SheReads: Toni: Reader, Writer, Sewer

SheReads looks at the reading lists of cool chicks. If you want to be featured, send an email to uptown.literati@gmail.com.

Feminista by Erica Kennedy

"At first glance, you might think this is another chick-lit book, but upon closer inspection you realize this is much more. The main character, Sydney, already has it all: a well-paying seemingly glamorous job, access to the hottest clothes & celebrities. But she wants more - deeper relationships and a more meaningful career. Along the way she works to reconcile her feminist side with that of her fashionista side. Hence Feminista!"

Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

"Beautifully written saga of five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican descent that shows all of their power, resilience and vulnerability. The stone in the title, along with some powers of magic are passed along from female to female among the descendants of Fela, an African women sold into slavery in Puerto Rico. Relationships between mothers and daughters are fully explored here with all the complications that entails. While some turn their back on the magic and "old ways" of their ancestors, the stories and the stone always endure and the generations are brought full circle in their journey."

Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

"Great book by a first time novelist. Wife of The Gods is a mystery set in a small village in Ghana. A young female med student is murdered in Ketanu on her way home from distributing information about AIDS. Her murder is pinned on a local boy widely thought to be a troublemaker. Darko Dawson, an investigator in Accra, is called in from the big city to help solve the crime. When the Chief of Police, who resents having him there, is convinced that it is an open and shut case, Dawson must continue to pursue the truth on his own. If you like The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, you will like this also."

The Island of Eternal Love by Daina Chaviano

"I love any and all things Cuban and am always on the lookout for fiction about the island. I initially picked up this book at work because the cover was so pretty! Cecilia is a Cuban-born Miami resident who still hasn't made peace with her new home. Longing for her past in Cuba, she befriends an old woman in a bar in Little Havana. The woman enthralls her with stories of their homeland that wind through history and weave in all of the cultures, African, Spanish & Chinese, that make up the people there. These stories also hold a clue to Cecilia's restlessness."

On the nightstand now...The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

"He is not the greatest writer, and I thought I was done with him after The Da Vinci Code. But this book takes place in D.C. and that's my hometown, so I feel kind of obligated to read it."

Toni is a an avid reader, blogger, Twitterer and all around fab chick. Check her out on her site, Sew Transformed , on GoodReads and at Twitter.com/mshoni.

--Whitney Teal