We are reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi! The African fantasy tells the story of Zélie Adebola as she tries to bring magic back to the West African-inspired kingdom of Orïsha after a ruthless king wiped out her people.

Reading begins tomorrow! Below are some thoughts as you begin reading

• What was your first impression of the Zélie?

• Have you been following the film adaptation? And what are your thoughts around the aesthetic of the film vs the book?

• Did the opening of chapter 1 immediately hook you?

If you are not a member of the BGN book club, we welcome you to join us as we read together and discuss Children of Blood and Bone this month!

Tananarive Due's Mazywood is not due for release until September of 2026.

Her nomination will be replaced with Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige.

Apologies for this error.

Voting has officially begun for our August Book Club selection!

We invite you to join our Discord community to participate in lively discussions, connect with fellow readers, and share your thoughts throughout the month. For those who prefer to vote here on Bindery, we'll also be posting a poll so members can cast their votes directly on the platform.

🗳️ Voting will remain open for 24 hours. Apologies for the short turnaround, but we're a bit behind with nominations and voting as we're already in August!
📖 Our group reading will begin on Aug 3.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please join our Discord and let us know. We're always happy to hear from our community.

Happy reading, and we can't wait to see which book you choose for August!

Hi BGN Lit Lounge and Sanctuary Members!

Please excuse the double email, but this is an important one!

We're running a little behind this month after the whirlwind that was Comic-Con, so thank you for your patience. Now it's time to choose our August Book Club selection, and we need your help!

We'd love for each of you to nominate one or two books that you think would make a great read for our August selection. Whether it's fantasy, sci-fi, horror, romance, graphic novels, or another genre that celebrates the nerdy stories we love, we want to see your picks.

Because we're on a tight timeline, please submit your nominations by Thursday, July 30.

We'll open voting to the Inner Circle members on August 1st, and the winning title will become our August Book Club selection!

We can't wait to see what books you're excited about. Happy nominating! 📖

Our first Black Girl Nerds Book Club selection, Sistah Samurai: A Champloo Novella, was a fun and memorable read that sparked great conversations among our members. Now we're excited to take the discussion one step further by giving our BGN Sanctuary members the opportunity to connect directly with author Tatiana Obey.

Join us for an exclusive Zoom conversation on Tuesday, August 26, at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT, where Tatiana will discuss the inspiration behind the novel, her creative process, and answer your questions about the book.

We're looking forward to sharing this special event with you!

Not a BGN Sanctuary member? Don't worry! We'll be recording the conversation and making it available at a later date so everyone can enjoy this insightful discussion.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87899056146

We're excited to announce that our July Book Club author, Tatiana Obey, will be joining us for an exclusive Zoom discussion of her novel, Sistah Samurai: A Champloo Novella!

This intimate conversation is your chance to connect directly with Tatiana, hear more about the inspiration behind the book, and ask any questions you have about the story, her creative process, and her work as a writer.

We're currently planning to host the event on Monday, August 25. To help us choose the best time for everyone, please take a moment to fill out the poll below with your preferred time.

We can't wait to see you there and dive into this incredible story together!

We are reading Sistah Samurai: A Champloo Novella, Tatiana Obey's Indie Ink Award winning novella and the first entry in The Champloo Mixes series. It is a feudal Japan inspired action fantasy that wears its anime influences proudly, an homage to Afro Samurai and Samurai Champloo, filtered through a voice that is unmistakably Black, unmistakably funny, and unmistakably tired of everybody's foolishness.

It's the first day of July and I know many of you are just getting started so this is a quick check-in on how it's going!

• What was your first impression of the protagonist?

• Which line made you laugh?

• Did the opening immediately hook you?

If you haven't done so already please join our Discord. If you are a BGN Sanctuary member, we are planning a virtual chat with Tatiana Obey herself. This will be scheduled in August.

Voting has officially begun for our July Book Club selection!

We invite you to join our Discord community to participate in lively discussions, connect with fellow readers, and share your thoughts throughout the month. For those who prefer to vote here on Bindery, we'll also be posting a poll so members can cast their votes directly on the platform.

🗳️ Voting will remain open for one week.
📖 Our group reading will begin on July 1.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please join our Discord and let us know. We're always happy to hear from our community.

Happy reading, and we can't wait to see which book you choose for July!