Books, NonFiction

Well-Read Black Girl

 

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Well-Read Black Girl | Black Dress | Sweater | Hat | Boots | Socks

Read Yes
Length 272
Quick Review Glory Edim is the amazing woman behind the Instagram @wellreadblackgirl. I have been obsessively following her since I started my blog. Her book is a testament to the importance of books.

Well-Read Black Girl is a book of essays about reading journeys by amazing black women from a variety of backgrounds compiled by Glory Edim, the creator of @wellreadblackgirl. It is beautiful. Literature is white-centric. As a girl, I read books and new they were about girls who looked like me. To be honest, I didn’t really read books with people who don’t look like me as the main characters until I was in high school. There aren’t that many of them. For a huge swath of the population, they don’t see themselves in the pages they read.

The authors of the essays talk about finding their reflection in the books they read within the pages of Well-Read Black Girl. The books they talk about are meant for the world, but have unique meanings to each woman. They searched for themselves in books like we all do. For them, it was harder because literature rarely tells their story. These are the essays about the books that changed them. We all have that book, I think.

I honestly don’t want to go into too much depth about the book because it’s so fabulous. You should take the time to read it. The essays aren’t long, so you can enjoy them with a busy schedule. I will be returning to the book often because it’s inspiring.

I truly loved reading this. There were names I knew and names I am not familiar with, but I’m going to try and broaden my horizons more. Several books and authors are mentioned in several essays. The fact this is so prevalent goes to show how few options there are for and about women of color. In fact, the books the essays discuss are the same books that touched me deeply.

My favorite thing in Well-Read Black Girl are the book recommendations. There are several lists of books for and about black women throughout. It also compiles all the books mentioned throughout the pages. There are so many good books mentioned and several I still need to read.

I can’t recommend this book enough!

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Memorable Quotes
“I suddenly understood that her story was part of the larger story of Black womanhood and survival.”
“We are not looking for anyone else to give us validation; because we have one another.”
“Mom raised us more like cactuses, rather than orchids.” Gabourey Sidibe

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Title: Well-Read Black Girl; Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves
Author: Glory Edim
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9770525619772

Books, Reading Lists, Travel Guides

Packing List

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A River of Stars | The Silence of the Girls | Brief Answers to the Big Questions  | Torch Song Trilogy | Age of Innocence | Him Her Him Again the End of Him | Miss D & Me | Well-Read Black Girl | Pajamas | Throw Blanket || Luggage

I packed a suitcase full of books for my trip this month. Alex, my frequent partner in crime, is deploying next month. Before he leaves, I flew to North Carolina on Saturday. We spent the night on base; then, we road tripped to his parents’ homes in Minnesota. A mere 19 hours in the car. We’re actually pretty used to it. We’ll be spending a week and a half together before I go home to Houston. We’ll see how many books I read in that time span. I am travelling prepared, though!

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Miss D & Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis
by Kathryn Seremak with Danelle Morton
I’m looking forward to this one because I am a huge Bette Davis fan, and I love her classic movies! Such a talent.

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves
from Glory Edim
I follow @wellreadblackgirl on Instagram. Glory is beyond inspirational. When I learned of this book, I knew I NEEDED to read it! So it’s on the top of my list right now.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions
by Stephen Hawking
I feel like this speaks for itself. I’m always looking for books to challenge me. Stephen Hawking will for sure do that. I know very little about his realm of study.

Torch Song Trilogy: Plays
by Harvey Fierstein
I haven’t read a play in a long, long time, so I’m excited to dive in.

The Silence of the Girls
by Pat Barker
I haven’t read much historical fiction this year. I’m a tough critic, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one in particular.

Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton
This is one of my favorite books. It’s been years since I have read it, and I want to revisit.

Him Her Him Again the End of Him
by Patricia Marx
I’m going to be completely honest… I bought this solely because the spine has houndstooth on it, and I have been obsessed with that pattern for ever.

A River of Stars
by Vanessa Hua
I don’t know much about this book, but I do love the cover a lot! It’s so bright!

Pajamas
from Target
I love pajamas, but I honestly don’t wear them that often. I mostly bum around in oversized t-shirts, which is totally fine when I’m at home or with Alex. But I’ll be spending time around his parents. I love these pajamas; they are literally the softest thing ever!

Brown Hat
from Amazon
I think everyone needs a good brown, felt hat for the fall season… especially up North!


Yellow Faux Mohair Plaid Throw
from Target
I bought this throw blanket on a whim. I’m so glad I did. It was so necessary on the plane!!! It fit perfectly in my bag, but it is also incredibly soft and warm. You need it! Ok, I “needed” it.

Samsonite 20” Centric Spinner
I bought new luggage for my trip because it had been a decade. I did a bunch of research, and I really like this set of luggage. This carry on is perfect and lightweight. It really only carried my books on this trip, though!

I’m off to bed! It’s been a long few days of travel, travel, travel! I need some sleep before I get to work again bright and early tomorrow morning, so I can have some fun in the afternoon!

Bisous!
RaeAnna

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Shop Book Depository
Miss D & Me || Well-Read Black Girl || A River of Stars ||
Brief Answers to the Big Questions || Torch Song Trilogy || The Silence of the Girls ||
Age of Innocence || Him Her Him Again the End of Him