Task #17: Read a classic by an author of color

[Book Riot]

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the seventeenth Read Harder task.

[Book Riot]

A pair of posts that might help:

http://bookriot.com/2016/08/22/100-mu...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

[Emily]

I´ll finally get to Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston.

[Rebecca]

I had planned to read Kindred this year but never got around to it. It shows up on the Goodreads list you posted, so it would be okay to read that one?

[Cheri]

Emily wrote: "I´ll finally get to Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston."

Emily, I read that last year and it's really good! Enjoy!

[Cheri]

A great one is The Woman Warrior.

[Trudie]

I had Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe on my list from this years tasks but I read something else instead. I think this would be a great classic to tackle, particularly if you a Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie fan.

[Allie]

Both Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou's books would count for this one!

[Mirabella]

Does White Teeth count as a classic? I know it was published fairly recently (2001)...

[Bonnie G.]

I am thinking either A Fine Balance, Kafka on the Shore or Go Tell It on the Mountain

[Cindy]

I figure I'm the one who decides if it's a classic or not, so I'm going with the first Walter Mosely book, Devil in a Blue Dress. It's the first in his series featuring a Black detective, and among the first of its kind in the mystery genre.

[Stina]

This is a short but good list of speculative fiction from black authors:
https://afrofantasy.net/2013/05/08/si...

I'm going with The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales, which sounds awesome *and* is available on Project Gutenberg.

[Ellie]

For this l'm going to read 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas.

[Hannah]

If you like audiobooks and you're looking for something for this task, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is free on Audible right now. (I think until the end of December.) They're doing it as a special thing to celebrate Ralph Ellison. That's my plan for this task. I've been wanting to read it for ages.

[Rainey]

Hannah wrote: "If you like audiobooks and you're looking for something for this task, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is free on Audible right now. (I think until the end of December.) T..."

Thank you for the heads up. This was my pick too and now I can listen to it as well.

[Leanne]

I'm going with "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. It's been sat on my bookshelf for a long time! I considered reading something by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, but since I've already read a book by her, I felt choosing this book encourages me to "read harder" :)

[Maryam]

I got "Invisible Man" ffom audible so I'm going to listen to it for this task.

[Katy]

I absolutely think Kindred is a classic of its genre, and can't recommend it highly enough. I read it for last year's challenge (read a book published in the decade of your birth) and it instantly took a place in my "best books of all time" list.

[Veronica]

Hannah wrote: "If you like audiobooks and you're looking for something for this task, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is free on Audible right now. (I think until the end of December.) T..."

Thanks for posting that! I read Invisible Man for my Master's degree final and I didn't love it, but it's such an important part of the black American canon that I feel I should give it another go. Listening to it while doing other things may be the trick to get me to "reread" it. For this task I'm going with James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, since I've never read him and feel like that's a pretty big hole in my cultural/literary knowledge.

[Brandyn]

I've had Roots by Alex Haley on my TBR forever. Would that be considered classic?

[[deleted user]]

Choosing between The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson and Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

[Stacey]

Kindred sounds great! I think I will read that for this one.

[Chris]

Mirabella Mitchell wrote: "Does White Teeth count as a classic? I know it was published fairly recently (2001)..."

Good question. I'm reading that one as my "debut novel."

[Chris]

Native Son by Richard Wright.

[Tynisha]

I have Things Fall Apart on my bookshelf. I was one of the kids who managed not to read this during high school but have a copy from my little brother. From the comments above this seems like a good read.

[Brooklyn]

Hello everyone! I was planning on reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for this task. Have any of you read it? How did you like it?

[Lisa]

Kindred was already mentioned. I loved Another Country by James Baldwin. It could count for several other categories as well. Assata by Assata Shakur. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

[Kenneth]

Spotting a few titles I've got on my shelf to be read! Since nobody's mentioned him, how about Richard Wright? Native Son and Black Boy were really impactful for me.

[Christine]

Brooklyn wrote: "Hello everyone! I was planning on reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for this task. Have any of you read it? How did you like it?"

I listened to this book on audio last year, ready by Maya Angelou herself, and it was wonderful. The story itself was really great, but hearing her read her own words added so much to the experience. If you do read this, I'd recommend trying it on audio.

[Carolyn]

Debating between Invisible Man (audio book I got in December) and Sula (library book). Think I'll do Invisible Man so that I have motivation to listen to that book sooner rather than later as library due date will encourage me to read Sula.

[Carol]

I'll either read Passing or Quicksand by Nella Larsen.

[Shatterlings]

Is Beloved by Toni Morrison considered a classic, or is it too modern ?

[Julia]

Ultra wrote: "Is Beloved by Toni Morrison considered a classic, or is it too modern ?"

Definitely a Classic! (It's frequently assigned in high school English classes at any rate.)

[Shatterlings]

Thanks. Good, I got it in a charity shop today

[Monica]

Hannah wrote: "If you like audiobooks and you're looking for something for this task, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is free on Audible right now. (I think until the end of December.) They're doing it as a special thing to celebrate Ralph Ellison..."

I was just about to post this! Thanks Hannah! This is my choice as well. Interested folks have 2 more days to get this from Audible.

[Elizabeth]

I have been considering Kindred, Roots, Things Fall Apart, and Their Eyes Were Watching God for this task. There's so many I haven't gotten to, so this task is overwhelming me with choice.

[Ozge]

Would Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany be considered a classic?

[Carol]

Ozge wrote: "Would Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany be considered a classic?"

Some might disagree. I'd say, yes. No one bats an eye at including Kindred (deservedly so), and Dahlgren is in the same genre and with if not the same significance, close.

[Ozge]

Thanks, great to know! I was going back and forth between Kindred and Dahlgren for this challenge. I want to read both but I think I'll give priority to Dahlgren because the plot intrigued me immensely.

[[deleted user]]

I'm reading The Old Man of the Moon by Shen Fu for this task.

[Jenny]

Emily wrote: "I´ll finally get to Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston."

A wonderful book I read years ago.........enjoy !

[Lindsay]

Is The Color Purple by Alice Walker considered a classic?

[Stacie]

Lindsay wrote: "Is The Color Purple by Alice Walker considered a classic?"
Absolutely!

[Lindsay]

Wonderful -- thank you!

[Elizabeth]

I'm planning on reading that one as well. It's one of those that I've had on my shelves for 20 years and never started so I'm excited about this.

[Avid Reader and Geek Girl]

I plan to read Beloved by Toni Morrison

[Rayne]

Hmmm. Maybe I'll go with Kindred and double dip since I've already read it. Still undecided.

[Katie]

I fell in love with Octavia E. Butler last year during the challenge when I read Dawn so I will be reading Kindred for this category!

[KaalAmba]

I'm starting the challenge here, doubling up on tasks by re-reading a book from my shelves, Nectar in a Sieve. Haven't read it since high school, and excited to go back to it. It's also set 5000 miles away from me, but hopefully I won't have to triple up :)

[Allie]

Do we think Strength to Love by MLK Jr. would count as a classic? Says it was originally published in 1963.