What are you currently reading...... Showing 1,751-1,800 of 1,910

[Maya]

The Devil's Half Acre: The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South's Most Notorious Slave Jail

[Matthew]

☝
Karin- sorry I'm just seeing that. It has been a while since I read Cedars. I guess I couldn't get to Guterson's point. was it that the two main characters were in love, but put that love aside to conform to society's expectations? I don't say that with any snark. I would appreciate feedback from anyone who read it.

[Matthew]

Currently, I'm most of the way through the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It is excellent. the author, Rebecca Skloot, seems to be truly invested in both the science and the Lacks' family. She is compassionate and honest to both sides. I don't think they are specifically at odds, but they certainly aren't working together.

[Karin]

Matthew wrote: "☝
Karin- sorry I'm just seeing that. It has been a while since I read Cedars. I guess I couldn't get to Guterson's point. was it that the two main characters were in love, but put that love aside t..."

I think that Guterson had many points in that book, not just the central love story. As for the love story, it really was (view spoiler)[more that the reporter (can't think of his name off the top of my head) just couldn't let go. In the end, after all that happened, when he reread her letter he finally understood things and I think received emotional healing. It's been some years since I reread it so I'm probably ready to read it again. As for her, she realized when they had sex in the tree that this wasn't actually love for her; when she was married and had sex it felt right to her--ie that was who she loved. She cared for the reporter as a friend in the end, but that was all. (hide spoiler)] However, I also just love the way Guterson writes and liked the various layers and stories in the book such as the murder mystery and how that was figured out plus various and sundry other things in the book.

However, not all books will speak to everyone, and I have disliked some very popular books before :)

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

I found the book to be completely heartbreaking.

[Karin]

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "I found the book to be completely heartbreaking."

I can see that! It really is in many ways.

[D.]

Currently reading:

[MS. KYM]

Currently reading:


Janette Rallison

[D.T.]

Ghosty book set in New Orleans

[Tebria]

I am reading All The Sinners Bleed by S.A Cosby and Grown by Tiffany D Jackson

[MS. KYM]

Currently reading:

Bryan Stevenson

[Angel]

Trying to finish Lost Daughters by Mary Monroe (Book 3 of the Mama Ruby series). I also started Yellowface by R. F. Kuang on my kindle app.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

I am reading Black Water Rising by Attica Locke. It is surprisingly good. I finished All Sinners Bleed, which was excellent. I’m holding judgement on Lost Daughters until my group read participants finish it.

[QueenAmidala28]

Fall of Wrath and Ruin by J Armentrout
Anything is Possible by E Strout

[Morefiiyaa]

I am reading When Will I See You Agan? by Zindiika Kamanesi and Natalie Smith

[Sarah-Hope]

Loved, loved, loved Ours. We're only in January, but this one will definitely wind up on my best of 2024 list. An examination of the concept of freedom with a large, fascinating cast, some conjure, and so, so, so many things to think about. Set before/during/after the Civil War.

My ***** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

I am currently reading A Gsmbling Man by David Baldacci and Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

[D.T.]

This one has a black ballerina + mental health issues. Pretty good so far!

[Sarah-Hope]

Walking with Our Ancestors: Contemplation and Activism examines the connection between contemplation, which we often conceive of as an individual activity, and activism of the sort that requires groups. This brief book is itself a sort of contemplative space where we can look both inward and outward.

My **** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[MS. KYM]

Currently reading:

James McBride

[Creolecat]

I'm finishing up Black by Design, a memoir by singer Pauline Black. I've also started reading I Am Not Sidney Poitier, a satire by Percival Everett.

[Jessica]

I just finished "Black Girls Must Die Exhausted" by Jayne Allen. I am now reading "Harlem Shuffle" by by Colson Whitehead.

[D.T.]

Starting this today . I read the original a while ago. I'm interested to see if the children's adaption cuts the filler.

[Karin]

I read Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, a well crafted and sensitive children's novel that covers some important issues very well.

[Angel]

I just finished Lost Daughters by Mary Monroe. I am reading Yellowface by R. F. Kuang and I just started the graphic novel, Maus A Survivor’s Tale. It’s banned so I must read it! I’m waiting on my copies of Assata and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to arrive.

[Angel]

I’m nearly finished with Yellowface. It brings up a question, am I terrible because I really liked the book and film, The Help? I am putting it out there as an honest statement, please don’t think I condone “white savior” thinking.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

Many of us loved The Help. That would be why it was made into a hit movie.

[Angel]

Dosha, this is comforting. I remember crying when I read the book and I loved Octavia Spencer’s role. When it came out after all the awards, that it was actually frowned upon by many activists, I was ashamed to say I loved it. And since I’ve learned about why it would be offensive (the white savior aspect) it has made me think twice before reading or watching such titles as The Green Book. I still haven’t watched that movie.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

The criticism, if I remember correctly, is because the author promised not to use some information from one of the maids, but, instead of honoring her word, she betrayed the maids’ confidence anyway. I believe she was sued and had to pay a fine.

[Karin]

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "Many of us loved The Help. That would be why it was made into a hit movie."

That's what I think, too. I loved the movie, which I saw years after reading the book.

[Brian]

Currently reading Octavia Butler’s Kindred and loving it so far!

[Angel]

@Dosha, I didn’t know this! Someone once told me it was because the girl who was writing the stories (I forget her name, but she was played by Emma Stone) came off as a white savior.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

I remember an interview that says the maid, Ableen, asked to keep her son and his demise out of Stockett’s book. The author put it in the book anyway. When I googled it, just now, is says the case was thrown out and the case was not about the son, it was about the maid. I remember an issue with the son. I also remember a payment, so maybe there was an out of court settlement, I dunno.

[MS. KYM]

Currently reading:

Harriet Ann Jacobs

[Angel]

@ms Kim - I am waiting on my copy. It’s shipped but hasn’t arrived yet.

[Karin]

This week I finished this book by a Jamaican-Canadian author, Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta--I'm trying to read more Canadian authors this year than last, since it's my home country. I'm still listening to Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl but it's so heart-rending that I'm also reading another Canadian author (Korean-Canadian) The Red Palace by June Hur.

[Matthew]

I'm reading The Escape Artist. it is very well done, but Holocaust writing is similar to slave narratives. No matter how inspiring the achievement may be, the genesis is human cruelty, based in hatred.
Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad was amazing. But a good society never would have necessitated this story.
The Escape Artist is similar. Walter is pushing through incredible hardship, that simply should have never happened.

I'm not a Pollyanna. I'm not a moron who thinks humans will all be nice to each other. But the level of willful deception required to commit those atrocities is astounding. As I wrote at one point, 10 million Native Americans are probably looking at me skeptically.

[Angel]

I just finished Maus 1 and Maus 2 by Art Spiegelman. I am reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchett on my kindle app. I’m waiting for my book club book to arrive, so I can start that.

[Shaylah]

For those interested in reading the book of the month, Incidents of a slave girl, is on kindle unlimited.

[MS. KYM]

Angel wrote: "@ms Kim - I am waiting on my copy. It’s shipped but hasn’t arrived yet."

Hi, Angel!! Ive been reading a few chapters a day.. Awaiting the group's discussion, or thoughts..

I see you read Maus 1 & 2.. I believe those two were added on 'Banned Books' list.. which paks my interest to add my TBR list..

[Angel]

@Ms. Kym- that was the exact reason I wanted to read Maus 1 and 2! Say it’s banned and that is exactly what I will be reading! They are a quick read. They are in comic book/graphic novel form but the message is not lost. They are very remarkable in that the atrocities of Holocaust is told in this format. I believe it was banned in TN because there is a drawing of a nude woman in a bath tub. Seriously? That is what they found offensive about a historical genocide of millions of people?!

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

There is a comic book of the holocaust? How incredibly insensitive, smh.

[Angel]

@Dosha the author is a cartoonist and his parents survived the Holocaust. These two graphic novels are his interviews with his father. He actually won the Pulitzer Prize for them. They are not traditional comic books.

[Karin]

I just finished which I think is better than his first book.

[Matthew]

I'm late to the party, but I finally got Heaven and Earth. (I apologize if I already wrote this in another thread.) It is excellent- two days in, and I'm on Chapter 8? I love the characters.

Real question that I wish I had the chance to ask: what is the role of cultural appropriation? James McBride isn't a Jewish man from a small town in Appalachia. But he is writing compelling characters, avoiding stereotypes, and treats his subject with compassion and understanding.
Interior Chinatown (and I think Yellowface) both dealt with the notion that white people love writing ethnic characters. Percival Everett and Paul Beatty both deal with this idea consistently.
I don't want to lose a writer as talented as McBride to the cultural appropriation argument, but I also believe people should be respectful of telling a story that isn't theirs.

I know I haven't been here long, so I apologize if I'm opening a discussion you've had in the past.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7)]

I don’t think this topic came up in the discussion when we did a group read, but I remember reading McBride books in the past and I learned that McBride’s mom was a Jewish woman and his father was an AA preacher. The bloodline carries with the women. So, technically, he is partly Jewish. I believe he learned a good deal about his Jewish heritage from his mom and her side of the family and used some of that knowledge along with research, like most authors, to write this story.

[MS. KYM]

Matthew wrote: "I'm late to the party, but I finally got Heaven and Earth. (I apologize if I already wrote this in another thread.) It is excellent- two days in, and I'm on Chapter 8? I love the characters.

Real..."

Actually James McBride is bi-racial, born of a Jewish woman and Black (African-American) man.. He was raised by his Mother after the passing of his Father..
I would suggest reading McBride's memoir:
to understand this talented author's writing.

[Karin]

Matthew wrote: "I'm late to the party, but I finally got Heaven and Earth. (I apologize if I already wrote this in another thread.) It is excellent- two days in, and I'm on Chapter 8? I love the characters.

Real..."

I was going to write what Dosha and Ms Kym wrote, but when I came to this page I saw it was already done. I've read most of his books and just received the audiobook for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store; not sure how long it will take me to listen to it since I can't just sit and listen. (I rely on the library, as some here already know :) )

[Matthew]

Thank you for the reminders and clarifications. I did read The Color of Water, so I knew McBride was biracial. (shout out to all the Black/biracial brothas with Scottish/Irish last names). But I completely forgot that his mother was Jewish.
I will play attention to see if the struggle his mom experiences trying to give her children that identity will resurface in this book.

[Kirsten]

I've been listening to The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa and I just finished reading Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor