Amistad's 2008 Best Books List....drumroll please!

2008 has come and gone and we're all a year older without even realizing it. (Well maybe you have realized it, but sometimes it's best when reality is suspended).

But on to books. Magically, some news outlets still reserve some space for book coverage and they like to make giant lists at the end of the year of all of their "top" books of 2008. We're excited the following have gotten some additional end of year ink:

WASHINGTON: The Making of the American Capital by Fergus Bordewich got included in Washington Post ubercritic Jonathan Yardley's fave books of 2008.

IDA: A SWORD AMONG LIONS by Paula Giddings landed on both the Washington Post Book World and Chicago Tribune best books of 2008 list.

FROM HARVEY RIVER by Lorna Goodison made the Washington Post Book World Best Books List.

THE NAKED TRUTH by Marvelyn Brown was one of AOL Black Voices' top 10 stories of 2008 generating over 1,000 comments!

REVISED! New post! Summer Preview: BLACK WATER RISING by Attica Locke

See New Info Below!

Well it's time to change from the Obama photo campaign book....I know we are all drunk on the Obamas, but time to move on. The cabinet positions are filling quickly and soon, inaguration will be upon us...where every person alive thinks they will somehow cram into the streets of D.C.

Coming in June, we have a very cool novel coming out by a very cool writer, with an equally cool name to match, Attica Locke. The book is Black Water Rising and like many a great novel, it has a highly intriguing back story. Ms. Locke's own father was a civil rights era activist who like many of that time found themselves transitioning from spirited and devoted college activists into the working professionals they probably didn't envision themselves becoming--and from this combustible period, the book's protagonist, Jay Porter was born.

It's set in 1981 Houston, and after Jay saves a drowning woman's life, he unknowingly open's a Pandora's Box of entanglements that reach into the highest level of the city's corporate powerbrokers. More as publication date nears!

NEW INFO: Just in case you don't want to take my word for it...here is some outside praise from James Ellroy of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL fame and Paul Yamazaki from City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco.

Ellroy: "What a ride! Black Water Rising is a superlative debut; a wonderful treatise on the Texas 1980s; the best bad town novel in some time. Attica Locke is a stand-out in every imperative-young-writer way."

Paul: "Reading BLACKWATER RISING was a singular riveting reading experience. Locke has successfully created a book illuminates a period of recent American history that has been for the most part overlooked by contemporary novelists....I applaud Locke for a wonderful first book. It is my fervent hope that Locke continues with Bernie and Jay Porter to explore the post civil rights ear of United States. The publication of BLACKWATER RISING will be a significant literary event."

With an indie bookstore endorsement and James Ellroy's words what more convincing do you need?

Sneak Peak: OBAMA: THE HISTORIC CAMPAIGN IN PHOTOGRAPHS

On October 28, Amistad will release OBAMA: THE HISTORIC CAMPAIGN IN PHOTOGRAPHS, which through 150 striking color photos, charts Obama's groundbreaking run for the presidency through the Democratic convention. It includes an essay by Washington Post associate editor, Kevin Merida, and photo historian, curator and photography Deborah Willis. Kevin is the author of SUPREME DISCOMFORT: THE DIVIDED SOUL OF CLARENCE THOMAS. Deb is chair and professor of NYU's Department of Photography and an uber-woman as she is a Guggenheim, Fletcher and MacArthur fellow. Here is a sneak peak at the book's moving and beautiful photography.....and you know your mother will want one for Christmas....so pre-order today!

Author in the News: Marvelyn Brown

Since her book was published in September, Marvelyn Brown has done numerous interviews for her book, THE NAKED TRUTH: YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL AND (HIV) POSITIVE. But she just went on air again yesterday on The Tom Joyner Morning Show to make a timely plea for the need for health care coverage for all Americans. You can listen here just click on the Jacque Reid goes INSIDE THE STORY button.

Author in the News: Ravi Howard

Tonight,Ted Koppel’s Discovery Channel documentary “The Last Lynching” will feature a segment on Ravi Howard's Like Trees, Walking. Ravi sat down for an interview and the footage is set to air tonight. For those of you who don't know Ravi's book is based on the true story of the last modern-day lynching in Amercian which took place in 1981.

Complete TV info is available at the link below:http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/highlights/highlights.html

New Feature! Ask a Book Club: APOOO

Dear Readers!

This week I'm kicking off a new feature on Amistad Confidential: "Ask a Book Club" Book clubs remain instrumental to the success of our industry and particularly African-American book clubs. This week I've caught up with Yasmin Coleman of APOOO
(A Place of Our Own):

How did APOOO books start and how many members do you have?
With the encouragement of fellow amazon.com review friends, APOOO Books was founded in 2000 by Yasmin Coleman as a book club for friends and fellow reviewers who wanted "A Place of Our Own" to release, relate, relax and fellowship in a comfortable environment while discussing a good book.
Currently we have 35 members in the book club; and almost 150 members in the authors and readers connections group.

How did you continually grow?
Since inception, APOOO Books has grown from a book club to include a review team, bookstore and promotional/publicity arm. APOOO is an authority on book recommendations for all African-American genres and is known for our ability to read, discuss, and critically dissect a book. Need the 411 regarding a good book? Look no further than APOOO. We can offer recommendations for a good book in any genre. We continue to grow because readers of African American literature recognize us as a literary authority and, as such, we've grown to become the #3 most popular online site for African-American literature.

A lot of people I know don't think they have time to read, let alone join a bookclub. What's the best thing about participating in a bookclub you'd say to those reluctant readers?
A book club helps you to make the time. Nothing like coming together with other like minded individuals to discuss a good book. Reading, when done in a group setting, can be so contagious that you feel left out if you're not reading. If you're not reading, you can't discuss the book with others. Some books that I was hesitant to read...came to life and in a different light because of book clubs. But book clubs are about more than just reading together, some of my bestest buds are also book club members and we share the good, the bad and the ugly about our personal lives while discussing a good book. When I was going through breast cancer eight years ago..after my husband and kids...I immediately turned to my book club members for support, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean and cry on. They helped me to get through one of the darkest times in my life.

What book has been one of your most memorable choices?
Definitely I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Mama Day by Gloria Naylor. I couldn't just choose one because all of them mean a lot to me and affected me at different points in my life. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was the first book I ever read by an African-American author...and my introduction to African-American literature when I was only 11 years-old. Their Eyes Were Watching God...my experience with a Harlem Renaissance writer but from a female perspective. Mama Day...oh my gosh...that book is so well-written, lyrically and symbolically and such a great love story, that you have to read it more than once to feel the full affect. Every time I read it I take away something different from it. If an individual reads no other book by an African-American author, they should read Mama Day because it is a very powerful and moving story. Finally, all three of these books/writers can write circles around much of the stuff that is passed off as African American literature today; it's a shame that so much of what is currently out there is so one-dimensional. :(

APOOO's Mission Statement:
APOOO ( A Place of Our Own) is an online book club and author and reader community dedicated to advancing African American literature. Our mission is to expose readers of all ages to a good book in any genre; to support African American authors, books, literary events and book clubs; to provide marketing resources, tools and tips to authors; and, to promote literacy within the African American community.

The one and only Diahann Carroll on sale today!

Well folks although I hate to play favorites, this book, Diahann Carroll's The Legs are the Last to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying and Other Things I Learned The Hard Way has turned out to my favorite of all our fall releases, because it is just plain so much fun. And insightful too, particularly about the pre-Civil Rights era and non PC years Old Hollywood.

Generations of people know Diahann Carroll. If it isn't for her turn on "Julia" as the first African-American with her own sitcom, or starring in the indepenent film Claudine, you know her from Dynasty or shows like A Different World or even recently on Grey's Anatomy .

Naturally such a long and storied showbiz career lends itself to a very interesting life story, and although young people may not like to admit it, it's hard to know everything when you're 25. Now in her Golden Years, Diahann Carroll has let it all out from her days hanging out with the Rat Pack to her tumultuous affair with Sidney Poitier (They were both married at the time), to her audition for Sunset Blvd. Carroll has more than enough stories to fill two books. You can see her talk about her book on Good Morning America, or her interview on NPR, or catch her on The View tomorrow! And for an extra treat watch this vintage video of Diahann Carroll in a gorgeous fringe dress. And you can watch her wrestle Joan Collins on Dynasty on Amistad TV.