I'm It

I'm all late responding to this but here goes. Big shouts to DramaQueen to taggin me wit this. Cause Max lubs the books.

Total # of books I own:

A fofillion. No seriously, I took 3 days to pack my books when I moved. Never mind the books I’ve accumulated since I moved.

Last book I bought:

Damn. I’ve bought a shitload recently. I think it was Symptomatic by Danny Senza. I read Caucaisia and loved it so I bought her newest as well.

Last book I read:

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. I’ve gotten into a lot of Chick Lit of late and I think Jennifer is one of the better writers in the genre. I’m definitely going to hit the movie when it comes out.

Book I am currently reading:

Gotham Diaries by Tonya Lewis Lee & Crystal McCrary Anthony. I read Homecourt Advantage and dug the intrigue, sex and backstabbing so I figured Gotham Diaries would be good summer fluff reading and so far I'm right.

First memory of a book:

Gotta think of this one. I don’t think so much that I was reading a book. I recall reading The New York Times. I remember it because the pages were ginormous and I was sitting on them reading. I’m not even sure if I understood what I was reading. But whatever.

Five books that mean a lot to me: Hmmm, this will take some thought..

The Color Purple by Alice Walker – this was the first book that resonated with me. The visual nature and rich texture of the story that Walker wove has made me a life long fan. I remember reading it when I was 11 after seeing the film and just being blown away.

Are You There God? It’s me Margaret by Judy Blume – Judy Blume hit it right on the head with this one. I remember wondering if Judy somehow accessed my thoughts in someway. She did an awesome job of tapping in to all that angst you have at that age when all of your friends are budding and bleeding and you are in the slow line.

Tar Baby by Toni Morrison – I read this book at different stages in my life and just didn’t get it till I was grown. It’s a testament to the type of writer Morrison is. You can’t half step when it comes to her. I remember being so proud when it all clicked. I felt like I had reached a milestone as a real adult.

Roots by Alex Hailey – I liked to explode after reading Roots for the first time. Hailey’s writing was brilliant. Visual and visceral and beautiful and riveting and all that good stuff. I wanted to kick whitey’s ass after reading it.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X & Alex Hailey – My respect level for him grew tenfold after reading the story of his life. Of all of the Civil Rights Leaders, he was the one I felt was purist in his task. He was a true believer to the nth degree and he was a Man in every sense of the word.

Books I'm looking forward to being consumed:

Babylon Sisters by Pearl Cleage - I've got to agree with DramaQueen on this one. I’ve been a Cleage fan since I read What looks like Crazy on a Clear Day.

Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans - I know I just said that I wasn’t gonna name check this trick in a previous post. I’m like number 5 in a line of my Sorors waiting to read it (cause please believe I was wasn’t paying for it) and seriously, it’s trash reading at it’s lowest form. So sue me, it’s summer and Max loves to read trash in the summer and she names names man! I must note the irony in the way the book is being passed around by women, much in the way she was passed around by men.

Books that are underrated:

Waiting in Vain by Colin Channer – I have to agree again with DQ on this one. I admit that I fronted on the book for a solid year after its release and was an immediate fan after reading it. Channer spins a story as an adept DJ spins a dope groove. His writing is lyrical and visual to the point that you can smell the sea air as he describes it and taste the mangos that his characters are enjoying. He is just phenomenal!

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picult – I hadn’t really heard about this book until a co-worker told me to check it out for a book club he wanted to start in the office. I was completely sucked in by the ill ass storyline and just the way the characters were drawn. I had a visceral reaction to the ending of the book. I was seriously upset and the only reason I didn’t throw the book in anger was because I was on the train when I finished it. Now that’s some good writing.

Your Blues Ain't Like Mine and Brothers & Sisters by Bebe Moore Campbell - Two fine books by Campbell that are a study in race relations between Blacks & whites and everyone in between. She did a fantastic job of showing the effects of racism in it's most overt and covert forms.

Books that are overrated:

The BAP Handbook – I trashed the hell out of this book before and after reading it. With good reason, it turned out. It was a self indulgent, classist, hodge podge of mish mash. Which was supposed to separate the spoiled rich girls from the wannabes. All it did in my opinion was divide up Black Women into bullshit segments. Which we seem to do just fine with out books filled with elitist clap trap.

Anything by Zane – much like the R. Kelly love, I can’t understand the love affair with her books. They are full of contrived story lines with psychobabble thrown in for good measure. She almost always makes herself (disguised as a character) the moral majority in the storyline and her opinions take prominence in every poorly written story. Thumbs down on that bullshit.

Any poetry book written by a non-poet musician – I’m with DQ on this one too. Seriously, if you aren’t Jill Scott who actually was a poet already, put the friggin pen down and give that advance money back. Yeah I’m looking at you Ashanti.

All the self-published “hood” books – Just because you can publish it yourself does not mean it has to be published. It goes back to all these “poets”. Sometimes the book you have inside of you just needs to stay inside. Why should readers be subjected to poorly edited, meandering storylines with crap ass everything? Just put the pen down.

Michael Baisden Anything - From his bullshit ass books to his faux-relationship-guru with-no-credentials radio show having self, he has created a cottage industry unto himself by somehow convincing his gullible followers that he has anything to contribute at all to anything. He sucks moose nuts on a very high level.

So that’s it and damn I’m tired! It’s damn near 3 am and I’m not anywhere near sleepy. I’m a special kind of screwed.

So B, Tash, Brownsavvy and anybody else who feels like mulling this stuff over, consider yourself tagged.

Later……………….