Literary Fiction by People of Color discussion
LFPC Book Haul
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An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon and
Bone byYrsa Daley-Ward
Has anyone read either of these?
Also, had no idea this book had even been released The Tragedy of Brady Sims. A new Ernest J. Gaines!!! Available at my local library.
Limiting to September and October. Confining to LFPC. Full disclosure, I check kindle daily deals...daily and I have an eye out for certain books, so 2017 I have not had a lot of restraint if I see something I want to read for $4 or less.purchased:
No One Is Coming to Save Us
Central Station
The Leavers
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
My Soul to Keep
borrowed from library:
The Refugees 5*
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body 5*
Augustown 4.5*
This month has been a great library run!!
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Monica, I just finished The Leavers and loved it. That wasn’t discounted though was it?
It was back in September. I picked it up for $1.99
I check kindle's daily deals, too, and sometimes you can get a terrific deal on a LFPC book. Same with audible's daily deals.
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An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon and
Bon..."</i>
Finished [book:An Unkindness of Ghosts last night - really enjoyed, felt tinges of Octavia Butler.
Also really enjoyed The Tragedy of Brady Sims. But then again Ernest J. Gaines is one of my all time fav authors. Loved the barber shop scene!!!
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Monica -
Yes, those ebook deals!!!!
And that they are now discounting recent publications - oh my!!
But having a book habit is not a bad thing. :)
I also love my library - I put a lot of books on hold if the blurb catches my attention. And since I do that before a book is on order and not published yet - a lot of times I am the first person to read the book. And since it is a library book if I am not feeling the book, I do not get guilty feelings when I read it unread like I would do if I purchased a book.
And the three books you mentioned from the library, I agree all were great reads!!!
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I am glad to see so many people liking The Leavers!!
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It started a couple of years ago when a friend gifted me with a Soho Crime subscription as I enjoy mysteries set outside of the US.
Some of my current subscriptions are:
Call Number - Fiction
Call Number - Nonfiction
Noir Reads
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Passage: A Novel by Khary Lazarre-White
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Five-Carat Soul by James McBride
Out in the Open by Jesús Carrasco
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Eka Kurniawan
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman Jr.
Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah
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An Unkindness of Ghosts by [author:Rivers Solomon|164888..."
Why did I just know you either owned or read these, Beverly. Glad you enjoyed them both.
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It started a couple of years ago when a friend gifted me with a Soho Crime subscription as I enjoy mysteries set outside of the US.
Some of my current subscri..."
Cool! I just looked up Call Number subscription ...A library-inspired book subscription box celebrating contemporary Black literature and authors. Nice! Have you been happy with the books you received from them?
My only concern is that I may not like the book I receive since it’s like a crapshoot. But, I heard one company asks for access to your Goodreads Book list to determine what books to send. Nice idea.
Beverly, your list from the library looks amazing!! Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash looks great. I read Beauty Is a Wound last year and he is an author that has me intrigued. Also looking forward to your take on Her Body and Other Parties which comes up a lot in my feeds lately and has gotten great buzz.
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It started a couple of years ago when a friend gifted me with a Soho Crime subscription as I enjoy mysteries set outside of the US.
Some of my..."
Columbus -
Yes, that is one of the issues that I had with subscriptions that you do not know what books you are going to get. There are some subscriptions that you know what their distribution is going to be for several months in advance - these are usually small publishers and there are those like Book of the Month and Quarterly Literary Box that lets you skip that month's selection.
So far I have been happy with Call Number - Fiction. The one time I thought the book selection was a little too YA for me it was fine as I sent to granddaughter. I would say that these books are more geared to female readers.
Here is what I have received from Call Number:
Speak Gigantular Irenosen Okojie
Piecing Me Together Renee Watson
The Wide Circumference of Love Marita Golden
No One Is Coming to Save Us Stephanie Powell Watts
And Then There Was Me Sadeqa Johnson
Black Moses Alain Mabanckou
What We Lose: A Novel Zinzi Clemmons
New People Danzy Senna
Electric Arches Eve L. Ewing
As Lie Is to Grin Simeon Marsalis
For Call Number NF - this is what I received:
My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir Jessica B. Harris
A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun Angela Jackson
Policing the Black Man Angela J. Davis (editor)
Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat Patricia Williams
A Burst of Light and Other Essays Audre Lorde
We Wear the Mask:15 True Stories of Passing in America ed Brando Skyhorse & Lisa Page
For Noir Reads - the books are not necessarily "new" books but that does not bother me as my grandsons and Son-in-law are NF readers.
Freedom Is A Constant Struggle Angela Y. Davis
From #BlackLifeMatters To Black Liberation Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nectar (poetry) Upile Chisala (Malawian)
Binti Nnedi Okorafor
Graphic Novel Adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's Kindred Damien Duffy & John Jennings
Silencing The Past: Power and Production of History Michel-Rolph Trouillot
Haiti Noir 2: The Classics Edwidge Danticat
Homegoing (paperback) Yaa Gyasi
Blackass (paperback) A. Igoni Barrett
Giovanni's Room James Baldwin
Surpassing Certainity: What My Twenties Taught Me Janet Mock
Nobody:Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond Marc Lamont Hill
March: Book One John Lewis/A. Aydin/N. Powell
Democracy In Black Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
Forty Million Dollar Slaves William C. Rhoden
Revolutionary Suicide Huey P. Newton
bone Yrsa Daley-Ward
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Monica -
My challenge with my library books is reading them before they have to be returned, especially for popular books like Her Body and Other Parties which cannot renew because of holds on the book.
Yes, Eka Kurniawan is an interesting author. I have read Man Tiger by him and knew I would read more of his work.
If any of you have access to hoopla, that library service has "Her Body and other Parties" available in audio.
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Hoopla? Never heard of this. See, this thread is two days old and it’s already paying off.
Hoopla is a service offered through some libraries. Depending on what a library has subscribed for, you can get access to a variety of ebooks, audiobooks, video, or music.
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Lata -
Thanks for mentioning Hoopla.
I have been using them for a couple of years now and have been lucky enough that it was available at the library system for my last two moves.
What I like best about Hoopla is that there is no "waiting" as often happens when requesting ebooks, audiobooks from your library.
While you library needs to participate in Hoopla - Hoopla has its own site for requesting books.
Your library also sets the number of items you can borrow a month.
The items can be audiobooks, movies, music, comics, ebks , television.
I only do audiobooks with them and have pleased how over the years they know have more current audiobooks.
My available choices for audiobooks has vastly improved since my library started offering access to hoopla. I also really like how there's no waiting for a title.
Recently acquired via book sales:Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
Village of Stone - Xiaolu Guo
Dream of Ding Village - Yan Lianke
The Girl Who Played Go Shan Sa (is this literary fiction? I don't know)
Brazil-Maru - Karen Tei Yamashita
The Story of Zahra - Hanan Al-Shaykh
You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town - Zoë Wicomb
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima
I bought the vast majority of these on a whim because a. they were all so cheap and b. I had favorably reviewed at least one work by the author. Three cheers for bibliographic expansion.
I almost always borrow the e-version of book from the librarySome of the books I read besides Augusttown (for the discussion)
Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates (currently reading)
I am Nujood Nujood Ali
The Hate You Give Angie Thomas
Democracy in Black Eddie Glaude
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Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
Village of Stone - Xiaolu Guo
Dream of Ding Village - [..."
A nice selection indeed!!
I am currently listening to [author:Xiaolu Guo|357053] memoir Nine Continents: A Memoir in and Out of China which I got through Hoopla. I have previously read her A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers.
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These are books that I have been wanting to read this year but never got around to, books that friends have recommended that I must read, books that have been shortlisted/longlisted for literary awards and usually are a combination of all three things.
Are there books you want to read before the end of the year or am I the only one with this crazy habit??
Hi Beverly!! You are not the only one!! I try to plan what I am going to read and then inevitably depart widely from my plan...lol. Books by AOC planned through the end of the year for me are:Passing, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, March: Book One, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, Whatever Happened to Interracial Love?, Exit West and probably Everybody's Son
And in the unlikely event that I get through these books and the non-AOC authors I hope to read this year, I will attempt to read: The Leavers and What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky. Possible but not likely in 2017... ;-(
Beverly wrote: "Around this time I year, I usually put together a list of books that I want to read before the end of the year.These are books that I have been wanting to read this year but never got around to, b..."
I'd like to get to Comfort Woman, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Black Deutschland, A Brief History of Seven Killings, On Sal Mal Lane, and Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. I'm also planning to tackle the four volume version of The Journey to the West in 2018.
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[bo..."
Monica -
I understand. I always have the best intentions but I am easily distracted by a "pretty" cover and/or a review, recommendation.
This year I have a box where I am putting the print copies, if that is how I am going to read, in a pretty box.
And if it is an ebook or audio book I wrote on an index card and put in a pretty dish.
I am hoping this will keep my eye from wandering. :)
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These are books that I have been wanting to read this year but never ..."
Interesting list - I have read or attempted to read the last four books you mentioned - the one I DNF was Black Deutschland so will be interested in your thoughts.
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Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman Jr. - currently reading and it has definitely piqued by interest as it seems to have a lot of Washington DC history & politics.
Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam
New People by Danzy Senna
Electric Arches by Eve L. Ewing
Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
I plan to read these:Augustown
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (in progress)
The Meeting Point
The Lowland
Homegoing
The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn
The Leavers
The Talented Ribkins
But as Monica points out, I make plans, then usually read 15 other books, because "shiny!" : )
This is actually the time of year I start pushing things off to next year (and now I'll have to add some listed above)!I still have hope to finish these by AOC:
Exit West
Augustown
Mules and Men
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Days of Obligation: An Argument With My Mexican Father
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These are books that I have been wanting to read this ..."
I DNF’d Black Deutschland about 30 pages in. Absolutely nothing was happening for me.
@Columbus @Beverly I'm aware of the common consensus on BD being a poor one. Common consensus, however, has rarely borne out for me.
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It’s the same thing every year for me: one of a kind bookmarks, biographies/autobiographies, Art/Coffee Table Books, this year for the first time Adult Coloring Books and a subscription box service (maybe Noir Reads). The last couple of years I received big jazz coffee table books but don’t recall any new ones for this year. There’s a Motown picture book released in 2016 I heard is awesome so I’ll put that on my list for sure.
Checked out from the library:
We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang. I heard incredible things about this small book. Anyone read it?
Motown Book Motown: The Sound of Young America
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Do let us know your thoughts.
Oh coloring books! Well now you will also need to get some coloring pencils or pens, That is the fun part for me. :)
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Tell me about Noir Reads. I'm a current Call Number subscriber but not yet wowed. OTOH, Noir Reads is pricey and has no info on its site re what its last few deliveries have included so I can not gauge either "fit" or value. Help!
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I’ve heard several good reviews about Noir Reads but never tried it myself. In fact, I’ve yet to subscribe to any of them getting mixed reviews from most. I won’t add Call Number to my list, however, without a ringing endorsement from you. Page Habit sends me frequent emails but I’m likely to try a smaller one.
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I am currently a member of Noir Reads.
While I think that the Cratejoy.com subscription boxes fill a space in the marketplace - but they are each aimed to a specific market. In many times a young population and/or one who may not be aware of books that might be of interest to them.
Each Noir Reads box includes two paperback (usually paperbacks) and not necessarily just published books but usually with a theme of activism, resistance, overcoming, protest etc.
Here are the books that I have received starting with my first box to most current, so can see the goal of this box. Hope it helps.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
From #Blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nector by Upile Chisala (poetry)
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
The Graphic Novel Adaptation of Kindred
Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot
Haiti Noir 2: The Classics by Edwidge Danticat (editor)
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock
Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill
March: Book One (graphic novel)
Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete by William C. Rhoden
Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
Bone (poetry) by Yrsa Daley-Ward
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Carol -
I too have mixed feelings about Call Number. I like that the book is a current month publication and I like that the curator is a librarian. But I would say that most of the selections are more commercial fiction vs literary fiction and I would say are "safe" choices and seem to be books that have gotten some buzz on black blogging sites.
But they are all books I was going to read and it seems they are the books that friends who read mainly commercial fiction have heard of and are reading.
I think one of the pluses of these subscriptions is that they are monthly and you can stop at anytime. I do think it would be helpful if they would "show" past selections so you can a reader can see if it is a good fit.
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Beverly, I’m really impressed with this selection being that most of these books I wouldn’t think to pick up for myself. Of this group I personally only own Giovanni’s Room and Bone.
What I like about some of these subscription boxes are some include things like tea, bookmarks, candles, tote bags, ink pens, attachable miniature book lights, apparel and other items usually correlated with the book.
I saw some interesting children subscription services that I’ll probably get for the little tykes. They get a big charge opening and unwrapping the books I have sent to the house. I get a big charge watching them.
Beverly - you've sold me 100%. I spend enough (too much, some would say) on books that it distresses me to get box after box of items I won't read. That's why OpenLetter bothered me. The waste - I donated all but one book without reading.That NoirRead list is interesting and inspiring, but not books I already own or would necessarily have bought, but would read if they came to the door.
Columbus - re CallNumber. It's a very reasonable price and good value, and the packaging is charming. i also very much want to support subscriptions focused on AOC and issues important to POC. I'd like to see the curator succeed, but my experience and perspective matches Beverly's in terms of the selections over the last 5 months. Also, she solicits feedback monthly but is a tad sensitive to it if it isn't a ringing endorsement, in my experience. I loved What I Lost, but Danzy Senna's New People and the poetry selection were hum-drum selections. The novel I received last week, I'll likely read, but more out of obligation. Again, I think it's a good value for the price for a reader who isn't as on top of new publications as we are. If someone bought it for you, I expect you'd enjoy half the selections for the first 6 months, and maybe already own 2 out of the other 3 at the time you open the box.
Thanks for discussing this -- maybe it's worth setting up a thread since it's holiday time to promote subscriptions catering to our members and their interests in AOC?
Today, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty arrived. Here's a link to Twitty's site, too.
https://afroculinaria.com/
I havent joined any subscriptions for the reasons you all gave. I also have way too many books, and I'm not that big into hardcovers. I'm a paperback girl and only really want hardcover editions for books I truly love and cherish (meaning, books I've already read and know for sure I want to keep forever). That doesn't mesh too well with a subscription box. I do really like My Lit Box, though, but more so because I enjoy their presence on social media. If I ever buckle down and decide to sign up for one of these boxes, My Lit Box would be my choice. And getting a few months free as a holiday gift would be great!
I put together my list of To Read Before 2018 at the end of October. Kind of ambitious but I'd made a list of general reading resolutions earlier this year and I noticed that I hadn't met many of them, despite the fact that I've read nearly 40 books this year. My list is mostly older reads, since I've already read a lot of new books this year, and not all of them are literary fiction by AOC (most of them are though):
Blessings by Sheneska Jackson (just 20 pages left)
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (a re-read; so much better reading this as an adult)
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (getting the audio from the library later today)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (a re-read)
The Wedding by Dorothy West (my book club's Nov selection; also a re-read)
From Pasta to Pigfoot by Frances Mensah Williams
Grace by Natashia Deon
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
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Here's a link to Twitty's site, too.
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Thanks for the website.
I am about 25% into The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South
Beverly wrote: "Carol wrote: "Today, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty arrived. Here's a link to Twitty..."
That's a great sign.
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Nice list - great titles!
Happy Reading
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I have a friend who receives the My Lit Box.
Literary Fiction by People of Color
Books mentioned in this topic
Love in the Time of Cholera (other topics)Half of a Yellow Sun (other topics)
The Dew Breaker (other topics)
Caucasia (other topics)
Ring (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Wole Soyinka (other topics)Amitav Ghosh (other topics)
Edwidge Danticat (other topics)
Ernest J. Gaines (other topics)
Toni Morrison (other topics)
More...
In this folder we’ll post books we’ve recently acquired through:
*Books you’ve recently purchased yourself ...ie, coffee table, literature, non-fiction etc...
*Book subscription services like BookVoyage, My Lit Box or Page Habit
*Books as gifts (right in time for the holiday season)
*Library Books (books recently leased from your local library)
*Books won in Giveaways on Goodreads or elsewhere
What books have you recently received?