I am sad to say that with the end of February comes the end of Black History Month and the end of Blackathon. If you don’t know, Blackathon is a readathon hosted by Jesse, @booksandbowties, during Black History Month to celebrate Black literature. This time around they had amazing activities and hosts and prompts. The theme this month was: travel. I was a part of the horror/thriller team. However, my initial TBR did not go to plan, and I wanted to read more than the prompts given. So, I read more than just horror or thriller.

This was a great experience for me. I always try and diversify my reading, but this was a great exploration for me. I normally don’t look for Black authors in my horror and thriller selections, which is a flaw of mine. I need to do better with my selections. And through this month I have realized that I read many books about or involving Black pain. Many of the selections have scenes of Black joy, but the overall emotions are full of pain and sadness. I need to read more Black joy. I also realized I need to read more books set outside of the US, but especially Africa. I can count the number of books I have read set in Africa on one hand. That’s something I absolutely need to work on. It’s bad for me to not be more diverse, and in this year, and in years to come, I will be working tirelessly to better my reading.

I had four books planned to read this month. I read only two of the four selections. One selection I picked was not actually written by a Black author. I read a list of Black horror recommendations and was given the wrong choice. It’s my fault for not doing better research. I also dnf’d another book. If you know me, you know I never DNF books. But this time, I just couldn't get through it. It is a total me thing, not the book. The book I would still recommend, but it really is not just for me. But I did complete the group book (a full list with ratings below) and another book I had planned. I also veered from the traveler theme. Many of the books I own or are on my immediate TBR don’t feature a typical journey. I think it’s okay though, because I really enjoyed my reading this month anyways.

With all of that, let’s get into the stats. They’re short for this readathon, but I’m sharing what they are anyways. I read a total of ten books for this readathon and 2,929 pages. My average star rating was a 4, which is amazing.

Here’s the list of what I read! I will be giving the title, author, star rating, and genre.

1. Wife of the Gods - Kwei Quartey

   1. 3 stars

   2. Mystery, crime

2. The Ballad of Black Tom - Victor LaValle

   1. 4 stars

   2. Sci-fi paranormal horror

3. When No One is Watching - Alyssa Cole

   1. 5 stars

   2. Thriller, horror

4. All Boys Aren’t Blue - George M. Johnson

   1. No rating, but I loved it

   2. Memoir manifesto

5. Grown - Tiffany D. Jackson

   1. 5 stars

   2. Contemporary horror

6. Bitter Root - David Walker, Chuck Brown

   1. 3 stars

   2. Historical fantasy horror

7. Black Panther vol. 4: Avengers of the New World Part One - Ta-Nehisi Coates

   1. 3 stars

   2. Superhero, action

8. The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

   1. 5 stars

   2. Reread

   3. Young adult hard-hitting contemporary

9. The City We Became - NK Jemisin

   1. 4 stars

   2. Urban fantasy

10. Honey Girl - Morgan Rogers

    1. 4 stars

    2. Adult contemporary romance

This was an eye-opening month. Remember, you need to read Black lit outside of February. This is a reminder for both me and you. I loved participating in this readathon and I cannot wait to participate again next year!