Saucy Summer Reads

Summer is here again and if you are anything like me, beating the heat is as much a mental game as a physical process.Whether you are lounging poolside with a cold drink perspiring next to you or escaping into the cool comfort of air-conditioning, you won't truly find solace from the overwhelming weather until you distract yourself with a good book. Listed below are some saucy titles so rich in drama that you won't remember what day it is, let alone how hot it is, once you lose yourself within their pages.

*** book descriptions provided by Amazon.com ***

 

How Stella got her groove back       by Terry McMillan

African/African-American Collection

PS3563 .C3868 H68 1996

Stella Payne is a Superwoman who has everything--except a man to rock her world, something she's convinced she can well do without. On a spur-of-the-moment Jamaican vacation she meets Winston, a man half her age, and finds, to her dismay, that her world is indeed well and truly rocked. Stella soon realizes that she's come to a cataclysmic juncture in her life, one that forces new and difficult questions about her passions and expectations.

Her little black book             by Brenda Jackson.

African/African-American Collection      

PS3560 .A21165 H47 2008

It's less than a week before Sonya Morrison's wedding when she decides to pass her legendary little black book on to her cousin Courtney Andrews along with all of her best wishes. Courtney, who's fast approaching thirty, thinks every woman she knows has somehow met a man who is husband material except for her. So Sonya’s little black book seems to be just what she needs. That's until Courtney discovers she and her cousin have completely different tastes when it comes to men. But just when she is about to give up and toss the infamous little black book into the garbage, she meets Lake Masters. Nearly ten years her senior, he’s a lot older than the men she’s normally attracted to, but he’s handsome, intelligent, wealthy, and a man who is determined to sweep her off her feet. But the road to love is never easy and Courtney may find that her little black book is more a curse than a blessing.

Up to no good            by Carl Weber

African/African-American Collection

PS3573 .E2164 U7b 2009

There's always a man around the corner, and church trustee James Black should know--he's usually that very man. The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Something on the Side" introduces a deliciously dysfunctional family in this new page-turning novel filled with intrigue, sex, and surprises. Annotation: The Black family has a few issues to work out. The father, James, is finally ready to put his player days behind him and settle down, but his lover is the same age as his daughter, Jamie, who has problems of her own, as she tries to discover the mystery woman who has been stalking her man. Meanwhile, James's son Darnel catches his fiance in bed with his best friend, Omar, and he finds himself in jail after exacting a brutal vengeance. This is only the beginning of the soap opera, as the family fights to stick together through a series of unbelievable twists and turns, both in the streets and between the sheets.

Thug lovin'          by Wahida Clark

African/African-American Collection

PS3603 .L3695 T47 2009

Tasha and Trae, the hood's favorite couple, are still together following the events of Thug Matrimony. Even with their relocation to sunny Los Angeles, the drama of New York cannot be escaped. From running a nightclub to dealing with models, shady lawyers, big money, new kinds of temptations, seductions, and drugs-not to mention new love interests-can this infamous couple weather all the storms and keep it together?

More drama in the church : a novel         by Dynah Zale

African/African-American Collection

PS3626 .A627 M67 2008

Tressie faithfully prayed every night that God would send her a thug. It wasn't long before her prayers were answered and she met a handsome ex-convict named Payce Boyd. Payce is a fine ruffneck and everything Tressie ever imagined and more. That is until Tressie experiences first hand the reality of being a thug's girl. Seeking solace and comfort in the sanctuary, Tressie soon learns valuable lessons and shocking truths about herself and others. Share in Tressie's journey through love, lust, self-doubt, and Drama in the Church.

Graduates Go Forth...and Do the Dougie!

Commencement Day is one of my favorite days of the year. Sure, it requires faculty to wake up earlier than one ever ought to on a Saturday morning. Then there is that trudge from some far-away parking spot to the Convention center, always made more unpleasant by the voluminous robes we struggle under. The wait in the hallway prior to the processional always leaves us sweating under our robes. If we made the mistake of drinking coffee prior to the event, in order to stay awake at such an unseemly hour, it is always just as we are walking into the arena that we realize that choice was a bad one and we will be holding it for a long 2.5 hours.

Still, even in the face of so many discomforts, Commencement Day is a precious one, dear to my heart, because it is a day of happy endings. As the choir sings, I feel myself well up. As I listen to parents and siblings and even grandparents scream, their voices jubilant in their pride, I well up all the more. As students I have known personally - students for whom I have retrieved articles and proof-read papers for - walk across the stage, grinning as big as they can, the tears finally break free and I feel so proud to be a part of such growth and achievement. Graduation is a beautiful thing, to be sure.

This year's commencement speaker ensured that Commencement was as fun and inspiring as it was moving. Ms. Lezli Baskerville, the fifth President and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, charged our graduates with the task of going out into the world to fix the ills that plague it. That may be a common enough sentiment, but Ms. Baskerville, a seasoned lawyer and a published expert in the field of equal employment opportunity, education access, affirmative action and diversity issues, is also a mighty fine dancer. As she challenged the graduates to be change agents, she led them in an inspiring chant punctuated by the Dougie. The audience roared with laughter as they danced the infamous dance move while pledging to better the future they had just inherited. It was a great beginning to this happy ending.

Good luck to you, our graduating Thoroughbreds, and a heartfelt thank-you to Lezli Baskerville!

Frank X Walker Reading

Last week, Blazer Library had the good fortune to host a reading by Affrilachian poet Frank X. Walker. Campus and community members alike filled Bradford's Little Theatre to revel in his words. Brothers from KSU's chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, Frank's fraternity, honored the poet with a plaque.

During the question and answer session which followed Frank's reading, an audience member asked Frank which was more important where live poetry was concerned - the content or the performance? Frank didn't hesitate for even a second in his response, answering unequivocally that the content mattered most. He suggested that the best performer could breathe life into the reading of a chicken soup can label, but that for a poet, what mattered most was that the words follow the audience home. If that is the case, I can attest to the power of Frank's gift as a writer, because his poignant words hung in the air around my husband and I for the rest of the night. We discussed them on the ride home and again later, long after tucking the kids into bed. His words stuck with us wherever we went.

Historian, Scholar and Social Critic Manning Marable dies at 60.

by Raphael Jackson

On Friday April 1 at the age of 60, renowned historian and social critic Manning Marable passed away in Manhattan from complications of pneumonia. His death occurred just days before the publication of his magnum opus, a biography of Malcolm X entitled Malcolm X.: A life of reinvention. Dr. Marable is considered by many to be the foremost scholar on African American studies and race relations in America. Manning was Professor of Public Affairs, History and African American Studies at Columbia University. He also founded and directed the Institute for Research in African American Studies.

In the new 600 page biography published by Viking press, Dr. Marable has examined un-redacted FBI files which provided insight into the role of the FBI and the NYPD in the assassination of Malcolm X. Through his research Manning has also provided readers with information omitted from Alex Haley’s renowned Biography of Malcolm X, which was ranked by Time magazine as one of the 10 most influential books of the 20th century (Gray, 1998).

The three chapters which were excluded from publication in Haley’s biography contained elements from the last eleven months of Malcolm’s life, which were mostly spent outside of the United States. During these years, Malcolm broke from the Nation of Islam and founded two organizations, namely Muslim Mosque Inc. and the Organization for Afro-American Unity - modeled after the OAU. In a 2005 interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Manning states, concerning the omissions “It seemed rather odd that there’s only a fleeting reference to the OAAU inside of the book that’s supposed to be his political testament”Goodman, 2005 February 21).

The long awaited book has evoked a range of commentary towards the late scholar. A colleague and friend of Mannuing’s, Eric Dyson, had this to say about him: “Manning went anywhere and everywhere that any - even an iota - of evidence existed, to help tell the more complete, complicated, complex and nuanced, colorful story of Malcolm X, to rescue him, on the one hand, from the vice grip of hagiographers who uncritically valorized and celebrated Malcolm…and on the other hand, he rescues him from the vicious demonization of those who would assault Malcolm X as the perpetrator and perpetuator of violent mythologies” (Goodman, 2011 April 4).

Dr. Marable is survived by Leith Mullings, his wife of 15 years, as well as three children and two step children.

Works by Manning Marable, at the Blazer Library:

How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America African and Caribbean Politics

WEB Dubois: Black Radical Democrat Beyond Black and White

The New Black Renaissance Freedom: a photographic history of the African American struggle / text by Manning Marable and Leith Mullings; pictures edited by Sophie Spencer-Wood.

The third reconstruction: Black Nationalism and race relations after the revolution

Black Nationalism in the seventies: through the prism of race and class

The road toward Black power

Sexism and the struggle for Black liberation

Reaction: the political economy of the New South

The land question in the South

The fire this time: the Miami rebellion, 1980

Rethinking the seventies: the destruction of the Black movement

Blacks and the draft: a history of racism.

Malcolm X: A life of Reinvention (On Order)

Sources:

Gray, Paul. (1998, June 8). Required reading: non fiction books. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988496-2,00.html

Goodman, Amy (Performer). (2005 February 21). Manning Marable on Malcolm X: a life of reinvention [Radio series episode]. In (Executive producer), Democracy Now. New York: Pacifica Radio.

Goodman, Amy (Performer). (2011 April 4). Malcolm X: a life of reinvention: Manning Marable’s new biography investigates conflicted reality of the civil rights leader [Radio series episode]. In (Executive producer), Democracy Now. New York: Pacifica Radio.

In celebration of National Library Week (April 10-16), Gale is offering FREE access to Gale resources listed below from April 10th - April 24th. Select one of the resources in the drop down box above or click on the link to the resources below to begin a search.

Gale NewsVault — The definitive cross-searching experience for exploring Gale's historical newspaper and periodical collections — with access to more than 10 million digitized pages.


Global Issues in Context — Empower your users with the tools they need to understand today's world issues from a truly global perspective.


GREENR (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources) — From the green-collar economy to questions of energy and resource management, GREENR is the foremost online reference portal for sustainability and environmental studies.


Powerspeak Languages — The perfect language learning resource teaches users how to immerse into cultural authenticity. New languages include ESL Mandarin, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Korean.


Science in Context — From global warming to space exploration, students are drawn into the subject by integrating pure information with today's headlines and videos — showing how scientific disciplines relate to real-world issues.


Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive — The largest, most ambitious collection devoted to the study of slavery. In its entirety, it will consist of more than 5 million cross-searchable pages. Part I: Debates over Slavery & Abolition available now.

Blazer Library has gone Mobile!!!

Blazer Library has gone mobile. Now you can check the library's hours, search the catalog, and search select library databases all from your mobile device. Click on the QR code below to access the mobile website or visit http://kysu.kyvl.org/mobile/index.html.

Frank X. Walker is Coming to KSU!

For more information, such as where to park on campus when attending, visit the special site created for the event: http://kysu.kyvl.org/events/frank.html

Inside Scoop on Jason Lewis

Jason Lewis currently serves as Blazer Library’s Circulation Coordinator. Originally hailing from Portsmouth, Virginia, Jason has lived in Frankfort on and off for more than a decade. He is an alumnus of Kentucky State University, having received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice as well as his Masters in Public Administration with a focus on Human Resource Management here.

While he was a student at KSU, Jason was a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. He also played basketball at KSU throughout his undergraduate career and was a member of the 2000-2001 SIAC Championship Basketball Team. Following his senior year, he even played one year of basketball in London, England before coming back to KSU to complete his MPA.

In his spare time, he enjoys making Hip Hop Music, writing, and reading socially and spiritually conscious literature. He currently serves as the Advisor to KYSU’s chapter of Phi Beta Sigma. His motivation in life is his 4yr Princess, Anyssa-Zhi Lewis.

Poetry Slam Pics

On Wednesday, March 2nd, Blazer Library had the honor of hosting some of KSU's finest student writers at its first ever Open Mic Night and Poetry Slam. The Extended Hours Study Room was packed to capacity and the talent flowed freely as we participated in the Kentucky Literacy Celebration, a collaboration between education/literacy institutions and Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear. The energy was palpable as we celebrated literacy through spoken word!

This poet spoke of the pains and joy of young love.

This young lady eloquently described how we can better understand ourselves as well as celebrate our history, while overcoming its limitations, through reading.


Patrick shared his thoughts on everything from God to sex and in the end tied for second place with Chris, earning $20 for his efforts.

Two of the judges are shown here - new Interlibrary Loan Librarian Raphael Jackson and Library Director Sheila Stuckey

Miesha won first place - an honor worth $50 - for her wry lightening-fast reflections on the intersections between love and pop culture. She had the audience laughing and cheering more than once as they demanded more of her.

Chris was the first poet to speak, and like Miesha, the crowd called him back to the microphone for more. He tied for second place with Patrick and offered a polished and energetic performance that reflected profoundly on his life's path thus far.

All in all, the event was a rousing success and Blazer Library considers itself lucky to have played a part in the first Kentucky Literacy Celebration. We can't wait to see next year's talent!

Poetry Slam Tomorrow Night at Blazer!

Pics from the African American Read-In

Earlier this week, Paul Blazer Library served as a site for the 22nd Annual National African American Read-In. Participants paid homage to beloved African American writers by sharing selections from their favorite works.

Check out the following pictures from the event:

Raphael Jackson, Blazer's new ILL Librarian, read from Alex Haley's "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". His selection spoke to the freedom and liberation that can be found through reading.

Sheila Stuckey, Library Director, sharing the poetry of Nikki Giovanni

Hettie Oldham, Archival Assistant, making the poems of Maya Angelou come alive

Ben Rawlins, Systems Librarian, reading from James Baldwin

Other selections shared at the Read-In included passages from

Carter G. Woodson's The Mis-Education of the Negro

and Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years by Sarah and Elizabeth Delany.

22nd Annual National African American Read-In at Blazer Library

Blazer Library Cordially Invites You to Participate

In the

Twenty-Second National African American Read-In

What: Share a selection from your favorite African American Author and count yourself among the millions who have participated worldwide

Why: To make literacy an important part of Black History Month celebrations

When: Tuesday, February 22^nd at 11:00 a.m.

Who: Anyone in the KYSU community who cares about African American literature

Free Refreshments Provided!

This event is sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English

ALA Midwinter 2011: Straight from the Stacks to the Smartphone

Blazer Library's own Systems Librarian, Benjamin Rawlins, represented Kentucky State University earlier this month at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, CA. Presenting on the topic of his adoption of QR codes within the Library's website, Ben was quoted extensively in the following article in the national library publication Library Journal. Read the article in its entirety here:

ALA Midwinter 2011: Straight from the Stacks to the Smartphone

Way to go, Ben! Blazer Library is proud of your hard work!

Library clears its shelves in protest at closure threat

You don't have to work at a library to be touched by the following story about library users who demonstrated their loyalty to their threatened community library by checking out every last book:

Read more here

Extended Library Hours

The Library will be opened for extended hours during finals. Instead of closing at 10:30, the library will close at midnight. So if you need a place to study or finish that paper that you have been putting off then stop on by the library. Good luck on your finals!

Our Next Brown Bag Lunch Asks: How is the NAACP Relevant to College Students Today?

You are invited to a Brown Bag Lunch at Blazer Library!

Topic: The Role and Relevancy of the NAACP in the Lives of College Students

Date and Time: Wednesday November 17^th @ 11:00am

Refreshments: Enjoy free light refreshments in the form of cheese, crackers, fruit, and cookies

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. From the ballot box to the classroom, the thousands of dedicated workers, organizers, leaders and members who make up the NAACP continue to fight for social justice for all Americans[1].

Moving beyond history, what role does the NAACP play in the lives of college students today? Is the organization still relevant to young people? And how? These and other thought-provoking questions will be addressed by Dantrea Hampton at the next Brown Bag Luncheon at Blazer Library.

Mrs. Hampton currently serves Kentucky State University as an Assistant Professor and Reference Librarian at Paul G. Blazer Library. She also serves as advisor to the KSU Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She received her B.A. degree from Kentucky State University (KSU) and her M.S.L.S. degree from the University of Kentucky.

Any questions?

Contact Amanda Peach @ 502-597-6824 or amanda.peach@kysu.edu

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[1] http://www.naacp.org/content/main/