Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

Near the end of July, I took some time to research independent, black-owned bookstores near my area. There aren’t nearly as many in Canada as there are in the USA, however, since I live in the suburbs of Toronto, I was able to find a couple in Toronto. The bookstore I chose to purchase from was A Different Booklist. Their online site was very easy to use, and they had a massive catalogue of books. While it took about six weeks to get my order, I was very happy with it, and plan on purchasing from them again in the future!

The first book I purchased was My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I have seen this book floating around online and on shelves for the past few months, and obviously the cover and title caught my eye. I have heard some great reviews on this book, and since it is quite small in length, I will try to read it very soon!

The second book I purchased was The Mothers by Brit Bennett. Before The Vanishing Half , Bennett’s 2020 publication, took everyone by storm, I actually had her first novel, The Mothers, on my radar. I decided that since her first novel intrigued me a little bit more than her newest one, I would pick this one up and give it a try, and if I enjoy it, then I will pick up The Vanishing Half!

The third and final novel I purchased from A Different Booklist was Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. Last Spring, when this book was released, Bookstagram (especially my friend Jordan), was all over it! People far and wide were practically screaming through their computers about this book, so when I saw it on the bookstore website, I knew I needed to pick it up and try it for myself! I really hope this one lives up to my expectations!

Those are the three books I purchased from A Different Booklist. If you are able to, I highly encourage you to support local bookstores whenever you can, especially since we are still in the midst of COVID-19, and millions of small business will not be able to bounce back from this pandemic.

Good Night Book Owls!