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Crystal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 07:37 pm: | 
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I’ll be finishing Guy Johnson’s Standing at the Scratch Line. I didn’t realize it was a BAB until I got it and I am really enjoying it. It’s far-fetched but ole boy is something else holding his own and then some against the Germans, the mob and the kkk. Dang. He’s out Mousing Mouse.
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Madame X
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 08:30 pm: |
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The Third Life of Grange Copeland -- Alice Walker - hadnt read it before - don't know why -the debate on the board made me pick it up and I'm really enjoying it! |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 11:52 pm: |
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I Loved that book Crystal. Doesn't King make you want to holler "YEAH, TAKE THAT YOU SO-IN-SO". I do know what you mean by your out Mousing Mouse. I think he's now the baddest brotha in fiction. BTW, I know you read my post  I have The Known World, do you remember what you told me?
I have to get back on it this weekend. |
yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 03:40 am: |
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Finishing up The Warmest December(a bit too sad, but i'm trying to work through it, kinda redunant, stagnant even though there are plot changes), reading through ZZ Packer's book of short stories, loved Brownies...caucasian, caucasian...so funny( i like her style....witty, clean writing), and i'll check white boys(McKNight) i'm sure i'll like this, read his novel, He Sleeps....it was wonderful...must read for those interested in questions of blackness.... |
Bayou Lights
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 04:58 am: |
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Travels in a Thin Country: Journeys Through Chile by Sara Wheeler
and
Property by Valerie Martin. (I'm taking this one slow because the subject matter is difficult although the book itself is slim. Martin is a writer I have consistently enjoyed and I've heard much about this book.
The book jacket reads. . . (paraphrased) Set in the surreal heat of the antebellum South during a slave rebellion, Property takes the form of a dramatic monologue in the voice of a female slaveholder. Manon Gaudet has come to a sugar plantation north of New Orleans, bringing her young slave, Sarah, only to see Sarah become her husband's mistress and bear his child.
I read about this in the NY Times, SF Chronicle and several other magazines and then QBR printed a dialogue between Bebe Moore Campbell and Ms. Martin on the racism in their individual novels.
Anyway, I thought this would be intriguing to read before I start Known World which is next on my list.
Bayou |
Radiah
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 07:14 am: |
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Trying to finish up Love by Toni Morrison this weekend. |
K
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 10:37 am: |
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I'm reading Baldwin's Just Above My Head. I found what I believe is a first edition copy at my favorite used bookstore. |
Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 10:41 am: |
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Zane's Chocolate Flava, Arthur Kempton's Boogaloo and David Deutch's The Fabric of Reality. |
Crystal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 12:33 pm: |
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Yukio: I enjoyed Packer’s Drinking Coffee Elsewhere too. My favorite story was Every Tongue Shall Confess. I think I was in a romance mood since I’d just finished re-reading one of J. California Cooper’s collection of stories.
Carey: Yea, I remember “just read the dang thang”. LOL! I almost missed my stop on the bus this a.m. trying to help them rescue King. BTW, your post yesterday about bid whist struck a nerve. I haven’t played but a couple of times since I dropped out of a club 20 years ago and I was just recently thinking I need to find me a group. Boston here I come!
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Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 02:24 pm: |
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Yukio and Crystal:
My two favorite Packer stories in the book were the one about the man and his daddy going to the Million Man March and the one involving the girl running away to Atlanta--can't remember the names right now. |
Yvette
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 02:25 pm: |
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I just finished Crawfish Dreams by Nancy Rawles and was somewhat disappointed. I will be getting into Cry, the Beloved Country this weekend. I need to get it read for one of my book groups. Also, I will be picking up Satisfy My Soul, by Colin Channer. I tried it earlier and had a hard time getting into it. Has anyone read it? I'd be interested to know your thoughts. By the way, I have been thinking about doing a winter wonderland thing and reading the number one book on the Modern Library's top 100 list. That book is Ulysses by James Joyce. It is a major BAB. Has anyone here read it? Your thoughts? Have a great weekend everyone!!! |
Linda
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 03:01 pm: |
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Kings - The True story of Chicago's Policy Kings and Numbers Racketeers by Nathan Thompson. |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 05:14 pm: |
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Chystal, girl you don't know nothing about runnin' no Boston. I can hear it now, "You're set Chystal, get up from here smellin' like fish. Somebody bring me some french fries, I need'em to go with this carp I just caught over here" ..."GET UP" . |
Crystal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 07:21 pm: |
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See now Carey that ain't right. Betta watch out or I'll have to stop by Iowa on my way to Boston and show you and your Esquirettes how the game is really played. Humph, and here I thought we's was friends and errythang. LOL!
CRystal |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 12:55 am: |
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I'm reading a "romance" novel I wrote 8 years ago, something I just self-published a few copies of for the fun of it. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. It's like somebody else wrote it and I'm reading it for the first time. Let's hear it for ego-trippin. Gotta go! I have to see if the black girl is going to succeed in beating out the white girl for the affections of a fine black brotha. |
Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:25 am: |
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Cynique:
I read that one. You want me to tell ya how it turns out? |
K
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 01:51 pm: |
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BL,
I started out really excited about reading Property. The articles and reviews were good. In the end I found it to be too romantic for me. A little too Dixie and not as deep as they supposed Happy reading. Let me know what you think when you're done. |
RED
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 05:04 pm: |
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I'm reading "The Devil finds Work" by James Baldwin. Just finished "Faces at the Bottom of the Well" by Derrick Bell, which was really good.
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reppskearn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:27 am: |
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I'm doing a rereading of Imperium in Imperio--I found it yesterday in Barnes and Noble. |
akaivyleaf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 12:07 pm: |
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I'm Reading Eden, Ohio by Shawne Johnson |
Anita
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 02:47 pm: |
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"All the Finest Girls" by Alexandra Styron
I'm also rereading "The View From Here" by Brian Keith Jackson
Akaivyleaf, please let me know how Eden, Ohio turns out. The synopsis sounded great. |
idrissa
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 04:23 am: |
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I read "Getting Our Breath Back" by Shawne Jackson (or was it Johnson?)this weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was hard to get into....in the beginning because the writing was somewhat lyrical....seemed like a whole lot of run-on sentences but once I got used to her style; I was good to go.
The story line was about three sisters growing up in the sixties in Philadelphia...raised by their mother after their father's death. Guess being a Philly homegirl; I was attracted to the familiar setting and the time frame was of my generation.
It's her first novel and a really good effort. I really liked the way she used the Black Liberation Movement as a starting point for the things that made the sisters' lives go in the direction that they did. I also loved the descriptive way she painted her characters. Her message was subliminal to a point.
If anyone else is reading it; I'd like to hear what you thought of the book. |
Sis E
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 08:25 pm: |
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I'm struggling through yet another reading of Invisible Man for my book club meeting at the end of January, and re-reading my own book A Blessing in Disguise in preparation for a series of author's visits this month and next. Amazing how one can forget what one wrote in one's own book!
Brother Carey, how'd you like John Edwards in your town this past weekend? Are you into the Caucuses? |
akaivyleaf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 03:14 pm: |
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Irdrissa, I'm reading her second Novel Eden, Ohio and I'm struggling for the same reason that you were with Getting Our Breath Back. I'm not sure that I like her style and I've not read her first book. I've picked up Eden, Ohio and put it down several times and picked up two other books in between. The story line is good, I think she has beat the poor comma to death and its driving me away from her work.
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Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 05:01 pm: |
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Sis E.
No, sorry to say I don't get into the caucases/politics that much. I've just never had that much interest in them. We've never had this many people come to town since the gambling boats first started doing business. Besides, they upset me taking all the parking spots. I couldn't even get close to my favorite coffee house and when I did get there all the seats were taken, one by a clown dressed as Abraham Lincoln . |
Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 05:12 pm: |
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Carey:
I forgot you were in that circus in Iowa. You should have posted a bunch of reports from there, maybe as a blog or something.
All that over 100,000 votes. It is a mockery of a selection process. |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 06:03 pm: |
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Chris
You and ABM are going to have to stop using all those big words....lets see, where is my dictionary...B..l..o..g.
Although as i said, I don't get too involved with the election process, I think there's a history related to the winner of this caucaus.
But yeah, I could have post a little something, maybe on who lost the most money at the tables or something. Of course it would have to be a blog or something like that...lets see b..l..o..g. . |
Sis E
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 10:32 pm: |
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Carey, I saw that John Edwards was in Davenport. That southern drawl of his sure pulled you folks in. You know, I watched the results last night and could practically count the Black folks on hand cheering on Dean and Edwards, like Wayne Ford n/em.
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Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 11:06 pm: |
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Sis E.
True story: Bush rolled into town one year(some burg of a place in Iowa) and they hunted high and low for black faces. My daughter whom happened to be the star of her track team (went to U of Kentucky, thank you , anyway, did a promotional shot with him, her AND my son jogging down the street. Now you know they couldn't do too many takes because my daughter didn't know CPR. |
yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 03:38 am: |
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Finally finished "Warmest December" ...it was ok. She is a solid writer, but the story was too depressing and monotonous. I believe it would've been more effective as a short story or even a novella....i do appreciate the character's transformation, the language was out of the african american womanist school, and i even like the back and forward between the present and the past....good job!
I say that you have to be in a particular mood for this one...a mood that i wasn't in! |
lurkerette
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 08:58 am: |
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Yvette, I just read Satisfy my Soul over the holidays. I liked his writing, but I wasn't sure about the ending. What is it that you find offputting?
I was also interested to hear that someone else doesn't think Bernice Macfadden is all that. I thought Sugar had some inconsistencies, I might be wrong but some of the words she used in the dialog I didn't think were around in the fifties and the relationship between the two women didn't convince me either. But I also thought that was probably because I don't know that much about literature, I just know what I like. I suspect about myself that it bothered me that Sugar's background was such that she didn't need to turn out the way she did as her family had inherited the house and everything. Anyway, we're not talking about that book are we.
I've just finished An Open Weave by Devorah Major. It was ok. You can tell she is a poet.
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Yvette
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 11:03 am: |
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Hello Lurkerette,
How are you? I think that the fact that I was heavily into another book at the time that I tried Satisfy My Soul might have had something to do with the fact that it was hard to get into. I only read a couple or three chapters. I hear it's good. It's next up on my list though. I'll let you know what I think when I'm done with it.
Now I can't say anything negative about my girl Bernice McFadden. She is one of my favorite authors. And I really liked Sugar. Details are getting foggy though, as I read it more than two years ago. |
lurkerette
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 12:26 pm: |
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I'm fine, thanks Yvette and hope you are too. I would definitely give Satisfy my Soul another go, especially with Valentine's day coming up. That might set the mood a bit better |
Linda
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 04:38 pm: |
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I'm with you Yvette. I have tried Satisfy my Soul a number of times only to stop at page 67 or so. I just can't seem to get into the story. I have heard it was great, but...I not seeing how! I finally decided to pass on trying anymore. Let us know what happens when you try again. |
Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 05:24 pm: |
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Hello All,
Lurkette: If you want to talk about Sugar, you can. I read it and love it. Go ahead and start a new thread and tell give us the blow by blow on what you thought of the book.
I can't say anything negative about Bernice McFadden either. I love HER! Yukio, would you read another McFadden novel? |
yukio
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 05:57 pm: |
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Thumper:
I coudl but don't know if i would read another McFadden book; i wasn't terribly interested in the story--alcohol and physical abuse.
I do think she is a solid writer, as far as craft goes. I'm not into you go girl fiction, so if thats what Sugar is then i'll not read it...i'll check you reviews! |
Yvette
Newbie Poster
Username: Yvette
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 01:31 pm: |
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Hi Linda,
I tried Satisfy my Soul again and I finished it! It was a pretty good read. I wasn't crazy about the ending though. I also found the story to be somewhat disjointed and repetitive in places. |
Linda
Newbie Poster
Username: Linda
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 11:26 am: |
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Yvette
Glad to hear you made it through Satisfy My Soul. I tried again as well...I still couldn't do it. Something about this book makes me cringe. The way he goes on and on and on about the woman in the beginning. I just can't get into it. Maybe in another year or so I'll give it another go, but I doubt it -- I don't need anymore disjoinment or repetitiveness. *LOL* I have enjoyed A Distant Shore though, by Caryl Phillips. It was a nice change of pace from the norm as of late. Have you read it yet? |
Yvette
Newbie Poster
Username: Yvette
Post Number: 3
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 11:59 am: |
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Linda,
No, I haven't read A Distant Shore yet. But I have read Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips. It was good and like you said, a nice change of pace. He is definitely an author to watch. I have a lot of his works, including A Distant Shore, on my "too read list." |
Bookgirl
Newbie Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 11
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 08:51 pm: |
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I read God Don't Love Ugly by Mary Monroe this weekend (an all night read) and am going to order the sequel ASAP! My first encounter with her work and I am hooked. |
Shevi
Newbie Poster
Username: Shevi
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 01:29 pm: |
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Hi Bookgirl,
I love Mary Monroe, I was hooked after God Don't Like Ugly too! Try The Upper Room it has become my favorite by her. I read Gonna Lay Down My Burdens and the sequel God Still Don't Like Ugly and enjoyed them both. I'm looking forward to her next. |
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