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Nia Malika

@readingisavibe

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🇯🇲 + 🇰🇳= me
📚 Books & Real Life
🎧Audiobooks ✈️ Travel
🏃🏾‍♀️💃🏾 A reader in motion
🌴Prioritizing Caribbean/Black Lit
📍ATL • DST🔺

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Happy Monday! I’ve got some book mail with Caribbean flair (Jamaican authors as well as authors of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent)! Four paperbacks I’m excited to own and read… Chile, I went through a lot to get that copy of Kingston Noir🤦🏾‍♀️ Anyway, Swipe —> to read about each one!

Which one would you pick up first?

Caribbean authors | Read Caribbean | Caribbean literature | Caribbean diaspora | Jamaican authors | Puerto Rican authors | Dominican authors | Monday book mail | Paperback books | The White Hot | Quiara Alegría Hudes | Two Days in Mayaro | Pamela Mordecai | My Train Leaves at Three | Natalie Guerrero | Kingston Noir | Colin Chan

Thank you to the author Pamela Mordecai and @goose_lane for my copy (published September 15, 2026):

“A new collection of stories of the Jamaican diaspora by acclaimed poet and storyteller Pamela Mordecai. Mordecai combines old time stories with the contemporary and showcases the struggles, triumphs, and humour of diaspora life, creating a world powered by unforgettable characters in language that sings.

The characters in Two Days in Mayaro cope with the universal experiences of birth and death, home and belonging, reckoning with both their present and past. Only two months in Toronto, a young man gets in trouble at school for being restless and disruptive. A stone-throwing duppy smashes an elderly couple’s car window as they drive past a graveyard. A man in a nursing home looks back on two days on a beach with his then-wife and children and the lost chance of happiness.

In this multidimensional universe, Mordecai mixes Jamaican Patwa with standard English and profanity with reverence, making her characters all the more real by introducing uncanny detail at just the right moment or by turning confusion on its head to make us laugh. This is a world alive with sound, infused by lore, ancestry, and history.“

“Following in the Caribbean footsteps of Haiti Noir and Trinidad Noir, now come dark stories from Jamaica’s capital city.”

“April is a young mother raising her daughter in an intergenerational house of unspoken secrets and loud arguments. Her only refuge is to hide away in a locked bathroom, her ears plugged

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Happy Sunday! It’s cold here in Atlanta. But I have new nonfiction books thanks to @crownpublishing @harpercolins for my finished copies of The Power of No x Anna Holmes and @D.L. Hughley’s Memoir, Charlie’s Boy and @littlebrown for my ARC of Renaissance Men: Agents of Medical and Cultural Modernity x Harriet A. Washington Here’s to lazy Sundays and good books that inspire, teach and make you think. Swipe —> to read about each book!

Nonfiction Book Stack | Publisher Book Mail | Renaissance Men: Agents of Medical and Cultural Modernity | Charlie’s Boy by D.L. Hughley | The Power of No: A Celebration by Anna Holmes | Black Authors | Memoirs | Cultural History | Nonfiction Reads | Reading Is a Vibe

“When was the last time you said “no”? Not, I don’t think so, or maybe, or let me think about it; but a full-throated “NO”? And how often do you agree to do things you don’t want to do? Most of us—especially those who don’t wield traditional modes of power, or, at least, not as much relative to others—often find ourselves navigating around “no” and landing on “okay” or “sure” instead.

The Power of No releases us from our white-knuckled grip on agreeability. In this eclectic yet empowering book, Atlantic contributing writer Anna Holmes explores why it’s difficult for many of us to utter that two-letter word on its own, through an idiosyncratic mix of searing analysis, expert-led research, and stirring insights from the likes of Charlotte Brontë to Shonda Rhimes. From the linguistic, to the societal, to the psychological—from our impressionable childhood to the revelations of middle age—to sex, desire, and bodily autonomy, Holmes playfully traces how “no” shapes our lives and, if exercised properly, can radically change the way we carry ourselves and move about the world.

Equal parts heartfelt meditation and fiery manifesto, The Power of No is a call to embrace the invigorating truth that “no” is a complete sentence.”

Published: September 15, 2026

“The long-awaited memoir by the comedy legend and author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, a beautiful and mesmerizing book that reveals as never before his childhood in South Central Los Angeles, his time in the i

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Happy Saturday! I’m just showing off some new Caribbean reads on my shelves. I’m giving these stories a little sunshine before I get lost in their pages!

Which one have you read or adding to your list?

Read Caribbean | Caribbean Books | Caribbean Authors | Caribbean Literature | Caribbean Book Haul | Caribbean Stories | Caribbean Diaspora | New Books | Weekend Reads | Book Recommendations | Bookstagram | Reading Is a Vibe

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Kinfolk Lit Fest is gearing up to be one of the dopest book festivals of 2027! Not only is the author lineup top tier, but my Cuzzins and I are ready to get LIT 🔥📚If you haven’t done so already, grab your tickets today and come kick it with the Fam! @readingisavibe @thebookishhottie @locd_booktician_ @_bookedwithdee @thereisalwaysatbr @breana_reads @mrz.mccane @mr.mccane_ @rhondaisreading @lioness_plans_n_reads @conjuringliteracy @litvibeswithfive @brithefunnyfictionista @drereads_ @niecylovesbooks @nextchapternish @leekreads @jina.with_a_j @overgrindnico @bookmarkedbychalon @breana_reads @jagbybirth @chaletnthecity @rosegoldbooktok @thereadingroom444 #bookstagram #blackbookstagram #bookfestival #blackbook #books

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Friends and Family by Natalie Baszile, the author of Queen Sugar, delivers big. It’s complicated. It’s infuriating. It is timely. It’s real. Babs is a black educated wife and mother living in a nice neighborhood in San Francisco who is friends with Nora, a white privileged wife and mother of an adopted black son. The major conflict comes when Babs’ black son Nathan is aggressively atopped by the police when one of Babs’ neighbors calls the police on him for…being black. Nora and her husband did what I expected Nora and her husband to do which was to be unsupportive and wonder what Nathan did to deserve the treatment he received. I wasn’t shocked but Bab damn sure was. And couldn’t understand why. Girl, where have you been? Well she was busy needing a place in a community that could never truly see her. Her longing to have Nora as a friend requires a psychiatrist. I was annoyed with Babs for most of the book. Actually, Nora too. They were not friends or family.

The ladies who I read this book with and I had so much rich conversation about all the complexities of this book. We were black and white women, different cities, different ages but we engaged with the themes of motherhood, race, marriage, privilege, belonging and what it means to be black in America because the writing and story gave no choice. It was an amazing buddy read and I suspect anyone who reads this for a book club pick will have the same debate and commentary.

Read This! It was released October 6, 2026.

Thank You to the buddy read ladies @booksandthemes, @haitian_homeschoolmama, @lit_eraryqueen, @asread_bymerisha, @andthatsonliterature, @drewbreading, @read_renew_repeat, @jacquejreads, @bookswithsarahbeth, @lynnsliteraryadventures for your engagement and insight. And thank you to @pameladormanbooks @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC!

Friends and Family by Natalie Baszile | Queen Sugar author | book club picks | buddy read recommendations | Black women authors | race and motherhood | friendship and privilege | contemporary fiction | book review | Reading Is a Vibe

#FriendsAndFamily #NatalieBaszile #BookClubReads #BlackBookstagram #Bookstagram

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Finished and Happy Monday! I went from having read zero books by a Dominican author to 3 in one year! Island Man by Joanne Skerrett has been on my TBR for a couple of years…hangs head in shame… but I finally read it and I’m so pleased I did!

First of all…THIS COVER!!! I love it. The father and son and flag of Dominica ~which, by the way is the only world flag with purple in it ~ the bird in the middle…Second, I loved the dual stories and back and forth timelines that describes Hector and his dad’s Winston’s stories. Winston was born in Dominica and Hector was conceived in Dominica. As they travel together back to Dominica, the reader finds out about Winston’s upbringing and quest to make something of himself as well as his brief stay in a Rastafarian Village ~ such a sad chapter and based on the actual state sponsored Dread Act. You learn that Hector grew up with his mom in the States without Winston and the stories intertwine and weave until the full story is revealed. It’s historical fiction which brings the political, social and cultural landscape of Dominica together with its beauty. It’s a story of fathers and sons, mothers and sons, first and true love, poverty and small island life. It’s a great story that I enjoyed very much because I’m nosy and I needed to find out why Hector was in the dog house and how come Hector’s parents weren’t together. It all comes together in the end. Beautiful and reflective writing. And now I really need to get to Dominica!

Sooo, I’m late… but thank you to @redhenpress for the ARC so long ago!

Island Man | Joanne Skerrett | Read Caribbean | Caribbean literature | Caribbean authors | Books set in Dominica | Caribbean fiction | Black authors | Book review | Book recommendations

#Bookstagram #BookRecommendations #BlackBookstagram #CaribbeanLiterature #ReadCaribbean

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May this type of friendship NEVER find me. Milly and Val drove me crazy this whole book. I cussed Milly a million times and kissed my teeth at Val a hundred thousand. Look up, believe when you show me who are the first time and these GOT DAMN two are front and center. Are they friends because I can’t sure tell! And the men these two Black Latina women marry? One is a sucker and the other a jerk-rat-bastard. Even the woman who they meet in Paris and becomes a quasi mother-friend (it’s weird) is not right. The only people I like are the newborn babies in this book. Everybody else worked my last nerve, had me fussing and clutching my pearls because (why is this the 2nd book I’ve unintentionally read with open marriage this month?) what-in-the-what is going on here?

Ok. I’ve gotten it out. Here’s calm me. Read Take What You Can x Naima Coster🇩🇴. It is a powerful book by a Caribbean author of Dominican descent with complicated female characters. They are human and flawed and trying to figure it out. They meet in Paris as young women and now live in Brooklyn as married women and expectant mothers. She is exceptional at writing this friendship and their backstories with all the complexities. The themes of love, marriage, friendship, family upbringing, grief, motherhood are all weaved in with food having a place in their lives (as evidenced by the cover), gatherings and conversations. My unsophisticated palet (1) has never heard of some of these dishes (2) will never try the ones I have heard of (3) There’s snapper and plantain though…that I will eat 😋
I digress… Water also takes center stage in key moments. Powerful analogies. Suspense… cuz I’m nosy and need to know. I was engaged and the events and description of Milly and Val’s relationship really made me reflective.

Read this book. I fussed and cussed but that’s a good sign. I was consumed. If you have read let’s talk! If not, go read so we can talk.

Take What You Can by Naima Coster | Naima Coster Books | Take What You Can Book Review | Contemporary Literary Fiction | Black Women Authors | Black Literary Fiction | Complicated Female Friendships | Toxic Friendships in Fiction | Friendship and Betrayal

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🚨 IMPORTANT ORDER UPDATE 🚨

To our valued Strickly Bodied by Kei customers:

Due to an unexpected shipment delay in customs, orders will NOT be available for pickup tomorrow.

We will make arrangements to ENSURE that you receive your orders by Wednesday, October 14th.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and truly appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued support.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Thank you for shopping Strickly Bodied by Kei!

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As for me and my house, I will read all the banned books I desire. It’s Banned Book Week (Oct 4-10) and these are only a few of the banned and challenged books on my shelves. I own plenty more, and I will keep reading them.

Some of the books in this post have been on my shelves for decades. That copy of The Color Purple? Mine from high school. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings? Mine from high school, too. These aren’t just books I pulled from my shelves for a post. They are books that have helped shape me, challenged me, taught me, and expanded the way I see the world.

They tried to keep our enslaved ancestors from learning to read. They tried to keep us in the dark. Knowledge is dangerous because knowledge means power. And you cannot unring a bell.

So, Nah. 📚✊🏾

Learn about banned books from @penamerica @americanlibraryassociation.

Banned Books Week | Banned Books | Read Banned Books | Challenged Books | Black Banned Books | Black Literature | Black Authors | The Color Purple | Alice Walker | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou | The 1619 Project | Nikole Hannah-Jones | Freedom to Read | Book Bans | Literary Censorship | Reading Is Resistance | Black History | Diverse Books | Books That Matter | Black Bookstagram | Book Recommendations | Bookstagram | Readers of Instagram | Books on My Shelves 📚

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🎉 HAPPY RELEASE DAY 🎉

Thank you @netgalley and @vikingbooks for the ARC of Friends and Family: A Novel by @nataliebaszile

📚Friends and Family: A Novel by @nataliebaszile
📖 Published by @pameladormanbooks @vikingbooks
📅 Release Date: October 6, 2026 (TODAY)
📚 ARC
Rating: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Whew! This book took me on an emotional journey! I went in without reading the synopsis, and within the first few chapters, Babs had me ready to DNF. By the end, though, I realized my reaction to her was part of what made this book so powerful. Babs had me in THERAPY!

At its core, this book made me think about what happens when we don’t talk about race. Avoiding these conversations doesn’t make race disappear. Instead, it can prevent people, especially Black people, from fully showing up as themselves. Love and good intentions aren’t always enough. True allyship requires listening, acknowledging differences, examining our biases, and sometimes being uncomfortable.

There were also moments when I recognized parts of my younger self, the desire to be accepted, staying quiet, and making excuses for behaviors that made me uncomfortable. Whew…and that “invisible suitcase” concept hit me HARD.

I had the BEST experience reading this with a diverse group of women through an Instagram buddy read. This was easily the most commentary I’ve had in a buddy read all year! The different perspectives and conversations added SO much to the experience.

I even took this book on our family cruise and couldn’t put it down, or stop talking about it with my husband and children. 🚢😂

A MUST READ! It frustrated me, challenged me, made me reflect, and reminded me why conversations about race matter.

#FriendsandFamilyANovel #NataliBaszile #PamelaDormanBooks #VikingBooks #InstragramBuddyRead

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Meditation at my happy place has become a necessary part of my week. I genuinely look forward to shutting my mind down, quieting the noise and resetting. Today’s focus was notice. Just being intentionally aware. I got to experience it with some amazing people.

#allsidesofkay #effectfitness #meditation #meditate #reset

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