BrownGirl Speaks

Post read-a-thon update
Thanks to the ladies who participated. I hope everyone enjoyed what they got a chance to read today. I finished two books (His Own Where by June Jordan and No Sweetness Here by Ama Ata Aidoo) and I started a third (Color Blind by Precious Williams). I have selected two winners for a book of their choice from The Book Depository valued up to $15.

Congrats Beverly and Goddesspt2!!

Welcome to the 12 hour read-a-thon and if you're joining for the first time, welcome to the challenge. The only rule is that books must geographically reflect the diaspora meaning authors should be from North America, South America, Africa, and the Caribbean. The diaspora refers to the dispersal of people of African descent as a result of the slave trade.

This mini-read-a-thon is a way for those new and established challenge participants to catch up on the amount of reads to which we've committed. I've surpassed my commitment but haven't been geographically diverse as much as I planned.

As promised, I'm giving away a prize. Actually, I'm going to be really generous and give away two. I'll select two participants to win their choice of book (valued up to $15) from The Book Depository. This makes it open worldwide. And I hope the choices are from the diaspora (*wink*). What do you have to do? Just come by here updating us on what you're reading. The more you comment, substantially that is, the more chances you have to win. When I say substantial, I mean comment thoughtfully on what you're reading or what someone else is reading. Please no frivolous random comments just to get the swag. :)

Don't forget we're also on Twitter and the hashtag is #afrodiaspora.

So, let's get into some comfortable spots and enjoy African diasporic literature today.

For those participating in the African Diaspora Reading Challenge, this is where you can link to your second quarter (April-June) reviews. If you don't have a blog, you can add reviews to LibraryThing as it permalinks each member's review. This is how we'll format links: enter link title as your blog name (book title), i.e. BrownGirl BookSpeak (The Wife of His Youth).

Challenge Sign Up
Book Suggestions
First Quarter Reviews
My Reviews

Up From Slavery is Washington's autobiography chronicling his life from his childhood spent in slavery in Virginia to his being the famed orator and driving force of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Unsure of the year of his birth, Washington always had a strong desire to improve his life through education. He struggled to put himself through Hampton Institute where he cultivated a stern belief in hygiene, agriculture, and trade skills.   Booker T. Washington's brilliance is easily displayed in his idea that the institution of slavery harmed both slaves and slave owners' families. Labor was forced upon one group while the other had little to no training in trades altogether and that lack of self sufficiency became most evident during Reconstruction. This also fueled his desire to have the students of Tuskegee educated in agriculture and trades like brick making with as much emphasis as traditional school subjects. This was so much a focus that the first students, literally, helped to build the school brick by brick. This was also due to very little funding which eventually changed once much wealthier admirers took notice of Washington's work with southern Blacks. He was an unshaken, organized, and disciplined man who wholeheartedly believed in each person's need to be competent in some trade and be the best one could possibly at it. Today, as we try to climb out of this economic depression and see our fellow man and woman in dire need in Haiti, we can still take heed to his words of wisdom delivered in his famous Atlanta Exposition Address: Cast down your buckets where you are. Do what you can- with full effort - with what and who you have around you.

Challenges:
African Diaspora
Black Classics
POC Reading

Religious freedom should be about people freely practicing the spiritual belief of their choice or none at all without persecution and without detriment to others. Just as those who are harmed or even killed because of their faith are not free in their religion, those who do the harming and killing in the name of some belief are not free in theirs. Those with religious freedom will be able to nurture their spirituality without concern of being harmed or the need to harm others who don't believe what they believe. I assume for the intents and purposes of the challenge, religion is being used interchangeably with faith. Normally, I differentiate as religion is more organizational and faith is individualized. Having said that, religion/faith should be and is a personal decision. There's no place for it in government which is what often leads to the issue of religious persecution. When this life is over, it'll be between you and God...if that's what you believe.

The request: What we'd love for you to do is take a moment to write a paragraph or two on why this challenge and/or this issue is important to you.

The response: Mine is not some profound statement or even one touting my vehement belief in the need for equality for the LGBT community. I do think that members of this community should be able to live and love as they so choose. They're humans, with human emotions and desires, just like heterosexuals. But, my reasons are a bit more selfish. I simply like to be well read and saw this as another opportunity to read with purpose. I'd like to be more informed on this issue, especially as it relates to people of color, and beyond what I've seen on two wonderful TV shows ("The L Word" and "Noah's Arc"). So, cheers to the challenge that dare not speak its name.

Check out the GLBT Challengeto join.

This collection of nine short stories is my introduction to literature by a Sri Lankan author and about the island country south of India. In this collection, Gunesekera paints vivid pictures of life for Sri Lankans at home and abroad, namely those in London.

In "Batik", husband and wife, Tiru who's Tamil and Nalini who's Sinhalese, are living in London during the civil war between their respective ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. The strain of the horrific events happening thousands of miles away still have strong emotional affects on them individually and as a couple. This is probably my favorite story because there's a quiet intensity to the characters as Tiru becomes consumed by the news coverage of the civil unrest.

"Ullswater" has one of the best examples of Gunesekera's poetic descriptions: "In the evenings, in the afterglow of sunset, when parrots darted across the sky, her face would absorb light and slowly become luminous like the moon. She was a lovely girl in those days." Yet, it's a sad story of a man filled with regret over his brother's death.

"Carapace" fetures an unnamed woman who is in like with a beach cook, a man opposite the well to do one, now living in Australia, her mother has chosen for her. It, too, comes off as a story of regret.

Regret or loss seems to be what binds these stories together. I recommend it for whetting the appetite for more reads about Sri Lanka. My interest is definitely piqued.

Challenges:
South Asian Author Challenge

For those participating in the African Diaspora Reading Challenge, this is where you can link to your first quarter (January-March) reviews. If you don't have a blog, you can add reviews to LibraryThing as it permalinks each member's review. This is how we'll format links: enter link title as your blog name (book title), i.e. BrownGirl BookSpeak (The Wife of His Youth).

Challenge Sign Up
Book Suggestions
My Reviews

2009 is coming to a close and it was an alright reading year for me. On one hand it was a vast improvement. I doubled what I usually read in a year. This is largely due to being a SAHM. However, I'm still getting a groove with homeschooling two years in and didn't reach the goal of 75 books I set for this year. Now that I've confessed my shortcoming, moving forward I plan to read at least 75 books in 2010 and complete ALL SIX challenges to which I've committed myself. Here's a recap in case you missed one:
Women Unbound
African Diaspora Reading Challenge
GLBT Challenge
South Asian Author Challenge
Social Justice Challenge
Black Classics Challenge
There's actually a seventh, but it's a perpetual challenge...Reading Africa.

I'll also be doing more vlogs. They'll mostly focus on indie bookstores. Speaking of indie bookstores, I have resolved to patronize them more, though they're scarce in my hometown. So, we got more reading, more vlogs and a new feature. I hope my reviews improve and I write more thought provoking posts on the book industry especially as it pertains to POC writers and literature. My most epic plan is to attend what is, for me, the mecca of book fairs- the Harlem Book Fair.

And one final word, I planned to host a challenge with an awesome theme (hint: Harlem Renaissance) for Black History month. It was all mapped out months before the year long challenge I tossed in the ring on the fly. I'm still debating whether to save it and make it a year long challenge for 2011 or go ahead with it for February 2010. Lemme know what you think.

I almost forgot to post that I'm joining yet another challenge in 2010. The social justice challenge is not only about books but also, a call to action. The level of commitment is flexible from month to month with a commitment to at east three months, of your choice, at the Activist level. The Activist level includes participation in all that month's activities and reading a full length book and another media form. The other levels are Intern, Volunteer, and Observer. Each month has a different focus such as Genocide, Hunger, and Domestic Violence/Child Abuse. It's a year long challenge and I'm really looking forward to it. This will be a fabulous way to take our reading pleasure to new heights and help others in the process.

This makes challenge #6. Let's hope this is it. I hope I haven't spoken too soon...

The African diaspora speaks mainly to the dispersion of African descendants in the Americas and Europe due to the Atlantic slave trade. Yes, Africans were enslaved or migrants to other parts of the world but the term is usually in reference to the aforementioned areas. So, for this challenge, books read will be by Black authors and set in Africa, North America, South America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, and Europe. Yes, this is broad but it means the possibilities are endless. Hopefully, those who participate will gain more incite into the myriad of Black cultural experiences.

Now, for guidelines:
*This challenge will run from January 1, 2010-December 31, 2010
*Crossovers are allowed
*Fiction and nonfiction hard copies or e-books from any genre (no audio books)
*Participants should visit different geographical regions in their reading (i.e. not all African American or Afro-Brit or Haitian or any one group representing the diaspora)
*Levels of participation
  Novice: commitment to read four (4) books
  Versed: commitment to read eight (8) books
  Scholar: commitment to read twelve (12) books
*If you need ideas,here's a list of authors and titles in the African diaspora.
*There will be a prize drawn amongst those who complete the challenge.
*I may host a mini challenge at some point as well and there would be a prize. Only challenge participants will be eligible.

So, if you're all to thrilled to join me, sign up below. Stay tuned for the post to submit links to your reviews. Grab a button (and save to your server). If you're on Twitter, we'll use this hashtag: #afrodiaspora. Make sure you follow that hashtag for updates and possible mini challenges.

Again, be sure to share the links to your reviews.
1st Quarter Reviews (Jan.-Mar.)
2nd Quarter Reviews (Apr.-Jun.)
3rd Quarter Reviews (Jul.-Sept.)
4th Quarter Reviews (Oct.-Dec.)