Kazi 88.7 Fm Book Review

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Salar Abdoh, author of the novel OUT OF MESOPOTAMIA.  “Informed by firsthand experience on the battlefronts of Iraq and Syria, Abdoh captures the horror, confusion, and absurdity of combat from a seldom-glimpsed perspective that expands our understanding of the war novel.” More information on the book is available at http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/out-of-mesopotamia/.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Hosts Maya Hay, Alex Winston and Alexis Winston interview Kelis Rowe, author of FINDING JUPITER. The novel “is a timeless love story set in Memphis, Tennessee where two hearts are threatened to be torn apart by old family secrets.”  Kelis Rowe writes sweeping classic teen romance novels from Black teen points of view. FINDING JUPITER was launched out of Black Pearl Books in Austin, TX on May 31, 2022.  Her web site is https://www.kelisrowe.com/.

Host Hopeton Hay interviewed Meg Gardiner, co-author of HEAT 2.  “Michael Mann, four-time-Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Last of the Mohicans, The Insider, Ali, Miami Vice, Collateral, and Heat teams up with Edgar Award-winning author Meg Gardiner to deliver Mann’s first novel, an explosive return to the universe and characters of his classic crime film-with an all-new story unfolding in the years before and after the iconic movie.” More information on the novel is available at http://meggardiner.com/books/heat-2/.

Host Hopeton Hay interviewed Denise Mina, author of the crime novel CONFIDENCE.  FROM DENISE MINA’S WEB SITE DESCRIPTION OF THE NOVEL: “When amateur film-maker Lisa Lee vanishes from a Scottish seaside town, journalists Anna and Fin find themselves at the centre of an internet frenzy to find her…On a thrilling chase across Europe to discover what happened to Lisa, Anna and Fin are caught up in a world of international art smuggling, billionaire con artists and religious zealotry.” Read more at http://www.denisemina.com/books.

On the second episode of the podcast of Travis County Commissioner for Precinct One Jeffrey Travillion, Tip of the Iceberg, hosted by Hopeton Hay, the focus was on COVID initiatives for Travis County, and health services available east of I-35.  The guest was JodyAnn McIntosh, who formerly served as a FUSE Executive Fellow within Travis County Health and Human Services. In this role, Jody focused on equitable COVID-19 vaccine delivery focusing on black and brown residents.

Host Hopeton Hay interviews Jordan Calhoun, author of PICCOLO IS BLACK: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Pop Culture. Jordan Calhoun is Editor in Chief at Lifehacker and The Takeout, and author of Piccolo Is Black: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Pop Culture. His newsletter in The Atlantic, Humans Being, searches for lessons in the most popular movies, books, TV shows, and video games. Find him on Twitter @JordanMCalhoun.  His web site is https://jordanmcalhoun.com/.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

Host Hopeton Hay discussed  how peanuts developed into a cash crop and impacted slavery in colonial Senegal in his interview with Jori Lewis, author of SLAVES FOR PEANUTS: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History. Jori Lewis is an award–winning journalist who writes about agriculture and the environment.  Her web site is https://www.jorilewis.com/. 

Host Hopeton Hay discusses the new novel AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT (published June 2022) with author John Vercher.  AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT is  “a harrowing and spellbinding story about family, the complications of mixed-race relationships, misplaced loyalties, and the price athletes pay to entertain.” Learn more about the book and author at https://www.johnvercherauthor.comDiverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshay

Host Hopeton Hay discusses the new book SOMEWHERE WE ARE HUMAN: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings with its co-editor Reyna Grande (Sonia Guiñansaca also co-edited). The book is a unique collection of poems, and artwork by forty-one migrants, refugees, and Dreamers—including award-winning writers, artists, and activists—that illuminate what it is like living undocumented today.  More information on the book is available at http://reynagrande.com/human/.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

In his interview with acclaimed author Don Lee, host Hopeton Hay discussed the inspiration for his short collection THE PARTITION.  The collection explores Asian American identity in settings across the U.S. and Asia.  Learn more about THE PARTITION at http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/the-partition/.  Host Hopeton Hay cab be contacted at hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com.

Host Hopeton Hay interviews award winning author Elizabeth Nunez about her latest novel NOW LILA KNOWS.  In NOW LILA KNOW Caribbean professor Lila Bonnard arrives in Vermont for a short-term teaching position and is forced to confront the terrible legacy of American (in)justice.  In the novel, Lila says “I know the game they're playing…I suspect white America is more comfortable with us, foreign blacks, with you, African Americans, they have a constant reminder of America's original sin.”More information on NOW LILA KNOWS is available at http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/now-lila-knows/.  Hopeton can be reached at hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com. 

Host Hopeton Hay discusses the SOUTHERNIZATION OF AMERICA: Democracy in the Balance with authors Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker.  In the interview they discussed how they went from the optimism of the civil rights movement to their deep concerns with the political trends of today. Also they revealed how the 1974 book, THE AMERICANIZATION OF DIXIE by John Eggerton was a source of inspiration for their book. We also discussed how former House Speaker Newt Gingrich discouraged bipartisanship and trained Republicans to use language that demonized Democrats.   More information on the book is available at http://www.newsouthbooks.com/bkpgs/detailtitle.php?isbn_solid=158838456X.

My guest is James Lee Burke, author of the novel EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD.  The novel is described on his web site as “IN HIS MOST AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL TO DATE, JAMES LEE BURKE CONTINUES THE EPIC HOLLAND FAMILY SAGA WITH A WRITER GRIEVING THE DEATH OF HIS DAUGHTER WHILE BATTLING EARTHLY AND SUPERNATURAL OUTLAWS.” More information on his book is available at https://www.jamesleeburke.com/books/every-cloak-rolled-in-blood/.Hopeton Hay, Host and ProducerDiverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

My partners in crime, Austin writer Amanda Moore, Scott Montgomery of BookPeople, and Molly Odintz of CrimeReads.com, joined me as they do every month to discuss the books we are recommending from May. Our crime fiction picks for May 2022 are BREATHLESS by Amy McCulloch, EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD by James Lee Burke, MY SUMMER DARLINGS by May Cobb, NOBODY’S PILGRIMS, by Sergio Troncoso, THE DEVIL HIMSELF by Peter Farris, and THE LIONESS by Chris Bohjalian.  Tune in to learn more.  Check out a great array of crime fiction reviews on crimereads.com, and purchase your books from Austin independent book store, bookpeople.com,.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

Sergio Troncoso’s first crime/thriller novel, NOBODY’S PILGRIMS, is about (from his web site) “Three runaway teenagers…chased in a road trip from the Texan frontera to New England, by a drug cartel planning to unleash chaos unto the country…A coming-of-age novel of literary fiction with a thriller twist, from preeminent Mexican-American author Sergio Troncoso.”  I am hoping for a sequel.  More information on Sergio and his book is available at https://sergiotroncoso.com.

CITY ON FIRE is the first of a planned trilogy on an Irish and Italian mob families based in Rhode Island. In our interview Winslow discussed how his novel is based in part on an epic poem by Roman poet Virgil, The Aeneid, written sometime between 30 and 19 BC.  CITY ON FIRE’S protagonist, Danny Ryan, is based on the protagonist of the Aeneid, Aeneas.  More information on Don Winslow is available on his web site https://www.donwinslow.com/books.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

My guest is John Harris, co-author of a memoir of Hall of Fame football player, Edgerrin James, FROM GOLD TEETH TO GOLD JACKET: My Life in Football and Business. In his new memoir, James shares his unique, no-holds-barred perspective in becoming an all-time NFL great while also building a financial empire while raising six children.  Edgerrin Harris played running back in the NFL for 11 seasons.  He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2020.  Co-author John Harris is an award-winning journalist who covered sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Toledo Blade, Tampa Bay Times, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Austin American-Statesman, Lexington Herald-Leader, Booth Newspapers, Youngstown Vindicator, ESPN's Andscape (formerly the Undefeated) and CBS Sportsline. A native of Philadelphia, Harris resides in Austin, Texas.  More on the book is available at From Gold Teeth to Gold Jacket | Book by Edgerrin James, John Harris, Peyton Manning | Official Publisher

On June 2 at 7 p.m. at the Austin Central Library, the Library Foundation and the PEN America Austin Chapter are partnering to host a discussion about The 1619 Project and free speech. I interviewed Timothy Staley, Executive Director of the Library Foundation and Jennifer M. Wilks, an English professor and director of the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies at the University of Texas, who will moderate the discussion.  The program, entitled The 1619 Project: Who’s Afraid of Black Books?, will feature two contributors to The 1619 Project: acclaimed author ZZ Packer and award-winning poet Danez Smith.  More information on the event is available at https://austinlibrary.org/at-central/.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

Nancy Bilyeau’s latest novel, THE FUGUTIVE COLOURS, is set in a fascinating time in English history, the 1760s. Its protagonist, Genevieve, is a young married woman who finds herself entangled in a web of intrigues, spies, and deceit.  A Huguenot living in Spitalfields, Genevieve one day receives a surprise invitation from an important artist. Grasping at the promise of a better life, she dares to hope her luck is about to change and readies herself for an entry into the world of serious art.She soon learns that for the portrait painters ruling over the wealthy in London society, fame and fortune are there for the taking. But such high stakes spur rivalries that darken to sabotage and blackmail—and even murder. And watching from the shadows are ruthless spies who wish harm to all of England. A sequel to Nancy Bilyeau’s The Blue, The Fugitive Colours again reveals a dazzling world of glamour and treachery in Georgian England, when beauty held more value than human life.  Nancy’s web site is http://www.nancybil

In Aaron Philip Clark’s novel, UNDER COLOR OF LAW, a black police  detective in Los Angeles is assigned to investigate the murder of a black police recruit.  Set during our current times, the novel explores the black communities deep concerns about police violence, racism, and discrimination. It is also about the many faces of Los Angeles, and the way black and brown communities, are marginalized and demonized in the media.  Clark, a native of Los Angeles, was inspired to write the novel by his experiences as a new recruit in the Los Angeles police department.  Aaron Philip Clark is a novelist and screenwriter. UNDER COLOR OF LAW is his fourth novel.Aaron Philip Clark is a native of Los Angeles, CA. He is a novelist and screenwriter. A self-described "son of the city," Clark takes pleasure in exploring the many facets of Los Angeles and enjoys hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains.  Clark’s web site is https://www.aaronphilipclark.com/.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewI