What Books Are You Starting the New Year With?

I seem to have some kind of reading-related ADD; somehow I always end up reading multiple books simultaneously instead of one at a time. Now that I've pretty much given up physical books (except for when I can't find an e-book version) it has gotten worse! At this present time, I am reading four books... Actually that's not too bad considering I've tried juggling around ten books. These are the books that I'm currently into.

1. Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen
I'm always enthralled by people who are bold enough to tell their personal stories, partially because I'm sometimes terrified to tell my own. In this book Kerry Cohen talks about how she used the attention from men to fill the emptiness of not feeling loved or worthwhile. I just started this book two days ago, but so far her story is an interesting one.

2. You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith and Christine K. Clifford
Recently it occurred to me that while I am trying to get my businesses to really take off this year, the primary thing that I am marketing is myself. I need to let potential clients and customers know why they should do business with me first. Once they are sold on me, I can sell them on the services and products. So I started looking for books on how to promote yourself, and this is the first of several books on the topic that I plan to read. The book packs a ton of great lessons in brief, easy-to-read chapters. Some of it I've heard, some of it I haven't. So far, it hasn't disappointed.

3. Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell
This is one of those books I have to read for work. As short as it is I really should be done by now, but... *sigh* I'm not. My goal is to finish it over the weekend so I can be done with it once and for all! It would probably be more interesting to me if I were in a management position, or if it gave some radical new perspective on managing, but I'm not and it doesn't. Meh.

4. Business Plan in a Day by Rhonda Abrams
Okay, I'm not so much reading it as I am working through it. And yes, it's taking me much longer than a day to do it (although if I actually set aside a whole day I think I could complete it). Considering that I am trying to craft business plans for two very different businesses, I don't know if this book will completely address everything that I will need for both of them. However, it does a good job of covering the basics and refreshing my memory as to what needs to be included in this all-important document.

Considering that I still have over 100 books on my to-read list, I'd say I already have my work cut out for me this year. My goal is only 20, though, and I have a pretty good idea which books will make it. Tina Fey's Bossypants, 12 Bad Habits that Hold Good People Back, Hello Kitty Must Die and Longing To Tell will make up the next round of books I tackle.

Do you have a reading list ready for the year, or do you just pick up whatever happens to strike your fancy?

The Five Most Important Books that I've Read

Topic from The Daily Post

This post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while, because I've been agonizing over this list. Really, how do you choose just five books when you've read hundreds over your lifetime? Then there was the question of "Important, how?" (impacting my writing style? giving insight to a personal struggle? just a good story that stuck with me?) and whether I should include the obvious books. In the end, I skipped The Bible (the obvious choice for a lot of people) and other pretentious sounding works like Homer's The Odyssey (but I did like that one). I just decided to go with the books that stood out in my mind.

The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale is one of very few high school required reading books that I actually read all the way through instead of simply scanning the Cliff's Notes. Actually, I think it was this book that piqued my interest in dystopian novels. Surprisingly, it's hard to pinpoint any one specific thing about this book that makes it one of my favorites. For one thing, it was completely unlike anything else that I had read up until that point, and I was invested in the story from page one. It was also realistic; the story was not so far-fetched that I could not see it happening (though certain aspects of it were a bit fantastic). Overall, it was well-written, and it's one of the few books that I can read over and over again.

Shifting
This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read because it assured me that I wasn't alone. There are so many times when I, as a black woman, have to shift my thinking, speech, etc. due to my environment. Where others get to simply be themselves and not give it a second thought, those in my position--hit with two minority designations--have to consider how words, actions, appearance and attitudes will affect interactions with others (those who do and don't look like us). For a while I wondered if I was the only one that dealt with that, putting on different faces for work, church, school and home. While this book did not necessarily provide answers to that feeling of multiplicity (presumably because there are none) it was a relief to know that it wasn't just all in my head. I'd recommend this book to other black women as well as non-black women and men. It may help to ease some of those relationships, or at least create a jumping point for dialog.

Naked
Like Shifting, Naked focuses on the stories of black women. This time, the discussion is about their unique physical features in their own words. Although I knew I wasn't the only black woman to face issues of self-confidence, identity and body image, it was comforting to read the stories of others. I love that this book is told directly from the perspective of black women (not an outsider looking in). And actually, women of all races and backgrounds can relate to many of the stories that are told. This is one of those books that I want to share with other women in my circle, as well as little cousins, nieces and my own daughters (should I ever have any).

Modern Girl's Guide to Life
This was one of the first non-fiction/self-help books I ever read. Honestly what first drew me to this book was the cartoonish drawing on the cover. (Yes, I sometimes judge books by their covers. DJM!) I love that this book is filled with information about such a wide range of topics. Most of it is common sense, admittedly, and it wasn't just a light, fun read. (The cover lied to me y'all!) But it is interesting and a great reference. I feel like the author did a great job with this one.

The Hell With Love
I bought this book of poetry after a break up... I can't remember which one. My favorite thing about this book is how it is divided up into the different stages one goes through at the end of a relationship (according to the authors of course). As I cycled through those stages repeatedly I went back to those poems and found a different one that spoke to me. Reading it outside of the context of a jilted lover, I appreciate the poets' differing styles and word choice. Any fan of poetry should have this book in their collection.

 

So there it is, my five most important books in no particular order. Hopefully I will have books on someone's most important list one day soon! So tell me, what are the most important books that you've read, and why?

Why I'm Still Conflicted About 'The Help'

Since its publication, Kathryn Stockett's The Help has been getting major coverage. That is especially true here in Jackson, MS, where the story is set and a good chunk of the movie adaptation was filmed. For those who are unfamiliar, The Help takes a look back at the relationship between white families and their black maids in the 1960s. The synopsis from Goodreads:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

For some reason, this book has rubbed me the wrong way, which is irrational given the fact that I have not read it yet.

I don't know how I feel about a white woman telling a black woman's story. True, as a writer you won't always be writing about characters who look, act or think like you. (How dull would that get to be?) But at the same time, I am a fan of "staying in your lane." Think of it this way: Am I qualified to write the story of a Jewish Holocaust survivor? Sure, I could do it, but would I be doing their story justice? And the attempt at "black" southern vernacular is so trite. It just seems a little pretentious to me. But this is minor compared to what really gets to me.

It (appears to) romanticize the time period and the conditions of the maids. And some people--particularly southern white women--seem a little too happy and eager to give this story props. It's almost like their longing for "the good ol days," which, as it turns out, wasn't good at all for the black people living in that period. I think this is what really sticks in my craw. On top of that, it seems to be heavy with the white (wo)man's burden. *sigh* I'm just not good with either of those facts.

For all the negative I feel about it, I'm still going to give it a try. I'll look for it in the library (or as a swap on Goodreads) and try to evaluate it objectively. I may be 100% wrong, and if I am I have no problem admitting that. For what it's worth, I have heard that it is a well-written story, minus the "black folks' talk." And since my mother wants to see it we may have to go see it. I will try to keep an open mind about it!

Have you read The Help? If so, what were your thoughts? Does anyone else give this book/movie a slight side-eye, or is it just me?

The Urban Lit Challenge

While packing boxes in preparation for our move, I realized just how many urban lit books I bought in high school and the first couple of years in college. I knew my literary tastes had evolved over the years, but it was quite a surprise to find 35 books that fell into that category on my shelves! (And that doesn't count the books I gave away and the ones that I borrowed and read).  In the past I've tried to go back and reread some of the books that I vaguely remembered, but I just couldn't! The writing seemed... well, I'll just say it wasn't what I was looking for. That was really disappointing and it made me wonder how I would feel about the stories that I really liked if I went back and read them again, too.

I've kinda given books of this genre the side-eye since "growing up" for various reasons. One is that the editing is usually shoddy or non-existent. That is a big distraction for me. Another hang up is when it seems like the writers are content to let stereotypes determine the characters. I like my protagonists to give me something new, or to at least grow and develop in some way. Stereotypical characters are both boring and annoying. Finally, I don't like reading the same story over and over, and although little details may have changed, the stories usually seemed all too familiar.

That being said, I know that can't be the case for the whole genre. I can't down all these African-American writers; after all, they are what I want to be: a published author. Plus I know that even though I won't be writing urban fiction I may be lumped into that category simply because I am a Black writer. So, to prove to myself (hopefully) that they aren't all bad, I'm challenging myself to objectively read five "street lit" books penned by five different authors by the end of the year. I refuse to spend more money on these books, so I'll be going back to some of the books in my library that I remember reading and liking but can't quite recall the story.  The books I'll be reading are as follows:

Conception

by Kalisha Buckhanon

In the same vein as her critically acclaimed debut novel, Upstate, Kalisha Buckhanon again shares an emotionally beautiful story about today's youth that magnifies the unforgettable power of hope and the human spirit.

Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, 1992, and into the life of fifteen-year old Shivana Montgomery, who believes all Black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother. Until the sudden visit of her beautiful and free-spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and confront the challenges she faces growing up in a tough environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey toward adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her. Then, when she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, together they fight to rise above the circumstances and move toward a more positive future.

Through a narrative that sweeps from slavery onward, Buckhanon unveils Shivana's connection to a past filled with tragedy, courage, and wisdom.

In Search of Pretty Young Black Men
by Stanley Bennett Clay
"Los Angeles has no ghettos, according to some. And that is nearly true. But even behind the sun-kissed facade of privilege in its Black upper middle class is a harsher reality. In Search of Pretty Young Black Men is the tale of Dorian Moore, a mysterious and seductive young man who provides comfort to the moneyed, the neglected, the lost, and the lonely in an elegant hilltop community in Southern California. Among the women is Maggie Lester-Allegro, who, disillusioned by a loveless marriage, finds support in her small circle of women friends and sexual healing in Dorian's arms. The blessing brought by this pretty black man soon becomes a fatal curse, as terrible truths come to light. Maggie's husband, Lamont, seeks sexual solace outside of their picture-perfect marriage as well. He lives in the shadow of his larger-than-life father, a member of the Baldwin Hills gentry, and under the weight of secrets and lies that threaten to tumble the walls of his carefully guarded life and standing among the elite. This stunning new novel, by the author of Diva, is a poetically rendered, provocative, and revealing tale that challenges every notion of what we believe equals success, prestige, and, most of all, love. "

Leslie
by Omar Tyree
At the historically black college of Dillard University in the lush mystical city of New Orleans, the beautiful and serious Leslie Beaudet is struggling with a dark secret of power in a world that is pulling her in many different directions.

In the eyes of her Haitian immigrant father, Leslie is a queen who deserves more than the broken dreams and carnage of poverty. To her Black Indian mother, she is a source of pride and strength, a reason for carrying on. To her younger sister, already a mother of two and a high school dropout, Leslie is the only person who cares enough to share her woes. To her brother, she is the victim he failed to protect. To her college peers and teachers, Leslie is a determined, resourceful student, most likely to succeed, yet impenetrably private.

When a series of murders befall her New Orleans' community they point in Leslie's direction. Slowly, her friends and relatives realize they've never really known Leslie -- a complicated young woman terrified of failure, struggling with painful family secrets, praying for security that has eluded everyone around her, and craving the power to change her fate, a power that was hidden from her until now...when it's too late to stop her.

Child of God

by Lolita Files

In this searing novel, bestselling author Lolita Files tells the tale of a Southern family torn apart by the secrets it struggles to keep.
Everybody knows everybody else's business in Downtown, Tennessee. Neighbors while away afternoons at the local bar, swapping rumors about voodoo, incest, and illegitimate children. Usually they're gossiping about the Botens.
In this epic saga, Lolita Files unveils the hidden lives of three generations of the Boten clan, a family as cursed by fate as they are blessed with hope. There's Grandma Amalie, who's willing to sacrifice everything for her son; there's Grace, who manages to conceal the identity of her child's father for more than twenty years; there's Aunt Sukie, whose strange power over her husband, Walter, is matched only by the strength of her dark magic; and, finally, there's Lay, whose secret betrayals will set the Boten clan in motion, sending its members on a quest for self-discovery that will lead them from one end of the world to the other.
From the drug-infested world of inner-city Detroit to the jungles of Vietnam, Lolita Files deftly captures one family's struggle to drag demons out into the light in this compelling story of the bonds of blood, forbidden love, sacrifice and redemption.

Chasing Destiny
by Eric Jerome Dickey

Billie is as notorious for her beauty as she is for the hot yellow Ducati motorcycle she rides down L.A.'s meanest streets. Tough and talented, she does things her way. Until an unplanned pregnancy spins her life out of control. Her problem: Her lover Keith's divorce decree has been revoked, forcing him to choose between Billie and his dangerously manipulative wife, Carmen, along with their troubled and deceptive daughter, Destiny, a fifteen-year-old dancing on the edge of womanhood. Horrific things happen when Keith's daughter disappears in the company of low friends in dark places. And in chasing Destiny, Billie, Keith, and Carmen find their lives inextricably linked by a dangerous and seductive pursuit-at any speed, at any cost.

Pictures and summaries courtesy of Goodreads.com

So what is your take on urban literature? Are you a fan or could you do without it? Why do you think it gets a bad rap? Do you feel that African-American authors are automatically thrown into this category? Would you consider some books by non-AA writers (such as my fave, Angry Black White Boy) to be urban/street lit?