This post should have been done days ago, but c'est la vie.  Without further ado...

I've read As I Lay Dying for a banned books challenge I wrote about here. Why has this Faulkner classic made it to the infamous banned/challenged book list? Banned-Books.com states: "In 1986, Graves County, Kentucky, the school board banned this book about a poor white family in the midst of crisis, from its high school English reading list because of 7 passages which made reference to God or abortion and used curse words such as "bastard," "goddam," and "son of a bitch." None of the board members had actually read the book."

Of course, this sounds almost absurd in 2009, but in 1932 when it was originally published, this was seen as gravely offensive. Apparently it was in 1986 as well, at least to one school.

This novel about a poor white southern family going through great lengths to bury their matriarch, Addie Bundren, was filled with so much pathos. The patriarch, Anse, wants to honor his wife's wishes to be buried in another town other than their own and get some new teeth. Their daughter, Dewey Dell, has gotten herself in "trouble" and spends much of the novel trying to find a pharmacist to help her get out of it. The four sons, Vardaman, Cash, Jewel, and Darl have a host of issues. Vardaman could be described as a simpleton and doesn't cope well with his mother's death. Cash is a bit passive and the constructor of his mother's coffin. Darl goes insane. And Jewel is the illegitimate son of Addie Bundren and a priest.

As the Classics often are hit or miss, this one was a near miss for me. I still can't quite put my finger on it. I think it's that I prefer livelier language, but that wouldn't have made sense in this novel. Hence the reason I say near miss. I do not like Faulkner's approach to dialect. Though he was a southerner, as am I, he did not seem to command white southerners dialect. And I know it varies from state to state and even from different corners of a state. On the positive, his employment of stream of consciousness was effortless. He also did well with emotional nuances which are most notable in the chapters where Dewey Dell speaks. She is actually vocal so sparsely that he relies on her subtle gestures to parlay emotion and it was effective. Overall, I think this is one of those books everyone should check out for themselves. And to stick it to those past or present who think it should be banned.

So,  J.T. of bibliofreakblog is having a sweet giveaway in celebration of Book Blogger Appreciation Week. He's got some neat prize packs he put together so, you should head on over to enter. But, the Shakespeare insult buttons are MINE! :)

The plan is simple: read at least one book from each African country relative by author and/ or setting. This is a perpetual challenge. For a comprehensive list of the countries, click here. That is also where I'll be keeping track of this challenge. If anyone would like to join me, just leave a comment on this post and I'll add your link to my challenge page as a participant. If you'd like to do a variation of this challenge, perhaps committing to a certain number of countries, this is great also and I'll still include your link.

Happy Reading!

I was just reading this article on the NY times site. It's regarding the current list of top 10 hardcover fiction bestsellers for the week. The columnist notes that on January 31, 1993, 8 of the 10 current authors were on the list and then asks: "...and Terry McMillan, where are you?" Yes, where is Terry McMillan?

We know that there's been some unfortunate but, seemingly inevitable drama to unfold in her personal life over the last few years. By inevitable, I'm referring to her celebrity status and how they are guaranteed some highly publicized drama just because they're celebrities. Anyway, McMillan's always been one of my favorite authors simply because her stories and characters are so accessible. She's the perfect balance in works by Black authors as she levels neatly between urban street fiction and literary fiction. She gives solid writing without being vulgar or needing to take serious notes on the text.

I remember the first gift my now husband gave me. It included a bottle of Santa Margherita pinot grigio and a copy McMillan's just released A Day late And A Dollar Short. Now you all know why I married The Mr. *wink* And going further back, I can remember freshmen year in college being so engrossed in Disappearing Act that I was reading as i walked to and from classes. Seriously, I wasn't paying attention to nearly walking into a few walls.

So, I checked her website and no news of any upcoming books. I hope Terry hasn't closed that chapter of her life because i do think there are still many fans waiting patiently for her  next book with an awesome female protagonist who goes on a journey to discover self. Terry we can never have enough of those stories; women always need sources of empowerment. And btw Ms. McMillan, if you happen to stumble across this humble post, please feel free to comment.

So, it's about 1:30 am and I just accidentally deleted my freakin' blog! Yes, i'm effin dying inside just a little. No retrieval. I did manage to copy from another screen some of my posts. Of course, all of my wonderful comments are gone. So, please don't think I deleted them. I cannot believe this!!!!! Anyway, bare with me as I get my place back in order. UGH!!!

Update: It's almost 4:30 am and I have copied and pasted all but one post- sans comments. *tears*  There was one other post on another page that I couldn't access because I needed to republish my website. Thank goodness I had the original one up in another tab while I was editing. How did I do this? Trying to add a new page and it wasn't cooperating, so I deleted it and I guess I hit delete and yes one too many times. Lucy would totally call me a blockhead right now. I'll be over this in a day or two.

Update #2: It's now 2:17 pm Tuesday, Sept. 8th and I just finished moving over comments from the old blog page. How did I do this? Weebly restored my old blog page today. So, instead  of moving posts and comments around, I just copied and pasted the old comments onto the new blog page. This is why some older comments will look kinda funky. I made sure I included the original timestamps, though they were all reposted with today's date. It took about an hour, but I'm glad peace is restored to my little nook.

Lisa at Book Blab has bestowed upon me the Lemonade Award. So sweet, thanks Lisa!

The Lemonade Award is a feel good award that shows great attitude or gratitude. Here are the rules for accepting this award:

- Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post.
-Link your nominees within your post.
-Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
-Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

I'm passing it on to:
Truessence at For the Love of Books
Jenny at Take Me Away
Nikola at Nikola's Book Blog

My other award comes from Sarbear of My Life Is An Effing Fairy Tale. Thanks girlie!
I'm still new to book blogging and haven't made many friends yet, so on that note, I'm sharing the love with Tea of Reading Play and Susan at Black Eyed Susans.

Paul Beatty has written a really scathing and hilarious tale about a Black guy, who goes by DJ Darky, on his journey of creating the perfect beat. The most significant part of this journey involves him going to Berlin to get validation from his musical hero, jazz musician Charles Stone, who he and his friends- The Beard Scratchers- have affectionately dubbed "The Schwa". This novel presents ideas of race, culture, and music with language that's lyrical and cheeky. From the opening page, DJ Darky declares that Blackness is over and while reflecting on years of tanning says: "My complexion has darkened somewhat; it's still a nice nonthreatening sitcom Negro brown, but now there's a pomegranate-purple undertone that in certain light gives me a more villainous sheen." Brilliant!

I was laughing out loud from just the first few pages. This is rare that a book invokes emotion in me that's evident. This has to be my favorite book thus far for the year. That this book's focal point is music and the level of music snobbery by the host of such thoughtful characters was so on point for me as I can be quite a music snob. Slumberland is like your favorite movie from which you love to quote every other line. Yes, this book has too many lines I want to quote. I'm glad I held on to Beatty's White Boy Shuffle even though I couldn't get into it on my first attempt many years ago. I think I have more appreciative eyes towards his writing now.