What I Read Today

D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

By: Chencia C. Higgins
Narrated by: Rebecca Lee
Length: 8 hours 47 minutes

Instant I Do could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt either. D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy... Read more about D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

A Little Kissing Between Friends

By: Chencia C. Higgins
Narrated by: Lauryn Nichols & J. Shani Michaels
Length: 8 hours 36 minutes

“Triumphantly Black, queer and contemporary… The dialogue snaps and shimmers.” —New York Times Book Review on D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

Music producer on the rise Cyn Tha Starr knows what she likes, from her sickening beats in the studio to the flirty femmes she fools around with. Her ever-rotating roster has never... Read more about A Little Kissing Between Friends

The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery

A Novel

By: Clarence A. Haynes
Narrated by: Brittany Bradford & André Santana
Length: 7 hours 58 minutes

“Wow! What a hauntingly beautiful and emotionally rich adult debut! This story weaves mystery, memory, and the supernatural into a compelling and fast-paced narrative. The writing is lovely, the characters have depth, and the pacing is superb. If you are in the mood for a dramatic ghost story, I highly recommend this one! Read more

On Sundays She Picked Flowers

By: Yah Yah Scholfield
Narrated by: Angel Pean, Patryce Williams & York Whitaker
Length: 8 hours 30 minutes

“An intense and lyrical exploration of trauma and of building a life for oneself alongside it. Beautifully written and expertly narrated! Read more

Black Cloud Rising

By: David Wright Faladé
Narrated by: James Shippy
Length: 9 hours 18 minutes

By fall of 1863, Union forces had taken control of Tidewater Virginia and established a toehold in eastern North Carolina, including along the Outer Banks.

Thousands of freed slaves and runaways flooded the Union lines, but Confederate irregulars still roamed the region. In December, the newly formed African Brigade, a unit of these former... Read more about Black Cloud Rising

The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman

A Novel

By: Deesha Philyaw
Length: TBA

A Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by Lit Hub, BookPage, and Ms. MagazineThe wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed “rags-to-Rolex” life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlight—in this "funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit" (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of... Read more about The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman

The Waterbearers

A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters

By: Sasha Bonét
Narrated by: Sasha Bonét
Length: 9 hours 39 minutes

• One of NPR’s “Nonfiction Books We Love from 2025” • One of Kirkus’s “Best Nonfiction Books of 2025” •

A powerful new voice, telling the American story through three generations of Black mothers.

"This searing, poetic memoir covers generations of powerful Black women who raise their children singly and transmit strength by showing up. . . .... Read more about The Waterbearers

The First Time I Saw Him (A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick)

By: Laura Dave
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Tessa Albertson, Colin Donnell & CJ Wilson
Length: 7 hours 25 minutes

“While this is a sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me (so so good) you can read this well-paced thriller on its own and not feel left out. Picking up right where the first book ended, Hannah’s chance encounter with her long-missing husband Owen forces her and stepdaughter Bailey to go on the run, and run they do. A soulful love story is expertly... Read more

The Wedding

A Novel

By: Dorothy West
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 7 hours 21 minutes

In her final novel, Dorothy West offers an intimate glimpse into African American middle class.  Set on bucolic Martha's Vineyard in the 1950s, The Wedding tells the story of life in the Oval, a proud, insular community made up of the best and brightest of the East Coast's black bourgeoisie.  Within this inner circle of... Read more about The Wedding

I'm Glad My Mom Died

By: Jennette McCurdy
Narrated by: Jennette McCurdy
Length: 6 hours 26 minutes

“McCurdy’s memoir - reflecting on her abusive childhood and subsequent traumas - will have you laughing through tears. Read more

Half His Age

A Novel

By: Jennette McCurdy
Narrated by: Jennette McCurdy
Length: 4 hours 34 minutes

“I read this in one squirmy yet riveting sitting— it’s hard to explain the combination of vulgarity and sophistication in prose that characterize this book. After taking time to think about it, I guess that is the point. That the truth of many lives is hard to look at yet essential to examine. That the things that seem most extreme are often... Read more

The Zorg

A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery

By: Siddharth Kara
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Length: 7 hours 43 minutes

“Somehow Kara tells this horrific story in a way that ultimately inspires. The tenacity in research and commitment to both objectivity and empathy was incredible to read. Five stars! Read more

So Far Gone

A Novel

By: Jess Walter
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 8 hours 20 minutes

“With similarities to Lulu Dean’s humor as well as savvy discourse on current politics, as well as echoes of Kevin Wilson‘s intense and quirky plots and sometimes leaning to the dark side, this novel is great fun! A diverse cast of characters, including an inquisitive and slightly exasperating nine-year-old, an excitable and intense ex-cop who... Read more