i am reading the marrying of chani kaufman by eve harris, and totally enjoying it. orthodox judaism is a totally new world for me, so i am enjoying the journey. however, there are many things one can relate to in the novel--religion and its role in life, the need to cross boundaries, personal space, marrying someone you don’t know all that well, the fear of spinsterhood.
being able to relate, in whatever way, to a novel, whether to the characters, the place, the issues or the time, is crucial in determining how much you will enjoy it.some time ago i decided that i would try to read only authors of colour this year, and while i still have another two months to go, i am stopping. very simply, i am yearning for books from my old favorite authors, some of whom are authors of colour, and some who are not. i kind of feel like i took a long around the world vacation, i had a great time, but now i want to come home. i am tired and over stimulated, and i just want to lie on my sofa and read some chick lit. switch off my brain, put away my explorer wear and just be comfortable in my pajamas.
i am glad i did this though; i have come across several new authors who i want to read more of, such as anne cherian, anita nair, marsha mehran, ruth ozeki. i also want to go back to reading books by jojo moyes, john green, barbara kingsolver, kate atkinson. (it is interesting how i seem to read more women authors these days.. food for a future post perhaps!)
#microblog mondays
9 comments:
Hmm. I have never thought about specifically reading authors of color. Now that I think about it, I would assume that most of the authors that I read are white (not sure but it's probably a good assumption). I'm sure this was an interesting experiment!
I try to fill my son's library with books by authors of color. Sometimes it's a challenge to find them! I especially find that children's book with racially diverse protagonists are a particular challenge.
I went through a long phase of reading anglo-Indian authors, though not intentionally, I just kind of tend to love that cultural niche. I read a review of Harris's book and thought it sounded interesting. I'll have to check it out!
I tend to go in cycles. I'll read nothing but white male writers. Then I'll go through a phase where it's all Canadian women, all women from India... or drill down and find one book I like by an author and read everything they've written.
Books put me in a certain mood, therefore, I always match the book to the mood I need to be in. I try not to commit to reading books that don't fit with that goal. Because it's not just reading the book; it affects everything else including my productivity.
I'm just trying to branch out when it comes to reading and so have been reading all kinds of different books. I like the idea of a challenge of reading only authors of color.
Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Please read and enjoy them.
I've never specifically read authors of color, but I go through reading a lot on a single subject - all Julia Child, all Zelda Fitzgerald, all cookbooks, just gorging on a single theme. I always get my fill and have to go on to the next rabbit trail.
I too haven't thought of taking a book tour with a specific topic in mind, but it sounds interesting. I can already think of a few books that would fit the "authors of color" category that I want to read.
I like variety in my reading - so I can't imagine trying to spend a whole year (WHOLE YEAR!) reading from one group of authors. It is good that we step away from our old favourites though, and look at other new, perhaps lesser known voices.
Post a Comment