A review by hereistheend
Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim
5.0
If you wonder why censorship exists or why the Nazis burned books, this book is your answer.
"At first glance, reading and writing are solitary acts. They require you to ignore the distractions of screens and conversations with the living to focus on the page. But as anyone who loves reading and writing quickly learnes, both activities allow you to commune with the living and the dead, to listen to the thoughts of those who have come before you and argue, cajole, and sing praise for them in response." -Kaitlyn Greenidge, Books for a Black Girl's Soul
Because books are powerful. Well-Read Black Girl is both an ode and a rallying cry in praise of books- of words and connection and representation. This is your beautiful and honest reminder of how books and narratives and representation can impact a person. It makes me thankful my mama diversified my reading growing up (only just now remembering how many skin colors were in my picture books, which, in itself, is such a huuuge privilege.)
I’m white, and this book also provides some vocabulary to me as a woman, such as Morgan Jerkins writing about Claudia Rankins: “I asked her how she prepares herself to go out into the world. she told me that it’s not that she has to prepare herself for the world; it’s that the world interrupts her.”
Really, I so recommend this book if you a) read or used to read or somehow work with books, including as a parent or teacher or b) need some recommendations for books by and about black women. Here's the truth: You are both. So get this book, and devour it.
"At first glance, reading and writing are solitary acts. They require you to ignore the distractions of screens and conversations with the living to focus on the page. But as anyone who loves reading and writing quickly learnes, both activities allow you to commune with the living and the dead, to listen to the thoughts of those who have come before you and argue, cajole, and sing praise for them in response." -Kaitlyn Greenidge, Books for a Black Girl's Soul
Because books are powerful. Well-Read Black Girl is both an ode and a rallying cry in praise of books- of words and connection and representation. This is your beautiful and honest reminder of how books and narratives and representation can impact a person. It makes me thankful my mama diversified my reading growing up (only just now remembering how many skin colors were in my picture books, which, in itself, is such a huuuge privilege.)
I’m white, and this book also provides some vocabulary to me as a woman, such as Morgan Jerkins writing about Claudia Rankins: “I asked her how she prepares herself to go out into the world. she told me that it’s not that she has to prepare herself for the world; it’s that the world interrupts her.”
Really, I so recommend this book if you a) read or used to read or somehow work with books, including as a parent or teacher or b) need some recommendations for books by and about black women. Here's the truth: You are both. So get this book, and devour it.