Someday (I’m A Good Woman) by Jae Henderson

Vacation Interrupted by Tina Martin

Rasheed Clark’s Cold Summer Afternoon and Stories I Wouldn’t Tell Nobody But God

Question of the Month: What are you looking to give this season?

Bestselling Basketball Books in 2011

1. Shaq Uncut: My Story by Shaquille O’Neal
   (Grand Central Publishing, 2011-11-15, Hardcover)
   

   Superman. Diesel. The Big Aristotle. Shaq Fu. The Big Daddy. The Big Shaqtus. Wilt Chamberneezy. The Real Deal. The Big Shamrock. Shaq. You know him by any number of names, and chances are you know all about his legendary basketball career: Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal is a four-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA Finals MVP. After being an All-American at Louisiana State University, he was the overall number one draft pick in the NBA in 1992. In his 19-year career, Shaq racked up 28,596 career points (including 5,935 free throws!), 13,099 rebounds, 3,026 assists, 2,732 blocks, and 15 All-Star appearances. These are statistics that are almost as massive as the man himself. His presence-both physically and psychologically-made him a dominant force in the game for two decades.But if you follow the game, you also know that there’s a lot more to Shaquille O’Neal than just basketball. Shaq is famous for his playful, and at times, provocative personality. He is, literally, outsize in both scale and persona. Whether rapping on any of his five albums, challenging celebrities on his hit television show “Shaq Vs.,” studying for his PhD or serving as a reserve police officer, there’s no question that Shaq has led a unique and multi-dimensional life. And in this rollicking new autobiography, Shaq discusses his remarkable journey, including his candid thoughts on teammates and coaches like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Phil Jackson, and Pat Riley. From growing up in difficult circumstances and getting cut from his high school basketball team to his larger-than-life basketball career, Shaq lays it all out in SHAQ UNCUT: MY STORY.

    

2. West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life by Jerry West
   (Little, Brown and Company, 2011-10-19, Hardcover)
   

   He is one of basketball’s towering figures: “Mr. Clutch,” who mesmerized his opponents and fans. The coach who began the Lakers’ resurgence in the 1970s. The general manager who helped bring “Showtime” to Los Angeles, creating a championship-winning force that continues to this day. Now, for the first time, the legendary Jerry West tells his story-from his tough childhood in West Virginia, to his unbelievable college success at West Virginia University, his 40-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his relationships with NBA legends like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Unsparing in its self-assessment and honesty, WEST BY WEST is far more than a sports memoir: it is a profound confession and a magnificent inspiration.

    

3. Basketball Junkie: A Memoir by Chris Herren
   (St. Martin’s Press, 2011-05-10, Hardcover)
   

   I was dead for thirty seconds.That’s what the cop in Fall River told me.  When the EMTs found me, there was a needle in my arm and a packet of heroin in the front seat.At basketball-crazy Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts, junior guard Chris Herren carried his family’s and the city’s dreams on his skinny frame. His grandfather, father, and older brother had created their own sports legends in a declining city; he was the last, best hope for a career beyond the shuttered mills and factories. Herren was heavily recruited by major universities, chosen as a McDonald’s All-American, featured in a Sports Illustrated cover story, and at just seventeen years old became the central figure in Fall River Dreams, an acclaimed book about the 1994 Durfee team’s quest for the state championship.  Leaving Fall River for college, Herren starred on Jerry Tarkanian’s Fresno State Bulldogs team of talented misfits, which included future NBA players as well as future convicted felons. His gritty, tattooed, hip-hop persona drew the ire of rival fans and more national attention: Rolling Stone profiled him, 60 Minutes interviewed him, and the Denver Nuggets drafted him. When the Boston Celtics acquired his contract, he lived the dream of every Massachusetts kid—but off the court Herren was secretly crumbling, as his alcohol and drug use escalated and his life spiraled out of control.  Twenty years later, Chris Herren was married to his high-school sweetheart, the father of three young children, and a heroin junkie. His basketball career was over, consumed by addictions; he had no job, no skills, and was a sadly familiar figure to those in Fall River who remembered him as a boy, now prowling the streets he once ruled, looking for a fix. One day, for a time he cannot remember, he would die. In his own words, Chris Herren tells how he nearly lost everything and everyone he loved, and how he found a way back to life. Powerful, honest, and dramatic, Basketball Junkie is a remarkable memoir, harrowing in its descent, and heartening in its return.

    

4. When the Garden Was Eden: Clyde, the Captain, Dollar Bill, and the Glory Days of the New York Knicks by Harvey Araton
   (Harper, 2011-10-18, Hardcover)
   

   The late 1960s and early 1970s, in New York City and America at large, were years marked by political tumult, social unrest—and the best professional basketball ever played. Paradise, for better or worse, was a hardwood court in Midtown Manhattan. When the Garden Was Eden is the definitive account of how the New York Knickerbockers won their first and only championships, and in the process provided the nation no small escape from the Vietnam War, the tragedy at Kent State, and the last vestiges of Jim Crow. The Knicks were more than a team; they were a symbol of harmony, the sublimation of individual personalities for the greater collective good. No one is better suited to revive the old chants of “Dee-fense!” that rocked Madison Square Garden or the joy that radiated courtside than Harvey Araton, who has followed the Knicks, old and new, for decades—first as a teenage fan, then as a young sports reporter with the New York Post, and now as a writer and columnist for the New York Times. Araton has traveled to the Louisiana home of the Captain, Willis Reed (after writing a column years earlier that led to his abrupt firing as the Knicks’ short-lived coach); he has strolled the lush gardens of Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s St. Croix oasis; discussed the politics of that turbulent era with Senator Bill Bradley; toured Baltimore’s church basement basketball leagues with Black Jesus himself, Earl “the Pearl” Monroe; played memory games with Jerry “the Brain” Lucas; explored the Tao of basketball with Phil “Action” Jackson; and sat through eulogies for Dave DeBusschere, the lunch-bucket, 23-year-old player-coach lured from Detroit, and Red Holzman, the scrappy Jewish guard who became a coaching legend. In When the Garden Was Eden, Araton not only traces the history of New York’s beloved franchise—from Ned Irish to Spike Lee to Carmelo Anthony—but profiles the lives and careers of one of sports’ all-time great teams, the Old Knicks. With measured prose and shoe-leather reporting, Araton relives their most glorious triumphs and bitter rivalries, and casts light on a time all but forgotten outside of pregame highlight reels and nostalgic reunions—a time when the Garden, Madison Square, was its own sort of Eden.

    

5. The Whore of Akron: One Man’s Search for the Soul of LeBron James by Scott Raab
   (Harper, 2011-11-15, Hardcover)
   

   “If there was an opportunity for me to return to Cleveland and those fans welcomed me back, that’d be a great story.”—Lebron James Scott Raab is a last vestige of Gonzo Journalism in an era when sanitary decorum reigns. Crude but warmhearted, poetic but raving, Raab has chronicled—at GQ and Esquire—everything from nights out with the likes of Tupac and Mickey Rourke to a moral investigation into Holocaust death-camp guard Ivan the Terrible to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, but the book you hold in your hands is neither a story nor a job: The Whore of Akron is the product of lifelong suffering, and a mission bound with the meaning of existence. Raab sat in the lower bowl of Cleveland Stadium on December 27, 1964, when the Browns defeated the Colts for the NFL World Championship—the last sports title the declining city has won. He still carries his ticket stub wherever he goes, safely tucked within a Ziploc bag. The glory of that triumph is an easy thing to forget—each generation born in Cleveland is another generation removed from that victory; an entire fan base “whose daily bread has forever tasted of ash.” LeBron James was supposed to change all that. A native son of Akron, he was already world famous by the age of seventeen, had already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, was already worth $90 million to Nike. He seemed like a miracle heaven-sent by God to transform Cleveland’s losing ways. That the Cavaliers drafted him, the hometown prodigy, with the first pick of the 2003 draft, seemed nothing short of destiny. But after seven years—and still no parade down Euclid Avenue—he left. And he left in a way that seemed designed to twist the knife: announcing his move to South Beach on a nationally televised ESPN production with a sly title (“The Decision”) that echoed fifty years of Cleveland sports futility. Out of James’s treachery grew a monster. Raab, a fifty-nine-year-old, 350-pound, Jewish Santa Claus with a Chief Wahoo tattoo, would bear witness to LeBron’s every move, and in doing so would act as the eyes and ears of Cleveland itself. (He did not keep this intentions a secret and was promptly banned by the Miami Heat.) The Whore of Akron is an indictment of a traitorous athlete and the story of Raab’s hilarious, profane (and profound) quest to reveal the “wee jewel-box” of LeBron James’s very soul.

    

6. The Ecstasy of Defeat: Sports Reporting at Its Finest by the Editors of the Onion by Editors of The Onion
   (Hyperion, 2011-10-11, Paperback)
   

   The Sports Page As You’ve Never Seen It Before From painfully obvious steroid revelations to sex scandals and superstars who announce trades in over-the-top TV specials, the wide world of sports can often seem too ridiculous for words. Well, attention sports fans: In The Ecstasy of Defeat, the editors of The Onion offer the laugh-out-loud funny and long overdue lampoon of sports culture you’ve been waiting for. Filled with the very best of The Onion’s bench-clearing sports coverage. No topic escapes the satirical slap of America’s Finest News Source, and the book covers not only mainstream sports–such as baseball, basketball, and football–but also lesser sports, sports culture, and special events like the World Cup and the Olympics. Featuring all the players, teams, and sports we love–and love to hate–The Ecstasy of Defeat is a must-read for sports nuts and Onion fans alike.

    

7. Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won by Tobias J. Moskowitz
   (Crown Archetype, 2011-01-25, Hardcover)
   

   In Scorecasting, University of Chicago behavioral economist Tobias Moskowitz teams up with veteran Sports Illustrated writer L. Jon Wertheim to overturn some of the most cherished truisms of sports, and reveal the hidden forces that shape how basketball, baseball, football, and hockey games are played, won and lost.Drawing from Moskowitz’s original research, as well as studies from fellow economists such as bestselling author Richard Thaler, the authors look at: the influence home-field advantage has on the outcomes of games in all sports and why it exists; the surprising truth about the universally accepted axiom that defense wins championships;  the subtle biases that umpires exhibit in calling balls and strikes in key situations; the unintended consequences of referees’ tendencies in every sport to “swallow the whistle,” and more.Among the insights that Scorecasting reveals: Why Tiger Woods is prone to the same mistake in high-pressure putting situations that you and I are Why professional teams routinely overvalue draft picks The myth of momentum  or the “hot hand” in sports, and why so many fans, coaches, and broadcasters fervently subscribe to it Why NFL coaches rarely go for a first down on fourth-down situations–even when their reluctance to do so reduces their chances of winning. In an engaging narrative that takes us from the putting greens of Augusta to the grid iron of a small parochial high school in Arkansas, Scorecasting will forever change how you view the game, whatever your favorite sport might be.

    

8. Blind Love by Mark O’Neal
   (Underdog Publishing, 2011-06-16, Kindle Edition)
   

   Maurice had decided to get plastered after a hard day of searching for his missing fiancee, Gabrielle. She disappeared a week before their scheduled wedding in June, and Maurice had been searching for her the entire summer to no avail. The police couldn’t find any evidence to suggest that she was murdered, so they called off their search efforts. Maurice conducted his own search efforts, and the despair of being unsuccessful had taken its toll on him.Maurice tried to get his mind off of things by focusing on his sister Erin’s and his best friend and teammate Malik’s wedding instead that was taking place on the last weekend in August. He began to put the pieces of the puzzle together once his friend Agent Stanton told him that Gabrielle was hiding out from her sociopath ex-boyfriend. He would soon discover that Gabrielle wasn’t the woman he thought she was, and their inevitable meeting would have dire consequences.

    

9. The Defender (Kindle Single) by Jordan Conn
   (The Atavist, 2011-07-06, Kindle Edition)
   

   Manute Bol was the first African-born player in the NBA and, at seven foot seven inches, the tallest. In the 1980s and 90s he was also among the league’s most fearsome shot-blockers and its most beloved figures. Off the basketball court, however, Bol’s story was more remarkable than most fans ever knew. Activist, gambler, joker, rebel—Bol was a complex man whose fate was inextricably bound with that of the Sudan, his homeland. Writer Jordan Conn traveled to southern Sudan to explore Bol’s remarkable path from Africa to the NBA, his rise to stardom and fall into obscurity, and his final role as a renowned humanitarian and key figure in his homeland’s independence. Conn’s account, the latest Kindle Single from The Atavist, is a funny and moving portrait of a man who lived a life befitting his outsized body. Jordan Conn is a freelance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He contributes regularly to SI.com, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Slam, and Draft, among others.

    

10. Jewball by Neal Pollack
    (2011-10-05, Kindle Edition)
    

    From the bestselling satirist and memoirist Neal Pollack comes a funny, gritty historical noir about a tough Jew on the brink and about a great American game coming into its own.1937. The gears of world war have begun to grind, but Inky Lautman, star point guard for the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association, America’s greatest basketball team, is dealing with his own problems. His coach has unwittingly incurred a massive gambling debt to the German-American Bund. His main basketball rival is self-righteously leading public protests against the rise of homegrown American fascism. And his girlfriend wants him to join a Jewish student organization that’s all talk and no action. It’s more than Inky can deliver. He just wants to play ball and occasionally beat people up for money. The tides of history are flowing against a guy like Inky. Can he make his free throws and still make it through the season alive? This…is Jewball.

     

11. Joe Tait: It’s Been a Real Ball (Stories from a Hall-of-fame Sports Broadcasting Career) by Terry Pluto
    (Gray & Co., Publishers, 2011-11-04, Paperback)
    

    Legendary broadcaster Joe Tait is like an old family friend to three generations of Cleveland sports fans. This book celebrates his hall-of-fame career with stories from Joe and dozens of fans, media colleagues, and players. It’s co-written with Joe by award-winning sportswriter Terry Pluto. What made Joe Tait so special? Fans believed him. He was “one of us.” He made the game come alive, and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind–even when it might get him in trouble with the coach or the owners. He was a throwback, a purist. Despite the bling and flash that has become so much a part of pro sports, for Joe the game always came first. Northeast Ohioans know Tait best as the voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He called the radio play-by-play from the team’s first year in the NBA, 1970, until his retirement in 2011 (with the exception of two years in the early 1980s). His animated voice and no-nonsense announcing brought the excitement of the game home to listeners, from the “Miracle at Richfield” to the LeBron James years.

     

12. Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Don Van Natta Jr.
    (Little, Brown and Company, 2011-06-02, Hardcover)
    

    This is the extraordinary story of a nearly forgotten American superstar athlete. Texas girl Babe Didrikson never tried a sport too tough and never met a hurdle too high. Despite attempts to keep women from competing, Babe achieved All-American status in basketball and won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics.Then Babe attempted to conquer golf. One of the founders of the LPGA, Babe won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. At the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all: go public and try to win again with the hope of inspiring the world.A rollicking saga, stretching across the first half of the 20th century, WONDER GIRL is as fresh, heartfelt, and graceful as Babe herself.

     

13. Reed All About It: Driven to be a Jayhawk by Tyrel Reed
    (Ascend Books, 2011-10-01, Paperback)
    

    Of all the wonderful players who have worn the crimson and blue for the University of Kansas basketball program through the years, only one can claim to be the “winningest” Jayhawk of all — Tyrel Reed. Reed, who concluded his playing career in March 2011, has written a new book that chronicles his time with the Jayhawks — Reed All About It: Driven to Be a Jayhawk. The book published by Ascend Books of Overland Park, Kansas, is co-written by long-time Topeka Capital Journal Sports Columnist Tully Corcoran.Reed was a champion on the court — as part of the Jayhawks’ National Championship in 2008 — and in the classroom, as a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team member. He was part of more wins than any other player in the storied history of the Kansas program.The son of a coach from Burlington, Kansas, Reed developed into an important leader and “glue guy” for the Jayhawks. He was an excellent outside shooter, sinking 170 three-point field goals in his career, and a clutch free throw shooter, with an .810 success rate.In his book, Reed describes what it was like to play for Coach Bill Self, how the game has changed with “one-and-done” freshmen players, and how he was able to excel academically despite the demands of basketball practice and road trips.Told with heart and good humor, Reed All About It: Driven to Be a Jayhawk, is a must-read for any fan of college basketball.

     

14. Physical Education (Murder 101 Mystery) by Maggie Barbieri
    (Minotaur Books, 2011-11-22, Hardcover)
    

    College English professor and sometime amateur sleuth Alison Bergeron would’ve been thrilled to hear that her husband, NYPD Detective Bobby Crawford, was leaving Homicide if that were the whole story, but it turns out that Bobby’s next assignment is even worse—undercover. As if worrying about his involvement in a case he won’t talk about at all wasn’t bad enough, Alison is forced to take over the women’s basketball team at St. Thomas after the coach dies of a heart attack during a game. She may not know much about basketball, but she’s no stranger to sleuthing, and it isn’t long before she suspects that the coach’s death may be more than unexpected but premeditated as well.With Bobby deep undercover and Alison always on her way to deep trouble, it’s only a matter of time before they run smack into each other in Physical Education, the latest in Maggie Barbieri’s charming Murder 101 mystery series.

     

Eclectic Life Books to part in Cancer Awareness Rally

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 27, 2011

PRESS RELEASE
Eclectic Life Books will be taking part in the Cancer Awareness Rally sponsored by Lolo’s Boutique.

Carson, CA– Eclectic Life Books will be taking part in a Cancer Awareness Rally, sponsored by Lolo’s Boutique. Cherise “Reese” Charleswell, CEO of Eclectic Life Books will be performing a selection of poetry, as well as reading from her newly debuted book, Real Talk Tips: Laugh-Out-Loud Pointers & Suggestions For The Morally Challenged, Socially Inept, & The People Who Love Them. The book, just published in May 2011, is a non-traditional, sassy, tongue-in-cheek, and painfully honest self help guide and workbook for the morally challenged and socially inept members of society; as well as those who want to improve on their quality of life. The Adinkra image that graces the book’s cover is called “Mate masie” and it loosely translates to “What I hear, I keep”. The book draws on my experience as a West Indian child, where wisdom was often imparted as a series of “old time” sayings, tips, and proverbs; leaving one to interpret the true meaning and come to their own conclusion and understanding.

The event being held is a community block party, where other businesses in the area will be contributing to the festivities. It will be taken place on Saturday October 29, 2011 from 12PM – 6PM, and will be located at 21635 South Avalon Blvd, Carson, CA 90473. Near the NW corner of Avalon Blvd and Carson St.

For more information please contact Eclectic Life Books at eclecticlifediva@yahoo.com
CONTACT:
Contact Person: Cherise Charleswell
Company Name: Eclectic Life Books, CEO
Voice Phone# 818-521-8422
Email Address: eclecticlifediva@yahoo.com

What is your “must share” book of 2011?

2012 Baltimore Urban Book Festival

Author Chris Hicks,AAMBC and The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park present the 2nd Annual Baltimore Urban Book Festival on Sunday May 6, 2012 at 1pm-8pm, at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, 1417 Thames St, Baltimore MD 21231.

Celebrating Baltimore’s FIRST and ONLY book festival focusing on African American literature.

GENERAL ADMISSION 5.00
ALL KIDS/HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE FREE!!!!
ALL REGISTERED BOOK CLUBS ARE FREE ADMISSION!!!!
ALL COLLEGE STUDENTS FREE WITH ID!!!!
FOOD VENDORS WILL BE AVAILABLE!!!!

EARLY REGISTRATION AUTHOR TABLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!!!!!
(early registration ends January 1,2012)

Visit our website to register and purchase at www.baltimoreurbanbookfestival.com.

Featuring some of the country’s most influential bestselling authors; Omar Tyree, T. Styles, JM Benjamin, Jimmy Da Saint, Kiki Swinson, Miss KP, Tamika New House, Trice Hickman, Nicola Mitchell, Chris Hicks, Ladawn Black, Moses Miller, Nikki Turner, Booker T Madison

PANELS/WORKSHOPS
- AAMBC Awards Ceremony honoring this years top performing authors
- Omar Tyree lecture and book signing,
- Chocolate Chat workshop featuring T Styles, Jimmy Da Saint and Miss KP
- The real talk with the men of ECE(ebony chronicles of elevation)featuring Corey Barnes, QB Wells, Moses Miller, Omar Tyree, and Author Chris Hicks
- African American Literature Panel

CHILDREN ACTIVITIES: storytelling, free treats, games, face painting, moon bounce, annual free book giveaway drive and a special storytelling feature from Baltimore Ravens

Some of the proceeds from this event will benefit The Fredrick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park a program of the Living Classroom Foundation, in support of their Voyage of Exploration a science, technology, engineering, and math program (STEM).

MEDIA SPONSORS: Mosiac Books, The Baltimore Times, Urbania Magazine, DMD Experience, BMore News, AAMBC, The Urban Twist, Rolling Out Magazine, Urban Literature Review, ILuvblackwoman.com, EDC Creations, My Soul Radio.com, BaltimoreBlack.com,AALBC, Books of Soul.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND FOOD VENDORS ARE AVAILABLE!!!!
Clease contact Chris Hicks directly at chrishicks@baltimoreurbanbookfestival.com or chrishicks.hicks@gmail.com.

Love is Blind by T.J. Chester

You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes by Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine Jackson — older than Michael by four years — offers a keenly observed memoir tracing his brother’s life starting from their shared childhood and extending through the Jackson 5 years, Michael’s phenomenal solo career, his loves, his suffering, and his tragic end. It is a sophisticated, no-holds-barred examination of the man, aimed at fostering a true and final understanding of who he was, why he was, and what shaped him. Jermaine knows the real Michael as only a brother can. In this raw, honest, and poignant account, he reveals Michael the private person, not Michael “the King of Pop.” Jermaine doesn’t flinch from tackling the tough issues: the torrid press, the scandals, the allegations, the court cases, the internal politics, the ill-fated This Is It tour, and disturbing developments in the days leading up to Michael’s death. But where previous works have presented only thin versions of a media construct, he provides a rare glimpse into the complex heart, mind, and soul of a brilliant but sometimes troubled entertainer. As a witness to history on the inside, Jermaine is the only person qualified to deliver the real Michael and reveal what made him tick, his private opinions, and unseen emotions through the most headline-making episodes of his life. Filled with keen insight, rich in anecdotes and behind-the-scenes detail, You Are Not Alone is the book for any true Michael Jackson fan and for anyone trying to make sense of the artist whose death was so premature.