We're back! We have a new name! We have a beautiful camera (thanks Allie!!) We have beautiful mics (so sorry about the levels they are already better for the next episode. Also, THANKS ALLIE!!) In 2025 I read Linden Hills by Gloria Naylor and it might have fundamentally changed my life? I was disappointed by the lack of digital fodder out in the world about it so I did what any Black girl does and made the fodder I wanted to see. Naylor does one of the most comprehensive yet accessible and fantastical critiques of the Black middle class that I have ever seen. And the critiques within the critiques go on for days - she comes after misogyny, respectability, colorism you name it. Point blank period it is an absolute masterpiece and needs to be in more conversations where it is celebrated as such. If you want to skip past the PIES we start talking about the book at around 34:17. You should definitely purchase this book:Linden Hills: https://bookshop.org/p/books/linden-hills-gloria-naylor/2c3a01fe0dd4aec0?ean=9780140088298&next=tPatreon:https://www.patreon.com/cw/creemyles

We’re back!!! Thank you so much for your patience as we attempted to upgrade, an attempt that ultimately was for naught. We centered this episode around Souvankham Thammavongsa debut “Pick a Color”. We talked about loneliness, knowledge versus wisdom and the magic of life that exists in Tedium. List of everything we discussed below!

-The Managed Heart by Arlie Hoschild 

-In the Nail Salon by Tracy K. Smith

-A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

-Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

-Thousand Star Hotel by Bao Phi

 Playlist 

Amaarae - LIKE IT (Official Music Video)

F.U.B.U.- Solange

RM 'seoul (prod. HONNE)' Lyric Video

KAMAUU - MANGO (feat. Adi Oasis) [Official Music Video]

Priya Ragu - Chicken Lemon Rice (Official Video)

Persembahan Yuna TERUKIR DI BINTANG

NAYANA IZ - RANI (Official Video)

[온스테이지2.0] Lionclad - I want to hide

Sampa The Great - Lo Rain ft. Mwanjé [Audio]

Burna Boy - Heaven's Gate ft. Lily Allen (Official Audio)

Fela Kuti - Colonial Mentality

Roberto Fonseca & Fatoumata Diawara "Bibisa"

Right Off off Miles Davis’ Tribute to Jack Johnson 

The Champ by Ghostface Killah

Sentosa by Peso Pluma

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds of Silence (Audio)

Hey Hey!  Welcome to this monday’s episode of These Books are for Everybody!  We didn't have a get it off your chest because we just didn’t have a long one this time.  We did our old fashioned PIES check in and somehow effortlessly sprinkled some literature into it.  Get into the books!!

We Grow Together by Maya Schenwar and Kim Wilson

Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark

Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar

The Creative Act Rick Rubin

Anarcho-Blackness by Marquise Bey

WHAT UP EPI 8!!  Had the immense pleasure of talking to Kevin Ortega-Rojas,a seasoned freelance writer and podcaster who specializes in LGBTQ+ narratives.  He has written for INTO, Native Son and Remezcla among other publications, he has a combined monthly reach of over 50,000,000 people.  He’s the force behind “Here’s Why Kevin”.  We talk about the importance of media literacy, navigating the digital landscape and the importance of reading.  

Find Kevin here: Here’s Why w/ Kevin Ortega-Rojas (@hereswhykevin) • Instagram photos and videos 

BOOKS:

Brown Enough True Stories about Love, Violence and the Student Loan Crisis - Christopher Rivas

Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

This Thing of Ours by Frederick Joseph

Black Genius Tre Johnson

Hey! Welcome to Episode 7! Welcome co-host of the Monday eps Bryan the husband!! Today we talked about our weekend, the horror we’ve been trying to get into and hope to get into and of course books! We explored two pieces that we feel really define our personal canons. All the books listed below! See you Friday! 

BOOKS:

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Bibliophobia by Sarah Chihaya

The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin

Tao Te Ching by Laozi

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Join the book club here!!

https://tr.ee/3hrbiPqNSb

Episode 6 is here!!

Got stood up by a local Chicago rapper but luckily I married a real one!!  Does he need to be a regular!?!?!  DO WE NEED A CO-HOST Situation!!?  Ok onto the books:

Books:

Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa : Pick a Color a book by Souvankham Thammavongsa - Bookshop.org US

The Devil Three Times by Ricky Fayne: The Devil Three Times a book by Rickey Fayne - Bookshop.org US

How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk a book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish - Bookshop.org US

Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: Theory of Water a book by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson - Bookshop.org US

LOVE YOU ALL SEE YOU MONDAY 

Happy Monday welcome to episode 5 season one of These Books are for Everybody.  Today we talked about Genuwine, for Get it Off Your Chest we talked about a mother of a classmate PUTTING HER HANDS ON THE SUBMITTERS CHILD and of course we talked about books!!  LOVING PICK A COLOR REAL BAD!!

If you have something you’d like to get off your chest submit here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhb2Q-mCPVA5QoJQLlW2m7sK4FWSj8zOYdyhWrg6lv4NtDuA/viewform?usp=header

Books:

 Minor Black Figures

Minor Black Figures a book by Brandon Taylor - Bookshop.org US

Pick a Color

Pick a Color a book by Souvankham Thammavongsa - Bookshop.org US

Devil Three Times

The Devil Three Times a book by Rickey Fayne - Bookshop.org US

See you Friday!

EPISODE FOUR WHAT UP. Today I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jemimah Wei, the author of the debut The Original Daughter. We talked about ambition and its relationship with resilience and competitiveness. We spoke about the danger of resting in false narratives. We spoke about how raggedy men are. It was fun.More about Jemimah:Jemimah Wei is the author of the highly anticipated THE ORIGINAL DAUGHTER, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, New York Times Editors’ Pick, and Indie Next pick. It debuted at #1 on the Straits Times Bestseller list and has been named a best book of Spring 2025 by Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, TIME, Apple Books, and more.She is a 2025 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honouree, a 2022-4 Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, a 2020 Felipe P. De Alba Fellow at Columbia University, and a Francine Ringold Award for New Writers honouree. Her fiction has won the William Van Dyke Short Story Prize and been published in Narrative, Guernica, and Joyland, amongst others. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, recognized by the Best of the Net anthologies, and received scholarships from Singapore’s National Arts Council, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Sewanee Writers Conference, and Columbia University, where she earned her MFA. She is currently a Senior Prose Editor at The Massachusetts Review.Grab the book here:https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-original-daughter-a-gma-book-club-pick-a-novel-jemimah-wei/b0372d7087e0368c?ean=9780385551014&next=tAdditional books referenced in this episode:Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout:https://bookshop.org/p/books/lucy-by-the-sea-elizabeth-strout/deaed4fa98e8303c?ean=9780593446089&next=tCareless People by Sarah Wynn Williamshttps://bookshop.org/p/books/careless-people-a-cautionary-tale-of-power-greed-and-lost-idealism-sarah-wynn-williams/804251bb5d4b06b3?ean=9781250391230&next=tThe Devil Three Times by Ricky Faynehttps://bookshop.org/p/books/the-devil-three-times-rickey-fayne/4715cbb7a516f200?ean=9780316575171&next=tMadness and Honey Collected Lectures by Mary Ruefle https://bookshop.org/p/books/madness-rack-and-honey-collected-lectures-mary-ruefle/3f3f444899bf8a63?ean=9781933517575&next=tCursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaitehttps://bookshop.org/p/books/cursed-daughters-a-novel-oyinkan-braithwaite/7d917cffbf27f6e2?ean=9780385551472&next=t

Hi Divas!!

Episode 3! This episode I spoke about Cecil J Williams walking in the Actively Black fashion show, read a submission from a listener about the rampant lack of curiosity plaguing us and geeked out about Ricky Fayne's debut The Devil Three Times. Like I lowkey have an attitude that I'm writing copy for this episode instead of reading that book right now.

If you have a submission for Get It Off Your Chest enter it here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhb2Q-mCPVA5QoJQLlW2m7sK4FWSj8zOYdyhWrg6lv4NtDuA/viewform?usp=header

Books!

The Idiot: The Idiot a book by Elif Batuman - Bookshop.org US

The Devil Three Times:The Devil Three Times a book by Rickey Fayne - Bookshop.org USOK GOODBYE SEE YOU ON FRIDAY GOD WILLING

I got the immense honor of sitting down a few months ago to talk with Rob Franklin about his dazzling debut "Great Black Hope". We talk about the unfortunate binary of addiction, how different folks are perceived based on their socio-economic standing, and what it's like growing up Black middle class. Check it out!!Obviously you need to grab the book:https://bookshop.org/p/books/great-black-hope-a-novel-rob-franklin/70fd26fe634007cf?ean=9781668077436&next=tSee you on Monday!