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Linda
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Linda
Post Number: 142
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 10:03 am: | 
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Hello All
It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to really hang out with you guys on the board. Even though I was lurking it was a bit much juggling my lifestlye to finish up two novels that will be released in November, running back and forth for research and working my day job. I was just too tired most of the time to comment. However, now I am back and though I have been doing some reading in between all my jobs, I have also been glued to the tv watching the storms lately, leaving little room for much else. But despite the devastation of Katrina's attack and the pending arrival of Rita...is anyone reading anything and if so what are you reading? I would ask on the other boards as well but it seems as if they are tuned into another world of their own...bickering as usual...so lets just keep this in Thumpersville where it is more likely to be appreciated and discussed without the topic switching back and forth and becoming a heated debate of other matters. |
Bimsha
Regular Poster
Username: Bimsha
Post Number: 43
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 11:33 am: |
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I'm reading a few things:
Eden - Olympia Vernon
On Writing - Stephen King
Third Girl from the Left - Martha Southgate |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1463
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 01:23 pm: |
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I'm reading Mumbo Jumbo, the Last Days of Louisiana Red, Slaughterhouse Five, Conan, and my manuscript, "AfroFutuRama". |
Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 124
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 01:38 pm: |
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I'm currently reading two books:
On Beauty -- Zadie Smith
The Icarus Girl -- Helen Oyeyemi
I finished Saturday by Ian McEwan. Fantastic novel and less than 300 pages. The action takes place on a single day -- Feb. 15, 2003 -- the day of a massive anti-war march in London. The main character is a 48-year-old neurosurgeon who awakens before 4:00 am and goes to the window to notice an airliner on fire making its approach to Heathrow. He later experiences terror on a personal level.
The doctor's son is a musician (Branford, Herbie, et al, get name-checked) but McEwan's commentary on blues culture (and not just the music) shows some insight.
But there is a minor character in the novel, a 14-year-old Nigerian girl with a behavioral problem who the neurosurgeon operates on for a brain tumor, who I believe might have been inspired by the main character in Helen Oyeyemi's The Icarus Girl, which was published in the UK in 2004. I can't prove it of course.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2609
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 02:00 pm: |
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I read a glowing review of "On Beauty," Steve. I'll be interested in hearing your take on it.
In keeping with my affinity for metaphysics, I just finished reading a mind-blowing book entitled "Induced After Death Communication" by Allan Botkin. It gave me a whole new perspective on the nature of reality. I'd recommend it to anyone who has lost a loved one. |
Sisg
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Sisg
Post Number: 205
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 02:14 pm: |
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Hello All,
I'm reading "The Accidental Hunter" by Nelson George and "the Company you keep" by Angela Henry. |
Danigur
Newbie Poster
Username: Danigur
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 02:57 pm: |
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I read the Company you Keep when it was self-pubbed and she sent me the arc when Kensington brought it because I guess it was better edited. It seemed the same to me. I write too but I don't catch those grammar mistakes other writers complain about. I just read the book. Although one time I was like if this chick puts one more semi-comma, comma in the book I'm gonna scream. |
Babygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Babygirl
Post Number: 120
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 07:14 pm: |
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I just finished:
Weaving a Family: Untangling Race and Adoption by Barbara Katz Rothman
Just started:
Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye by Michael Eric Dyson
And have these in my waiting to be read pile:
Joplin's Ghost by Tananarive Due
On Beauty by Zadie Smith |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 201
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2005 - 10:28 pm: |
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Im reading "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" Mildred Taylor
I plan to read by end of the month:
"Joplin's Ghost" Tananarive Due
"Caught In The Mox" Candice Dow
"Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This" Mary B Morrison
"Badness" Nane Quartay
"MOB" Roy Glenn
"Azucar Moreno" Shelly Halima
"72 Hour Hold" BeBe Moore Campbell
"Voodoo Season" Jewell Parker Rhodes
"Video Cowboys"Yolanda Joe
"Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life" Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston
LiLi |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 232
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 11:32 am: |
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I'm reading Lemon City by Elaine Meryl Brown. It's a cute little book with a typical story line but well written and funny. I'm enjoying it.
Next up is Segu by Maryse Conde. Unless I make a trip to the library.
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Shevi
Newbie Poster
Username: Shevi
Post Number: 21
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 12:15 pm: |
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Finishing up Echoes of a Distant Summer by Guy Johnson. Next is In Sheep's Clothing by Mary Monroe.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2617
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 12:55 pm: |
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Damn! You folks make me feel so guilty. Guess I'll go to the library and do some serious browsing. I'm surprised no one has Terry MacMillan's latest on their reading list. Also Walter Mosely has a new Easy Rawlin book out. Since I've become such a non-fiction fan, I'm really going to try and get a hold of "Confessions of a Video Vixen" a tell-all book presumably about the life and times of a booty shaking back-up dancer who made a living appearing in Rap videos. |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 233
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 04:26 pm: |
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That's ok Cynique. We don't expect you old folks to keep up with us - lol. |
Babygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Babygirl
Post Number: 121
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 05:34 pm: |
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Don't waste your time (or your money) on Video Vixen, Cynique! Other than dropping the names of the many famous and not so famous penises she supposedly "superheaded", it was truly a total waste of ink and paper. The writing was horrific, her story was way past old (was a whore - ain't a whore no more), and the only new spin is she's now prostituting her story and not her body. It was too pathetic. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2618
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 05:34 pm: |
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Thanks, Crystal. I knew I could depend on you to respect your elders. heh-heh. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2619
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 - 05:38 pm: |
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Thanks for that instant review, Babygirl. Nuff said. |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 202
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 24, 2005 - 12:01 pm: |
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Cynique writes:Damn! You folks make me feel so guilty. Guess I'll go to the library and do some serious browsing. I'm surprised no one has Terry MacMillan's latest on their reading list.
LiLi: I read it back in June. I rated it a 5. It's a great look at a mature character who deals with life. I like the way Terry sprinkles pop culture into her work to make it "real". |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 203
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 24, 2005 - 12:03 pm: |
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Crystal writes ::as I glare::That's ok Cynique. We don't expect you old folks to keep up with us - lol.
LiLi...Ummmmmm Im an old folk ::blank stare::
LOL |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 204
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 24, 2005 - 12:06 pm: |
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To Crystal..I forgot to mention Lemon City is "riding around in my car" and I pick it up when bored..you know like if Im stuck in traffic or such. It is a good enough read that I can pick up where I left off and remember what I read previously. I like that in a book. I hate to have to start a book from the beginning if I put it down..grrrrrr |
Linda
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Linda
Post Number: 143
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 24, 2005 - 06:54 pm: |
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Wow...what a response. They say just ask and you shall receive. Now where's that pen and pad.... |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2624
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 25, 2005 - 12:23 am: |
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Glad it finally occurred to you, Linda, that no matter what the category, when you stimulate people you get a response. |
Linda
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Linda
Post Number: 144
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 25, 2005 - 12:10 pm: |
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Cynique
You are sooooo right. Stimulation is key. |
Emanuel
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 97
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 25, 2005 - 04:15 pm: |
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Unfortunately, I have been reading less and less since I stopped reviewing (no more freebies) and since I've been working hard on getting my novel "Where is the Love?" out there. However, I borrowed business book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins and started it this weekend. So far, so good. |
Soul_sister
Regular Poster
Username: Soul_sister
Post Number: 34
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 - 11:04 am: |
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Hey All,
This has been an appetizing walk through the minds of literate people - so many titles - so little time -- between working and writing.
I have just finished:
Assassins Touch by Laura Rowland - great murder in the age of samuri Japan
My Face Is Black Tis True - Mary Frances Berry biography of Callie House, the first proponent for ex-slave reparations -- reviewed it - - great work
Now reading Dancing in the Dark by Carl Phillip - fictional biography about Bert Williams - so far so good
and trying to start again Pride of Carthage - the other opinions reawakened my enthusiasm -- as a bus reader this one is heavy in more ways than one - smile
Peace
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2630
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 - 02:33 pm: |
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I just read a review of "Dancing in the Dark", Soul Sister, and I'll be starting it soon, since it's moreorless non-fiction, and Baby Girl rescued me from wasting my time on "Video Vixens." Bert Williams has to be one of the more intriguing characters in the annals of black entertainers. He's almost been relegated to obscurity but he was once a big star. I remember hearing my parents talking about him. As a young woman, my mother used to be an elevator operater at a Vaudville theater in Chicago, and she met him once. |
Soul_sister
Regular Poster
Username: Soul_sister
Post Number: 35
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 - 04:41 pm: |
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Cynique
that is such a great connection and story - there needs to be a study of elevator operators and the stories they heard, Sidebar in Invisible Man - there is a tale about the hostile treatment a man operator experienced - when retriving a coin from the elevator floor -- I think it was Invisible Man
Nevertheless, I have always loved Bert Williams and believed his talent would have been esteemed if "race" weren't an issue -- I would love to compare thoughts on this title when your finished
peace |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 234
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 - 07:47 pm: |
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Lib2: I'm an old folk too haha! I was just messing w/Cynique.
Also re: Lemon City - that's funny 'cause I kept it in my bus bag because it was so light. Finally finished it though.
Soul_Sister - I'm a bus reader too and kept Pride at home because of the weight.
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Anita
Regular Poster
Username: Anita
Post Number: 32
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 - 08:24 pm: |
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Mad Girls In Love-Michael Lee West
Bliss-Danyel Smith
Third Girl From the Left-Martha Southgate (Loved this one!)
Trophy House-Anne Bernays
26a-Diana Evans
Write Great Fiction:Description and Setting-Ron Rozelle
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2633
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 26, 2005 - 11:46 pm: |
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OK, Soul Sister. I'll get back to ya.
All is forgiven, Crystal. And shall we score another rib-tickler for Li-Li! |
Renata
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 94
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - 03:40 pm: |
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No time to read much now with my infant son in tow, except books on home schooling. |
Emanuel
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 98
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 08:34 am: |
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I just read for review "Successful Self Publishing" by a Cleveland homegirl M. Lavora Perry. It's pretty informative. You can find my review on Amazon.com (and later on the Midwest Book Review site). |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 212
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 10:32 pm: |
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Clearly I didnt read the books on my list in Sept so I hope to read in Oct:
"Joplin's Ghost" Tananarive Due
"Caught In The Mox" Candice Dow
"Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This" Mary B Morrison
"Badness" Nane Quartay
"MOB" Roy Glenn
"Azucar Moreno" Shelly Halima
"72 Hour Hold" BeBe Moore Campbell
"Voodoo Season" Jewell Parker Rhodes
"Video Cowboys"Yolanda Joe
"Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life" Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston
"I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing" Maya
LiLi |
Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 126
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 01, 2005 - 11:05 pm: |
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I finished "The Icarus Girl" by Helen Oyeyemi, a young British-based author born in Nigeria who completed this novel while still in high school. It's a kind of "Exorcist-like" horror story with an 8-year-old main character and it involves Yoruba myth about twins. It's similar in that way to Esi Edugyan's "The Second Life of Samuel Tyne" another "gothic" story with an African basis which also has twins, although Ms. Edugyan is a more mature writer. I can't judge this book unfavorably because the author is so obviously talented.
The NY Times review is very positive:
"Deserving of all its praise, this is a masterly first novel -- and a nightmarish story that will haunt Oyeyemi's readers for months to come."
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E1DD143DF934A25754C0A9639C8B6 3
Here's an audio interview with the author and a link to the first chapter:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4813330 |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 214
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 07, 2005 - 09:45 am: |
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Im reading "Freshwater Road" Denise Nicholas which is pretty good so far.
LiLi |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 235
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 07, 2005 - 12:00 pm: |
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In all this heat I’m taking a winter wonderland vacation – just finished Blow Out by Catherine Coulter. This is the first book of hers I’ve read. Apparently she has several FBI thrillers and this is one. It’s one of those mysteries where you kinda know who and why but you finish it just to see how the author brings it together with the usual romance and super bad, super smart and super fine law enforcement types with a crazy bad guy. There was a sub-story too but I didn’t see the point in it. It’s a quick page turner but I doubt if I’ll read any more.
Now I’m reading a Martha Washington biography by Patricia Brady. Not school bookish at all and it’s keeping my attention. I find it interesting that although she must have known the importance of her husband to history she choose to burn all their personal correspondence when he died to preserve their privacy.
Hope it cools off soon!
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Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 130
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 09:28 pm: |
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She's gotta be better than Ann Coulter, right? Have you heard of "Big If" by Mark Costello? It's about a Secret Service detail guarding the President in NH. The chief-of-detail is an African American woman. It's pretty cool and has some great characters, but it would be classified as a literary novel.
Crystal, I'm more than half finished with Q & A by Vikas Swarup. Excellent book. I'll let you know when I finish, probably in a couple of days.
Also halfway through Dancing in the Dark and have almost finished Howards End by E.M. Forster.
Last year I read Henry Wiencek's "An Imperfect God" about George Washington. It gets into Martha's illegitimate half-brother Jacky Custis's inheritance from her father. |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 224
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 11:09 pm: |
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Im reading Joplin's Ghost by Tananarive Due. I LIKE it
LiLi |
Babygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Babygirl
Post Number: 127
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - 11:50 am: |
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LiLi,
I just finished Joplin's Ghost and it was an EXCELLANT read. I really enjoyed it. |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 236
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - 05:28 pm: |
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Hey Steve – glad you’re enjoying Q&A.
In the Martha Washington book I read Jacky Custis is the illegitimate brother of Martha’s first husband Daniel Custis. Jacky’s mother was a slave belonging to Daniel’s father. The story goes that Daniel’s father was a very unhappy man most of his life and the only person he treated kindly was Jacky, whom he freed. He didn’t think Martha was good enough for Daniel and refused to let them marry. He even made a will that left everything to Jacky if Daniel married Martha. Martha finally got around the father and he agreed to the wedding but he still left some land and slaves to Jacky, including Jacky’s own mother.
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Emanuel
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 100
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:02 pm: |
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I'm waiting on the delivery of these 2 books:
"Love My Rifle More Than You" by Kayla Williams about how women are viewed sexually in the military.
"Night Draws Near" by Anthony Shadid-a reporter's perspective of the war in Iraq.
(I'm ex-military.)
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Mike_e
Newbie Poster
Username: Mike_e
Post Number: 13
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 09:47 am: |
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Currently reading Percival Everett's latest novel Wounded; so far very good. Recently finished Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley. |
Sisg
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Sisg
Post Number: 211
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 02:45 pm: |
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I've just finished up:
"Caught In the Mix" by Candice Dow. (this was a cute book, even though i couldn't stand the character Devin, but loved the female character, Clark)
"The Company You Keep" by Angela Henry. ( i liked this lighthearted mystery. It was an enjoyable, light read with a few twists and turns to keep you on your toes.)
What i'm reading now : DarkCorner by Brandon Massey. |
Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 238
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 03:30 pm: |
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Sisgal - ain't those some scary critters in Dark Corner? I had to put it down for a while when I was reading it - those things kinda got to me.
I'll be glad when your book is released. It sounds good!
Hey, go over to the "Culture" board and answer my question. :-)
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 2768
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 03:35 pm: |
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Finally finished "Dancing in the Dark." Very well-written but since it was a fictionalized biography of Bert Williams, the tendency is to wonder how much is truth and how much is fiction. In any case, Bert Williams, the famous black-faced minstrel man who enjoyed public acclaim and financial success, was in private, a tortured man who had, in essence, sold his soul to the devil for the oppotunity to make white folks laugh. He was the embodiment of both the smiling and crying theatrical masks. |
Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 132
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 04:01 pm: |
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Mike E,
I also recently read "Wounded," Percival Everett's latest, which I would describe as a suspense novel based on a hate crime, set in Wyoming.
I thought it was a very enjoyable read which I would recommend to anyone. My only comment would be that at barely 200 pages, it could have been just a tad longer! |
Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 133
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 04:17 pm: |
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Dear Crystal, I thought "Q & A" was a terrific book, possibly one of the best Indian novels I've ever read, and one that I would certainly have passed over if not for your your interesting description. You see, I have at least 5 Indian novels which I know are good, which I haven't gotten around to reading.
So thanks again for the recommendation and I'll get back to you about the Jacky "Black Jack" Custis inheritance as soon as I've had a chance to recheck the details.
Thanks!
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Crystal
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 241
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 05:33 pm: |
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Steve - glad you liked it. My favorite "story" was the Australian family - that was funny!
How about sharing your list of Indian novels? |
Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 135
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 02:57 am: |
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Crystal, Yeah, I couldn't believe that he titled a chapter "How to Speak Australian." LOL!
Honestly, I really haven't read enough Indain lit to have a list of favorites. For traditional Indian storytelling I really loved "A River Sutra" by Gita Mehta, an Indian "Canterbury Tales" perhaps? It's a novel of interconnected stories told by pilgrims to a holy river in India, with the common theme of love in all its varieties -- romantic, spiritual, filial, etc. It's the first Indian novel which really grabbed me.
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Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 136
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 01:57 pm: |
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Crystal wrote: In the Martha Washington book I read Jacky Custis is the illegitimate brother of Martha's first husband Daniel Custis. Jacky's mother was a slave belonging to Daniel's father. The story goes that Daniel's father was a very unhappy man most of his life and the only person he treated kindly was Jacky, whom he freed. He didn�t think Martha was good enough for Daniel and refused to let them marry. He even made a will that left everything to Jacky if Daniel married Martha. Martha finally got around the father and he agreed to the wedding but he still left some land and slaves to Jacky, including Jacky�s own mother.
Crystal, I've just skimmed the chapter about Martha entitled "The Widow Custis," in Henry Wiencek's book about GW and slavery. I had forgotten the details and I think the version you present matches the one in Wiencek. John Custis preferred Jacky, his mixed-race child who he eventually freed, to his other son, Daniel Parke Custis, who, the author speculates, he might have viewed more as a "Parke," having the traits of his late wife. The father considered Martha a gold digger and was furious when he learned of Daniel's secret engagement to her and threatened to disinherit Daniel in favor of Jacky. What softened the father to their marriage was the "gift" of a horse, bridle, and saddle, presented to Jacky by a negotiator/lawyer claiming to represent Daniel (although the author believes it's more likely that Martha was behind it). So with this ostensible show of brotherly affection, John Custis agreed to the marriage.
They married 6 months after John Custis's death and Daniel was required to look after his half-brother until he turned 17. The following year, 1751, Jacky, then 12 years old, died suddenly (the symptoms described at the time probably indicate meningitis rather than foul play). However, it was stipulated in the father's will that in the event of Jacky's death, the 266 acre parcel of land he had been given would go to a white man named Kendall. And so Daniel went to court claiming that Jacky had never been freed, that the manumission was illegal on a technicality, etc. He lost in court and had to buy back the land from Kendall.
Wiencek provides a lengthy analysis of the incident. What I was remembering was the fact that the preeminent George Washington biographer, Douglas Southall Freeman, presents John Custis as something of a "lunatic" for leaving an inheritance to his son by a black woman, as if it proved mental incompetence, rather than love for the boy. And Wiencek adds that Freeman's interpretation was accepted at face value and repeated by subsequent George Washington biographers. Anyway, he also states that the whole affair paints Martha in a somewhat disreputable light.
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Donnymichael
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Username: Donnymichael
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-2005
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005 - 06:33 am: |
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I read A Rage in Chicago twice I'm giving it five stars because it's an excellent story. It is thought provoking and the authors address racism and sexism in a profound manner. Most of all the novel is a true work of art where the publisher allowed the authors to address racial and sexual discrimination in a true light and where they didn't pull any punches in depicting the oppressive nature of the disseration committee that acted like Greek gods. As a brother I appreciate that these two authors had balance in their novel. In other words they did not spend their time bashing black men in their novel. Some authors who've had bad experiences personally with black men translate that negative experience in their writing. I loved the character Mariah Chavis who was an awesome black woman who clearly understood the struggle of African Americans and the Black man. Those Sunday Brunches she hosted gave the reader more insight of the struggles Black students go through. Emanuel Knight was a strong brother that I could relate to. He was a fighter, very intelligent with great insight and knew how to plan a great strategy against his foes. Eman had backbone and was solid as a rock. I really enjoyed how he broke down the politics of the disserttion committees. |
Crystal
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Username: Crystal
Post Number: 242
Registered: 01-2004
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 17, 2005 - 01:19 pm: |
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Steve: in the book I read John Custis also was considered "off", mainly because he was just so mean to everybody, especially Daniel. He and his wife [whose name I don't recall] were infamous in town because of the knock down, drag out fights they constantly had. The neighbors complained but he was the rich man in town so nothing was done.
In his will George Washington freed his personal slaves. However, this caused a problem since most of the slaves at Mount Vernon belonged to Martha and her family and through the years there had been intermarriages between the two groups so the effect of George’s action was that a husband had been freed but his wife and children were still slaves, etc. Martha’s slaves were property of the Custis family and she could not free them even if she wanted to, which she didn’t.
The book describes how upset and confused Martha was when her personal maid escaped from the Washington’s while in Philadelphia. She just couldn’t understand why the woman would run since she was treated kindly and wasn’t worked hard. And the day before they left Philadelphia for Mount Vernon after Washington’s final term in office their long time family cook escaped and again Martha just couldn’t understand why. They made a point to say that Martha and George never agreed on the subject of slavery.
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Steve_s
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Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 140
Registered: 04-2004
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 01:46 pm: |
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I really enjoyed "The Professor's Daughter" by Emily Raboteau, which I first heard about on this board is yet another great novel by a member of the highly creative under-30 generation! I can't do it justice in a few sentences, but the main character and her brother are children of an interracial marriage; the father, a Princeton professor, has a secret in his past. The other professor, Lester Wright, whose Ethiopian wife is the "White Buffalo Woman," seems suspiciosly like Cornel West! The main character Emma's story based on the life of South African novelist, Bessie Head, has me interested in that author's work. |
Steve_s
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 141
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 18, 2005 - 02:28 pm: |
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Crystal, I looked up the Patricia Brady biography of Martha Washington on Amazon.com. Sounds like it covers some of the same ground as the George Washington biography I read (An Imperfect God by Henry Wiencek), including the story of Martha's escaped cook and servant Ona Judge.
Some related nonfiction books published this year (which I haven't read) include " The First Emancipator," Andrew Levy's biography of Robert Carter (George Washington's neighbor who freed his slaves), "Israel on the Appomattox" by Melvin Patrick Ely.
Oh, the book about Bombay I mentioned (Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta) is now out in paperback. I've been plugging away at it in between novels and I've now read 200 of 545 pages. It describes the history of a lot of situations that Vikas Swarup fictionalizes in "Q & A": the corruption, ethnic violence, horrific slum conditions, and even the train robberies. Although I haven't gotten that far, there's a lot of attention given to the Bollywood film industry (where the author has worked as a screenwriter).
http://www.suketumehta.com/ |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 229
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 11:04 am: |
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Donnymichael writes: I loved the character Mariah Chavis who was an awesome black woman who clearly understood the struggle of African Americans and the Black man. Those Sunday Brunches she hosted gave the reader more insight of the struggles Black students go through.
LiLi: you got my attention with this and I plan to read. Sounds like me ::big grin:: Thanks
Linda Chavis |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 230
Registered: 09-2004
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 11:09 am: |
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Babygirl writes:LiLi,
I just finished Joplin's Ghost and it was an EXCELLANT read. I really enjoyed it.
LiLi:Whew..What BabyGirl said !!!!! Due put her "foot" in this one LOL |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 231
Registered: 09-2004
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 11:15 am: |
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What I read from my list posted Oct 1. :
"Joplin's Ghost" Tananarive Due
"Caught In The Mix" Candice Dow
"Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This" Mary B Morrison
"Azucar Moreno" Shelly Halima
"72 Hour Hold" BeBe Moore Campbell
"Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life" Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston
"I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing" Maya
Also read "Freshwater Road" Denise Nicholas, "Ice Cream For Freaks" DeJon(dont ask),"Afri-Bets" an excellent workbook for children by Jesse Sharpe and "Dontay's Poetry Playground" also for children.
LiLi |
Libralind2
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 232
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 11:16 am: |
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Ooops the author of Dontay's Poetry Playground is Evelyn D Hall
LiLi |
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