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Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 324
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 05:07 pm: | 
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Hey Folks,
I'm trying to catch up on my reading of the great works. What are your favorite three books from the past five years, not including poetry, erotica, or steet fiction? What makes the books worth reading? |
A_womon
Veteran Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1708
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 08:29 pm: |
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I don't know if this would qualify as one of the great works, but it was definitely a great read.
Leaving Cecil Street--mckinney-whetstone (I forgot her first name) It was worth reading because I like books that make me forget about where I am and that take me inside the story so that I am actually living it as I read. Cecil Street and all of the characters came alive and I was living all of the pain, heartbreak, joy, and laughter right along with them. I loved the neighborhood crazy lady who sneaked in someone's basement and was eating the catfood for dinner and the twist at the end of the story involving her. I could actually feel what it was like to live in the late 60's or early 70's that was the setting of the story. It was a fast-paced, wonderful read and I hated for the story to end.
It was well worth the money!
and I would give you two more of my favorite reads over the past three years, but I don't feel like writing all of this about the rest of them.  |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9265
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 09:09 pm: |
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Thinking... |
Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 325
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 01:57 pm: |
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Did I say "steet" fiction? LOL! A brother needs to spellcheck more often.
A_womon, I definitely agree with you on "Leaving Cecil Street." (I was just looking at it on my bookshelf yesterday.) It had that Harlem Renaissance feeling to it. I reviewed it for the Midwest Book Review a couple of years ago here:
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/jun_04.htm#emanuel
Another one on my list is "Blood on the Leaves" by Jeff Stetson. It's a novel dealing with the deaths of several white men who have racist pasts and who may have killed them. Loved it.
One final book I loved (by a white author) is "Cloud 8" by Grant Bailee. It's about a man who dies only to discover almost everyone in heaven looks like Abraham Lincoln, and heaven is not what he expected. He also gets to view the people he knew on Earth by watching TV. It's one of those strange but fascinating books you could easily see as a movie. I'm currently reading "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold, which is kind of similar. |
Bookgirl
Regular Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 117
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 13, 2007 - 04:36 pm: |
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Jump At The Sun by Kim McLarin, a book that spoke to the souls of three generation of Black women who did not know what they were seeking but still knew that they had not found it. I just loved this book. It was a haunting tale of motherhood.
Nowhere Is A Place by Bernice McFadden that told a wonderful tale of African American history and ancestry. It showed ties that bind a family from generation to generation and again the universal story of mothers and daughters. McFadden's prose is like fluid motion to me...
I have to think about the third one...
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9288
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 14, 2007 - 04:27 pm: |
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Within the time span you provided, Emanuel, I enjoyed the biography of Madame C. J. Walker written by her great-granddaughter. It was a very detailed and intimate account of the life of America's first black female entrepreneur, debunking a lot of myths about her, and placing her in the context of the very interesting historical era during which she lived.
I can't remember the name of this other book that impressed me but it was the true story of this black doctor, who during the late 20s after accumulating a degree of wealth, moved into an all-white neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, where the subsequent harrassment by his angry neighbors necessitated him and a few of his friends to take up arms and hold off the mob action. Here again the back story about race in America during these time was as compelling as the what befell the main character. I also can't remember the names of another book but stood out in my mind, was a collaboration between Stanley Crouch and another black author who re-visted and parsed W.E.B. DuBois's book the "Soul of Black Folks."
One good fiction book that I particularly recall enjoying was "Better than I Know Myself" by the famous black writing duo Virgina Deberry and Donna Grant. It was just a well-written good ol juicy novel about 3 girlfriends and their trials and tribulations. It also provided good insight into the glamour of the fashion industry and a behind the scene look at the black entertainment world. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9291
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 12:14 pm: |
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Can somebody help a sista out, here? Steve? Chris? Nothing like recommending books that you don't know the title of or the name of the author. LMAO. |
Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 326
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 06:38 pm: |
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Cynique,
That book about the black doctor sounds very interesting, especially since I'm a Clevelander. I hope you think of the title. Meanwhile, I just reserved "Jump at the Sun" and "Nowhere is the Place" at my local library. When I'm done, I'll check out "Better than I Know Myself." (I was reading "The Lovely Bones" but got bored on around page 250 of 350 or so pages so I jumped to the end.) |
Steve_s
Regular Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 278
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 06:41 pm: |
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Hi, Cynique,
"On Her Own Ground" by A'Lelia Bundles (haven't read it)
"Arc of Justice" by Kevin Boyle (set in Detroit, not Cleveland)
"Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk" by Playthell Benjamin and Stanley Crouch
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Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 327
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 06:59 pm: |
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Thanks Cynique and Steve. I reserved "Arc of Justice" at my library. Now I've got three books to read soon, whichever one comes in first. I'll keep the other books on my list for later in the year. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9299
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 15, 2007 - 08:43 pm: |
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Thank you, Steve! Happy reading, Emanuel! BTW, I thought "The Lovely Bones" was overrated, and did get boring after a while. Peter Jackson of "Lord of the Rings" fame is supposed to be making a movie out of it. |
Happily_single
First Time Poster
Username: Happily_single
Post Number: 1
Registered: 07-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - 11:00 am: |
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i know of a great book for all to read. i just recently self published my first novel. it is entitled Praise Your Way Through and it can be ordered directly through my web page at www.irisceleste.com. please visit. you will not be disappointed!!!!! |
Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 328
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 04:44 pm: |
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Okay Happily_Single. That's one book. What other two books would you recommend that have been published within the past five years? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9314
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 05:06 pm: |
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snicker. |
Robynmarie
Veteran Poster
Username: Robynmarie
Post Number: 519
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 03:06 pm: |
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daughter asha bandele
shalimar the clown salmon rusdie
stupid white men michael moore |
Robynmarie
Veteran Poster
Username: Robynmarie
Post Number: 520
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 03:14 pm: |
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I forgot "A Man in My Basement" by Walter Mosely (that man sure does know how to write a love scene...)
daugher and stupid white men are self-explanatory.
Shalimar the Clown, is about how the Taliban got started in Afganistan (?).
Rusdie is a mesmerizing storyteller and clever wordsmith. The history, tribal customs and cruelty of how that region developed kept me riveted.
He alternates the narrative between a modern San Francisco-bred writer and flashes back years before to how her great-grandparents met in the Afghan mountains.
These days I only read fiction by non-American writers ( unless it is a classic). It seems even our best authors wind up telling the same story over and over again. |
Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 329
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 11:26 am: |
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Thanks Robyn. "Shalimar the Clown" sounds pretty interesting. I remember the controversy "The Satanic Verses" caused years ago. I'll have to add that to my list. Right now, I'm reading Bookgirl's recommendation "Jump At The Sun." The author's take on motherhood reminds me of Kimberla Roby Lawson's "Changing Faces." Now I've got all these books from the library and not enough time to finish them, including "Arc of Justice" and "Nowhere is a Place." Ya'll be reading some thick books don't ya?
Thanks for all the recommendations. Keep 'em coming. |
A_womon
Veteran Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1743
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 11:30 am: |
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Emanuel,
I'm reading Kim Roby's Changing Faces right now! It's really interesting so far! I'm on chapter 4. |
Bookgirl
Regular Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 122
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 12:12 pm: |
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And I am honored that you took my recommendation, Emanuel. I sure hope you enjoy it. I just love her books.
I was surprised that Martha Southgate did not mention this writer in her article. The author, Kim McLarin was nominated recently for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. I'm so proud of her. She works really hard at her writing; not just churning out a book a year to get paid like some are prone to do.
Here is the full list of nominations....
NOMINATED FOR HURSTON/WRIGHT LEGACY AWARD
<http://www.blacknews.com/images/hurstonwright.jpg>
Washington, DC (BlackNews.com) - The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright
Foundation is pleased to announce nominees for its annual Legacy Award
program.
Friday, November 2 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Winners from each of the categories along with two
finalists in the categories of Fiction and Nonfiction will receive cash prizes.
The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award 2007 nominees are:
(Listed alphabetically by author)
Fiction:
Dominion (Grove/Atlantic, Inc.)
by Calvin Baker
All Aunt Hagar's Children (HarperCollins Publishers)
by Edward P. Jones
Nowhere is a Place (Dutton)
by Bernice L. McFadden
Jump at the Sun (HarperCollins Publishers)
by Kim McLarin
Half of a Yellow Sun (Knopf)
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Wizard of the Crow (Pantheon Books)
by Ngugi Wa'Thiong'O
Debut Fiction:
Ancestor Stones (Grove/Atlantic, Inc.)
by Aminatta Forna
Unburnable (HarperCollins Publishers)
by Marie-Elena John
Get Down (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux)
by Asali Solomon
Nonfiction:
The Last "Darky": Bert Williams, Black-on-Black Minstrelsy, and the African
Diaspora (Duke University Press)
by Louis Chude-Sokei
Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley (HarperCollins Publishers)
by Christopher John Farley
BookMarks: Reading in Black and White (Rutgers University Press)
by Karla FC Holloway
Unbowed: A Memoir (Knopf)
by Wangari Maathai
The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty and Belonging (WW Norton)
by Kym Ragusa
The River Flows On: Black Resistance, Culture and Identity Formation in
Early America (Louisiana State University Press)
by Walter C. Rucker
Poetry:
Wind in a Box (Penguin)
by Terrance Hayes
Teahouse of the Almighty (Coffee House Press)
By Patricia Smith
The Architecture of Language (Coffee House Press)
by Quincy Troupe
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Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 330
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 02:40 pm: |
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Hey A_womon,
Changing Faces is a trip. I won't post any spoilers for you though.
Bookgirl,
So far so good with Jump At The Sun, although I'm noticing more narration than dialogue (a criticism I received from a literary agent on my own novel). |
Steve_s
Regular Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 280
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 04:06 pm: |
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Thanks for posting the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award shortlist.
Although I haven't read Louis Chude-Sokei's book about Bert Williams, the part of his thesis in which he contends that "Williams was born in the Bahamas..[and].. [w]hen performing the 'darky'... was actually masquerading as an African American," seems astute and is related to John Strausbaugh's contention (in Black Like You) that "[a]s a foreigner, Williams observed the music, movements, voices and dialects of American Negroes with a sympathetic but detatched curiosity not unlike that of Whites, which may explain why he seems never to have been ashamed to wear blackface; it was just clown makeup to him."
http://www.nathanielturner.com/lastdarkybertwilliams.htm |
Bookgirl
Regular Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 123
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 06:04 pm: |
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@Steve_s:
I've always thought that Bert Williams was an interesting personality.
@Emanuel:
"So far so good with Jump At The Sun, although I'm noticing more narration than dialogue (a criticism I received from a literary agent on my own novel)."
Should there be more dialogue than narration in a novel? Is that one of the rules when writng a novel? Or is that just this particular agent's opinion?
I'm just asking for future references. I'm struggling to write my first novel. It's taking a whole lot more than I ever imagined but it's still a good experience and I really am determined that my finished project will be good writing. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9428
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 06:20 pm: |
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I don't have any problem with that assessment of Bert Williams, Steve. It pretty much coincides with what I read in a bio I read about him a while back. |
Emanuel
Regular Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 331
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 10:17 pm: |
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You're right Bookgirl, it depends on the literary agent or the publisher. When they suggest you show more than tell, it's usually related to telling the story through dialogue instead of narration. I've read some incredible novels with very little dialogue. One of them is Stephen Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint," a book a fellow author made me aware of after reading my novel, sharing how the books are similar in style.
Regarding "Jump At The Sun," I'm about 100 pages into it and the lack of dialogue is really no big deal. It's still a very interesting book. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9434
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 - 11:50 pm: |
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You know, this "show-and-tell" thing was the criticism I received from some people about my book. But other readers didn't know what I was talking about when I asked them whether or not I "told rather than showed". The book in question was more narrative than dialogue, but dialogue was frequently used to bring the characters to life. I alway figured that if you told a story in an interesting and amusing way this could be attributed to a certain writing "style" and that this simply made you a story-teller, which was not a no-no. I never showed this book to an agent so I never really got what I considered a "professional" opinion. The common criticism of my book, however, was that it was too short and needed to be expanded. But I once I wrote and self-published it, I was done, and didn't feel like revamping it. |
A_womon
Veteran Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1748
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 07:57 am: |
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Bookgirl,
I don't know if the tell vs show thing is reserved for non-fiction or works that are considered literary or what.Maybe seasoned fiction writers can get away with it.
My thoughts are if you're a first-time fiction author you will not be allowed to tell vs show. Mainly because dialogue tends to move the story along faster and agents/editors probably do not have the time nor inclination to wade through 100 pages of narration to get to the meat of the story. My editor had me do many rewrites with notes in the margin such as "make this happen in realtime"," too much expostion" etc.
So if I were you, I would stick to show vs tell and move the story along with dialogue as much as the story will allow. JMO. |
A_womon
Veteran Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1749
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 08:08 am: |
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Oh and Bookgirl, Congrats on working on your first novel! I'm glad to hear that you are determined to finish it. IMO the two most important things that a writer must have are PATIENCE and PERSEVERENCE! You must be patient enough because there will be long waits between submissions to get an answer back from agents or publishers. Then if they say no your first time out, or even multiple times after, you must have the perseverence to NEVER GIVE UP.
Most writers make the mistake of equating a rejection letter with their novel being no good.But that is FAR from the truth. Writing is a VERY SUBJECTIVE business--what one person doesn't like the next person may rave about! If you look really closely, most rejection letters contain good advice on how to make your work more marketable. Take that advice and rework your material before sending it out again.
The mistake a lot of authors make is that they think because they finish a ms, it is perfect and if someone suggests they rewrite it, they have a fit and don't take this advice, so they suffer rejection after rejection or give up and self publish. REWRITES are part of the business and if writers can't understand this basic principal they are in the wrong business.
Okay, I've gone on long enough. I hope my advice helped! Good Luck! |
Urban_scribe
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Urban_scribe
Post Number: 495
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 08:59 am: |
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Bookgirl wrote:
Should there be more dialogue than narration in a novel?
Not necessarily. Dialogue is preferred because it shows conflict, reveals character, and lends urgency to the story. Narration can accomplish this, too, but writers tend to dictate (tell) what that conflict is, urgency is, and who the characters are, rather than show this. Dialogue offers a better opportunity to show rather than tell, but, really, if you can show that conflict, reveal your characters, and move along your plot in the narrative - people won't even notice the "lack" of dialogue.
The SHOW (in narration):
Jane's nostrils flared. Her chest heaved while she bit her lips then ripped off her coat, tossing it aside.
The SHOW (in dialogue):
"Can you believe the nerve of that creep? Who the hell does he think he is!" Jane ripped off her coat, tossing it aside.
The TELL:
Jane was angry.
The tell is direct; no second-guessing, no two-ways about it. The show paints images in your mind and stirs your emotions. The show is more subtle, therefore, always wordier than the tell; but, actually, the show is more manipulative than the tell.
I don't know what your reading tastes are, but if you can get your hands on John Irving's A Widow for One Year, you'll see there's very little dialogue in that novel. Yet, he executes the show BEAUTIFULLY in the narrative. The film "The Door in the Floor" is based on that novel. The film sucked, but the book is brilliant. If you read the book, you'll see why the film had that title.
Best wishes with your first novel!
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Bookgirl
Regular Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 124
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 10:00 am: |
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Thank you all! I have gotten so much good information (and encouragement) from this discussion. I have added this dialogue from you guys to my notes.
I'd welcome even more opinions.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 9438
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 12:52 pm: |
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It's been said that writing is a lonely profession. So you have to be good company for yourself, and above all, be true to yourself, - especially when it comes to writing. |
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