Shirlene Obuobi's Recommended Reads

Books

A spectacular novel of family, friendship, and finding your way in life...and in love. Angie Appiah is the epitome of the Perfect Immigrant Daughter. She's got it all: medical school credentials, a handsome lawyer boyfriend, and ride or die friends. But what happens when everything falls apart? Her boyfriend dumps her, she bombs the most important exam of her medical career, and her closest confidante and roommate pulls away, telling Angie she's more wrapped up in herself than in her friends. Angie is crushed. She's always faced her problems by working "twice as hard to get half as far" and until now, that's done well for her. When did life get so complicated? Suddenly, she begins to question everything: her career choice, her friendships, even why she's attracted to men who don't love her as much as she loves them. And just when things couldn't get more confusing, enter Ricky, brilliant, thoughtful, sexy, but who has "wasteman" practically tattooed across his forehead. For someone who's always been in control, Angie realizes that there's one thing she can't plan on: matters of her heart.

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The biggest mystery of Avatar--the fate of Fire Lord Zuko's mother--is revealed in this remarkable oversized hardcover collecting parts 1-3 of The Search, from Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko! Featuring annotations by Eisner Award-winning writer Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and artistic team Gurihiru (Thorand the Warriors Four), and a brand-new sketchbook, this is a story that Avatar fans need in an edition they will love! * The official continuation of Airbender from its creators and best-selling writer Gene Luen Yang! * Collecting The Search Parts 1-3, with tons of extras! "A wonderful reintroduction to the world of Aang and his merry band of benders."--Nerdist

Books

A New York Times Notable Book: In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future. “A stunner.” —Flea, musician and actor, TheWall Street Journal   Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.   When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate.

Books

From New York Times bestselling writer BRIAN K.VAUGHAN (Y: THE LAST MAN, EX MACHINA) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (MYSTERY SOCIETY, NORTH 40), SAGA is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults. This specially priced volume collects the first arc of the smash hit series The Onion A.V. Club calls "the emotional epic Hollywood wishes it could make. Collects SAGA #1-6

Books

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK! AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Named A Best Book by USA Today * Harper's Bazaar * Oprah Daily * PopSugar * Shondaland * The Los Angeles Times * NPR * Kirkus * Marie Claire * New York Public Library * Bustle * Good Housekeeping * PureWow * CBS News * People * BuzzFeed * Reader's Digest Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by CNN * Essence * Travel + Leisure * She Reads * Scary Mommy Named a Best Romance Book of 2021 by The Washington Post Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again... Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award‑winning novelist, who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can't deny their chemistry--or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect--but Eva's wary of the man who broke her heart, and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered... With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy‑as‑hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.