Skip to Content
  • Join the TBGR Book Club

  • About Me
    • Work With Me
    • Community Author Spotlight
  • Bookish Tingz
    • Book Reviews
    • Book of the Month
    • New Releases
    • Monthly Reads
  • Join the Book Club
    • Season 5
    • Season 6
    • Season 7
    • Current – Season 8
  • Check Out the Merch
    • Rooted in Reading Journal
Black Literature Black Writers Monthly Reads New Releases

Books by Black Authors Coming Out in August

Black Canadian Authors Black Literature Book Club Pick Community & Culture Monthly Reads

August BOTM: We Rip the World Apart

African Literature Black Canadian Authors Black Literature Book Reviews Monthly Reads

Emancipation Day: 9 Books That Help Us Remember, Reflect, and Continue the Work

Work With Me
Book Club Season 8
Rooted in Reading Journal
Book Reviews Community & Culture New Releases

The Everlasting Rose leaves us Questioning, What is Beauty?

by LalaaLeave a Comment on The Everlasting Rose leaves us Questioning, What is Beauty?

The standard of beauty is not definite, we define it. But what happens when beauty is defined by a society that has been poisoned and brainwashed? That’s precisely what happens in ‘The Everlasting Rose (The …

Continue Reading
Book Life Community & Culture

Five Excellent Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day Including Dope Books by Dope Women

by Lalaa1 Comment on Five Excellent Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day Including Dope Books by Dope Women

International Women’s Day is held on March 8th every year, and every year I see an influx of quotes and hashtags on social media. This whole social media show made me wonder! Isn’t it worth …

Continue Reading
Book Reviews New Releases

Neighbours get Pushed to the Edge in Mary Monroe’s New Page Turner

by LalaaLeave a Comment on Neighbours get Pushed to the Edge in Mary Monroe’s New Page Turner

I fell in love with Mary Monroe, and her writing years ago after reading God Don’t Like Ugly. I went on to read about a half a dozen of her books that all gave me …

Continue Reading
Book Life Book Reviews Monthly Reads New Releases

10 New Books Coming Out In March 2019 To Add To Your Spring Reading List

by LalaaLeave a Comment on 10 New Books Coming Out In March 2019 To Add To Your Spring Reading List

With the start of March comes the hopes of warmer weather, the end of daylight savings time and books, so many great books.   And although I won’t be able to read on my porch …

Continue Reading
Book Life Book Reviews Community & Culture

Bestselling Author, Angie Thomas, Gives a Voice to the Voiceless

by LalaaLeave a Comment on Bestselling Author, Angie Thomas, Gives a Voice to the Voiceless

The brisk cold air and the light dusting of snow could not stop the over 400 people who came to see renowned two-time bestselling author Angie Thomas at the Rose Theatre last night in Toronto. Though …

Continue Reading
Book Reviews

An incredible catalog of everyday hope, despair and fear in Black womanhood.

by LalaaLeave a Comment on An incredible catalog of everyday hope, despair and fear in Black womanhood.

When I think of some of the books that I couldn’t wait to read in 2019, Magical Negro was at the top of that list. I’m pleased to say that it did not disappoint. Fierce …

Continue Reading

Posts pagination

Previous Page 1 … Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Next

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. 🖤📚

Categories

  • Black Canadian Authors11 Post(s)
  • Book Reviews95 Post(s)
  • New Releases22 Post(s)

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!

What’s Trending

  • Black LiteratureBlack WritersMonthly ReadsNew Releases

    Books by Black Authors Coming Out in August

  • Black Canadian AuthorsBlack LiteratureBook Club PickCommunity & CultureMonthly Reads

    August BOTM: We Rip the World Apart

  • African LiteratureBlack Canadian AuthorsBlack LiteratureBook ReviewsMonthly Reads

    Emancipation Day: 9 Books That Help Us Remember, Reflect, and Continue the Work

100 Book Reviews 80% Reviews Published Professional Reader

See Past Posts

August is overflowing with Black stories. ✨📚 70 b August is overflowing with Black stories. ✨📚

70 books by Black authors are hitting shelves this month, and honestly, my TBR is shaking. Yes, you heard that right 70!!! 👀

From fantasy and thrillers to literary fiction, romance, historical fiction, and stories rooted in the Caribbean, Africa, and the diaspora, these releases are a reminder that our stories are limitless.

A few I'm especially excited about:

🤎  A Clash of Carnivores by @lisellesambury
🤎 Take What You Can by @naimacoster
🤎 The Twelfth House by @robdelawrites
🤎 Soft Spots by Leila Renee @leilareneex
🤎 Ghost in the Night by @writeinbk
🤎 Eat with Afia by @eatwithafia

Which one is at the top of your list???

✨ Save this list for your next bookstore trip.
✨ Share it with your favourite reading friend.
✨ Tell me which August release is going straight to the top of your TBR?

Want the full list??? Comment 'August List' and I'll send it over. 🙌🏾

#ThisBlackGirlReads  #BooksByBlackAuthors #AugustReads #BlackReaders #ReadingAsResistance
August is a reminder that our reading journeys are August is a reminder that our reading journeys are rooted in more than books.

They are rooted in memory, freedom, healing, and inheritance.🌻🙌🏾

May these reminders encourage you to read gently, read joyfully, and read in a way that brings you closer to yourself. 🖤📚✨

What are your reading intentions this month? 

#ThisBlackGirlReads #BlackWomenRead #ReadingAsResistance #ReadBlackAuthors #LiteraryHealing
Stories built Jamaica long before borders did. Th Stories built Jamaica long before borders did.

They were passed across kitchen tables, carried in songs, woven into poetry, and whispered from one generation to the next. They taught us who we are, where we've come from, and what we must never forget.

Today, I'm honouring the storytellers who shaped me, from my grandmother to the voices that filled books, stages, and sound systems with the truth of who we are.

Because before our stories lived on pages...

They lived in people.

Happy Independence Day, Jamaica. 🇯🇲

Who is a Jamaican storyteller you love???

#Jamaica #BooksByBlackAuthors #jamaicanauthor
August's TBGR Book of the Month is finally here. 🤎 August's TBGR Book of the Month is finally here. 🤎📚

✨ We Rip the World Apart by @charlenecarrauthor ✨

There couldn't be a more fitting read for this moment.

As we reflect on Emancipation Day, Black August, and the stories that have shaped our communities, this novel asks us to think about another kind of freedom, the freedom that comes from telling the truth.

This is a story about family.
About race.
About motherhood.
About the secrets we inherit and the courage it takes to break cycles.

➡️ Join us Thursday, August 27 at 7pm Eastern 

At TBGR, we believe books can help us understand not only the world around us, but ourselves. This month's read promises to challenge us, move us, and spark the kinds of conversations that stay with us long after the last page.

✨ As you read, ask yourself:

What does liberation look like inside a family?

We'll be reading together all month and can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Tell us below:

Have you read We Rip the World Apart yet? Let us know if you'll be joining us in the comments. 

#ThisBlackGirlReads  #BookOfTheMonth #BlackReaders #ReadBlackAuthors #canlit
There is something beautiful about spending a Satu There is something beautiful about spending a Saturday following stories beyond the page.

A little Black business crawl through Toronto with bookish Black women led us to bookstores, sweet treats, and shared meals. We wandered through shelves, lingered over conversations, supported Black-owned businesses, and reminded ourselves that reading has always been about more than books.

It's about community.
It's about gathering.
It's about choosing where we spend our time, our money, and our attention.

Big thanks to A Different Booklist for welcoming us and allowing us space to sit and chat about books of course. 🤭 

We visited....

📚 @adfrntbooklist
🍫 @Marysbrigadeiro
🍽️ Rendez-Vous Ethiopian & Eritrean Restaurant
@rendezvous.to 

More days like this, please. 🤎

Big up @melaninsilentreading for organizing this outing, you got this bookish introvert out. 🙌🏾🤭

#BooksByBlackAuthors #ReadBlackBooks #ThisBlackGirlReads #blackbusiness
Somewhere along the way, reading became another th Somewhere along the way, reading became another thing to optimize.

Read more.
Read faster.
Read everything.

But what if this summer, we chose something different?

What if we chose stories that helped us remember who we are, expand our imagination, and build beautiful lives?

At This Black Girl Reads, we believe reading is more than a hobby. It's an act of rest, resistance, and joy.

That's the heart behind our TBGR Summer Reading Challenge, not to see who can read the most books, but to encourage us to read with more intention.

✨ Before you choose your next book, ask yourself:

Who do I want to become this summer?

Then choose a story that helps you become her.

🤎 Join the challenge through the link in our bio, or comment "SUMMER" download your free Summer Reading Bingo Card, and read with us all summer long. 

Challenge ends September 1st, submit your card to WIN one of our prizes. 

What kind of reader do you hope to become this summer? 📚

#ThisBlackGirlReads #SummerReading #BlackWomenRead #ReadBlackAuthors
Today is Haile Selassie's brthday, a figure whose Today is Haile Selassie's brthday, a figure whose legacy continues to spark conversation across Africa, the Caribbean, and the wider Black diaspora.

To some, he was an emperor. To others, a reformer, a symbol of African sovereignty, a controversial leader, or even the Messiah.

History rarely offers us people who fit neatly into a single narrative.

At This Black Girl Reads, we believe one of the most powerful things we can do is resist inherited opinions and instead build our understanding through books. Reading widely doesn't mean arriving at easy answers. It means making room for complexity, context, and conversation.

This reading list is an invitation to look beyond the myth and engage with the history, the speeches, the criticism, and the broader movements that shaped his world.

Because decolonizing our bookshelves isn't about replacing one story with another.

It's about learning to hold many truths at once.

#ThisBlackGirlReads #HaileSelassie #DecolonizeYourBookshelf #BlackHistory #ReadingAsResistance
Real life at my house: 📖 Me reading. 💃🏾 Daughter  Real life at my house:

📖 Me reading.
💃🏾 Daughter ALWAYS dancing. 
🎶 Someone always making noise.

A reminder that your reading life doesn't have to be perfectly quiet to be beautiful.

Shout out to @houseofanansi for sending over this lovely collection Layaway Child by @csutherwrites

Despite all the dancing I enjoyed reading this one. 

#readinglife #thisblackgirlreads ##CaribbeanLiterature #BlackCanadianAuthors
Luvs your July book drop deyah! Let the summer rea Luvs your July book drop deyah! Let the summer reading begin!!! ☀️😎

Black authors are reminding us, once again, that there is no shortage of brilliance waiting to meet us on the page.

From stories of love and longing… to family, memory, rage, joy, survival, and becoming.

This month's releases hold space for every kind of reader.

A few I'm especially excited about:

🤎 Good Morning Means I Love You by Kendra Allen @eccobooks
🤎 Colorism: The Politics of Skin Tone and How We Get Free by @drsarahlwebb
🤎 Ember by @naimasimoneauthor
🤎 The Love Dare by @abiolabello
🤎 Hook, Line + Star-Crossed by @taccarathecreator
🤎 The Black Madonna: Icon of Resistance and Nourisher of Souls by @christenacleveland
🤎 Cool Machine by @colsonwhitehead

Which one is at the top of your list???

✨ Save this list for your next bookstore trip.
✨ Share it with your favourite reading friend.
✨ Tell me which July release is going straight to the top of your TBR?

Want the full list??? Comment 'July List' and I'll send it over

Because one thing about us...

We're leaving the bookstore with more than one book. 😂📚

#BooksByBlackAuthors #newrelease #summerreads #thisblackgirlreads
July is a gentle invitation back to yourself throu July is a gentle invitation back to yourself through story.

Through pages that soften you.
Through language that helps you name what you’ve been carrying.

Reading is not escape, it is remembering.

And this month, we read slowly, honestly, and with care.

Save this for your reading days. 🤎

#readingisjoy #ThisBlackGirlReads #jamaicangirl #ReadingIsResistance #BookishCommunity
Family will ask everything of you. Sometimes even Family will ask everything of you. Sometimes even more than you have to give.

Our July Book of the Month is King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby, a gripping novel that blends family drama, crime, and unforgettable characters into a story about loyalty, legacy, and the weight of the choices we inherit.

This month, we're diving into conversations about:

🖤 Family loyalty
🖤 Generational trauma
🖤 Masculinity and vulnerability
🖤 Justice vs. revenge
🖤 What it really means to protect the people you love

Whether you've been reading with us all year or this is your first TBGR book, we'd love to have you join the conversation.

📖 King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
🗓️ Book Club: Thursday, July 30, 7PM Eastern
🎟️ Want to join? Comment 'July Book'

Have you started reading yet? Tell us where you are (no spoilers!) in the comments. 👇🏾

#ThisBlackGirlReads #KingOfAshes #BookClub #BlackReaders
Lately, I've been thinking about what it really me Lately, I've been thinking about what it really means to live a rich life.

Not the kind the internet tries to sell us.

The kind we build.

A life filled with books that change us, conversations that ground us, mornings that aren't rushed, flowers on the table because we deserve beauty, and libraries that remind us knowledge has always belonged to us.

As This Black Girl Reads continues to grow, I'm realizing this community has never just been about books.

It's about the lives we're building because of them.

It's about decolonizing our bookshelves, yes, but also about reimagining what abundance, softness, joy, and intention can look like for Black women.

This little poem feels like the beginning of that conversation.

What does luxury look like to you these days? 🤎

A library card. A cup of tea. An afternoon with nowhere to be. A bookshelf that tells the truth about who you are...

I'm listening.
Yall June is overflowing with Black books, and hon Yall June is overflowing with Black books, and honestly? My TBR never stood a chance. 📚✨🤷🏾‍♀️

There are more than 80 books by Black authors hitting shelves this month, spanning romance, literary fiction, fantasy, memoir, young adult, and nonfiction. The beauty of Black literature is that there is never just one story, one voice, or one way of being.

A few of the June releases I'm especially excited about include: 

📖 Breakout by some of our favs .. this one is already on my shelf and I can't wait to begin listening to it. Thanks @librofm for the AudioARC

📖 Half Lives by @krystlezara

📖The Missed Connection by @tiawilliamswrites  - I love all her books and I cannot wait to lounge in the sun on my patio and indulge in this one 

📖 Doe by Rebecca Barrow
📖 To Catch a Sinner by Dylan Allen and Lucy Wilson-Tagoe,
📖 A Committee of One by Opal Lee
📖 Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl by Amena Brown
📖 The Deepest Blue by @shauntay_grant and Simply Winnie by @winnieharlow  - I'm so excited to read these during the summer at our storytime pop ups across toronto. The kids are going to love them. 

Whether you're looking for a summer page-turner, a book club pick, or a story that lingers long after the last page, June has something waiting for you.

Swipe through to discover some of the Black-authored books releasing this month and let me know: Which one is going straight onto your TBR?

Want the full list? Comment 'June List' and I'll send it over! 

#BlackAuthors #BooksByBlackAuthors #ReadBlackBooks #ThisBlackGirlReads #SummerReading
June reading life is not about finishing books, it June reading life is not about finishing books, it’s about being changed by them, sitting with stories and learning in community. 

This month I’m reading for growth, for heritage, and for the beauty of community. I’m reading slower. I’m reading softer. I’m reading like I belong to something bigger than myself.

These are my reading intentions for June, how I want to move through stories, and how I want stories to move through me. Rooted. Open. Connected.

Tell me what your intention are this month. Did any of these speak to you?🖤📚

#thisblackgirlreads #readinglife #ReadingIsResistance #ReadingAsResistance
Some stories are buried. Some refuse to stay hidde Some stories are buried. Some refuse to stay hidden.

For June, we're reading We Don't Talk About Carol by @kristenlberry a powerful novel that explores family secrets, missing Black girls, generational trauma, and the truths that shape our lives long after they've been left unspoken.

At TBGR we're always drawn to stories that ask us to look deeper. Stories that honor Black women. Stories that remind us that healing often begins when we find the courage to name what has been silenced.

As you read this month, we invite you to sit with these questions:

🖤 What stories live beneath the surface of your family history?

🖤 What do we inherit from the silences of those who came before us?

🖤 What truths are waiting to be named?

Join us as we read, reflect, and uncover the stories that deserve to be remembered.

Have you picked up your copy yet? Let us know in the comments. 📚✨

Want the link to register? Comment 'June Book'

 #WeDontTalkAboutCarol #BlackWomenRead #BooksAndHealing #botm #bookclubreads
As Black women, reading has always been deeper tha As Black women, reading has always been deeper than a hobby.

It is how we remember.
How we heal.
How we imagine lives beyond survival.
How we reconnect with ourselves after a world that too often asks us to shrink, silence ourselves, or disappear entirely.

Every page we turn becomes an act of tenderness toward ourselves.
Every story becomes proof that we belong here too.

So no, reading is not a luxury for me.
It is grounding.
It is resistance.
It is coming home to myself again and again.

Save this reminder for next time you feel guilty about taking time to read at your leisure. Because you deserve it sis! 

How do you feel about this? 🤎

#thisblackgirlreads #readingisjoy #readingisresistance #rootedinreading
Follow @thisblackgirlreads on Instagram

Popular Posts

  • Book LifeBook ReviewsMonthly Reads

    Five Must Read Books you finally have time to Tackle

  • Black Canadian AuthorsBook ReviewsMonthly Reads

    70 Books by Jamaican Authors That Celebrate the Vibrant People & Culture of Jamaica.

  • Book LifeBook ReviewsNew Releases

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

Book Club Season 8

Slow reading. Big feelings. Black women in community. Welcome to Season 8 of This Black Girl Reads, where we’re not rushing through pages like it’s a race. We’re reading like it’s a ritual. We’re taking …

Read More
© Copyright2026 . All Rights Reserved. Fashion Diva | Developed By Blossom Themes. Powered by WordPress.