I love books and am always on the look out for new (or old) authors and new series to read. I have far too many books at home, but I keep adding to my collection and I highly doubt I'll ever stop!
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Earlier this year I made a goal of reading more African-American literature, particularly books written by black authors. Looking at my bookshelf at home and my Kindle library, I realized that I own VERY FEW books by black authors. I never sought out to avoid books by black authors, but I've also never made an active effort to seek these books out. Now I am. I recently read Becoming by Michelle Obama and more recently finished reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Coates is an author I was previously familiar with through his article in The Atlantic, but I hadn't read one of his books. I decided to start with Between the World and Me which is written as a letter from Coates to his son. It's a short book, at about 150 pages.. This was a deep, thought-provoking book and one I need to re-read in a year or so. I find Coates' writing style very unique. It's hard for me to describe, but I find myself analyzing individual sentences or passages for several moments before moving on. It's a beautiful style.
In the book, Coates describes to his son what it is like growing up black and the concerns Coates has for his son as he grows up. Coates talks about accomplishments, but also his own failures in life. This is not a book offering solutions to the racial divide in this country, but it brings great awareness to the issue. I found this to be an amazing book that I think everyone should read, particularly those like myself that did not grow up in a racially diverse community. We can all learn. In fact, we all NEED to learn. This book by Coates is a great start in learning the affect of race in this country.
No comments:
Post a Comment