beverly Jenkins

She was the most irresistible treasure of all . . .
 

Dominic LeVeq, the most notorious privateer ever to command the high seas, has just captured a coveted prize: a British frigate. On a dangerous mission against the Crown, Dominic should be thinking only of his ship's safety. But the rebel captain is utterly entranced by Clare Sullivan, the stunning slave on board. Consumed by desire, desperate to have her, Dominic offers Clare her freedom in exchange for a forbidden night in his bed—a night he assures her will be most pleasureable indeed.
 

Clare believes that Dominic is nothing more than a seductive rogue used to getting what he wants. But she too feels a tantalizing passion between them, and so she submits to just one night of bliss. She'll soon realize that Dominic has captured more than her body. He's captured her heart . . . and she doesn't want him to ever let go. 

July 27th: Warmest December – Bernice McFadden

Childhood can be rough, but for Kenzie growing up in the Lowe home means opening the bottom drawer of her father's dresser to choose which of the three belts coiled, waiting like snakes, she wants to get whipped with; trips to Bee Hive Liquor for her father's vodka; and dreaming of the day she can escape apartment A5. Buoyed by the graceful voice that has become McFadden's trademark, The Warmest December is the incredibly moving story of one family and the alcoholism that determined years of their lives. Narrated by a young woman reminiscent of Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John, and moving from the Brooklyn of the 1970's to 90's, Kenzie Lowe discovers as she visits her dying father that choices she once thought beyond her control are very much hers to make.

August 24th: If You Were My Man – Francis Ray

Since the death of her husband four years ago, restaurant owner Natalya Fontaine has closed her heart to finding love again and fears opening up about her dark past to any man. However, once she meets irresistible hostage negotiator Rafael Dunlap, she finds her resolution difficult to keep. Although Rafael loves women, he never wants to marry because he believes his job is too unstable and cannot fathom ever leaving a widow and children behind. Despite their resistance to falling in love, Natalya and Rafael find themselves caught up in an engaging romance. When something unexpected happens, Natalya breaks it off with Rafael before her heart can be broken again. But when Rafael’s life is on the line, Natalya must make the decision to come clean about her past or lose him forever.

September 28th: Weeping Willows Dance – Gloria Mallette

In 1929, by the age of fifteen, Mozelle already knew that she did not want to grow up to be like her mama, a sharecropper's wife. She did not want to get married and, for certain, she did not want twelve children. Mozelle dreamed of getting a good job, of buying herself a car, and of traveling across country a carefree woman--nobody and nothing hanging onto her skirt tail.
 

That is until tall, dark, handsome Randell Tate, twenty-two years Mozelle's senior, showed up in church that fateful Sunday morning and winked at her, throwing Mozelle's world off-balance. Three months later they wed and Randell carried Mozelle across the threshold into The Great Depression. Her children were born and, against all odds, Mozelle set her sights on buying a piece of land and building a house to put a roof over their heads. To realize that dream, Mozelle was going to have to squirrel away her pennies and in the end, build her house with her own two hands---husband or not.
 

Abiding by her parents' teachings, Mozelle stays loyal and faithful in her marriage to Randell, although Randell holds no vow sacred. The hard bed that Mozelle's father had warned that she had made for herself by marrying Randell, became less and less comfortable to sleep in, but Mozelle found comfort in turning to the Lord to see her through the storm.
 

Mozelle is every woman who squares her shoulders and vows to rise above a bad marriage and the excruciating poverty that binds her. Blessed with true grit and a strong backbone, Mozelle stands her ground and sways with the breeze of disappointment and the winds of deprivation. Her determination and her unshakeable faith in God, like the supple branches of the weeping willow tree are strong and unbreakable, thereby proving that Weeping Willows Dance. 

October 26th: Diary of a Stalker – Electa Rome Parks

Xavier Preston is tall, dark, and handsome, and the problem is that he knows it. He's a bestselling author who is accustomed to adoring female fans, both young and old, flirting with him, throwing themselves shamelessly at him, and trying to get between more than the covers of his novels. He has always been more than willing to accommodate their needs and desires; however, his womanizing days have finally ended. He's engaged to a beautiful woman, Kendall, and he's decided to walk the straight and narrow. Or has he?
From outside appearances, the very stunning Pilar has it all: a great career, a beautiful home, and a trust fund that keeps her financially secure; however, looks can be deceiving. All that glitters isn't necessarily gold. Pilar is searching for her perfect soulmate, and she thinks she has found him in Xavier. She believes in going after what she wants with a vengeance . . . and she wants Xavier. That is not negotiable. She will have him, even if it kills him.  

When Xavier meets his fanatical fan, Pilar, he gets much more than he bargained for. What starts out as an erotic one-night stand quickly spirals out of control into a dangerous game of obsession and pain with both parties playing to win.

November and December- On Vacation