I miss Black Expressions Book Club
IDSC "BlackTechLogy" December Exclusive: There's nothing like strolling into black bookstores
This post is part of a series entitled “BlackTechLogy.” Click here for the archived posts.
I’m nine years late and should be ashamed of myself. I had absolutely no idea that Black Expressions Book Club closed in 2013, and I’m clearly part of the problem when it comes to supporting the company.
There was a time when I was relentlessly buying books via that club or physical stores. I loved the idea of strolling into African-owned and African-American-owned bookstores in downtown Chicago and the South Side of Chicago, taking note of any new book I saw. I could stick my arm out, spin around and know for sure that I was going to knock over a book I desperately wanted to read.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I choose to continue promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All five of my Substack publications now include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site, not just the Amazon Black-owned logo, to verify this.) If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
If you’re a black Geriatric Millennial or from Generation X, you knew this book club. Pay $2 for five titles of your choice, a free gift and look out for 60% savings on retail publishers’ prices. I wasn’t quite sure how well mainstream authors were getting paid off of deals like this, but I crossed my fingers and hoped that publishers were offering them a reasonable contract. Between Black Expressions Book Club and Columbia House offering 12 CDs for $0.01, my teenage years were nonstop entertainment.
Recommended Read: “Black book characters make black kids like me want to read more ~ Why Young, Black & Lit is onto something with its literature nonprofits”