We will be reading beyond Waiting to Exhale and delving into Terry McMillan’s catalog for our September 2023 Buddy Read.

What’s On My Nightstand is a sometimes weekly blog post, composed to update you all on what I’m currently reading. Why? Because I’m terrible at updating my social cataloging apps. I know. Shame on me.

October 2023 is my month of advanced reading copies, carryover reads, readathons, book clubs, and buddy reads. However ambitious, I’m determined to participate.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up The Last Beekeeper. Maybe a story about bees, but from which angle, I wasn’t sure. This post-apocalyptic, eco-thriller was a pleasant surprise.

A family on the run, in need of money and shelter, but we don’t know why. Insert a haunted house, whose owner is willing to pay the father of said family, to stay there, but won’t go inside or stay in the house themselves. For the “right” amount of money, will he risk it all? Would you stay in the spite house?

Wow. So, I sat down and went through the ebook selections for books released this week, and as of today, there are way more than I had expected to choose. My ‘Library Book Bag’ is now 43 books longer. It would have been 44 if my NetGalley request was denied for the 2023 ARC of For Lamb by Lesa Cline Ransome. It has taken me some time to decide how I want to share my digital ‘Library Book Bag.’ Because the length of this post can vary and quickly become pic and link-heavy, for easy navigation I will format the…

A More Perfect Union is a 2020 historical fiction novel inspired by the union of the author’s great-great-grandparents, an Irish immigrant and an African American slave. It was surprising and had its challenges, but overall proved to be an inspiring love story, supporting the notion that Love knows no bounds.

I recommend Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms to readers who like their middle-grade fantasy, fast-paced, full of adventure, combat, history, and West African-inspired mythology.

Josh Winning’s The Shadow Glass wasn’t on my radar until a bookish friend of mine, Ven of Ven’s_Corner posted a review about it. He mentioned how the book had an 80s nostalgic feel to it because of the characters and storyline. ‘80s nostalgia’ seems to be a buzz phrase for me, so I took a chance and borrowed The Shadow Glass from my local library.

Bring a snack, a beverage, or just some good ol’ conversation. I will be on YouTube doing LIVE reading and productivity sprints August 4-6, 2023.

Once read, reread, and zoomed out, this book of poetry reads as a mashup of the author’s biography and passions. In 13 poems, Javier describes his concerns and love for Harlem.

‘What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez’ is a slice of life novel, following the lives of the Ramirez women, Dolores, the mother, and her daughters, Jessica, Ruthy, and Nina.