If you’re Black, get back! If you’re brown, stick around. If you’re white, you’re alright! ~ Big Bill Broonzy Even though I make a conscious effort to read across genres, cultures, and time periods I still sometimes find myself stuck in thematic patterns. For months I’ll find myself somehow reading books that feature sharks orContinue reading “[BOOKLIST] If You’re Brown, Stick Around: Books About Colorism”
Tag Archives: Books by American Women
[REVIEW] Sula, Toni Morrison
(Buy it HERE.) (In lieu of the usual review, I present to you the explanation of this book that I gave to a non-American friend who has never read Toni Morrison before.)β πβ “This book? Yeah, it’s good, but I’m not sure you’d like it. It’s by this writer who won a Pulitzer prize & was famousContinue reading “[REVIEW] Sula, Toni Morrison”
[REVIEW] A Mercy, Toni Morrison
(Buy it HERE.) βββ*whew* This ain’t it, y’all. Toni Morrison was a genius and everything she wrote is brilliant in some way. But now that I’ve said that, I honestly feel that when you place A Mercy next to the rest of Morrison’s oeuvre it’s like parking a hooptie in a lot full of Ferraris.Continue reading “[REVIEW] A Mercy, Toni Morrison”
[REVIEW] Odd One Out, Nic Stone
(Buy it HERE) βββ/5Courtney loves his best friend Jupiter. Jupiter loves girls. New girl Rae isn’t sure who she loves or how she feels about it. Odd One Out explores their individual perspectives & the questions they have about their emerging sexualities & relationships.β π³οΈβπβ I love how casually diverse this book is. Race, culture and sexualityContinue reading “[REVIEW] Odd One Out, Nic Stone”
[REVIEW] Tampa, Alissa Nutting
Tampa is possibly the most repulsive, disturbing, and un-enjoyable book I have EVER read. It’s also literarily and socially important, but because of its subject matter I wouldn’t recommend reading this. Tampa is a pathological little story told by Celeste, a self-described “pretty blonde” middle school English teacher who seduces her favorite students into sexuallyContinue reading “[REVIEW] Tampa, Alissa Nutting”
[REVIEW] When My Brother Was An Aztec, Natalie Diaz
“When My Brother Was An Aztec/he lived in our basement and sacrificed my parents/every morning. It was awful.” Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was An Aztec is a legit masterpiece. Go read it, now. Books of poetry are sometimes navel-gazing, self-absorbed bores but this one is simply amazing. I slurped it down in two shortContinue reading “[REVIEW] When My Brother Was An Aztec, Natalie Diaz”
[REVIEW] Let’s Talk About Love, by Claire Kann
(Buy it HERE.) ββββ/5β πβ Ok so first of all, isn’t that a *gorgeous* book cover? Second – good grief. When was the last time I actually read an ink and paper book? The Kindle is getting a workout lately! β πβ It’s rare that a book completely surprises me, but this one did. After all, who expects anContinue reading “[REVIEW] Let’s Talk About Love, by Claire Kann”
[REVIEW] Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irbyβ (Buy it HERE.)ββββ1/2 out of 5 stars.β “I can’t watch This Is Us because even though the brothers are hot and the dad is a smoke show, in the first couple of episodes the fat girl doesn’t get to be much more than “fat”, and wow, no thank you!”Continue reading “[REVIEW] Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby”
[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang
ββββ/5β β First of all, yes, I know that’s not a poppy in the picture. There aren’t any growing in my neighborhood this year, unfortunately.β Secondly, this review is a little spoiler-y. I won’t give away any major character-based plot points, but I will allude to a major event in the plot without giving any details.Continue reading “[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang”
[REVIEW] The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
(Buy it HERE.) βββββ/5 It took me a long time to re-read The Bluest Eye this go-round–not because it’s a difficult or complicated read, but because the prose is so dense and delicious that reading it is like eating an expensive dessert. I savored each sentence slowly, not wanting the book to end. From theContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison”
Equal Opportunity Reader 