All Eyes On: BrownGirl BookSpeaks

Why yes I am bringing my blogger spotlight back, finally! I've been so busy with author interviews and discussion posts and reviews but I want to get back to highlighting some of my favorite bloggers who talk about diverse books.

If you are not already familiar with Terri at BrownGirl BookSpeak, go visit now and sign up for the Quirky Brown Reading Challenge (see my sidebar). Terri's reviews are well thought out and with this new challenge she forces us to question whether or not we are only reading certain parts of the 'Black experience'. Not all of our stories are being told and Terri aims to change that. Sweet =D But she gets even more impressive so read on...

What's BrownGirl BookSpeak all about?



At BrownGirl BookSpeak I share my thoughts primarily on literary fiction and nonfiction by authors of color. BGBS makes a point of not delving into street or urban fiction...at all...ever. I'm trying to bring attention to more thoughtful literary works especially by authors who often go unnoticed. I started my book blog after about 4 years of trying to blog about everything else in my life except books. My best friend constantly told me I should be blogging about books and I thought that no one would want to read a book blog. Oh was I wrong! Of course, I'm still kicking myself for not getting into this sooner, but here I am.

What 2011 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?


I am anxiously awaiting Tayari Jones' Silver Sparrow and Mat Johnson's Pym. I'm even more anxious about the debut novel Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna. It looks like it should be 400+ pages of epic goodness.

What are your top five favorite POC books?


Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
Let the Lion Eat Straw by Ellease Southerland
The Wife of His Youth by Charles Chesnutt
Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

This list could probably use a thorough re-examination.

Ack I've only read one book on that list! And I'm not even familiar with those titles (but at least I've heard of 4 out of the 5 authors).

Talk about yourself =)

Well, I'm quite boring. I'm a homeschool mom to one son who's almost 8. I'm a student as well, studying Sociology and believe it or not, my plan is to become a librarian. My dream career would be working for the Schomburg Center in some capacity. I'm a newbie at crocheting and really enjoying it. I love kicking my husband's butt at Scrabble. And I make a mean green smoothie.

If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book who would it be and why?

Oh my. First, I'll start with Miss Zora Anderson from Lori Tharps' Substitute Me since she's still fresh on my mind and has me shaking my head. So as not to spoil anything, I'll just say that I need to ask her "WHY?". And for complete and utter contrast, I'd love to have DJ Darky from Paul Beatty's Slumberland present. I just wanna shoot the sh*t with him and hear his ruminations on race and music especially because his perspective is so awesomely hilarious.



Ahhhh I MUST read Substitute Me. I will not get through March without at least starting it because I want to know what's so pressing that you have to ask Zora. LOL DJ Darky sounds like an absolutely hilarious dinner partner. I'm not familiar with Slumberland but I love humorous ruminations on race and music and life in general so it sounds like something I would enjoy =D


Finally any advice to those who want to read POC? And to those who are just starting to blog?

For those wanting to get a little color on their bookshelves, start with your favorite genres and simply look for authors of color who write on those genres. for example, if you like science fiction, check out some Octavia Butler. If you're into crime fiction, check John Ridley. If you like chick lit, check out Alisa Valdes-Roriguez and so on. Just be open.

New bloggers should dive right into the mix. This might sound crazy, but start out scatterbrained. Then see what's working and what's not. From there, get focused and create your niche within the book blogging niche. Don't get caught up in who's doing what on their blog, just do what feels comfortable for you. Know that there's an audience for each of us. And most importantly, don't let it become a chore.

Thanks for doing this =)



Thank you Terri for stopping by! I sincerely hope everyone checks out her fabulous blog, BrownGirl BookSpeaks (how do you home school, read, blog, play scrabble and do everything else? Mom bloggers are my heroes). How cool would it be to work for the Schomberg Center? I would die of happiness!

All Eyes On: Lucy was Robbed

I first heard of Lawral and her blog lucy was robbed when she joined the PoC challenge. She posted reviews quite often and I really liked how in depth her reviews were (are). She provides a bit more information than most when she reviews a book. Publisher, year it was published, link to cover image, etc. I was also pleasantly surprised at how she would always make note if there were characters of color (forgive me for being presumptuous but I rarely expect that from a white reader. I have happily been proven wrong by other reviewers who are white and yet point out when a character is a PoC). I really like Lawral's blog not only because of all her PoC reviews but because of the quality of her reviews and how many of the books are older/less well known. She also does awesome reviews of LGBTQ books. Enough of my prattle, Lawral please take the floor!

Please tell us about your blog.

Basically, I started my blog because it was required for my Resources for Young Adults class in graduate school; we had to read and review a certain number of YA books per genre and post those reviews to the blog for our final.

When I decided to keep the blog going, I had to come up with a new name (my blog was titled "Lawral's Resources for Young Adults Blog" up until that point at the professor's request). I couldn't think of anything and so enlisted the help of my girlfriend, who had only movie adaptations of children's or YA books that I'd made her watch with me as a reference point. She kept wanting me to make my title something about Susan in the first Chronicles of Narnia movie, because she's so spunky and kick-ass. But in the books, that's really more of Lucy's character, and Lucy is really the star of the show! Hence, the name, lucy was robbed.

I love the title of your blog and I wholeheartedly agree. I don't love the Chronicles of Narnia but I was surprised at Lucy's passivity and Susan taking on the more spunky role. And I would love to be in a class that required me to make a blog!

What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?

The debut novels I'm really looking forward to are The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney and Jane by April Lindner. For non-debuts I'm really looking forward to Under the Poppy by Kathe Koja and Stringz by Michael Wenberg (which has been out and sitting in my TBR pile for a few months now).

Stringz was good. I'm not familiar with Under the Poppy but I am SO EXCITED for The Mockingbirds. It's probably one of my most anticipated non-PoC debuts. I like the idea of Jane too, should be an interesting read.

What are your top five favorite POC books?

First Part Last by Angela Johnson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Libyrinth by Pearl North
Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson
Amiri & Odette by Walter Dean Myers
in no particular order and with no explanation, because if I think about it too much I won't be able to keep it narrowed down to five.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't read First Part Last yet. I really need to remedy that. I recommend it enough. haha. This is a great list; I adore The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Saving Maddie. Your review of Libyrinth made me want to read it even more. I love ballet so I do want to eventually read Amiri & Odette

Talk about yourself =)

I was trained to be a youth services librarian, but I work in a college library. Dealing with professors and dealing with children often aren't all that different.

When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be a ballerina/novelist. I was lucky enough to pursue both of those dreams long enough to realize that neither was for me, but having danced a summer with the San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy and earning a concentration in Creative Writing are still cool!

I spend almost as much time knitting as I do reading (and sometimes manage to both at the same time).

I'm a California Girl at heart, but living in Philly. The extremes of the weather, otherwise known as "seasons," really throw me for a loop. Every year.

That is so cool that you got to dance with the San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy! I'm so jealous :) Heehee at one point I wanted to be a ballerina/novelist too.

If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book who would it be and why?

First, I would choose Maddie from Saving Maddie because I think we grew up with similar values and have come to the same grown-up life conclusions, and that is a rare thing. Also, she seems like she can switch from serious to not-serious pretty quickly which would be essential considering my other dinner guest would be Junior from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I'd pick Junior because he's hilarious and eventually someone would laugh so hard that their drink would come out of their nose, even if we were talking about Very Important Things.

Guess who's coming to dinner? I'm so crashing.

Finally any advice to those who want to read POC? And to those who are just starting to blog?

When I took that Resources for Young Adults class, one of the genres in which we had to read was "Realistic/Multicultural," the assumption being that most literature featuring POC is realistic fiction. This assumption might be a little bit true, but that is because most YA literature falls in the realistic fiction category, current paranormal romance trends notwithstanding. BUT you don't have to read a ton of realistic fiction in search of POC characters, or I would hardly ever find any books. No matter what genre you prefer to read, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, Christian fiction, sports stories, whatever, there are books available IN YOUR GENRE featuring POC. You may have to look harder to find them, they won't necessarily be on big book displays at Borders or recommended by amazon, but they exist. That's why blogs like this and Gal Novelty that promote books across genres featuring POC and blogs like Charlotte's Library that review within specific genres but make a point to feature POC books often are so important. By following blogs like these and reading through the reviews posted at the POC Reading Challenge blog you'll come across tons of books that you want to read, many of them featuring POC. And if you're just starting to blog (or even if you're not) join the POC Reading Challenge and any others that look interesting to you! It's a great way to get your reviews out there and gain followers as well as a great way to come across new blogs and books that you may have missed otherwise!

Thanks for having me, Ari!

Can I get an 'Amen'? I need to write a post on how there's more to multicultural lit than realistic fiction (although we never get any romance. But I digress). Anyway, thank you so much Lawral!

Everyone go show Lawral some love (in the comments would be nice too)

All Eyes On: One Big Adventure

I am a failure with my blogger spotlight, but I'm going to work on bringing it back! If you're interested in being featured, email me.

As of right now I've changed the name of this feature from Blogger Spotlight to All Eyes On. What do you think of the name change? I needed something catchy and this is all I can think of at the moment.

Today all eyes should be on Najela who blogs at One Big Adventure. I first met Najela through her comments. She is a rarity in that she comments and when you reply she actually replies back and then *gasp* you are having an ACTUAL CONVERSATION. That's what I want my comment format to be. I admit sometimes I don't reply to comments all the time, but I'm working on it and sometimes I'll email you or visit your blog and comment there. Anyway, that's how Najela and I became friends, through her comments which led me to check out her blog. She is creative, fun and ambitious. To get a look at how ambitious she is, check out her 101 in 1001 in which she lists 97 goals she has, ranging from serious to fun. The goals must be completed in 1001 days. It's a great list and I plan to do one too and post it here.

Without further ado here's Najela!

To be blunt: Why should we care about your blog, how is it special?

I suppose what makes my blog special is that it's not strictly a book blog, I like to talk about other things too, like my life, school, guys (or the lack thereof in my case), opinions, writing in general, and things concerning my works in progress...a little something for everybody. The book part of the blog came in when a couple of friends of mine were passing books they normally wouldn't read back and forth and keeping a journal about them. I thought it was cool, but I had no one to pass books to so I decided to blog about the books instead. I typically read the things I enjoy, so that could range from historical fiction of the South to YA paranormal romance and everything in between. The title comes from my high school graduation essay in which I referred to life as a grand adventure, but using grand in a blog title seemed a little pretentious, so I used One Big Adventure instead.

There are so many guys out there, I bet that will change! I love that your blog covers every topic and is so honest. What 2010 debut are you most looking forward to? Non debut?

They debuted already, but I really liked Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez and Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves. Non-debut, definitely Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins,(the last book in the The Hunger Games trilogy). Authors should be tarred and feathered for ending books on such huge cliffhangers.

Hmm maybe not tarred and feathered but some other form of punishment is deserved! I love Bleeding Violet, one of my favorite books of the year. I still need to read Catching Fire, I'm trying to wait so that I can read it with Mockingjay beside me :)

What are your top five favorite POC books?

My top five favorite PoC books are Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (this is the number 1, everything else is in no particular order), A Sung Flung Up To Heaven by Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice, and it's a tie between Highwire Moon by Susan Straight and The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow

Ooo good books! I love Their Eyes Were Watching God and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I need to read Orange Mint and Honey since I really liked Carleen Brice's second novel, Children of the Waters. I just got The Girl Who Fell From the Sky!

Tell us about yourself, anything you want.

I'm a 4.5 year undergraduate at a state college in Southern California. I was a Neuroscience major, but changed my major to psychology. I decided to double major in Creative Writing after chickening out about graduation and graduate school. I plan on finally graduating in Winter 2011 and hopefully taking a low residency MFA for creative writing in the spring (don't tell my mom about that last part). I have had about a million jobs, my favorites of which are Developmental teacher for autistic children and Mad Scientist. I love anime and manga, I play the sax and do taiko (Japanese drumming). I like to read and write and tried my hand at drawing.

Whoa you've been through a lot! Those all sound like great experiences that have helped shape you in some way. I love the saxophone, wish I could play.

If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book, who would it be and why?

Hmmm, I'd have dinner with Jeremiah Roselind from If You Come Softly and Behind You because he's so smart, intuitive, and so self-aware for his age. I'd also like to talk to Shay from Orange Mint and Honey because we are exactly alike (I never connected with a character so much). It would be so much fun to just chat about life or *spoiler alert for If You Come Softly, highlight to read* The lack thereof in Miah's case)

Miah would be amazing to talk to! I want a real life Miah, be sure to invite me to this dinner ;)


Do you have any advice for people who want to start reading by/about POC but aren't sure where to start? Also what advice would you share with new bloggers?

I didn't start focusing more on PoC books until I read other blogs that focused on them. (sadly, I didn't know anything about book blogs, much less PoC ones) This was after analyzing my reading reviews from the year before and noticing that majority of the authors and/or characters were white. There's nothing wrong with books written by (most) white people or about white characters, there's just an over saturation in the market and frankly, I needed some variety.

Do your research and make sure you read authors who don't resort to stereotypes. These are few and far between, but they're out there. I get a lot of recommendations from blogs such as Reading in Color and research that I do on my own. Just google in what you're looking for, check out the blogs, reviews on amazon and if possible, read a sample page. Also do some reading challenges that others are hosting or that you set up for yourself. Here's a great place to start.

As for tips on blogging, if you want to start a blog, just do it. I started my blog with intention of just keeping track of things, but it's been fun letting it progress into something more. Being a former web fiction writer, comments were my livelihood, it let me know that people were reading. As a blogger, if you want to get comments, you have to open a dialogue and ask your readers questions. And also know that just because people aren't commenting, doesn't mean they aren't reading. If you're going to be a hardcore blogger realize that it's going to take time to build an audience. Read other blogs and see what you like and don't like about them, then create your own voice and blog about the things that interest you. Don't try to be someone you're not. Most of all, have fun with it. Try to blog regularly, but don't burn yourself out trying to keep to a set schedule or it'll be like having a job.

Thanks for talking with me.

Aw thanks for the mention =) I couldn't agree more with this advice, when I started out, I got discouraged by my lack of comments and even today I still have posts with no comments. At first I was discouraged, but sometimes I'll get emails about posts or Tweets. This lets me know that even if people don't comment, they are lurking and reading! Thank you so much for joining us Najela!

Because Najela rocks major socks, she is hosting a giveaway right now so stop by One Big Adventure to enter! (major rhyming right there, heehee)

*I will be out of town from July 24-August 1st and will have no Internet access. I look forward to reading all comments and emails when I return :D

Blogger Spotlight! Maggie's Bookshelf

To be featured in the blogger spotlight (name suggestions?) email me.

Today's blogger spotlight is focused on Maggie from Bibliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf

Maggie is committed to reading, writing and social justice. Her reviews are just the right length. She actively promotes POC in literature and from her I've found a plethora of information (mostly her tweets, seriously follow her on Twitter!) about various events and issues in the YA, adult literature and POC world. We've had some wonderful and enlightening discussions.

1) Please tell us about Maggie's Bookshelf

I actually had two book blogs before this one, neither of which caught on - I think I managed to both over and under-think them, the names were bad (Wordfire and Seshat's Scroll), and they were more like diaries than real blogs. So Maggie's Bookshelf happened because I figured, third time's a charm, and I couldn't go wrong with that name. =) As far as why I've stuck with this one, I like the community aspects of blogging I've discovered, especially when it comes to connecting with other teenage writers and bloggers. I hope my posts and reviews reflect that - I love getting comments, and I love the idea of maybe sharing a book with someone that becomes their new favorite!

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? Non-debut?

Ooh, I have such a hard time with questions like these. There are a few books I look forward to, but really, it's more what catches my interest at the time, no matter when it came out. For the debut...I know it was already released, but I think it debuted in 2010, and I really want to read it: Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz really sounds like my kind of book. I'd love to see more YA fiction that explores a teen's sexual orientation, and besides, I've heard it's just plain good. As far as non-debut? It's a no-brainer! I'm dying to read Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins when it comes out in August! I'm of the opinion that she should be fined, or placed behind bars, or something, for daring to write the ending to Catching Fire that cliff-hanger-y.

3) What are your top five favorite POC books?

If we're counting adult books, Octavia Butler is my favorite writer ever, period. So her books would trump. But if we're not, then probably the Octavian Nothing books by M.T. Anderson first, and then Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (oops - is that adult? It read like YA), Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples, Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind also by Suzanne Fisher Staples, and Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann in no particular order. Wait, that's six. Love them all anyway. =)

4) Tell us about yourself :)

I'm homeschooled, in high school, and I spend 50% of the average day either reading or writing. I'm very lucky to have supportive (read that lenient) parents who let me do that, but I think it's maybe because they hope to retire on the J.K. Rowling style royalties they believe I'll one day receive. I haven't broken it to them that I don't think I'm that good/lucky, but I hope to become a full-time writer sometime anyway - I'm currently working on a YA sci-fi novel. If that doesn't work out, then I'd like to be an ethnobotanist, which is someone who studies how native people use plants. I'd like to do this in South America, because after all, I'd better be using all this Spanish I'm learning for something! =) I hope I'll always have a book blog, and I hope I never get over the mini-high of getting an ARC in the mail, or a new follower (on the blog, not in the mail). And I hope I can keep reading good books, and find a more diverse cast of characters in them - that's what really makes my day!

5) If you could have dinner with any two POC characters from any book who would it be and why?

Serious dinner or fun dinner? Serious dinner - Octavian Nothing, because he's smart and can play mean violin. I'd probably feel stupid and wish I hadn't quit violin every minute I spent in his presence. And I'd invite Lauren Olamina from Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, because she's also smart and ambitious and interesting, and we'd have a lot to talk about. But just for a fun dinner? Dimple and Karsh from Born Confused. That would be hilarious.

Finally, any advice to those who want to read POC and don't know where to start? Any advice for those just starting to blog?

If you want to read PoC, I don't have much advice, other than read Ari's blog, where you're reading this right now. That's where I find a lot of the books I want to read! =) And maybe go to the library and bookstore, scan covers, and read inside flaps. Read about someone different than you!

When it comes to blogging...hmm. When it comes to blogging, I'm bad at taking advice, so that means I'm probably bad at giving it. I've had to mess around and figure out what works for me! But if you wanted to start a blog, I'd say get a blog, blog a lot, and don't worry about whether or not you sound stupid. Make friends with people, especially on Twitter! (I tweet obsessively @mdesmondobrien). And, REVIEW ALL THAT POC LITERATURE NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE HAVE HEARD ABOUT. I like finding blogs that review books I've never heard of. If I see those books at the library or at a bookstore, I'm ten times as likely to pick them up. So don't just do what everyone else is doing, otherwise blogs like this wouldn't exist!

Thank you so much for having me, Ari!

Don't you just love her?! And did I mention that Maggie is not a POC? She's one of the best examples of a reader and blogger who reads books about POC, she doesn't just read what she knows, she widens her horizons. It's one of the many things that make her fantastic. I also love her sense of humor (I like how she has a serious dinner and a fun dinner). I too, would love to talk to Octavian, his life is truly fascinating. I must read Born Confused! Maggie is a fifteen year old who is going places! I can't wait to see I knew her way back when :) Go visit her blog, Bibliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf so that you are able to say the same =)

Blogger Spotlight! Crazy Quilts

Blogger Spotlight is a mostly weekly feature where I interview bloggers. Let me know if you want to be featured. Also I'm open to more creative names for this feature!

Today I'm featuring Edi at Crazy Quilts I consider Edi another one of my blogging godmothers :) As a librarian, she has ready access to many great books and she's introduced me to some wonderful titles (perhaps most importantly, she sent me Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, haha). Along with book advice, Edi also has great advice in general and she has a good sense of humor. Also, more often than not we are cheering for the same teams (Butler). She's a tireless advocate for librians and the use of technology in libraries, along with championing POC literature and social justice causes.

1) Tell us about Crazy Quilts

I just checked. I started blogging on 3 June 2006. A whopping total of 8 people have read that first post! I started "Crazy Quilts" because I was tired of hearing people say they couldn't find books for teens of color. As a librarian, I'm also interested in literacy, so I decided to dedicate the blog to improving literacy for teens of color. I've grown to become more inclusive both in my efforts towards all ethnicities of color and to reviewing books rather than just to listing them. I address school library issues and cover technology as well. For some reason people like to think teens of color don't read, but I know for a fact that's not true. I also know that when it comes to literacy, technology and media literacy are critical to developing independent, critically thinking citizens and the resources too often are not provided or utilized in urban schools where we find high amounts of PoC students.
I was a quilter before I entered library school, hence the name of my blog. Isn't the world made up of random, colorful bits and pieces and tied together in books?

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?

I think in May, the US is going to have a release of Carlos Ruiz Zafron's Prince of Mist which was released in Spain in '93. I read Zafron's Shadow of the Wind several years ago (when I happened to be traveling in Spain) and it became one of my all time favorite books. I love that book and am really looking forward to reading Prince of Mist which is a YA book. Shadow was considered adult, but I'm sure it would appeal to YAs. Non-debuts? I don't have access to my TBR pile right now, but there are so many books in that pile I want to read!!!! I'd love to have about a month in a cottage by the sea and I'd get them knocked out in no time!


3) What are your top five favorite POC books?


Wow. This will take some thought. I'm not good at listing favorites and get so annoyed when they're used for password security questions! Particularly when it comes to books, it's difficult for me to look past the recent 'good' reads to remember the 'great' reads I've had over the years, and there have been quite a few (years and books!). These are a few of the greats that would be on my least whether or not the PoC qualifier is used. (synopses are shamelessly lifted from Goodreads.com)


Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall "Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together."
I picked this up simply because I liked the cover. Although it started quite slowly, I was quickly caught up and personally challenged. I've shared this book with all of my children and they've in turn passed it on to their friends. We don't all share the same religious beliefs, but the basic goodness of the book shouldn't be missed.


Dirty Girl's Social Club by Alisa Valdez Rodriguez Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez has completely thrown out any literary pretensions whatsoever, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Dirty Girls is a fun, easy, ultimately charming read, not least because the girls themselves are so appealing. Six Latina women become fast friends at Boston University and thereafter meet as a group every few months. Now in their late twenties, they're each on the cusp of the life they want. The novel is narrated in turn by each woman. Feisty Lauren has a column at the Boston Globe, but can't help falling for losers; ghetto-elegant Usnavys is trying to find a man to match her own earning power and expensive tastes; uptight Rebecca is a successful magazine publisher and an unsuccessful wife; beautiful TV anchor Elizabeth has a secret; Sara leads a Martha-Stewart-perfect life as a homemaker; and Amber is a hopeful rock musician in L.A.
Yes, we can call this chica lit, but Rodriguez uses this approachable and enjoyable genre to challenge our stereotypes about contemporary Latinas and the feminism in general. She does this with wit, intelligence and humor.


So Long a Letter by Miriam Ba This novel is a perceptive testimony to the plight of articulate women who live in social milieux dominated by attitudes and values that deny them their proper place. It is a sequence of reminiscences, some wistful, some bitter, recounted by a recently widowed Senegalese school teacher. The letter, addressed to an old friend, is a record of her emotional struggle for survival after her husband's abrupt decision to take a second wife. Although his action is sanctioned by Islam, it is a calculated betrayal of his wife's trust and a brutal rejection of their life together.
I can't say it better than that! Reading Ba immerses us completely in another world and in the process leads to a better understanding of self. This is character development at its finest!


Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell looks at why major changes in our society so often happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Ideas, behavior, messages, and products, he argues, often spread like outbreaks of infectious disease. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a few fare-beaters and graffiti artists fuel a subway crime wave, or a satisfied customer fill the empty tables of a new restaurant. These are social epidemics, and the moment when they take off, when they reach their critical mass, is the Tipping Point." "Gladwell introduces us to the particular personality types who are natural pollinators of new ideas and trends, the people who create the phenomenon of word of mouth. He analyzes fashion trends, smoking, children's television, direct mail, and the early days of the American Revolution for clues about making ideas infectious, and visits a religious commune, a successful high-tech company, and one of the world's greatest salesmen to show how to start and sustain social epidemics.

I hate to reveal this to my literary friends, but I don't remember the details of what I read. I only remember broad strokes. Maybe I have the opposite of a photographic memory?? Nonetheless, I find bits and pieces of Gladwell coming through my memory from time to time. His insights in the to ordinary wreak of economic theory and have so much significance that they're impossible to forget!

What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Alusio Every day, millions of families around the world gather—at the table or on the floor, in a house or outdoors—to eat together. Ever wondered what a typical meal is like on the other side of the world? Or next door? Cultural geographers Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio visited twenty-five families in twenty-one countries to create this fascinating look at what people around the world eat in a week. Meet a family that spends long hours hunting for seal and fish together; a family that raises and eats guinea pigs; a family that drinks six gallons of Coca-Cola a week.

I'm really surprised that this book didn't get more attention last year. The writing style, graphs, photos and layout make it quite attractive to teens and I don't know of a subject other than 'food' that would draw students into another culture. The information in the books is presented in a way that invites discussion and further analysis. I think it's a great teaching tool as well as a fun read.

I'm leaving out Like Water for Chocolate; The good earth; The dark child; Nervous conditions; Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress; Sold; Mister Pip, Sundiata, Tales Julian Tells...

Sometimes, I think people think all I read is PoC, so I have to add that some of my other all time favorites include Poisonwood Bible, Shadow of the Wind, A prayer for Owen Meany, I am the messenger, Whale Talk, Onion John, Maniac McGee and Pride and Prejudice

RiC note: I really enjoyed The Dirty Girl's Social Club, Whale Talk and Like Water for Chocolate. I agree with Edi, people do seem to think we POC only read about POC, but we have diverse and varying literary tastes!

4) Tell us about yourself =)

I was born in Toledo, OH, went to undergrad in Cincinnati and am currently looking for a new place to reside.

I have three beautiful adult children and I'd rather talk about them than me!
I once spent the night in a jeep stuck in the mud in the rainforest in Cameroon.
I think pizza will always be my favorite food, the super hero power I would most like to have is the ability to fly and I cannot swim.

5) If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book who would it be and why?

LOL wow...Okay... First, I'd say Claudette Colvin. I was doing some research on her recently and was really intrigued by a newspaper interview she granted. I think I could learn a lot from her experience, wisdom and insights.
Second, probably Chanda of Chanda's Secret and Chanda's War. I'd like to see her enjoy a good meal. I'd enjoy listening to her experiences, again learning from her wisdom and insights. I'd like to see her smile and let her know how wonderful she is.

Finally, any advice to those who want to read about POC? To those who are starting a blog?

Want to read POC: just do it! Find something that sounds like a good book and read it! I've always assumed that like me, everyone reads to expand their world but I've come to realize some read to validate themselves.and that's good, too. However, if you're going to read something written from someone who has a different world view, you may have to really stretch to find validation. You may have to open up to accept differences that you may or may not be able to come to terms with. While race and oppression are not always a major theme in PoC books, you may be surprised to find so many similarities with your own culture thus not validating your beliefs. Heck, if you can read and enjoy vampires, why would it be so difficult to read and enjoy Asian-, Native-, Latino- or African- American?

Want to start a blog? Take some time to look at the blogs that are out there. Look at the service most of them use so that you can decide where you'd like to set yours up and what gadgets you'd like to put on it. Decide what you have to say that people would like to read about and be sure to let bits of your real life trickle through from time to time.

Decide how you'll define your blogs success. If you're planning to become rich and famous through blogging, it will take lots of work! It can take lots of work just to get connected! Perhaps you'll be happy to get your close friends and relatives to read and comment? What you want to do with your blog may change over time and you can implement most shifts without having to start a new blog, just let your readers know what you're doing. Reply to people who comment on your blog. Be nice! Meanness and snarkiness somehow amplify themselves in print, so be careful how you say things.

If you want people to visit your blog, you have to visit theirs. Leave comments. Subscribe. Keep your blog updated: check you links, change your look and add new gadgets from time to time.
I think the biggest 'secret' to success is all that's done in the background: the huge amount of research that goes into a post, the numerous drafts that may or may not eventually get posted, the work to find photos, learning new gadgets, getting the memes posted in time, emailing blogger friends, posting to Twitter and Facebook ...

As a book blogger there are numerous activities to get involved in which I don't, but if you want to be rich and famous...

See why I turn to Edi for advice? Kind, funny, and down to earth. She has some common sense advice for bloggers, but I've noticed that many bloggers seem to forget one of the most important things Edi mentions: being nice. Edi follows her own advice; I've seen her handle negative incidents with class that I hope to one day emulate. Also, she's one of the best examples of a librarian that blows away the whole 'strict-scary-old-librarian' stereotype.

So go stop by Crazy Quilts and meet the awesome Edi!

Blogger Spotlight! Black and Blue Ink

This week's blogger spotlight is on Chioma from Black and Blue Ink!

Chioma is super enthusiastic about books and everything else. Her comments often make my day because she has a great sense of humor and is always cheerful. Also I LOVE her blog layout, with the blues and purples. I emailed her for suggestions of sites to use to find blog layouts and she's been really helpful (I just haven't had time to really research yet).

Everyone please welcome Chioma!

1) Explain about your blog

My blog is a YA book blog that focuses on YA books from a wide range of genres. I do mostly “specialize” in YA paranormal and my ultimate favorite paranormal romances. I have either probably read, or plan to read every single YA paranormal book out there, trust me. That doesn’t me I don’t throw in some contemporary, mystery, or even science fiction book into the mix once in a while. The name Black and Blue Ink is more representative as me as a writer (or aspiring writer) than as a reader. It started in the 8^th grade when I had one of those multicolored pens that you click for the different colors. This pen is my favorite pen in the world till this day and pretty much the only pen I used to write my original pieces with. All the other four colors of the pen are broken so now all that is left is my black and blue ink colors. And now I refuse to write with anything but black and blue. Kind of boring I know, but I love it!!!

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? Non-debut?

For debut book, I am craving, I mean I am in desperate need to read Saving Maddie. That book has been on my wish list since I first discovered Goodreads, and it’s finally out, if I only had some money… And for non-debut book, Rules of Attraction is what I am most looking forward to. Perfect Chemistry is one of my favorite books ever. I am in love with Simone Elkeles’s writing. It is so beautiful and you can really feel the emotions of her characters. And I hear Rules of Attraction is no exception to this, so you can imagine the agonizing anticipation this book has cast upon me. (But it comes out a few days after my birthday so there’s hope!!!)

3) What are your top 5 favorite POC books?

1. Jason and Kyra by Dana Davidson

2. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

3. Perfect Shot by Debbie Rigaud

4. Secret Keeper by. Mitali Perkins

5. The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake

4) Tell the world about you =)

My name is Chioma; I am Nigerian and reside in sunny California!!! To begin with, I wouldn’t say its hard being a student and blogging since blogging is more of a fun leisure that I love. The hard thing is trying to find balance. When I come home I usually read before I start my homework (a habit I am trying to abolish), and when I finish a book, the first thing I want to do is write a review for it, but then there is always homework standing in my way. So it’s not really hard, just about prioritizing. Besides reading and blogging, I love volleyball, basketball, and track. Volleyball is my number 1 sport, I love it so much and I hope to play in college (UCLA here I come). I also love to shop. I mean I am a professional when it comes to shopping. Besides that I love to dance, listen to music-mostly Drake right now, sing, and text message!!

5) If you could have dinner with two POC characters who would it be and why?

This is a hard one. Initially I would say Jason from Jason and Kyra and Alex from Perfect Chemistry and NO GIRLFRIENDS ALLOWED!!! But since I think both Kyra and Brittany are really cool too, I would say Maleeka from The Skin I’m In just because we would have so much in common. I remember when I read this book I could relate to her so much. Being a dark skinned Nigerian girl (and loving every minute of it) I sympathized with Maleeka and what she went through being the only girl in her school with dark skin. And Asha from Secret Keeper [SPOILER, Highlight to read) I would ask her if in the end, did she think her decision to give up

Finally, any advice to those who want to start reading POC and to those who want to start a blog?

My advice to anyone who wants to read POC is to just go over to your library and bookstore and look for something you like. There are plenty of great POC recommendations on goodreads.com and librarything.com. Just find something you like, in a genre you’re interested in and you’ll be hooked!!! My advice to those starting a blog is to do your own thing. Don’t think you are not a “real” blogger if you don’t start off doing all the memes and activities circulating in the book blogger realm, just post what you want to talk, discuss, and review; it’s your blog, let it be what you want it to be!!!

Chioma gives great advice and I'm so pleased to say that I've read all her top five books! They were all fantastic. Asha from Secret Keeper is a popular dinner companion (I've had two other bloggers mention her) and I would ask her the same question, among others. I would love to meet Alex and Jason too :) I completely agree that one of the hardest things about blogging is finding a balance, although my problem is I read about 50 blog posts before I get around to doing my homework! Anyway, I hope this interview has shown you what a cool person Chioma is and inspired you to check out her blog.

Why are you still reading? Go visit Black and Blue Ink!

Blogger Spotlight! TheHappyNappyBookseller

I've grown lax on my blogger spotlight. It's supposed to be weekly so I will work on having that feature more since I enjoy the interviews!

This week I'm talking to Doret whose blog is TheHappyNappyBookseller, which is one of the best blog names. Doret is someone I count as one of my godmothers. She was one of the first supporters of Reading in Color and she is THE person to go to when you are looking for upcoming releases of YA/MG books that feature POC. She is a great resource and a wonderful cheerleader :) She's also working on the publishing project with Laura and I.

1) Explain about your blog

I had a hard time finding blogs that talked about books featuring characters of color, so I decided to start my own. My blog stands out because of my focus on books with kids of color. Though I will happily say how much I loved a book that features all White characters- good is good. I wanted my blogger name to be catchy and say that girls got melanin.

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward? Non-debut?

There are two 2010 debuts I am looking forward to;

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork. I am also looking forward to Finding My Place by Traci L. Jones

RiC note: The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is amazing! I really want to read Finding My Place.

One non debut I am looking forward to is Better Than I Know Myself by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant. Someone I work with loves their books, so I am excited to finally be reading one.

3) What are your top 5 favorite POC books?

Only 5? That's hard. I will keep it strictly YA to make it a little easier

Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Upstate: A Novel by Kalisha Buckhanon

Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers

4) Talk about yourself =)

I am from NY, I currently live in Atlanta. I am pretty quiet person. I enjoy watching sports, I don't play any. I have been known to randomly stop and admire a tree or two.

RiC: To learn more about Doret and her love of sports and literature read this interview she did with Justine Larbalestier!

5) If you could have dinner with any two POC characters who would it be and why?

My favorite novel is Mama Day by Gloria Naylor. I would love to have dinner with the sisters Miranda (Mama Day) and Abigail. They can trace their family tree all the way back to 1799, I would like to hear a few of those stories. Plus both sisters can throw down in the kitchen.

Finally any advice to those who want to start reading POC? And to those who are starting a blog?

Anyone who doesn't normally read books with poc, I would suggest getting a personalized recommendations. You'll have a better chance so starting with a book you will enjoy. Also if a friend or blogger, who reads poc novels has similar taste in books try reading one of their favorite books with poc.

To anyone starting a blog: It may take a while to find your blogger voice and style but you'll find it. Make yourself known by commenting at other blogs. Take full advantage of your local library. Have fun with it!

Wonderful advice from a wonderful blogger! I expect everyone to go become a follower of theHappyNappyBookseller now.

If you would like to be featured in the blogger spotlight email me or leave a comment.

Blogger Spotlight: Write On

Welcome to this week's blogger spotlight in which I interview book bloggers that are POC or that review books about POC (meaning you don't have to be a POC to be featured, just dedicated to reviewing more books about POC). If you have any interest in being interviewed, email me or leave a comment.

This week I'm talking to Jeannine from Write On. Jeannine is an aspiring picture book author and incredibly optimistic and hard working, which I love. Read this interview so you are able to say "I knew her from way back when!"

1) Explain about your blog.

I started my blog almost a year ago at the suggestion of my very sweet husband. I was not so sure about putting myself out there, but I decided to take the plunge and I'm so glad I did. I love blogging and I love being a part of the blogosphere. My blog is basically about the books I am reading, my own writing journey and anything else that I deem post worthy.

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?

I can barely keep up with what came out last year. I am pretty excited about The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. The title alone is intriguing.

RiC Note: Leave some recommendations of a non-debut for Jeannine!

3) What are your top five favorite POC books?

Push by Sapphire (I read it before the movie)
Fifth Born by Zelda Lockhart
The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

4) Talk about yourself =)

Well in addition to being a pre-published picture book author (you gotta think positive), I am also a mom and wife. I am a proud dredlock wearing sister and avid reader. I am 34 years old (what I'm not ashamed) but people always think I am in my 20's. I love to laugh and make people laugh and of course I love chocolate. I am a scrapbooker, a list maker, a yoga do-er and basically a super cool girl.

5) If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book who would it be and why?

Wow, big question. I think too big for me to even answer right now. I will probably lay awake all night thinking about it!! I can tell you two authors I wouldn't mind having dinner with. Sapphire (author of Push). I have never read a book that was so raw and real yet hopeful. I also would love to pick Jacqueline Woodson's brain. She writes so many different types of books and it just seems like she is magic. How does one person have so many great ideas?

Finally any advice to those who want to read POC? And to those who are just starting to blog?

My advice to those who want to read POC is just do it. It doesn't seem like something that should be a big effort. I think we are so lucky to have such a great blogging community to keep us up to date on books that otherwise might just fall under the radar. I have discovered so many new titles by POC that my bookshelf is about to collapse. If you are new to blogging, again I say just do it. My first few postings I didn't even make public until I got my confidence up

And we are so glad Jeannine got her confidence up, visiting her blog is truly enjoyable. I think she's very cool! Thank you for joining me Jeannine :)

Speaking of Jacqueline Woodson, check out this post on Jacqueline Woodson done by susan for the GLBT Reading Challenge (and sign up if you haven't already!)

Blogger Spotlight! Color Online

Today's blogger spotlight is on susan from Color Online.
Susan is basically my blogging godmother. She really helped get me started, she gives me advice and encouragement when I needed and I can always talk to her.
She's amazing because not only does she post at Color Online everyday she also maintains the Color Online Facebook page and her own Black-Eyed Susan's blog. She also started Readers Aganist WhiteWashing (RAWW). She is beyond amazing! I don't know how she does it all.

1) Explain about your blog.
I started Color Online the blog initially to achieve two goals: teach young women how to use the blog application to express themselves by journaling or publishing creative writing and also to promote women writers of color, the work of writers we were regularly introducing to our young women. I hoped the blog would inform, support and promote to a larger audience.

What makes Color Online special is our focus on women writers of color. There are sites dedicated to African American readers, AA writers or women in general. We defined our scope so we could introduce our young charges first to women who like them and then to expose them to other POC women writers. We want them to see the world beyond their own experiences. Many book blogs focus on book reviews. My online background is founded in message board communities and my love for literature is based on discussion so we talk about literature. Interaction is central at Color Online.

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?
Going to skip because I have to cheat on #3

3) What are your top five favorite POC books?

I read a lot of YA but I love adult literature, too. I will focus on recently read books and I’m sticking with women writers of color with female leads. This is the fairest way for me to
narrow down to six YA and one adult.

A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott
The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon
The Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger
Down To The Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole
Mare's War by Tanita Davis
And my one adult title, and not a recently read, The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat

4)What can be found at Color Online?

a) New Crayons- weekly feature highlighting POC books we’ve added to our virtual
library
b) Color Me Brown Links- links to reviews to bloggers who read and review POC
titles
c) Color Online Quiz. Weekly. Win free book of your choice
d) Sunday Salon- Weekly query related to literature, culture and literacy
e) Color Online Reviews- written by staff and members
f) Women Writers of Color- regular feature highlighting established or emerging
writers
g) Color Online Love Alert (COLA)- highlighting bloggers, writers, sites that
promote and celebrate multiculturalism
h) Color Online Book discussion- new feature. Monthly reads. Will alternate
adult/YA titles
i) Poetry Friday- we feature poetry written by women of color
j) Giveaways- we give away books every opportunity possible. We believe books
are to be shared.
k) Book Loan- we have books for loan. Maintaining this library means more
readers have access.

Site has multiple access points to make navigation easy. Check out our writers menu tab and our general site tab. Sidebar images are direct links to Color Online articles or noteworthy articles at other sites.

5) If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book who would it
be and why?

Two? You’re killing me. I’m going to say Genna from A Wish After Midnight because she is the girl I wish I had been. I’d like to think if I had been in her situation, I’d have the courage she did and I’d share with her that more girls than not have felt they didn't fit in and they struggled with their identity. I'd like to talk to Amabelle from The Farming of Bones. I’d want to tell her how much it hurt to know how alone she was, that I thought no one should suffer that kind of pain alone. I’d tell her that she was loved and someone cared that she was going through what she did. I’d tell her I mourned her death.

Advice for those who are just starting to blog?

In the beginning, be more of a reader/commenter at other sites. Get a feel before you start-up

a) Visiting others is the fastest way to find options for what you want to do and how.

b) Interaction fosters community and interaction will increase traffic to your site

c) Relax. Experiment and give yourself permission to decide what you want

Finally any advice to those who want to read POC?

There are more sites and activities than there were when I began blogging. There’s no excuse for not being able to find POC. Here’s a short list of blogs, challenges and clearing house sites:

The Happy Nappy Bookseller
Crazy Quilts
Paper Tigers
Multiculturalism Rocks
American Indians in Children’s Literature
Color Online
Asian In The Heart, World On the Mind
Cynsations
Charlotte’s Library
Mitali’s Fire Escape
A Chair, a Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Fledgling
Cynical, Ornery, Sublime, Lush
Chasing Ray
Gal Novelty
Into the Wardrobe
Black-Eyed Susan
Brown Paper
White Readers Meet Black Authors
A Striped Armchair
Things Mean A Lot
Rhapsody In Books
Flip the Page


Challenges/memes
POC Reading Challenge
Color Me Brown Links
CORA Diversity Roll Coll (hosted by Color Online and Ali at Worducopia)
Social Justice Reading Challenge
Writers of Color 50 POC book challenge

Sites
Readers Against WhiteWashing (Facebook)
Diversify Your Reading
RAWSISTAZ
African American Science fiction Writers
Writers Against Racism Series at School Library Journal

Thank you so much for this interview susan! Everyone go check out at Color Online.

Blogger Spotlight! Gal Novelty

This week I'm spotlighting Gal Novelty which was started by the awesome Ah Yuan. I love her blog so much. Her reviews are so well-written and through and she really goes all out. i would not want her to review a book of mine and not like it, lol. But if I wrote a book and she liked it, then you would definitely want her to review it! She's funny, sincere and helpful.

1 ) Explain about your blog. (i.e. what makes it special, why did you start it, where does the name come from, etc.)

I mostly started a blog on blogger because I have a deep fondness for novels, (YA and/or fantasy in particular) and I wanted to make an attempt to connect with the book blogsphere so I can share this interest with people. As for my blog name 'GAL Novelty', the 'gal' is in all caps because I am a female and proud. It's gal because while I don't quite feel mature enough to be called a woman, being called a girl feels like I'm being talked down to, and anyhow, there's just something short and sweet about the word 'gal' that I like (Er, I'd think of a Cool Acronym for it, but I lack in imagination and therefore suck). As for 'Novelty', the thing I really like about the word 'novel' is that it can both mean the long fictive prose noun OR if we make it into an adjective, 'novel' becomes a word used to describe something new and unexpected, fresh and different.The best kind of novels, imho, are the ones that let you see something fresh and different every time you do a reread, books that make you want to read over and over - Hence, the name 'Novelty'.

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?

I can only talk about one each? T_T You're so cruel, Ari.
Okay, a 2010 debut I'm really really looking forward to is a YA title I just discovered yesterday called Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda. Mystery! POC protagonist! LGBT content! What's there not to love? Also, as it happens to be the only Asian lead YA debut novel of 2010 being published this year I plan on dishing out money for the first edition available. Gotta support. =D

As for non-debut, many many titles but I'm really looking forward to Loups-Garous by Natsuhiko Kyogoku. Kyogoku writes the craziest batshit stories evar, and I love it. =D

3) What are your top five favorite books?

1) Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge - It's FRANCES HARDINGE. Aka the best MG novelist evar (tied with Cynthia Kadohata) Also Gullstruck Island is basically my favourite multicultural post-colonial fantasy in the entire world.

2) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa - Because this is basically the craziest, funniest SF evar with the most outrageous cast I've ever seen. Espers! Time Travellers! Aliens! Oh my.

3) Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata - There's no POC protagonist, persay, but it is written by a Japanese-American, and I love it. I never ever like animal stories but if anyone can make me like one, it'd be Kadohata. This woman just really gets dogs. =D

4) Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai - I loooooove the surreal quality of this pseudo-SF, and the incorporation of Chinese mythology. Also! Lesbian romance in a SF novel! Very awesome.

5) Child of the Owl by Laurence Yep - My childhood book of love. Casey Young is the coolest, no-nonsense and most awesomely smart-alecky preteen ever. And I love the story-within-a-story aspect of this novel.

4) Talk about yourself =)

Okay, lemme see. I'm a relatively new undergrad gal running around a liberal arts college. To avoid being stressed out on school I like to dive head on into stories, be they in written forms like short stories or novels, sequential art like manga, or my precious, precious tv shows and movies. And I am a jumble of hypenates: a Malaysian-Chinese Canadian. (booyah, the diaspora is in my blood) I can't deny that my being a Malaysian-Chinese Canadian female affects my reading choices, and by proxy affects the kinds of books I'll blog about. I like looking for stories about women with agency in their storyline, and I like looking for stories that feature a multicultural cast. Little things about being Canadian affect how I blog, like how I will always spell words like neighbour and colour with the 'u' (It's just so weird to me without it) and when I refer to the prices of the books I buy I always use CND dollars. =P I'm also particularly sensitive when it comes to yet another Canadian story about a whitewashed narrative, because it's a narrative that's been handed out to me all my life that I'm tired of just accepting. Oh Canada, the Great Forever White North of Fail, why?

Hmm, little known fact: I can speak/read/write French. Not enough that I would say I'm completely fluent, but I can definitely hold my own in a conversation and can read French works with minimal use of the dictionary. In fact, I am wayyyyyy better at French than I've ever been in Chinese, be it in either Mandarin or Cantonese. (I've been told this makes me weird, but w/e) So if you wish to comment to me in French, I'm totally cool with that. (I hope you won't be expecting everything to be ~*grammatically*~ correct though. *is terribly lazy about grammar*)

I also have a bit of a melodramatic streak in me, and I believe some of it shows in my blogging. I'm always reacting to something and usually have something to say about everything down to the most mundane things. I either love or hate something, a middle indifferent ground is a concept rather foreign to me. Personally, I think life's more fun if you're interacting and reacting to it. =D

5) If you could have dinner with two characters from any book who would it be and why?

First up I'd loooove to have Jacob from North of Beautiful as a dinner date. He's sweet and cute and thoughtful and won't laugh at me as I make a fool out of myself trying to eat and not oogle at the same time. And it'd be epic for Haruhi from The Suzumiya Haruhi series to be there as well, because she's so crazy and will probably make a big unforgettable adventure out of a trip to the restaurant. (We'll need a translator between us, but I think the epic adventure will cross over the language barrier. =D) Also I'm amused by the idea of how Jacob would react to someone like Haruhi.

Finally any advice to those who want to read POC? And to those who are just starting to blog?

If you choose to read POC, there are excellent blog resources dedicated to blogging POC books out there, such as Ari's blog right here, for instance. =D My personal favourite resource is the Writers of Color 50 books because there's an endless list of reviews and there are genre tags so if you're partial to a certain genre, like YA, you can click the YA tag and, lo behold, a million YA book reviews, just for you! Also, there'd be multiple reviews for the same novel so you can get different viewpoints and opinions on one novel in one place and can have a better judgement on seeing whether or not that particular book is for you.


And to those who are just starting to blog, what helped me a lot was by blogging side by side with a friend. I would have never gotten this far without ninefly prodding and encouragement. We went book shopping together, prod each other to work on reviews and be ~*productive*~, and text/call each other about their content. Blogging with ninefly got me rolling in the whole book blogging world and I appreciate it and am so proud to be her friend. Also, I would recommend commenting on other people's blogs. Most of the fun in blogging in general is with the interactivity, and that's how you'll make friends and acquaintances in the book blogsphere. I hope this advice will be helpful to you and good luck with your respective blogs!

I've added Crossing to my 2010 YA/MG Debut Author challenge list! I'll have to check out the books she lists especially Cracker. I've only read one other book by Cynthia Kadohata, but I really liked it (Kira Kira). I would love to have dinner with Jacob! I don't know Haruhi, but I'll check out the series. Thanks for the interview Ah Yuan, it's been fun! Everyone needs to go check out Gal Novelty, right now.

To be featured in the Blogger Spotlight, email me.

Blogger Spotlight: Multiculturalism Rocks!

Today is my first ever Blogger Spotlight!

This feature will be weekly and in it I will highlight people and their blogs who are POC and/or review books about POC.

I want a more creative name for this feature so if anyone has any suggestions leave a comment.

My first ever spotlighted blog is Multiculturalism Rocks! Please everyone welcome the wonderful Nathalie who created Multiculturalism Rocks! Seriously, Nathalie rocks and her interview made me even more in awe of her. she always comments on my reviews and her words always bring a smile to my face, she knows what to say when I most need to hear it.

1) Explain about your blog.

The explanation is in the name: "multicultural" is the world we live in today, and it's never been truer in any country than in the United States. "Multiculturalism" in children's literature is vibrant, full of life and it challenges conformity--of thought and expression, just to quote a few. The blog aims to celebrate that, because it truly is a joy when a person of color is featured in a book, or when a writer of color or illustrator has a book out there. It is a unique and enriching gift to the young reader, Western and non-Western. It's a bridge between cultures that invites to an analysis and understanding of the world we live in, while providing all the fun of a great read.

2) What 2010 debut book are you most looking forward to? And non-debut?

Ari, how can you ask me to pick just one book?! :)

Okay, for a debut author, Olugbemisola is the first name that comes to mind! Right now I'm dying to read her book, 8th Grade Super Zero. Yes the reviews are very good, but my anticipation goes beyond that: I fell in love with the trailer and I caught myself drinking her words during her interviews. I'm anticipating larger than life characters in her novel and a straightforward, unapologetic honesty in the narration. :)

As for a non-debut author, it's Sweet, Hereafter, by Angela Johnson. The themes of solitude and personal loss are close to my heart, and from working with kids of all age and background in the past, I am convinced her book will resonate on a deep emotional level with the audience.

3) What are your top five favorite POC books?

1-The House of Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. The beginning is so thought provoking! I like that it engages the young reader into thinking about the implications of cloning.

2-Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. It is hard not to be touched and affected by the story, and the mix of sadness and hope as experienced by a middle-grader.

3-Dark Sons, by Nikki Grimes. My favorite poem is Divine Discourse.

4-Girls for Breakfast, by David Yoo. It is a fun and light read, but I had to put it on the list; I embarrassed myself by laughing out loud in public so many times because of that book!

5- The Pact by Dr. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt. The book isn't a YA and it is non-fiction, but I think a teenager can enjoy it, definitely be inspired by the story, and be encouraged not to give up on his/her dream whatever that is.

I wanted to put the following one the list, however the book isn't available in English.

-The Three Little Shoeshine Boys (original title in French: Les Trois Petits Cireurs), by Cameroonian author Francis Bebey. I read it when I was a kid, and the story is still very much alive in my heart. I mention it in the hope that someone picks it up and translates it. It's the story of three Cameroonian kids who, like it is the case for many, work after school to help their families. It's moving and humorous at the same time.

4) Talk about yourself =)

Well, I'm in my thirties. I have a background in nutrition, and I currently study cultural anthropology at an undergraduate level. I practice Tae Kwon Do and play volleyball.

I once worked as a fork lift driver, for over a year, to help my family. I am a former bookseller specialized in children's literature. I worked and volunteered with children in crisis, in Africa, Europe and here, and I witnessed first hand what a powerful healing tool storytelling is. That is one of the reasons I'm passionate about kid lit and multicultural books in particular, because they really do make a difference in a child's life.

The reason behind the languages I speak? Cameroon, like Canada, has French and English as official languages. I lived in the French part of the country, so as I child I first learned French and Bulu, my native tongue. Then in elementary school English was one of the required subjects. In middle school, Latin was mandatory and I studied it for four years. And I picked German--end of middle school, Cameroon, and this is public education--and studied it for seven years (because my big sister chose to learn Spanish. Go figure.)

I did my high school in France, and I later worked in Germany.

There is growing Chinese community in Africa, and I am now learning Mandarin (it's pretty challenging)

I have written several picture books--multicultural and non-MC, and I am currently working on a YA novel about an American teenager who travels to Africa. It is a coming of age and magical realism story. I am not published yet, but hopefully will be one day :)

5) If you could have dinner with two POC characters from any book who would it be and why?
Oh! I'll dine with Arnold Spirit from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and Asha, from the Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins I think it will make for a deep and sometimes funny conversation about identity and fitting in today's society.

Finally any advice to those who want to read POC? And to those who are just starting to blog?

My advice to those who want to read POC:
-Go to your local bookstore and ask to see what they have. It will show the booksellers that there is a demand for POC, and they will be more than happy to place orders, and maybe this will lead to seeing more POC on bookshelves.
-Talk to your librarian for recommendations. Librarians are fabulous!
-Check online. There are more and more resources about Native Indian, Latino, African American, Arabic, etc... literature thanks to blogs like yours, the Brown Bookshelf, The Happy Nappy Bookseller and more. Cynthia Leitich Smith also has an amazing page full of book recommendations, broken down by cultures.
Once you get started, do not stop there. Writers generally have a website, so if you liked their book, take time to send an email and thank them. Most readers have no idea the fight and sweat it takes for a writer to get published :)

To those who are just starting a blog:
-Be clear about your goals--what you want to focus on, who you are blogging for,
-Ask yourself how much time you are ready to invest--how many times a week will you blog?
-Read a variety of blogs every day, 2 to 5 depending on your availability, and comment. Blogging is about sharing information. :)
Once your blog is up and running, have fun doing it; it shouldn't be a chore :)

Thank you so much for this insightful interview Nathalie! Her advice is spot-on and I really encourage everyone to head over to Multiculturalism Rocks! Nathalie's blog is unique especially her spotlights of foreign books in addition to American books. I'm confident that she will be published one day.

If you want to be featured in the Blogger Spotlight email me.