When the book club started in February 2021, there was no intention of meeting monthly. The social isolation of COVID lockdown combined with a desire for discourse on written words were the club’s seeds – a virtual community of fulfilling engagements became the bloom.

Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop *by Danyel Smith is our May book club selection.*

After 14 book selections, 19 meetings, and five author chats, a club pause is in order. Summer is upon us, lockdown is no longer, and I, as moderator, have a hefty stack of unread books I’d like to put a dent into… at my own pace.

I look forward to picking up the momentum again later this year, and until then, hope you’ll join us for this not-so-final selection.

During May, we’re reading Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith. Part memoir, part history, part critique, this book encapsulates the range of topics Lil Nappy Book Club was created to discuss.

Join us in reading Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith. Our virtual discussion is Thursday, June 2 at 6:30 p.m. PST/ 9:30 EST.

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Synopsis: A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith’s intimate history of Black women’s music as the foundational story of American pop. Smith’s detailed narrative begins with Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who sang her poems, and continues through the stories of Mahalia Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Mariah Carey, as well as the under-considered careers of Marilyn McCoo, Deniece Williams, and Jody Watley. Shine Bright is an overdue paean to musical masters whose true stories and genius have been hidden in plain sight—and the book Danyel Smith was born to write.

Lil Nappy Book Club meets on virtually Thursday, June 2 at 6:30 p.m. PST/ 9:30 EST.

We always use this Zoom link for book club meetings.
Meeting ID: 896 2942 1314 / Passcode: 510539

If you’re not on the book club mailing list and would like to be, email me!