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September/October Book: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beautiful introduction! :') It is a good idea to suggest a reading in memory of Toni Morrison!
Personally, I have already started Beloved this Saturday, it is difficult for me to be caught by the story but those lines are intriguing!
Personally, I have already started Beloved this Saturday, it is difficult for me to be caught by the story but those lines are intriguing!
So excited! I haven't read anything about her before, so I'm really looking forward to start.
I added my name to the library waiting list for Beloved as soon as I saw the poll result. With some luck I can read it in a month or so. It's very popular at the library at the moment, obviously.
So glad about this choice! I own the book but haven’t read it yet!
I have been wanting to read this book for such a long time, and have kept putting it off. So excited to finally have a “reason” to read this.
A bit embarrassed that I have never read it so I am excited to remedy that!
Dear Team Our Shared Shelf,Thank you very, very, very much for informing us that Beloved written by the amazingly talented and amazingly inspiring Toni Morrison is our September/October Book! I will be very honored to read along with Team Our Shared Shelf and Our Shared Shelf Members!
Love,
Billy
I read this book last fall! Absolutely loved it. Toni Morrison has such a way of writing with vivid imagery. Look forward to the discussion and see how all of you enjoy it
I'm so excited I've never read a book of Toni Morrison!
Great! I have that as pdf on my computer and can't wait to read it. My teacher in college recommended this book, so... <3So we can read it either in September or October?
I can't wait to read it, I've never read a book by Toni Morrison before !!
Mod
Yes, or both! However long it takes ;-)
Lots of people are still catching up with books from a year or two ago, there is no strict deadline - just read at your own pace ;-)
Beloved is a book I come back to--often in small parts--because its beauty (and horror) is often too great for me to take in all at once.
Jo wrote: "Dana wrote: "So we can read it either in September or October?"Yes, or both! However long it takes ;-)
Lots of people are still catching up with books from a year or two ago, there is no strict d..."
Thank you! I'll see when I'll read it. Anyway, I'm really excited!
I was so fortunate to see both Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou twice. Their spirit literally filled the venue, whether large or small. Great icons who will be missed, though at least they left us with much of their thoughts, intentions, and beliefs to use as reference and motivation!
Favorite book. EVER. Read it about 10 times and always find something new.
This book was introduced to me via school. You saw in the faces of the girls who had been forced to become women, how important it was.
Mara wrote: "Can I find this book in Italian?"I think you can find this by clicking to "Other editions" at the cover of the book and search for it :*
Mara wrote: "Thank you Dana!"You're welcome! :*
Since I never read this book I’m so excited to finally read it!!
ugh beloved is so wonderful, happy to read it for this term!
Great choice, great read, great for discussion. And great to honor Toni Morrison
I can't wait to read it, I've never read a book by Toni Morrison before, and there is polish edition of it :) already ordered it in my local library.
This one resonates the most for me. ❤️
so halfway there,, mid month check inhows everyone doing and what are your thoughts so far?!
Mod
How about everyone else?
Pam wrote: "Still waiting for my book to come in. How about everyone else?"
I am eighth in line at the library for it.
Still waiting for it here in Ohio, but started "Love" and "Lula" !
I'm carving for that reading !
I'm carving for that reading !
I read this one not too long ago. It was a little difficult to follow for me (especially in audiobook format, but I love that Toni Morrison was the reader for her book!). It is powerful though, and I think I could benefit from discussion to help me suss out the intricacies of the story.
Just finished re-reading Beloved; it had been quite a while since I read it the first time. I sat in the chair with chills, unable to move.I'd "disremembered" how unbearably powerful this book is.
What struck me the most, beyond the power of the story itself, is the aching beauty of Morrison's language. Using "disremember" instead of "forget" implies action on the part of the character instead of the passive forgetting. The "sludge" of Paul D's feelings shows him wallowing in the muck of life. Morrison doesn't leave a blade of grass unexamined by her pen.
To that end, her use of "whitepeople" as a single word creates a single fearsome entity, instead of using "white" as a benign descriptor. Even the "good" whitepeople can't be fully trusted by the community. Further, describing those characters as having no skin turns them into the ghosts, the haunters of the black community.
Thanks Team OSS and voting members for getting me to pull this off my shelf for another look.
There still appear to be many used copies available here:AbeBooks.com
AbeBooks.co.uk
AbeBooks.de
AbeBooks.fr
AbeBooks.it
AbeBooks Aus/NZ
AbeBooks.ca
IberLibro.com
ZVAB.com
-- Peter
Just got my copy this morning. Starting right away!
Toni Morrison is reading the book to me and I am LOVING IT! Her voice and inflection add such depth to the story. I am mesmerized. This is my first Toni Morrison read. Wow!
Devyn wrote: "I'm a little late with this announcement, but holy macaroni! I was just listening to a podcast about Toni Morrison!!! SO excited to read her works!"May I ask which podcast you were listening to?
Laura wrote: "Toni Morrison is reading the book to me and I am LOVING IT! Her voice and inflection add such depth to the story. I am mesmerized. This is my first Toni Morrison read. Wow!"is it online and free,, any links please?!!!
Sarah wrote: "Laura wrote: "Toni Morrison is reading the book to me and I am LOVING IT! Her voice and inflection add such depth to the story. I am mesmerized. This is my first Toni Morrison read. Wow!"is it on..."
I have the PDF version if you'd like me to send it to you.
It's my first TM as well, Laura! I'm almost done with the audio version and can't wait for the discussion. There are a few confusing bits. :) Laura wrote: "Toni Morrison is reading the book to me and I am LOVING IT! Her voice and inflection add such depth to the story. I am mesmerized. This is my first Toni Morrison read. Wow!"
I read this book for the first time this summer and it was a jarring experience. Morrison's unique take on trauma coming back to haunt you was complex, beautiful, and downright terrifying. She crafted such vivid characters that touches your soul as you contemplate which character is most deserving of your sympathy.
It is truly a one-of-a-kind read.
I am on my fourth reading and finding the writing as crafty, captivating, colorful, provocative, and humorous as the first reading. And, yes, even "jarring." What an insightful woman Morrison is!
My hold at the library is ready now.
Emma wrote: "Louise wrote: "I am on my fourth reading and finding the writing as crafty, captivating, colorful, provocative, and humorous as the first reading. And, yes, even "jarring." What an insightful woman..."Yes, I see more of the individual Morrison, which may be the result of having seen the documentary and hearing her story about how Beloved appeared in the lake by her own home.
I don't like reading introductions before I read a book, because they often contain spoilers. I finished this book today and then read the introduction.As I started the book, I found myself being confused and feeling like I must have missed something earlier. As I read on, I would find that Toni Morrison gradually explained what I had been confused about, and things became clearer. I began to trust her and not expect things to be explained the first time they were mentioned.
Today, I read this in the introduction from the author, "I wanted the reader to be kidnapped, thrown ruthlessly into an alien environment as the first step into a shared experience with the book's population-just as the characters were snatched from one place to another, from any place to any other, without preparation or defense." That is exactly what I felt!
We feel the weight of a world without Toni Morrison in it. A brilliant novelist, editor, essayist and professor, we are fortunate that her prolific writings and interviews remain to console us, inspire us and set us straight.
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the
measure of our lives.”
-Toni Morrison during her 1993 Nobel Lecture
We are pleased to announce that the Toni Morrison book you have chosen via our OSS Members Choice poll for September/October is Beloved. Inspired by the story of Margaret Garner, a slave who escaped Kentucky and fled to Ohio with her children, this book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Toni Morrison’s lyrical prose contrasts with the horrific spectre of slavery and manages to be both beautiful and devastating all at once.
We hope you are able to read along with us. This book is a true classic and an important one to deepen understanding and dialogue around race and the heavy legacy of slavery. We look forward to your topics, comments and reviews. Please also feel free to tag us in your pictures with it on social media @oursharedshelf.
With love,
Team Our Shared Shelf