Summer Reading Part 1
Posted by Deborah - 27/07/10 at 12:07 amI haven’t posted much on books lately. That doesn’t mean I am not reading! Over the last several weeks I have read all kind of books on different topics. Below I have shared what I have recently read AND I list a few of the titles in my stack for summer reading.
I learned about this author from Color Online and boy am I glad I did.
Zahrah the Windseeker is a wonderful and very powerful book. The book is about Zahrah Tsami, a 13-year-old girl born with special powers. Zahrah is immediately identifiable as special and gifted because of how she looks — she has dada locks. Some people fear her or view her with suspicion because of her hair and assumed special powers. Only her best friend Dari loves and accepts Zahrah for who she is. Dari encourages Zahrah to stand in her own power regardless of what others think of her. When Dari’s life is at risk it is Zahrah who faces and conquers her own fears and the fears of others when she decides to enter the Greeny Jungle to find the ingredients needed to bring her friend Dari back to her. I am not doing the book justice. A must read. I have given the book to a few of my favorite pre-teens and sister friends.
The Shadow Speaker. Loved this one too. This book also centers around a young woman, 15 year old Ejii Ugabe from West Niger. Ejii has the ability to see into other people’s minds. Ejii travels across the desert to eventually become an apprentice to the woman who beheaded her father (I know, sounds wild but when you read the book it makes sense). Oh, I forgot to mention that Ejii lives in the year 2070. Part of her quest is to stop the world from falling apart again after “The Great Change.”
Okorafor’s most recent book is Who Fears Death. I have the book sitting on my reading table but I am “saving” it for now.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around your Neck. I read Purple Hibiscus and loved it. I admit that I was a bit resistant to reading this book because it is a collection of short stories and generally I don’t like short stories. I guess it’s because I always feel that just when I get pulled into the story I find that it’s time to leave. Also, I often found the conclusions of short stories often left me hanging. Not so with this collection. For one thing I am amazed by how much Adichie can convey in just a few sentences. I enjoy being dropped into the world’s of Adichie’s primarily female narrators.
Ruth Fine, The Art of Romare Bearden. This book has been on my shelves since I bought it at the National Gallery during the opening of the show. I have picked up this book many times and read sections for when I was looking for something specific. This is the first time I have read it all the way through. What a fascinating man. The complexity and color of Bearden’s work overwhelms me every time I look at it. I also enjoy the insight into Bearden’s creative process — how he worked and reworked concepts and ideas — why he did this.
What I will be reading next:
- Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, The Wizard of the Crow
- Ben Okri, The Famished Road (I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet!)
- Abdourahman Waberi, The United States of Africa
- Thomas Chatterton Williams, Losing my Cool: How A Father’s Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip Hop Culture (not sure what to think of this one but the title tweaked me a bit so I decide to see what it’s about)
Grayson Studios is the dreamworld created by Deborah R. Grayson, an artist, voracious reader and writer. Visit