Thursday, February 5, 2009

Second Month of 2009 First Quarter Reading Challenge




Well, I didn’t read as many books as I had planned to read in January; however, I am more than sure I will make the 13 book quota for the First Quarter Reading Challenge by March 31.

Books Read in January
Title Author Rating


1. Red Light, Green Light Margaret Hodge Johnson 4.5


2. A Little Piece of Sky Nicole Bailey-Williams 4


3. Seduced by Moonlight Janice Sims 3.5 (APOOO review)


4. Where the Line Bleeds Jesmym West 4/4.5

(APOOO BOM, Vine review)


5. Tempest Tales Walter Mosley 4 (Marcus BOM)


6. The Red Tent Anita Diamant 4.5/5

Red Light, Green Light will make my favorites list for 2009, undoubtedly in the top 10. The author puts you there in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. She has you in the mind and body of a crack-addicted man trying to stay clean. Hodge-Johnson wrote this book.

Where the Line Bleeds will also be on my favorites lAs a matter of fact I wrote a blog about it-

http://derarwilliams.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-read-lot-of-books-about-100-year.html

The Tempest Tales was a great book club discussion. Debating the merits of heaven and hell, good vs. evil, judgment, temptation, and the moral compass made for lively debate.

A pleasant surprise was A Little Piece of Sky. My introduction to Nicole Bailey-Williams last fall for The Love Child Revenge was not a pleasant reading experience. In fact it was a disappointing read and a waste of my time and intelligence. ALPOS was a small volume packed with lyrical, beautiful language and a story that captivated me. Had a kind of Sandra Cisneros’ House on Mango Street feel to it.

I cannot believe I had not read The Red Tent. I found the book buried at the bottom of my book pile with the Amazon.com receipt still in it from March 2002! It was a gift from one of my APOOO sisters. TRT had me looking at the Bible in a new light and wanting to delve deeper into the Old Testament. I had some of the same sentiments as Sister APOOOer Yasmin Coleman. http://www.apooobooks.com/sunday-salon-january-rewind-fast/

And of course, my girl, Janice Sims, a great romance writer and friend, set me up right with Seduced by Moonlight. Nothing like a Calgon moment.

The plan is to read the following books for February. We shall see.

7. Protect and Serve - Gwyneth Bolton

8. Straight Outta East Oakland - Harry Louis Williams II

9. Something Like Beautiful - asha bandele (APOOO BOM)

10. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Marcus BOM) - Junot Diaz

11. Black and White - Lewis Shiner

12. Secret Daughter - June Cross (APOOO review)
13. Like a Might Stream: The March on Washington, August 28, 1963- Patrik Henry Bass (Black History Read)
14. And selected stories from Best African American Fiction: 2009 & Best African American Essays:2009, both edited by Gerald Early.

Stop by and let me know what is in your queue and how your 2009 reading is going or a link to your list.


Until next month.

8 comments:

Beverly said...

Dera -

While you might not have read as many books as you would have liked in January - it seems like it was very enjoyable reading month for you.

I am finishing up The Shadows by L. A. Banks so I can quickly get to The Thirteenth - the final book in the VHL series. I have very much enjoyed the series but I am ready for the ending and to move on to another series.

Dera Williams said...

Hey Beverly, one of these days I am going to start that series. When, who knows?

Poetic Genesis said...

Hey Dera

I read something like beautiful and I absolutely can't WAIT to hear your thoughts!

Great post and I'm sure you'll meet your quota.

Yasmin said...

Wondering what Darnetta thinks about something like beautiful...hehe.

Poetic Genesis said...

tehee @ Yas...lol

Yasmin said...

QQ Darnetta...hehe.

Jennifer C. said...

Hey Dera,

My reading is going good. The rate I'm going I will be done in early March with my list.

Right now I'm reading Something like Beautiful and finishing up The Girl With The Golden Shoes by Colin Channer. I want to read Protect and Serve this week as well.

To check out my updated list here's a link http://wordsmosaic.com/quarter-readin…allenge-week-3quarter-reading-challenge-week-3/

Dera Williams said...

Darnetta, I will be reading SLB this weekend.

Yas, Darnetta is a poetess as bandele is so we will see.

Jennifer,
Protect and Serve was a nice read. You are getting your reading on.