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African Literature Black Canadian Authors Black Literature Black Writers

30+ Books by Ghanaian and Ghanaian Canadian Authors to Read for Ghana Independence Day

Black Writers Monthly Reads New Releases

60+ Books by Black Authors Dropping This Month (March 2026) and My Top 6

Black Writers Book Club Pick Book Life

March BOTM Pick: The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley

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Book Club Season 8
Rooted in Reading Journal
Black Writers Book Life

A Literary Holy Day — Honouring Toni Morrison & Audre Lorde

by LalaaLeave a Comment on A Literary Holy Day — Honouring Toni Morrison & Audre Lorde

Some dates hold a particular kind of weight. Not because the calendar says they should, but because the ancestors left fingerprints there. February 18 is one of those days. Today, we honour two women whose …

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Black Canadian Authors Black Writers Community & Culture

Beyond the Single Story: Why Black Canadian Storytelling Deserves More Than a Box

by LalaaLeave a Comment on Beyond the Single Story: Why Black Canadian Storytelling Deserves More Than a Box

There are some conversations that feel bigger than an event. This is one of them. On Sunday, March 1, 2026 (2:00–4:00 PM), Pickering Public Library is hosting In Conversation with Black Canadian Authors: Beyond the …

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Black Canadian Authors Black Writers Book Life Community & Culture

Black Canadian Books to Read (and Why They Matter)

by LalaaLeave a Comment on Black Canadian Books to Read (and Why They Matter)

A reading list for Black Brilliance Month — and every month after I’ll be honest: I don’t always love the phrase Black history. Not because history doesn’t matter, it does. Deeply. But because the word …

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Book Club Pick Monthly Reads

February Book of the Month: Love After Love (This Black Girl Reads — Season 8)

by LalaaLeave a Comment on February Book of the Month: Love After Love (This Black Girl Reads — Season 8)

We’re officially stepping into our first book club read of 2026, and baby… it’s giving tender, funny, messy-in-the-most-human-way, and full of second chances. For February, we’re reading: Love After Love by Ingrid PersaudA warm, wise, …

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Book Life Book Reviews New Releases

50+ New Books by Black Authors in February 2026 (Plus My Top 5 Picks)

by LalaaLeave a Comment on 50+ New Books by Black Authors in February 2026 (Plus My Top 5 Picks)

Listen… February is feeding us. If you’ve been needing a sign to refresh your TBR, reclaim your reading life, and keep your shelf Blackity Black Black, this is it. I pulled together a big drop …

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Book Life Monthly Reads New Releases

Books by Black Authors Coming Out in 2026 That You Should Add to Your List

by Lalaa1 Comment on Books by Black Authors Coming Out in 2026 That You Should Add to Your List

There’s something sacred about watching Black stories arrive into the world. Like… every release is proof that we’re still here… imagining, remembering, healing, risking, laughing, loving. And 2026? Baby. It’s looking STACKED. We’re about to …

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About Me

Hey I'm Lalaa
Hey I'm Lalaa

library curator + literacy advocate and certified Black book enthusiast. I share recs, reviews, and soft-goodie vibes for anyone building a better bookshelf (and a better self). Come read with me. 🖤📚

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  • Book Reviews94 Post(s)
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Looking for a simple way to track your reading life? Check out the Rooted in Reading Journal!

Looking for a simple way to track your reading life? Check out the Rooted in Reading Journal!

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    30+ Books by Ghanaian and Ghanaian Canadian Authors to Read for Ghana Independence Day

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    60+ Books by Black Authors Dropping This Month (March 2026) and My Top 6

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    March BOTM Pick: The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley

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Just a little reminder for the readers heading int Just a little reminder for the readers heading into the weekend: your reading life does not have to be perfect to be meaningful.

It can be quiet.
It can be slow.
It can be one chapter between errands, one poem before bed, or an audiobook playing while you clean up the house and mind your business.

Around here, reading is not just a hobby. It is joy. It is care. It is lineage. It is a way back to ourselves.

So this is your sign to make space for the book that’s been calling your name in whatever way works for your life.

What are you reading this weekend, goodie?

#ReadingIsResistance #readingisjoy #ThisBlackGirlReads
Happy Pub Day! Shut Up and Read: A Memoir from Har Happy Pub Day! Shut Up and Read: A Memoir from Harriett’s Bookshop by Jeannine A. Cook 

This book reminded me that bookstores are never just bookstores. At their best, they are a sanctuary, a meeting place, they are a testimony; they are a way for people to find themselves, each other, and the words they need to keep going.

What I loved most about this memoir was learning about Cook’s life through the building of Harriett’s Bookshop; her advocacy, her vision, her pain, her persistence, and the deeply personal journey that shaped the space she created. You can feel that this bookshop was born out of longing, purpose, and a refusal to let the world make small what was always meant to be expansive.

One line that stayed with me is:
“I realize now that part of building the bookshop is me seeking to build a home for those who need one again and again.”

If you love bookstores, literary community, and memoirs about building something meaningful against the odds, this one is worth your time. It is tender, visionary, and deeply rooted in the power of books to make a way out of no way.

#ShutUpAndRead #BlackReaders #LiteraryCommunity #ThisBlackGirlReads
The literary world is not built by authors alone. The literary world is not built by authors alone.

It is also held by women who teach, lend, edit, recommend, preserve, gather, review, publish, and pass stories hand to hand.

Today, I’m celebrating the women doing the work in these literary streets... the writers, librarians, booksellers, teachers, editors, book club hosts, bloggers, reviewers, and literary advocates who keep stories alive and help readers find their way home through words.

So much of reading culture is built in community. And so much of that community is shaped, carried, and protected by women.

Tag a woman in the literary ecosystem you love below... your favourite author, librarian, bookseller, educator, publisher, reviewer, bookish content creator, or literary community builder. 

Let’s give them their flowers today. 🤎

#InternationalWomensDay #ThisBlackGirlReads #WomenInLiterature #LiteraryCommunity #BlackWomenWhoRead
Happy Ghana Independence Day 🇬🇭✨ Today I wanted t Happy Ghana Independence Day 🇬🇭✨

Today I wanted to celebrate Ghana through books, through story, memory, history, womanhood, language, and voice. This list features books by Ghanaian and Ghanaian Canadian authors across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and it feels like such a beautiful reminder that a country can live in its literature too.

From classics like The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and Our Sister Killjoy, to contemporary reads like His Only Wife, Maame, and Homegoing, there is so much richness here.

And I really wanted to make space for Ghanaian Canadian voices too,  because Ghana also lives across the diaspora, in memory, in migration, and in the stories Black writers continue to tell.

Which book have you read, or which one would you pick up first?

✅️ want the list? Comment "Ghana" 🇬🇭 and i'll send it to you. 🙌🏾

#GhanaIndependenceDay #GhanaianAuthors  #AfricanLiterature #DiasporaReads #BooksByBlackAuthors
March is BLACK AUTHOR MONTH, the way these release March is BLACK AUTHOR MONTH, the way these releases are set up 😮‍💨🖤📚

I pulled together a full list of books by Black authors dropping in March, and it’s giving memoirs that heal, romances that spin you, thrillers that keep you up, poetry that blesses you, and nonfiction that feeds your brain.

Here’s what I need from you:

Comment “MARCH LIST” and I’ll send you the full list. 

Which title are you claiming first? 👀

Because, listen… we’re not letting this month pass without adding something Black, brilliant, and brand-new to our shelves.

#ThisBlackGirlReads #BlackAuthors #NewBookReleases #MarchReads #Bookstagram #BlackGirlReadingJoy #CanadianBookstagram #BlackWomenRead #BookList #TBR #ReadingCommunity
New month, new reading intentions for March 🌿📚 Th New month, new reading intentions for March 🌿📚

This month we’re reading with softness, honesty, and a lil bit of discipline (because the TBR not gonna read itself 😮‍💨).

 Drop yours below: what are you calling in for your reading life this month.

#ReadingIsRestAndResistance #ThisBlackGirlReads #ReadingCommunity
March is here, and we’re stepping into something t March is here, and we’re stepping into something tender.

After the beautiful turnout in February (still smiling about that room 😭🖤), I’m so excited to announce our next read: The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley.

If you’ve been craving community that feels like living room energy , not performance, this is your sign.

We’re reading.
We’re reflecting.
We’re growing.

Register through the link in my profile, or drop 'I'm in' and i'll send you the details. 

And if you were at the February book club, tell the people what they missed 👀✨
New book day and I’m excitedttt 🖤📖 Today is pub New book day and I’m excitedttt 🖤📖 

Today is pub day for Kin by Tayari Jones, and now that I’ve finished it, let me tell you: this one is WORTH your time. 

It has that Tayari Jones magic, layered characters, family tension, emotional depth, and the kind of writing that feels so human and so true. The story pulled me in, and more than once I had to stop, stare into space, and just sit with what I read 😮‍💨✨ 

If you love books that are beautifully written and make you feel something real, add Kin to your list. 

Have you read Tayari Jones before? 

Are you picking this one up? 👇🏾🖤

#Kin #TayariJones #PubDayReads #ReadingIsRestAndResistance #BlackWomenWhoRead
This is the kind of conversation I want us to have This is the kind of conversation I want us to have more often.

Black Canadian storytelling is not one thing. It was never meant to be.

Not one tone.
Not one struggle.
Not one kind of joy, grief, love, family, or becoming.

Our stories are layered. Diasporic. Tender. Sharp. Mythic. Ordinary. Full.

So this carousel is a reminder: read beyond the single story. Read for complexity. Read for what a book is revealing about place, memory, belonging, and the truths people try to flatten.

And if you want to keep this conversation going in person, I’m honoured to be moderating:
In Conversation with Black Canadian Authors: Beyond the Single Story @pickeringlibs

✨ Featuring @kerncarter  @teresempierre , and @zalikarb

🗓 Sunday, March 1, 2026
🕑 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
📍 Central Library Auditorium
✅ Register at link in my profile or pop up. (Say 'I'm in' in the comments and i'll send the details) 

If you can’t attend, still join the practice:

Pick up a Black Canadian book this week and ask,
What is this story refusing to simplify?

#ThisBlackGirlReads  #BlackCanadianLiterature #BlackCanadianAuthors #ReadingAsResistance
Black Canadian books are not an “extra” shelf. The Black Canadian books are not an “extra” shelf. They are essential reading. 🤎📚

This list is for the readers who want more than surface-level “representation.”
These books tell the truth about Canada.
They hold Black life with depth.
They preserve lineage.
They make room for memory, grief, joy, becoming, and imagination.

I’m calling this a Black Brilliance Month reading list, because our stories are not just history. They are living, breathing, and shaping the future.

✨ Save this for your TBR
✨ Share with your book club / reading bestie
✨ Comment which book you’d add or which one you're adding to your list

Want the FULL list??? Comment list and I'll send it to you. 🙌🏾

#ThisBlackGirlReads #BlackCanadianBooks #BlackCanadianAuthors #ReadingAsResistance #BlackReaders
A little reminder for the reading week ahead: You A little reminder for the reading week ahead:

You do not need to read the most.
You do not need to read the fastest.
You do not need to turn reading into another thing to “do right.”

Just come back to the book.
Come back to yourself.
Come back to the quiet.

What book are you holding this week? 

#ThisBlackGirlReads #BlackGirlReading #ReadingIsResistance #BlackWomenRead
We're a week away from book club so let's check-in We're a week away from book club so let's check-in, my boo-kies ❤️🖤💚

How is Love After Love treating you?

This isn’t just a book, we’re reading in community, and that’s sacred. 

Black readers have always made a way: turning pages in the middle of life, finding ourselves in words, building soft places to land.

Reading is rest.
Reading is resistance.

And you don’t have to be finished to belong here. 😌

Two Ways to Join this Month

🗓️ Thursday, February 26 at 7 pm - Online 
📍 Friday, February 27 at 7pm - In Person, In Toronto

Now tell me👇🏾 Where are you in the book right now?

(And what line or moment is still sitting with you?)

#BookClub #ThisBlackGirlReads #BlackBookstagram
Today we celebrate two giants, Toni Morrison and A Today we celebrate two giants, Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde, born on the same day, carrying whole worlds in their hands.

Their words didn’t just sound good.
They protected us. Challenged us. Fed us.
They taught us how to name the cage… and still choose freedom.

A few lines to hold close today:

— “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.” (Beloved)
— “I didn’t fall in love, I rose in it.” (Jazz)
— “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence… it is self-preservation…” (A Burst of Light)
— “Your silence will not protect you.”

Tell me in the comments: what’s your favourite Toni or Audre book—and the line you’ll never forget? 🕯️📚

#ToniMorrison #AudreLorde #BlackLiterature #ReadingIsResistance #BooksByBlackWomen
If i leave my house without my kindle, it's not a If i leave my house without my kindle, it's not a trip.... it's a mistake. 🤭🤦🏽‍♀️ 

Kindle girlies, tell the truth 👀 comment 'kindle girlie' if you never leave home without yours. 

Stickers from @da.book.nook

#kindlegirlie 
#thisblackgirlreads 
#blackbookstagram
Gentle reminders for your reading life, because ar Gentle reminders for your reading life, because around here, we let our reading be rooted, not rushed. 🌿📚

Rooted in joy. Rooted in freedom. Rooted in the kind of rest that brings you back to yourself. 

Whether it’s one page on your lunch break, a chapter before bed, or an audiobook in your ear while you handle life, it all counts.

Save this for the days you feel scattered.

And tell me in the comments: what are you reading (or listening to) this week? 🎧📖✨

Which one of these hit the hardest?

#ThisBlackGirlReads
#readingjournal
#ReadingCommunity #readingtime📖
February is coming in HOT. 😮‍💨🖤📚 I rounded up 50+ February is coming in HOT. 😮‍💨🖤📚

I rounded up 50+ books by Black authors dropping this month... romance, lit fic, history, mystery, kids… the whole buffet.

Swipe through, save this post for your next library run, and tell me: which one are you grabbing first?

✨ Want the FULL downloadable list (so you can screenshot less and hold more)?

Comment FEB LIST and I’ll send the link straight to your DMs. Or visit thisblackgirlreads.ca 

(And if you’re a real one… drop a second comment with your Top 3 so we can compare TBR damage 😭)

#ThisBlackGirlReads  #SupportBlackAuthors #BlackAuthors #BlackLiterature  #NewBookReleases
Follow @thisblackgirlreads on Instagram
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