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whatchaareading

@whatchaareading

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2 sisters, 1 shared love of reading ❤️📚
📖: Zeal @_morganjerkins
📖: Take My Hand @dolenperkinsvaldez
📍Chicago
📫 [email protected]

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Waited for my car for over three hours lol but historical fiction saved me. I’m enjoying Take My Hand by @dolenperkinsvaldez thus far…what do you guys think?

#blackgirlsreadtoo #historicalfiction #blackhistory by @whatchaareading

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6 days ago

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

Take What You Can by @naimacoster is a story of two best friends, Milly and Val, who meet in college while studying abroad in France. Years later, they’re both married and expecting baby girls. After a decade of living apart, Val (and her husband) move to New York from North Carolina to be closer to Milly and her husband so they can raise their daughters together.

More than the complex friendship between the two women, the book also dives into their marriages, motherhood, and grief…

There’s definitely a lot of moving parts in this novel, but I didn’t mind it in this case. For me, in the latter half of my twenties, it was interesting to read about two imperfect women. There were times throughout reading where I resonated with Milly and in the next moment I was on Val’s side.

The author does a good job of exploring both of the women’s shortcomings and also acknowledging the missteps in the friendship over the years.

Maybe that’s where the title comes from…? There’s good and bad in all of us and we kind of just have to take what we can from others in friendships, relationships, etc. and love them anyway.

This was my first Naima Coster read and I’m looking forward to checking out some of her other books. Overall, this was a good read and it officially comes out next month. Let me know if you all check it out. Enjoy! 🙂

-DP by @whatchaareading

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3 months ago

Happy Independent Bookstore Day! When we’re not checking out library books, we’re supporting indie bookstores around the city.

It was great to visit @honeyandhuebookstore , @undercoverbookschi and @burstintobooks for the first time today.

What other indie bookstores should we visit in Chicago?

#whatchaareading #indiebookstoreday #chilovesbooks #teamindie #chicago by @whatchaareading

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5 months ago

Kin is about two ‘cradle friends’, Vernice and Annie. Vernice’s mother died when she was a baby and Annie’s mother, alive, abandoned her. The motherless girls are raised by their aunt and grandmother, respectively, in Honeysuckle, Louisiana. The story follows them as Vernice heads for Atlanta to attend Spelman College and Annie runs away to Nashville to find her mother.

I enjoyed how well-written and developed the characters, setting, and plot were. The different relationships shown in the book explored the complexities of Black girl/womanhood and the powerful impact of friendship. The story was really emotional. My heart ached for all the characters and at the same time I smiled at their growth. This was the first book I read by Tayari Jones and I’m eager to read more of her work.

I recommend this book to all my KIN ❤️

-jp. by @whatchaareading

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7 months ago

Here are 31 books to add to your March To-Be-Read list. All these recs are the stories, words, essays, poems and lives of Black women. #whatchaareading #womenshistorymonth♀️ #blackwomen #blackauthors by @whatchaareading

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7 months ago

FIRST BOOK REVIEW OF THE YEAR✨

Who’s Watching Shorty is a 2026 memoir by Reshona Landfair. Reshona was known as “Jane Doe” in the Robert Kelly case in the 2000s. As a fellow Chicagoan and young Black woman, I was curious to learn more about her story in her own words. I think too many times our stories are erased, or in Reshona’s case, our voices silenced. It’s one thing to watch a documentary about the man who abused her, scroll through social media or even pay attention to what the news platforms, but it was important for me to hear about her experience in her own words.

Reshona’s story is one of bravery. She shares the truth of what she endured from the age of 12 at the hands of multiple adults who failed to protect her. To be clear, this was a tough read…what Reshona endured is quite honestly disgusting and infuriating. What I appreciated about this book is that she discussed her healing as well. After she left Robert at the age of 26 she describes her relationship with her parents, becoming a parent herself and testifying against Robert in 2021.

I admire how, as an adult, she took control of her life. None of us are what happened to us. I’m glad she told her story and am always rooting for her. I wish her continued healing and I recommend everyone picking this book up approaches it with compassion. Would you read it?

-DP by @whatchaareading

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7 months ago

Our March book club pick is “The Seven Daughters of Dupree” by Nikesha Elise Williams.

Scan the QR code or click the link in our bio to sign up and read with us. by @whatchaareading

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7 months ago

can’t go wrong with a book and an iced matcha 😆

#books #matcha #blackbookstagrammer #chicago taken in Plein Air Cafe by @whatchaareading

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9 months ago

You asked and we delivered. This book club is for the mood readers, the lazy readers, and everyone in between. Sign up with the link in our bio! 🩷 by @whatchaareading

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9 months ago

We started off this year in the sky with Cebo Campbell’s Sky Full of Elephants, then traveled from The Good House (Tananarive Due) to the House of Eve (Sadeqa Johnson). We took a turn and sat with the Tinas (Tina Turner and Tina Knowles’ memoirs) and then we met a Martyr (Kaveh Akbar), The Yellow Wife (Sadeqa Johnson), The Housemaid (Freida McFadden) and The Scammer (Tiffany D. Jackson) From romance to mysteries to memoirs, this is our 2025 in books, and we enjoyed all 11,695 pages!

Happy Holidays from WhatchaaReading!

#whatchaareading by @whatchaareading

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9 months ago

How it started (Jan 2022) vs how it’s going (Dec 2025)

We are grateful for every follower and everybody who engages with our content. Thank you for the support. ❤️📚

#whatchaareading by @whatchaareading

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10 months ago

Because I knew you, I have been changed for good 💚🧹💗✨

Elphaba & Galinda (Whatchaa Reading) wish you a wicked Halloween 🎃👻🍫🍬

#whatchaareading #bookishhalloween #halloween #wicked taken in Shiz University by @whatchaareading

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a year ago