Black Coffee discussion

April Challenge: National Poetry Month!

How many books can you read this month?

*As an added challenge, try and read at least 1 book with poetry as a theme.

Books can be

* about a poet (real or fictional)
* a collection of poetry
* written by a poet
* novels written in prose

ANY GENRE COUNTS FOR THIS CHALLENGE

Start Date: April 01, 2014
End Date: April 30, 2014

You can record your goal and books HERE on this thread

OR

Use the Widget!
https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...

I am gonna try to finish 10. I will get a bit of a cheat boost because of 4 carryovers from last month :D


This Child's Gonna Live CARRYOVER & written by poet ;)
Destiny's Embrace CARRYOVER
y1 CARRYOVER
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The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress
The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes POETRY
The Lathe of Heaven GROUP
A Brown Paper Bag and a Fine Tooth Comb GROUP
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings BUDDY & POET
The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing: A Novel

Im gonna go for five this month.

I am going to go for 15 books this month:

My poetry book will be The Big Smoke.
a collection of poems on the myth and unapologetic masculinity of the first African-American heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson.

Hopefully I will do a better job this month of reading books from the list below _ plus I need to visit some other countries:
Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson
The Golem and the Jinni
A Wanted Woman
Craving Temptation
A Man's Promise
Pig's Foot
The Orchard of Lost Souls: A Novel
Blessed Are the Dead
Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa
Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore: A Novel
Under the Frangipani
Dust
Children of Paradise: A Novel
The Martian
You Should Have Known
Red Now and Laters
Saint Monkey
The Long Song
Bittersweet

How did everyone do this month? I have not been reading much at all. I MAY finish 2 more tonight for a grand total of 5 out of 10 :o)

I'm two short. :(

I was only able to read 9 out of 15.

Work projects were too demanding and consuming for me the latter part of the month.

In the meanwhile - I have a couple of highly recommended books that I am most anxious to read.

Looks like Beverly and Anastasia are our big readers this month. Congratualtions! Even though you didn't make your goals, you still far outread the rest of us. :o)

Any favorites? Least favorites?

Londa wrote: "
Looks like Beverly and Anastasia are our big readers this month. Congratualtions! Even though you didn't make your goals, you still far outread the rest of us. :o)

Any favorites? Least favorites?"

Yes, I had a couple of favorites and one of them was my poetry read.

The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka
This was my poetry read and liked it so much considering reading a couple of other poetry books sitting on my unread shelf.
Jack Johnson, the first African-American world heavyweight champion, is a figure of mythological proportions; in this new collection, poet Adrian Matejka gives the boxer a voice that's wholly human. The poet examines race and racism from Johnson's singular perspective: the son of slave-born Southerners, the opera-loving international celebrity, the abusive playboy arrested for dating white women, the wealthy world champion who couldn't get served at restaurants. Matejka's unflinching verse conveys Johnson's bravura and his bravery, and both the power and the vulnerability of a bleeding, breakable body in the ring.

The Martian by Andy Weir
I actually liked this book more than I expected. The storyline was different enough to make it a refreshing read, with enough tension and suspense to keep me turning the pages, and just the right amount of scientific/technology information that my eyeballs did not roll up into the back of my head.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Another well-written story - I enjoyed that it had a little history, a little mythology, and wonderful characters.

My least fav book was:
A Wanted Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey
There was just too much graphic details on the gang-raping and torture against women for me.

Londa wrote: "
Looks like Beverly and Anastasia are our big readers this month. Congratualtions! Even though you didn't make your goals, you still far outread the rest of us. :o)

Any favorites? Least favorites?"

Thanks :)

My favorites (I read so many good books this month!):

The Unwanted Wife
I generally dislike romance novels but this one was very well-written, I felt more like it was study in human nature.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
After so many years finally getting to read this series. Definitely as good as I've heard. :)

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Felt like a short history of modern Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of two women. It was nice to have it all laid out for me and the story was gripping!

I also enjoyed Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America and American in Iran and In the Land of Invisible Women. They weren't five stars but were still good.

Least favorite:

A Brown Paper Bag and a Fine Tooth Comb
I really really reeeeaaaally wanted to like this one but the writing was so poor I couldn't. :(

The Big Smoke sounds great Beverly. I have a novella on my to-read list about Jack Johnson called The Big Blow

The Martian is on my list too. Glad to read your positive review.

The Golem and the Jinni... I LOVE! that book. Just LOVE IT! Fantastic writing. Became an instant fave!
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Anastasia ~ A Thousand Splendid Suns is on my all time fave list. Have you read Kite Runner? I didn't like that one as much but it is still great. I will probably read his latest book sometime this year.

I have to agree with you on Brown Paper Bag. I still want to read a book that deals with the complex colorism in New Orleans in a meaningful way. This was not it.

Londa wrote: "The Big Smoke sounds great Beverly. I have a novella on my to-read list about Jack Johnson called The Big Blow

The Martian is on my list too. Glad to read your positive review.

Th..."

Lansdale is a good writer so The Big Blow should be a good read.

I actually like Kite Runner better than A Thousand Splendid Sun - but just by a tad - both a good reads. I was just ok with the author's latest book - And the Mountains Echoed.

I will have to think about good books - dealing with colorism in New Orleans and will ask friends who have read more on this than I have.

Londa wrote: "Anastasia ~ A Thousand Splendid Suns is on my all time fave list. Have you read Kite Runner? I didn't like that one as much but it is still great. I will probably read his latest book sometime this year.

I have to agree with you on Brown Paper Bag. I still want to read a book that deals with the complex colorism in New Orleans in a meaningful way. This was not it. ."

I have not, I looked at the reviews and got scared, it sounded really depressing. I saw A Thousand Splendid Suns at the library though and thought it looekd more up my alley. Mmmm mmmm mmmm, it was an awesome read!

Same here, I was intrigued by the issues the book touched on but the writing didn't do them justice.

Beverly wrote: "I will have to think about good books - dealing with colorism in New Orleans and will ask friends who have read more on this than I have. "

Let us know, it's an intriguing topic :)

Anastasia wrote: "Beverly wrote: "I will have to think about good books - dealing with colorism in New Orleans and will ask friends who have read more on this than I have. "

Let us know, it's an intriguing topic :)"

A good book is Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color

While this is nonfiction - it is a series of essays by different writers dealing on different subjects - so can pick and chose what you want to read about.

Louisiana has an interesting history in that it was held by the Spanish and then the French - so a lot of the rules of slavery, colorism, and freedom were reflected of those societies - then the Americans came and brought their own brand of slavery, who should be enslaved, etc. The Americans were not welcomed and were considered crude, etc.

I believe many in the group have read Cane River and Red River which weaves this history into the storyline.

Also the Benjamin January series by Barbara Hambly provides lots of detail intricate rules regarding color.
You do not have to read the whole series - the first book is A Free Man of Color.

In Barbara Hambly's rich and poignant thriller, it's 1833 and Ben January--a man of mixed blood making his living as a musician because he's not allowed to practice surgery--is back home in New Orleans after years of freedom in Paris. Trying to walk a caste line more complicated than India's, January risks his precarious position to investigate the killing of a young woman who--like his own younger, lighter half-sister--is the mistress of a wealthy white man. What has changed most in New Orleans while Ben was away is the influence of the white Americans: rough, ignorant, instinctively racist. Only one of these--a policeman named Abishag Shaw--seems to understand that January is at least as smart and valuable as he is, and even he at times appears to be ready to side with the white majority and pin the crime on Ben.

Alright, thanks!