#alaya dawn johnson
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#old photos#2009#me#alaya dawn johnson#k tempest bradford#linda addison#doing a reading at bluestockings#I think that was the first time I read 'Non-Zero Probabilities'#wtf I look 12#hahaha#miss y'all from nyc
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Share Black Stories 2024!
Join us this Black History Month as we #ShareBlackStories that celebrate Black voices with books that center around Black lives, Black joy, and Black stories that are sure to resonate far beyond a single month of the year. See our list below for some books that we recommend you check out this month and all year long!
The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson
A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, thought-provoking tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal - or to burn everything in its path.
Start reading The Library of Broken Worlds now!
Shadow Coven by S. Isabelle
The Haunting Season has ended, but dark magic lurks in the shadows in this deadly sequel to The Witchery.
Start reading Shadow Coven now!
As Long As We’re Together by Brianna Peppins
A heartstring-tugging, uplifting, modern spin on Party of Five -- a love letter to family, hope, and finding strength in unexpected places.
Start reading As Long As We’re Together now!
Murder, She Wrote #2: Carry My Secret to Your Grave by Stephanie Kuehn
Small town murders. Big time thrills. The second installment in the suspenseful, modern update of the classic mystery TV series.
Start reading Carry My Secret to Your Grave now!
Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Emily Bird was raised not to ask questions. She has perfect hair, the perfect boyfriend, and a perfect Ivy-League future. But a chance meeting with Roosevelt David, a homeland security agent, at a party for Washington D.C.'s elite leads to Bird waking up in a hospital, days later, with no memory of the end of the night.
Start reading Love is the Drug now!
Louder Than Words by Ashley Woodfolk and Lexi Underwood
How do you fight for change when words aren’t enough? Louder Than Words is a story about the mistakes we all make, the forgiveness we all need, and the redemption we all deserve.
Start reading Louder Than Words now!
The Getaway by Lamar Giles
Karloff Country didn’t count on Jay and his crew--and just how far they’ll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what’s more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?
Start reading The Getaway now!
The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker
An incredibly powerful story that dives into matters of social justice and identity, courage and second chances, in a world where heroes loom large and what seems ordinary is anything but.
Start reading The Second Chance of Darius Logan now!
#ireadya#ya books#share black stories#black history month#The Library of Broken Worlds#Alaya Dawn Johnson#Shadow Coven#S Isabelle#As Long As We're Together#Brianna Peppins#Murder She Wrote#Stephanie Kuehn#Love is the Drug#Louder Than Words#Ashley Woodfolk#Lexi Underwood#The Getaway#Lamar Giles#The Second Chance of Darius Logan#David F Walker
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"You don't do this kind of work without something deep inside of you that has stood up and demanded expression. Probably for a long time. Probably in the face of many people who have told you that your voice doesn't matter, that your experiences don't have value...And yet, it is so important to respect that part of you, the storyteller who still, despite everything, decided to sit down and write this month." -Alaya Dawn Johnson, NaNoWriMo Pep Talk
#fanfic#fanfiction#creative writing#ao3 writer#writing#writing tips#nanowrimo#alaya dawn johnson#quotes
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Making my way through Janelle Monáe's short story collection The Memory Librarian 🤖🏳️🌈
#currently reading#the memory librarian and other stories of dirty computer#the memory librarian#janelle monae#alaya dawn johnson#danny lore#eve l. ewing#yohanca delgado#sheree renee thomas#science fiction#lgbtq#short stories
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okay i've only read the first short story but janelle monae's sci-fi collection book "the memory librarian" is actually really really good. i've been sitting on my copy for nearly a year now bc i was afraid it wouldn't hold up to my hopes. but like. the first story already has me feeling some big fucking feelings. a queer Black girlboss navigating being head memory cop and realizing the ways she's been policing herself through falling in love with a trans girl memory hacker??? like. holy shit.
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'Some part of you always remembers.'
Janelle Monáe and Alaya Dawn Johnson, from “The Memory Librarian”
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Blog Tour Spotlight: THE LIBRARY OF BROKEN WORLDS by Alaya Dawn Johnson (w/ #giveaway)!
Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the Rockstar Book Tours blog tour for The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson! I’ve got all the book and author details, plus an excerpt, for you below; there’s also a giveaway so be sure to read to the end!
About the Book
title: The Library of Broken Worlds
author: Alaya Dawn Johnson
publisher: Scholastic Press
release date: 6 June 2023
A girl matches wits with a war god in this kaleidoscopic, thought-provoking tale of oppression and the cost of peace, where stories hide within other stories, and narrative has the power to heal -- or to burn everything in its path -- from World Fantasy Award–winning author Alaya Dawn Johnson.
A girl and a god, alone in communion...
In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great peacekeeper of the three systems, a heinous secret lies buried -- and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique -- and dangerous.
When Freida meets Joshua, a Tierran boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future.
With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives -- if he doesn't destroy her first.
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About the Author
Alaya Dawn Johnson is an award-winning short story writer and the author of seven novels for adults and young adults. Her most recent novel for adults, Trouble the Saints, won the 2021 World Fantasy Award for best novel. Her debut short story collection, Reconstruction, was an Ignyte Award and a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist. Her debut YA novel The Summer Prince was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and the follow-up Love Is the Drug was awarded the Andre Norton Nebula Award. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, most notably the title story in The Memory Librarian, in collaboration with Janelle Monáe. She lives in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Connect with Alaya: Linktree | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Excerpt
By the time Samlin left me three weeks later, I felt like a blindfolded animal: confused, disoriented, ready to bite. I cried for days and sent him increasingly desperate messages until I realized he would never respond to me again. Nadi told me I’d forget about him, that everyone had to fall in love for the first time, that it would get better. I wanted to believe zir. But I was shivering, growing into ice, drifting into an empty sea. I didn’t know how to say what I was feeling. I hardly knew how to feel it.
Nadi had little time for me in those days. Ze was sequestered at a diplomatic round table with the Mahām leadership to address recent protests about their Treaty-condemned occupation of the Miuri moon. I didn’t push. The thought of telling Nadi precisely what had happened or not happened in that nanodrop made my guts twist like wet rope and my head fill with cotton. Better Iemaja, I decided. Better a god who barely understands the minutiae of human affairs and only speaks in communion.
I walked inside her because I had seen myself in Samlin’s deep eyes and hated that reflection. Freida the sweet. Freida the beautiful. Freida, once an excellent find but now inconvenient, twitchy, withdrawn, and desperate. I was beginning to see myself as they did, all those who stared and stared and saw nothing behind my eyes but a dark mirror. What was my heart, what were my bones, what were my constellations of synapses firing, lighting up my soul? Nadi insisted I was human, but even so, I had been left to freeze out in the ocean because no one
thought I was worth any more. I was afraid, Nameren, so very afraid that they were right.
I had begun in Kohru, the artery of childhood and discovery and, in some ways, rebellion. But I was now in unknown capillaries. Some passages were so narrow that I had to get on my belly to pass through, the stone warm against my exposed skin. Sometimes the crystal would crack and water would bubble through the seams and I would slurp it down. It tasted of moonlight and copal and stillness. I told Iemaja that I loved her. The water then bubbled with her laughter and tasted of rose petals. It grew thick and slow with sugar. I lay in that soft, sticky womb for a while. The sweetness had been made to balance the salt of my tears. She is kind like that, Iemaja.
I told her about Samlin. I told her how helpless he had made me feel, not in my body, which he’d left untouched, but in my spirit. My tongue was heavy, as though it belonged to someone else. But still I spoke, until I reached the end.
Excerpted from The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Copyright © 2023 by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Published by Scholastic Press
About the Giveaway
One (1) lucky winner will receive a finished copy of The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson! This one is US only and ends 19 June 2023. Enter via the Rafflecopter below, and good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Tour
Here’s this week’s schedule so you can follow along!
Week Two:
5/28/2023 - celiamcmaahonreads - IG Review
5/29/2023 - thealylifestyle - Review/IG Post
5/30/2023 - travelersguidetobooks - IG Review
5/31/2023 - Jaime_of_gryffindor - Review/IG Post
6/1/2023 - @get.outside.and.read - IG Post
6/2/2023 - Book-Keeping - Spotlight/IG Post **you are here!
6/3/2023 - More Books Please blog - Review/IG Post
#the library of broken worlds#alaya dawn johnson#scholastic press#scholastic#june 2023#june release#new release#new releases#newrelease#newreleases#spotlight#book spotlight#book excerpt#excerpt#young adult#yalit#ya lit#ya literature#ireadya#i read ya#rockstar book tours#bookkeeping blog
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Repeated Recitations
#BOOKREVIEW - Repeated Recitations - #TheLibraryOfBrokenWorlds #blog
A girl of the Library, a place that contains a multitude of stories from planetary systems, faces off against a war god in a battle of will and wits in The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson.
A foundling of the Library, Frieda has spent her entire life exploring the vast reaches of the Library and communing with the gods in less conventional ways than that of others, offering her a…
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I'm not very far through it, but 'The Library of Broken Worlds' by Alaya Dawn Johnson is delightfully new and inspiring.
Maybe this is a little pessimistic to say, but I always figured that most stories have already been told to some degree, in the sense that we will all inevitably write using a pre-existing archetype in world building regardless of if we intend to, and only different variations on these archetypes were left to tell, but this book is proving me wrong left and right; showing a world that is so thoroughly unique and beautiful in its creativity and world building that I can't help but reevaluate that mentality. I have yet to know more of the story or the overall theme, but so far this book has proven to be wonderfully delightful in its handling of a whole new and distant world and incredibly original. It's written in such a compelling way that reveals its lore and rules spectacularly and uses a very unique method of writing that, while has been done before, feels fresh in its delivery. It's one thing to tell a story, but another to tell it to a god. I highly recommend it even if I'm only going from the first one and a half chapters; that was all it took for this book to blow me away.
#alaya dawn johnson#the library of broken worlds#I need to get into more of her(?) novels and short stories#what an incredible writer to be able to reveal such a refreshing new world in a way that is understandable and coherent to the audience#it's such a remarkable skill to be able to go down the show as is route rather than conveniently translate#which isn't to say the latter is at all bad in fact I love it and it's very helpful#but it's an amazing skill to be ABLE TO show a world and its rules without using translation and simply SHOWING a world so different to ours#it's actually very effective in showing readers how little we know and much more we can learn of a new culture and world(s)#it's so interesting and compelling#idk how to even word this in a way that gives it justice#but it's just so good#actually tangent but it's part of why I love the writing done by some friends of mine who do similar things#esp when they incorporate old folklore into fantasy and sci fi?? Like esp from their own cultures and incorperate it I love that sm#Amd the way they disgard translation to SHOW that culture in its beauty rather than try to water it down?? I love that so much#And it just takes a really skillful writer to be able to pull people in who don't understand or may even refuse to leave what they know#That's such a wonderful skill and I will always love it when a writer takes us from what we're used to into what we don't#and what we SHOULD learn if only we had the courage to leave the comfort of what we know and understand#Anyway yeah don't mind me I'm jusy gushing again
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"morality is the change that falls from your pockets when you climb up the ladder."
- Alaya Dawn Johnson, Love is the Drug
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Dystopian Reads to Die For 🔥 ☠️
Dystopian fiction has long been a staple on most bookshelves for quite some time (I’m looking at you, 1984), but it isn’t until the past decade or so that we’ve seen such great dystopian stories being told for young adults. I’m sure we all had our dystopian phase when a certain Mockingjay was making her blockbuster debut, so it makes it even more exciting to see the genre coming back into the limelight! We have compiled some of our favorite thrilling and electrifying YA dystopian novels for you to add to your TBR this month!
The Kill Factor by Ben Oliver
Fifty contestants. Five mental and physical challenges. One winner.
In a near-future where a virtual currency of digital content fuels a fame-hungry society, a brand-new experiment that combines social media and reality TV has been greenlit.
Voted on, and contestants are sent to a maximum-security reform camp on an island where they can have no contact with the outside world. To lose means prison. But to win is to be free. The most popular young offender with the most upvotes by the end is given both a second chance in society and a cash prize.
This kind of money could mean everything to Emerson and her family who live in the Burrows, one of the subterranean villages where the government have buried affordable housing. It's more than freedom. It could mean the chance to change her family’s circumstance and finally find a place in the society they’ve never been allowed into.
But what Emerson doesn’t know, what the viewers don’t know, is that the prison on the island is empty. Those who lose, those who are voted off aren’t incarcerated. Each challenge will leave more and more contestants to die. And the only choice they have is to win over viewers before it’s too late.
Start reading The Kill Factor now!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
Start reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes now!
Sirens by Braden Cawthon
A thrilling, apocalyptic horror debut from Braden Cawthon, perfect for fans of KR Alexander and Joe Hill!
Joel Walker wakes up to a world suddenly and frighteningly changed. In the wake of a massive power outage, an otherworldly siren begins to blare, changing all that listen to it for too long in frightening ways. Desperate to find his mother and little sister, Joel will have to survive in a world that is coming apart at its seams.
An edge-of-your seat thriller that will have readers guessing until the end, this debut novel is sure to make a huge splash with YA readers.
Start reading Sirens now!
The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson
A girl and a god, alone in communion . . .
In the winding underground tunnels of the Library, the great peacekeeper of the three systems, a heinous secret lies buried -- and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. As the daughter of a Library god, Freida has spent her whole life exploring the Library's ever-changing tunnels and communing with the gods. Her unparalleled access makes her unique -- and dangerous.
When Freida meets Joshua, a Tierran boy desperate to save his people, and Nergüi, a disciple from a persecuted religious minority, Freida is compelled to help them. But in order to do so, she will have to venture deeper into the Library than she has ever known. There she will discover the atrocities of the past, the truth of her origins, and the impossibility of her future.
With the world at the brink of war, Freida embarks on a journey to fulfill her destiny, one that pits her against an ancient war god. Her mission is straightforward: Destroy the god before he can rain hellfire upon thousands of innocent lives -- if he doesn't destroy her first.
Start reading The Library of Broken Worlds now!
Monarch Rising by Harper Glenn
In a chilling near-future New United States of America, Jo Monarch has grown up in the impoverished borderlands of New Georgia. She’s given one chance to change her fate… if she can survive a boy trained to break hearts.
Today is the day Jo Monarch has been wishing on the moon about her entire life. It's the day of the Lineup, when she could be selected to leave her life in the Ashes behind. The day she could move across the mountains to a glittering, rich future.
Once Jo is plucked from the Lineup, the real test begins. She still needs to impress the New Georgia Reps at tonight's Gala, and her path forward leads straight to Cove Wells. The damaged stepson of one of the Reps, Cove has been groomed as an emotional weapon, taught that love is a tool -- and he's set on breaking Jo's heart next.
When a riot breaks out back in the Ashes the night of the Gala, Jo's dreams might all go up in smoke. Can she really have everything she's ever wished for… when it means leaving all her loved ones behind in the fire?
Harper Glenn's debut is as gripping as it is prescient, an unflinching meditation on whether love can save us from ourselves, and what it takes to be born anew.
Start reading Monarch Rising now!
The Getaway by Lamar Giles
Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world's most famous resorts. He's got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property's main theme park. Life isn't so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it's to get away from all that.
As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay's friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only... they aren't leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call.
Whether they like it or not.
Yet Karloff Country didn't count on Jay and his crew--and just how far they'll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what's more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?
Start reading The Getaway -- now in paperback!
#ireadya#yabooks#dystopian#ya dystopian#The Kill Factor#Ben Oliver#The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes#Suzanne Collins#Sirens#Braden Cawthon#The Library of Broken Worlds#Alaya Dawn Johnson#Monarch Rising#Harper Glenn#The Getaway#Lamar Giles
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Bird lies down beside Marella, who smells like the springtime tea roses in the school garden, like fresh laundry and sunshine, like pink and childhood things, but her voice is bitter, her hope defiant. She smells like the girl she once was; she speaks like the woman she's becoming. Does Bird still smell like Emily? Does she speak like her? Her fears are still Emily's fears, but her problems are different.
Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson
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The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
Re-enter the world of Dirty Computer with #TheMemoryLibrarian by @JanelleMonae, a fantastic expansion on the world created by the 2018 album and film. My favorite story is Nevermind, which was written in collaboration with @weredawgz .
“The Memory Librarian” is a fantastic dive back into the world of Janelle Monáe’s 2018 concept album “Dirty Computer.” In addition to giving us more of Jane, Zen and Ché, we get to see what the rest of the world is like, from impoverished children to the people at the very top who monitor society. If it’s been a while since you last watched “Dirty Computer – An Emotion Picture,” I highly…
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#afrofuturism#alaya dawn johnson#danny lore#dirty computer#eve l. ewing#harper collins#janelle monáe#science fiction#sheree renée thomas#short stories#the memory librarian#urban fantasy#yahanca delgado
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The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer
Dirty Computer was one of my absolute favorite albums of 2018, so when I saw Janelle Monáe had created a sci-fi anthology based on the album, I placed it on hold immediately. The stories themselves were a bit of a mixed bag for me, with my favorites being Timebox and Save Changes being my favorites out of the group. I wish that the collection had created more of a cohesive story about this world instead of just taking a handful of concepts and sprinkling them in once in a while. The commentary behind these stories on our own social structures felt especially poignant, if a bit heavy-handed at times. At the center of this collection is hope and the power people to make change so despite my gripes with the individual stories, I appreciated the overall message of the anthology.
Favorite Quote: Mama. Such a small word for the whole world.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Author: Janelle Monáe
Contributors: Yohanca Delgado, Eve L. Ewing, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, Sheree Renée Thomas
#Janelle Monáe#yohanca delgado#eve l. ewing#alaya dawn johnson#danny lore#sheree renée thomas#three stars#certified nora review#the memory librarian: and other stories of dirty computer#the memory librarian#dirty computer
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