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Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2214
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 - 09:24 pm: | 
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In case you missed it earlier this month, NPR had a great series "Examining African Americans' Connection to the Written Word":
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12574256
Segments in this 10-point series include "Becoming a Writer," "Grappling with Illiteracy," "Black Science Fiction and Fantasy,: and "Black Characters Fill Roles in Children's Books." |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 5153
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 01:35 pm: |
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I listened to that show last night until I got sick and had to shut it off.
Gawd that show sucks |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2215
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 02:02 pm: |
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Was there something specific you did not care for or disagreed with Chris? |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 5155
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 02:45 pm: |
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Yeah. The whole show. The existence of NPR. Only those black viewpoints acceptable to neocons are tolerated on it--just like NPR itself.
NPR is Fox News with jazz and gay hosts. |
Jmho
Regular Poster
Username: Jmho
Post Number: 253
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 03:47 pm: |
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Chrishayden wrote:
NPR is Fox News with jazz and gay hosts.
Interesting description of NPR. Never heard the two outlets compared as such. |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2218
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 08:46 pm: |
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I agree, Jmho. Chris, I do not know what's up with your local 'Lou affiliate of NPR. Round most parts, though, it could hardly be described as "Fox" and "neo con." |
Schakspir
Veteran Poster
Username: Schakspir
Post Number: 1157
Registered: 12-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 09:46 pm: |
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NPR is pretty wack, vanilla-leftie programming from Pacifica Radio, and only seems decent because most everything else on the radio is mindless rubbish or right-wing Wolf Blitzer/G. Gordon Liddy-type horseshit. |
Troy
Veteran Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 792
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 12:58 am: |
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I listen to NPR virtually every day. The NY affilate's programming is quite good.
The coverage of books is decent as well. They did of review of Junot Diaz's first novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao http://tinyurl.com/2nsyae
The reivew said it was perhaps the best first novel he read in the past decade (or soemthing along those lines). The book no matter how well written will sell 4,000 units and be forgotten. The publisher will have no advertising budget or at least not one that extents to promoting this Domican Brother book in the Black community. And everyone will complain why the book does not sell...but I digress
Maybe Schakspir is right that the rest of Radio is so bad, that NPR looks good as a result...
Either way I often choose NPR over the Black hosts during drive time. Though sometimes Michael Basiden does Jam -- anybody that plays the Barkays Holy Ghost on the regular is cool with me. Steve HArvey's "Freedom Fridays" is not bad either. |
Steve_s
Regular Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 291
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 07, 2007 - 12:21 am: |
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It doesn't matter how much they promote it, Troy, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz is not the kind of book that is going to sell in the Black community anyway.
The chief NY Times reviewer, Michiko Kakutani, in praising the book describes it as something like "David Foster Wallace meets Mario Vargas Llosa meets Star Trek and Lord of the Rings." Read much DFW and Vargas Llosa, Troy? I have.
The Vargas Llosa novel she's thinking of is "Feast of the Goat," which depicts the last days of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. I read it.
Anyway, it doesn't matter if it only sells 4,000 copies, it's already a success, it received a signature review in Publishers Weekly, a starred review in Kirkus, the critics are raving about it, and it's #63 in books, #5 in literary and #13 in contemporary fiction at Amazon.com. I'll look forward to reading it because I liked his first book, "Drown."
I'm reading "The Savage Detectives" by Chilean poet and novelist Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003), this year's consensus book-world "discovery." He's Chilean but it's a Mexican novel. He's considered one of the greatest Latin American writers of his generation by other writers. It will be around for a long time, but it's not the kind of novel that is ever going to be a big seller.
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Troy
Veteran Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 803
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 07, 2007 - 11:30 am: |
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Steve_s,
I don’t define success solely on the basis of great reviews. If a lot of people buy and enjoy the book, then I’d call it a success, since the book just came out and is riding the wave of the initial push at launch and some extremely favorable reviews the respectable Amazon rank is no surprise, but lets look again in 3 months.
I'm not sure how you define "Black Community". But it sure sounds like that tired old cliché we used to hear from the publishing establishment: Black people do not read... McMillian proved that to be false.
Now the ignorant refrain is that Black folks only read books with sex and violence. Perhaps Diaz could contribute to proving them wrong again... If more resources were expended to get the word out.
I queried +"Junot Diaz" +"The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao" in Google 399 entries were returned, none by Black or Dominican sites.
After reading the reviews, you have inspired me to promote this Diaz’s work. Not for the small commissions I may earn from selling his books, but because I feel his, critically acclaimed, voice is one that we should be more familiar with. Of course a few advertising dollars from Penguin would make this so much easier. But the book is already out and experience tells me the money allocated for advertising has already been spent.
It does matter, a great deal, if the publisher does not do a lot of promotion and advertising. What is the point of a book getting a praised by Kirkus and PW if the average Black consumer is unaware of the book? The vast majority of Black readers, outside of the publishing industry, has never heard of PW or Kirkus and do not rely upon them as sources for discovering books.
I think the publisher is missing out on revenue by not reaching out more aggressively to the Black audience.
I only learned of the Diaz book from NPR, and I look at books every day. Discovering good books is also the reason I regularly listen to the show. I will most likely read Junot’s book as a result.
Discovering good books is also why I come here: The Savage Detectives , the book you mentioned, sounds like it is a good read, and while I may not get to it myself. It is now on my radar and I can share the information with avid readers looking for something interesting or new to read – the way I will with Diaz’s book.
While I've never read Mario Vargas Llosa meets I have read my share of Star Trek novels -- does that count? ;-).
To buy either of these books please click the links below:
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594489580/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20
The Savage Detectives http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374191484/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20
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Jmho
Regular Poster
Username: Jmho
Post Number: 265
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 01:58 pm: |
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Troy wrote:
Now the ignorant refrain is that Black folks only read books with sex and violence.
Would it be an ignorant, or less ignorant, refrain if black folks read (and purchased) more of those kinds of books than not?
I received the aalbc.com newsletter last week, and followed the link, for the full listing of bestsellers. Then I wanted to see how your list compared, to a listing of those brick and mortar booksellers. So, I checked Essence's listing from the past two months. They are listed below, as well. Not scientific, but I don't this sampling is way off base. Ironically, the non-fiction listings are in the same vein.
AALBC.com's Best Selling Books for July and August 2007
1. Life Doesn't Frighten Meby Maya Angelou, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Illustrator)
2. Forever a Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner
3. Beloved by Toni Morrison
4. Thieves' Paradise by Eric Jerome Dickey
5. A Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner
6. Addicted by Zane
7. ••••• Reloaded by Deja King
8. Caramel Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology Zane (Editor)
9. Let that Be the Reason by Vickie M. Stringer
10. So You Call Yourself a Man by Carl Weber
Essence Bestsellers - July
Fiction — Hardcover
1. Love & Lies by Kimberla Lawson Roby
2. She Ain't the One by Carl Weber and Mary B. Morrison
3. Love Is Never Painless by Zane, Eileen M. Johnson and V. Anthony Rivers
4. Red River by Lalita Tademy
5. Changing Faces by Kimberla Lawson Roby
6. When Somebody Loves You Back by Mary B. Morrison
7. Do You Take This Woman? by RM Johnson
8. I Say a Little Prayer by E. Lynn Harris
9. God Don't Play by Mary Monroe
10. The First Lady by Carl Weber
Fiction — Paperback
1. The Millionaire Mistress by Tiphani
2. The Ex Factor by Tu-Shonda L.Whitaker
3. In Cahootz by Quentin Carter
4. One Love by Bill Holmes
5. Hood Rat by K'wan
6. Eva: First Lady of Sin by Storm
7. The Aftermath by Anna J.
8. The Candy Shop by Kiki Swinson
9. Little Ghetto Girl by Danielle Santiago
10. Hoodwinked by Quentin Carter
Essence Bestsellers - August
Fiction — Hardcover
1. Sleeping With Strangers by Eric Jerome Dickey
2. When Somebody Loves You Back by Mary B. Morrison
3. The First Lady by Carl Weber
4. Love & Lies by Kimberla Lawson Roby
5. Borrow Trouble by Mary Monroe and Victor McGlothin
6. Love is Never Painless by Zane, Eileen M. Johnson and V. Anthony Rivers
7. Red River by Lalita Tademy
8. She Ain't the One by Carl Weber and Mary B. Morrison
9. Killing Johnny Fry by Walter Mosley
10. God Don't Play by Mary Monroe
Fiction — Paperback
1. Forever a Hustler's Wife by Nikki Turner
2. In Cahootz by Quentin Carter
3. Thug Matrimony by Wahida Clark
4. Death Before Dishonor by 50 Cent and Nikki Turner
5. Grindin' by Danielle Santiago
6. Thong on Fire by Noire
7. Deadly Reigns by Teri Woods
8. Tales of the Out & the Gone by Amiri Baraka
9. The Girl With the Golden Shoes by Colin Channer
10. In Firm Pursuit by Pamela Samuels-Young
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