Think before you speak. Read before you think. Fran Lebowitz
Here are a few series that I enjoy.
Benjamin January Series by Barbara Hambly
- A Free Man of Color (1997)
- Fever Season (1998)
- Graveyard Dust (1999)
- Sold Down the River (2000)
- Die Upon a Kiss (2001)
- Wet Grave (2002)
- Days of the Dead (2003)
- Dead Water (2004)
- Dead and Buried (2010)
- The Shirt on His Back (2011)
- Ran Away (2011)
- Good Man Friday (2013)
- Crimson Angel (2014)
- Drinking Gourd (2016)
- Murder in July (2017)
- Cold Bayou (2018)
- Lady of Perdition (2020)
- House of the Patriarch (2021)
- Death and Hard Cider (2022)
- The Nubian’s Curse (2024)
- Murder in the Trembling Lands (2025)
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith
- The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (1998)
- Tears of the Giraffe (2000)
- Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001)
- The Kalahari Typing School for Men (2002)
- The Full Cupboard of Life (2003)
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004)
- Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006)
- The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (2007)
- The Miracle at Speedy Motors (2008)
- Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009)
- The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)
- The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party (2011)
- The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (2012)
- The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (2013)
- The Handsome Man’s De Luxe Cafe (2014)
- The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine (2015)
- Precious and Grace (2016)
- The House of Unexpected Sisters (2017)
- The Colours of All the Cattle (2018)
- To the Land of Long Lost Friends (2019)
- How to Raise an Elephant (2020)
- The Joy and Light Bus Company (2021)
- A Song of Comfortable Chairs (2022)
- From a Far and Lovely Country (2023)
- The Great Hippopotamus Hotel (2024)
- In the Time of Five Pumpkins (2025)
Easy Rawlins Series by Walter Mosley
- Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
- A Red Death (1991)
- White Butterfly (1992)
- Black Betty (1994)
- A Little Yellow Dog (1996)
- Gone Fishin’ (1997)
- Bad Boy Brawly Brown (2002)
- Six Easy Pieces (2003)
- Little Scarlet (2004)
- Cinnamon Kiss (2005)
- Blonde Faith (2007)
- Little Green (2013)
- Rose Gold (2014)
- Charcoal Joe (2016)
- Blood Grove (2021)
- Farewell, Amethystine (2024)
- Gray Dawn (2025)
Books for kids starting pre-school
- I’m Smart! by Kate McMullan; illustrated by Jim McMullan
- Daniel Goes to School (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) by Becky Friedman (Adapter), illustrated by Jason Fruchter
- Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood; illustrated by Bruce Wood
- Build! Written and illustrated by Red Nose Studio
- Maisy Goes to Preschool: A Maisy First Experiences Book written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins
- Scarecited on the First Day of School by Alliah L. Agostini; illustrated by Lala Watkins
- What to Do When You’re Not Sure What to Do by Davina Bell; illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper
- Preschool, Here I Come! by D.J. Steinberg; illustrated by John Joven
- Pete the Kitty’s First Day of Preschool (Pete the Cat) by Kimberly Dean & James Dean; illustrated by James Dean
Looking for something interesting to read? Here are some authors I enjoy, along with the names of their primary (detective/police/spy) characters and the titles of the first books in their series. Happy reading!
| AUTHOR | CHARACTER/ 1st BOOK IN SERIES |
| Tracy Clark | Detective Harriet Foster; Hide |
| Lindsey Davis | Flavia Albia; The Ides of April |
| Kellye Garrett | Dayna Anderson; Hollywood Homicide |
| Barbara Hambly | Benjamin January; A Free Man of Color |
| Rachel Howzell Hall | Detective Elouise Norton; Land of Shadows |
| Attica Locke | Darren Mathews; Bluebird, Bluebird |
| Walter Mosley | Easy Rawlins: Devil in a Blue Dress |
| Barbara Neely | Blanch White; Blanche on the Lam |
| Richard Osman | Thursday Murder Club; The Thursday Murder Club |
| Sara Paretsky | V I Warshawski; Indemnity Only |
| Louise Penny | Chief Inspector Gamache; Still Life |
| Delia Pitts | Ross Agency Mysteries: Lost and Found in Harlem |
| Daniel Silva | Gabriel Allon; The Kill Artist |
| Dana Stabenow | Kate Shugak; A Cold Day for Murder |
| Valerie Wilson Wesley | Tamara Hayle; When Death Comes Stealing |
A few good newsletters to subscribe to:
- The Audacity
- Better Report
- The Kitchn
- The Daily Courant
- Recommended Reads
- Religion Dispatches
- The 713
- Good Black News
- The Skimm
- Grandbaby Cakes
- The Week
- Substack Reads
- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
- The Vanilla Bean Blog
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