Go Get Some Culture (Friday Reads)
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Reading at the park
Friday Reads is a social media hashtag that connects people by talking about the books they're reading as we head into the weekend. I like to use it as a roundup of the books we spent the week with.
“Those that don’t got it, can’t show it. Those that got it, can’t hide it.”
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Seems too soon but January of 2018 is almost over. That means February, Black History Month, and the 2nd anniversary of Black & Bookish. That's right! This all started in February of 2016. Look for my upcoming post on reading goals and what I might be up to next. I posted the first review of 2018, Courage is Contagious: And Other Reasons to be Grateful for Michelle Obama, in my new (shorter) format. Did you like it? I've already had a chance to catch up on a lot of reviews using this guide and I think it will be good for the site as a whole.
If you need to get out from behind the pages of a book, this week is the 29th Annual Zora Neal Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities happening in Eatonville, FL. The local nonprofit, Preserve the Eatonville Community, uses the last week of January (Zora's birth month) to celebrate Black arts and humanities in honor of our hometown hero. Hurston was born in Georgia but spent her early childhood in Eatonville. She always thought of that small town (my hometown) as her home. Her most notable work is Their Eyes Were Watching God, where much of the story is set in a fictional version of Eatonville. If you're in town for the festival, don't forget to take a look at the Historic Thomas House.
Onto the books! I'm reading mostly nonfiction this week after telling my husband I needed a goofy/less serious book. Do you have any suggestions? Maybe I'll switch it up next week.
Currently reading
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body: Gay opens up about how she began overeating at the age of 12 after she was violently sexually assaulted. This book is tragic and beautiful.
The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness: This is a collection of poems and essays. I'm reading this book very slowly and can't even put into words yet what it all means.
Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood: A healthy mix of comedy and honesty about his life as a mixed race child in a country where interracial coupling was illegal.
Recently FInished
Binti: The Night Masquerade: We all knew I would finish this. I loved it. Perfect end to a wonderful and moving series.
Let's Talk About Race: Julius Lester speaks to a young audience about the stories we tell about ourselves and others when we only look skin deep.
Ellington Was Not a Street: Lively illustrations of famous men of the Black community wrapped around a moving poem.
What books are you reading this week? A new release or an old favorite?
Let me know in the comments!
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About the Author
Black & Bookish is the brainchild of Antoinette Scully, educator and lover of all things bookish. She is on a quest to fill your bookshelves with beloved authors of the African Diaspora. When she's not hanging out on line, she's living it up as the mother of two rambunctious girls and wife of a local filmmaker.