First, a reminder that February is almost over--tomorrow will be the last day to post challenge reviews in order to enter Glue's Diversity Rocks book giveaway contest!
Also, in case you haven't seen the African American Literature Book Club site, I want to point out their list of 100 favorite African American books of the twentieth century. How many of them have you read? My grand total is eight, I'm sorry to say (though in some cases I've read other titles by the authors mentioned), and most of those are on the first page.
Coincidentally--or perhaps not--several of them count among the best books I've ever read.
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8 comments:
Hi Ali,
I've read 27 and own others listed. I have to tell you, that list is suspect. For starters, Achebe is Nigerian not African American and Dandicat is Haitian-American. Rosalind McMillian cannot write. jmo. And the list swings from one end of the pendulum to the other mixing general fiction with literary heavyweights. I thought too much of the list was fluff.
Feel free to call me a snob. lol
Interesting points, Susan. I'm not a fan of fluff, either, but maybe they were going for a broad spectrum?
Ali,
They might have been and that's fine. I don't mind fluff, but I do mind if the writing is poor and there are choices on the list that would raise more than my eyebrows. And as I stated earlier, they included non-African American authors. I guess what I'm challenging is that they are touting the list as the top 100.
Actually, I appreciate the list is diverse in its genres: not all literary or not all commercial. I read both and have an appreciation for both.
That was fun it was like going down book memory lane. I read 38
Thanks for the link.
Susan, I see what you mean--if a list is supposed to represent the "best of" a particular genre or category, you don't want to see work you don't respect on the list. And the fact that they included non-African American authors on a list of the best African American authors is an odd oversight. Maybe we should work on our own list? I've got at least ten to put on there for sure, LOL.
Carleen and Doret, glad you enjoyed it--sounds like it's got some flaws, though!
And Carleen--Just saw your profile pic and I love it! Do you?
I've only read five, so I guess I have some catching up to do! :)
Carleen,
I can hardly call myself a literary snob. That was tongue-in-cheek. Even if it is brainy candy, I want the writing to be good. Make me laugh or forgive it because it does something.
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