African American Literature Discussion Group

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Black History Month is a Great Time to Note Contributions of African Americans, What Titles Do You Suggest?

Audiobook Community readers (and authors!) are recommending great reads by African American authors for teens and children in audiobook format. Visit the Audiobook Community website for recommendations and details.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

"Dutch" by Teri Woods is a great read!

The Feb. 8 discussion of "Dutch" by Teri Woods was spirited, as the members of the book club shared their insights about Dutch, Angel, Fat Tony, Craze and the other characters that inhabited Ms. Woods gritty urban story. "The writing kept me involved and the ending was a complete surprise!" observed one reader. Others "...became attached to the people in the book, cared about them and wanted good things for them."
When asked to describe the book, one book club member said this: "The book was emotional and exhilarating. Dutch was like a street hero and people saw him as a strong leader." Despite the under-world trappings, violence and intrigue, most readers found "Dutch" a strong cautionary and morality tale with larger than life figures who possessed self-determination and relentless drive. Want to read more urban fiction? Try Street Fiction. Also, the Phat Fiction blog
Got a different take on this book? Share your comments on "Dutch" in the 'comments' space below.
Susan

Monday, January 24, 2011

Chick Lit Challenge for literature about women of color

The challenge will run from January 1 - December 31, 2011.

Paper, e-books and audio books are all acceptable.

What qualifies as colorful chick lit
- Written by women of color about women of color
- Humorous, snarky or laugh out loud
- A tinge of romance, but not so much that it resembles a Harlequin
- A happy ending
- It's rom/com on paper!
Participants should try to read books from all four categories: Indian, Latina, Asian & African-American

Levels of participation
- Novice: 4 to 7 books
- Amateur: 8 to 11 books
- Queen of Chick Lit: 12 or more books

Saturday, January 22, 2011

"Haiti Noir" ed., Edwidge Danticat

Edwidge Danticat edits a powerful collection of Haitian writings, entitiled "Haiti Noir".

Monday, January 17, 2011

Alliance Francaise de Chicago celebrates "Black Paris"

A lecture highlighting the history of Africans and African Americans in Paris, France will be held on February 1 at the Alliance Francaise de Chicago, 810 N. Dearborn.

The travel guide discovery of historical African-American Paris will be lead by Kiratiana Freelon, a Harvard graduate who has traveled and lived in over 25 countries, and is the author of Kiratiana's Guide to Black Paris: Get Lost and Get Found.
The lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Alliance, 54 W. Chicago Avenue entrance. Free admission for members and $5 for non-members. Contact Alliance Francaise at (312) 337-1070 for details. Register at http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.asp?event=686&type=

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tuesday, January 11 book club meeting cancelled

Snow, Snow and more snow! ...so the Tuesday, January 11, 7 p.m. book club meeting has been cancelled and rescheduled for Tuesday, February 8 at 7 p.m.
We will continue our online discussion of "A Mercy" by Toni Morrison.

Copies of the February title, "Dutch", by Teri Woods, are available for checkout at the Evanston Public Library 2nd flr. Reader's Services Desk. Phone (847) 448-8621 to register.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Urban Fiction on Kindle

ok, I know we are NOT trying to buy everything our little hearts desire in this season of unbridled consumerism (...um, I mean, the holidays). But, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the number of urban fiction and street lit ebooks available on Kindle. Check in with your public library as many of these titles are available for checkout via OverDrive media downloads. So, go ahead, indulge and get your Street Lit on!

Welcome to the African American Literature Discussion Group blog!

Whether you are new to our group or a long-standing participant, feel free to check here for dates and locations of our book discussions, book reviews, commentary on African American literature, library issues, author events, or merely to share a post about an issue of interest. The AAL book group meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Evanston Public Library first floor Small Meeting Room and is open to the public. A list of upcoming titles is available on the Evanston Public Library website and you may register and pick up copies of each month’s titles at the library’s second floor Reader’s Services desk.

Here's a complete list of books we've discussed!

Check us out on GoodReads too!

Till our next post, happy reading!

Sincerely,

Lesley Williams
Book Discussion Facilitator

Evanston Public Library
1703 Orrington Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 448-8620

What to Read Next...The Hanging Bridge

From guest reviewer Vaughan Jones: We all have had lessons in history in college, but being young, and never being in the Jim Crow environment, there was no real connection to the level of hate and white supremacy in the community. The book connected how the lynching and violence was used as a continuing campaign of subjugation to have a cheap and spiritually defeated labor force be brutalized for the slightest of infractions. It was like reading Theodore White's " Making of a President". It put the reader right there n Shubuta, Clark County MS. You felt like you were witnessing the barbarism and hate, at the scene. I can understand how the African Americans in Clarke County endured the environment and like the Jews of Europe, not all of them felt they had alternatives. They just had to endure. Just unbelievable. The book is completely readable for all levels and not making it as A. Bartlett Giamatti once called academic writing, "High Institutional". The focus was on the 2 separate lynchings of 6 young black residents (4 in 1918 and 2 in 1942), and how Clark County's continued to resist to any form of change. But your highlighting the work of Walter White and the early NAACP took so much courage, very few people understand the risks those people took in getting the story on the lynchings across the South. You also highlighted the real genocidal acts taking place outside of Mississippi in other areas, an example was the outright murder of the Black farmers in Arkansas. In a lot of ways, the US is not unlike other countries like Germany who want only to either brush over the barbarism and crimes. In the writing of "The Hanging Bridge, Prof. Ward transitioned and highlighted the work of the African Americans, who were able to get Early Childhood Care, through Head Start and the efforts of the county political leadership to manipulate and hinder any efforts to have any political or economic independence. This book would be a great addition to the curriculum of Evanston Township High School and surrounding high schools for the students to have the insight on why the language of demagogues is so dangerous. It is not unlike a virus that infects a population with the results being mob actions and murders.