Top 10 Book Covers of 2017

A book cover is the most important feature of a novel. I always wonder why the author or publisher chose a particular image to represent the story within the book. Does it grab my attention from a bookshelf? Does it represent the author or characters, especially those of color? Does it really portray the plot? Is it appealing and public-friendly? These are the factors I considered when choosing the best covers of books I've read this year.

Click the title/author for my previously published review of the books featured in my Top 10 Book Covers of 2017. 

10. The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

9. Hola, Morocha! by Jennifer Poe

8. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

7. A Messy, Beautiful Life by Sara Jade Alan

6. Summer of the Cicadas by Cole Lavalais

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

4. Arrogant Bastard by Zara Cox

3. American Street by Ibi Zoboi

2. Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

1. But Then I Came Back by Estelle Laure

You may also be interested in:

Top 5 Series of 2017
Top 10 First Lines of 2017

Top 10 Books of 2017

Reading Challenges of 2017

My Year in Books
My Year in Blogmoir

Top 5 Series of 2017

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. Have you ever read a book and wasn't quite ready to leave the characters yet? Or what about books with a helluva cliffhanger? This is why I heart series! And oh, have I read some good ones this year.

Click the title/author for my previously published review of the books featured in my Top 5 Series of 2017.

5. Good Behavior: The Pain of Others by Blake Crouch (Letty Dobesh Chronicles #1)

4. Chasing Down a Dream by Beverly Jenkins (Blessings #8)

3. The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore (Supremes #1)

2. Finding Gideon by Eric Jerome Dickey (Gideon Serial)

1. You Don't Know My Name by Kristen Orlando (The Black Angel Chronicles #1)

You may also be interested in:

Top 10 First Lines of 2017

Top 10 Books of 2017

Top 10 Book Covers of 2017

Reading Challenges of 2017

My Year in Books
My Year in Blogmoir

 

Top 10 First Lines of 2017

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along. First lines of a book are what grab a reader's interest. It is our first impression. Oftentimes, it makes you go hmmm. It sets the tone for the remainder of the book.

Click the title/author for my previously published review of the books featured in my Top 10 First Lines of 2017.

10. "This being human is a Guest House. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor." ~ Lover by Anna Raverat

9. "The older woman sipped her coffee. 'I have thought and thought about everything about Emmett Till, the killing and the trial, telling who did what to who,' she said." ~ The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson

8. "About 2% of the population suffers from some form of bipolar disorder." ~ Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families by Francis Mark Mondimore, M.D.

7. "I looked down the barrel of my Glock 19 service weapon." ~ Haunted by James Patterson & James O. Born

6. "This story began, as all writing must, in failure." ~ We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

5. "This fairy tale begins in 1968 during a garbage strike." ~ The Changeling by Victor LaValle

4. "'Unreliable witness': that was the phrase a member of the Special Committee in the Lower House of the United States Congress who was investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy used to discredit me when I gave testimony in 1978 under the protection of an order for immunity from prosecution. I was a witness to events, and more. I was close to the people and places that marked a turning point in political life in the second half of the twentieth century." ~ Marita: The Spy Who Loved Castro by Marita Lorenz 

3. "My life began with one of the biggest lies men tell women: I'll pull out, I promise." ~ I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart

2. "Some children are just born bad, plain and simple." ~ Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

1. "Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life." ~ The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

You may also be interested in:

Top 5 Series of 2017

Top 10 Books of 2017

Top 10 Book Covers of 2017

Reading Challenges of 2017

My Year in Books
My Year in Blogmoir

   

Lodak Blue

🎵 I don't blog now, I make resting moves 🎵

Perhaps my latest migraine was a sign to slow down. Simplify. Relax. So I am taking a blogging break. I will still have an online presence through Twitter, Goodreads and Instagram. You can still listen to me on new Sistah Speak podcast episodes. And my hearts IRL can always call, iMessage or come see me.

Until next post...

Book Bust

Library Haul Became DNF Pile...with exception of one book.

4:44 a.m.

So I was fine just the night before. Sipping a Redd's apple ale, snacking on hard salami and cubed colby cheese. I took my nightly migraine medicine as usual. Then around 4 o'clock in the morning, nausea woke me out of my sleep. I stumble in the dark to the bathroom. Made it in just enough time before I vomited up my favorite snack. It wasn't until I stepped away from the toilet that I recognized the pain. Le sigh. A migraine.

I reach for the cabinet to grab my medicine. It should kick in quickly since I caught it at the onset. Or so I hope. But mere minutes from swallowing the powder, it comes right back up. Money and pain relief literally down the drain. I am not sure how much of the medicine, if any, reached my blood stream before I threw it up. In about 4.5 hours, the Cambia will be completely out of my system. Then it will be safe to take another dose. But by then, it is pointless. Because migraine medicine only works effectively if taken at the first sign. Not hours later. So I have to suffer.

I crawl back to my bedroom, grab two pillows and a snuggie. Then I collect my frozen compress from the freezer. Back to the bathroom I go to camp out. You see, it is much easier—and cleaner—if I just sleep on the cold bathroom floor during a migraine attack. The toilet is right there for the bouts of nausea. And somehow the cold darkness is relieving. I drift in and out. Incoherent. Barely sleeping. Only feeling. The throbbing pain on one side of my head. The neck pain that prevents me from stretching out of this fetal position. The tingling in my fingers and toes. The numbing everywhere else. I feel it all.

I start the timer. Because at 72 hours, I am eligible for urgent care. The only sound I leave on is the alarm. iPhone off. iPad off. MacBook sleep. Doorbell disconnected. Blackout curtains closed tight. Any stream of light is blocked. The tiniest sliver of light or the faintest sound is magnified. It hurts to see. It hurts to hear. It hurts to inhale. Dear God, it hurts to feel.

Fast forward to when I am able to nibble on saltine crackers and a coke. I look at the time. No, where is a calendar? It can't be. I lost two (2) whole days of my life! This is my normal. This is the oh-so-unfortunate Life of a Migraineur.

Series Sunday: Chasing Down a Dream

(Blessings #8) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

"Sometimes we women, particularly women of color, think we can ignore the cracks in our souls by just keeping it moving." ~ pg. 170

My Series Sunday pick is Chasing Down a Dream, the eighth book in the Blessings series by Beverly Jenkins. This book of the series is special because I finally had the chance to attend a live book signing in Detroit to have my copy signed and accompanied by a hug from Bev Jenkins herself! It took me a while to come down from that high so I put off reading it for a while. On a hot-as-July-day-in-October, I made a fresh mason jar of sweet sun tea and cracked open Chasing Down a Dream. 

The matriarch of Henry Adams, Tamar July, has a hate/hate relationship with the black sheep of her family. So imagine her surprise when asked to plan the funeral of a cousin. After a storm, Gemma finds two siblings walking alongside the road. She takes them in and tries to become their foster mom. But Social Services will not allow a white woman to foster black children. On a happy note, Jack and Rocky are planning their wedding. Despite personal drama, the town comes together to lend a hand. Hard to believe it has been five (5) years in this town but now it is experiencing some real deal growing pains.

"How long do the mistakes you make in life follow you?" ~ pg. 221

I have said this many times before but will repeat: I am a resident of Henry Adams in-my-head. The characters are my fictional neighbors. We come together for the greater good of our community. We respect our elders. We teach our youth. We support our peers. Chasing Down a Dream is oh so heartwarming and leaves me with a feeling that family really matters.

This is why I love the Blessings series. The books never lose sight of the spirit of Henry Adams and how it came to be. What a great escape from the real world! 

Title: Chasing Down a Dream

Author: Beverly Jenkins

Published: July 2017

Pages: 326

Edition: Paperback

Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤