Author Elif Shafak

I have the Cinco Puntos Press blog to thank for this video and introducing me to a new author. Not even 10 minutes in and I was already adding Shafak's most recent release, The Forty Rules of Love to my library queue.

Watch and enjoy the next 19:46 minutes

A Letter For Oprah Winfrey (updated)

Dear: Oprah

Hello, my name is Doret, I have always loved to read. I currently work at a bookstore in Atlanta, GA. As you know dealing with the public is not always fun. Though there's something great about connecting readers with a book they will love. I get much joy from this.

I love the O magazine covers. The color choices and layout are always eye -catching perfect. You should feature the magazine cover team on Oprah, if you haven't already. There are always great books recommendations in O. Speaking of books

When I heard Freedom by Franzen was your most recent book club selection my first thought was noooooo. Oprah, like any one else you are free to read and love any book of your choosing. Though, I wonder why you'd pick a book by an author who doesn't need the attention nor probably wants it. I actually liked Franzen's honest unfiltered feelings about having Corrections selected as a book club pick in 2001 very refreshing.

Did you know 2002 was the last time you selected a contemporary female author? Sula by Toni Morrison and Fall On Your Knees by Ann- Marie MacDonald, where chosen that year.

Your website is very helpful and easy to maneuver, though somehow I still manage to miss the 2004 selection of The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Please forgive me for not paying closer attention.

Since 2002 you selected 3 female authors and 19 males authors. I find it hard to believe you haven't found more female authors in the last 8 yrs living or dead worth highlighting. Literary fiction is not a male domain.

A man would never go so long without recommending something by a male author. I wouldn't want you to only select female authors. One of the great things about female readers, we are more open to reading outside of our gender. Please don't be fooled by my contributions to Color Online, a blog that focuses on female authors of color. My reading habits are very diverse. As you can see from my personal blog. I am currently reading How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu. It's amazing and I can already tell it will be on a few best of list at the end of the year.

Color Online was started by Susan in 2005 out of necessity, and there' s still a need for it. Just take a look at many of the best of book list of 2009 and notice how many women of color aren't on them.

Oprah, I just want you to please remember there are some great books by female authors that could do with a little attention. Like

Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis - The last half is amazing. One scene touched me so much I was crying so hard, I was choking. I haven't cried like that since the Book Thief or Kite Runner

Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa - One of the best debuts and novels of 2009 but sadly it want unnoticed by many.

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende - I've heard its amazing and I am looking forward to reading it. It was featured on NPR,

Or Wench by Dolen Perkin-Valdez - A wonderful 2010 debut that was featured on NPR this year.

Please feel free to stop by Color Online if you ever need recommendations for books by female authors of color. If you ever need children's suggestion feel free to stop by my personal blog.

Also there's a beautiful biography called Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo illus. by Lin Wang. Its the story of the first Chinese actress in Hollywood. It very interesting and informative. Every time I think about The Good Earth novel, I am reminded of the movie, then Shining Star. Anna May Wong auditioned for one of the leading roles and like all the other Chinese actors was turned down.

Oprah, I hope you have a wonderful last season. Do enjoy your trip to Australia. If you get to a bookshop check out Australian author Melina Marchetta. I highly recommend all of her titles. If I had to pick just one start with Finnikin of the Rock.


Sincerely,
Doret

Amazon Can't Do That : Where Do Female Authors of Color Fair Better?

So a customer was looking for a new book the other day. She was a fan of Emily Giffin and had just broken up with her boyfriend. She was thinking about buying The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Larsson. Put aside the fact that I am not a fan of this series, I simply knew it wasn't what the customer wanted to read at that moment.

After thinking about it for a minute I suggested Good in Bed by Weiner. Of course I told her about 32 Candles by Carter but she was looking for a paperback. I flirted with telling the customer about Feminsita by Kennedy, but the more I thought about it the more I felt sure Good in Bed was the right recommendation.

The customer read some of Good in Bed before leaving and was very happy with it. Its easy to buy books online but a reader can't get personalized suggestions. I wonder how this impacts female authors of color

Do they sell better in bookstores? Or online? Part of me wants to say online. Customers never have to worry about an item being in stock. Though there's the issue of someone purchasing a book online that doesn't fit their reading mood or they simply don't care for it.

Someone buying a book they don't like shouldn't be a big deal. Unfortunately, too many readers don't regularly read female authors of color. So if a reader is underwhelmed by the one book they decide to read, chances are they won't be seeking out more female authors of color anytime soon.

In the bookstore, customers can get recommendations. They can browse the shelves until a cover catches their eye. I think there's still something to be said for connecting with a book in person. Especially when a reader is getting out of their comfort zone. Some bookstores make this difficult when seeking out female authors of color. Luckily I don't work at one of those stores.

Where do you think female authors of color fair better? Another guick questions - Do you think Independent bookstores are better at suggesting and displaying female authors of color then Chains?

What Are You Reading? Let's Discuss

At Color Online we recommend and review works by female authors of color because we believe these stories should highlighted and discussed. However that doesn't mean that's all we read. If you check our personal blogs you will see we read many different authors. I wanted to take a moment to see what everyone is reading? Have you read a book because it was featured here at Color Online?

If so what book and did you like it? What book are you looking forward to reading?

Right now I am reading Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Its soooo good. I am loving it. This is Rhodes first middle grade novel. She is an award winning author of adult fiction. When I heard Ninth Ward was coming out I was so excited. I've never read any of the Rhodes adult fiction, though I've heard is very good (especially Voodoo Dreams) and each novel is better than the last. Ninth Ward comes out August 16th.

I just finished Laura Lippman's new mystery I'd Know You Anywhere. The book comes out Aug. 17 An advanced copy was sent to the bookstore I work at. (preview copies are the only perk to working at a bookstore) Lippman's new book is really good, I was up very late reading. Though I may be a little biased because I love Lippman's writing. The stand alone mysteries are great though I highly recommend starting with her Tess Monaghan series. The first book is Baltimore Blues.

One last question? Do you finish every book you start? I used to but not anymore. When a book starts giving me a case of readers potty mouth its time to put it down and let it go.

Black Authors - Single Focus Promotion

Black authors are usually only marketed to Black readers. This is an injustice to the artist and the art lover. Literature is art that should be shared, loved and appreciated by all those that deem it beautiful. Unfortunately, many Black authors don't get a chance to reach as many people as they can. Yes, I know this happens to all authors though if you walk into any bookstores and look at the display there is no denying that this impacts Black authors more.

I've been following author Carleen Brice's blog White Readers Meet Black Authors since the beginning (2008). Brice did a fun video called Welcome White Folks. Its an introduction to the African American section in the bookstore. I don't remember a time when African American literature hasn't been separate from literature written by author of other ethnicity's.

When I was in high school I like it. I always knew the books I wanted to read could be found in the back of the bookstore. Now, I am not a fan. I realize that there are a lot of really talented authors with a limited audience thanks to this separate but not equal separation. Also many Black readers are being cheated as well. I love Black authors but would hate to only read Black authors or limit myself to one section in a bookstore.

Today, I wanted a book to read while I ran a few errands. I decided to pick up Trading Dreams at Midnight by Diane Mckinney- Whetstone. I've already read and loved it and decided to revisit it. Mckinney-Whetstone inspired this post, she is a very skilled writer. Her novel Tumbling is one of my all time favorites. Though, Trading Dreams at Midnight is McKinney- Whetstone's fifth book, I know many people reading this have never heard of her. That makes me so sad.

To read everything or everyone is impossible. I haven't nor to do I plan to read every African, Asian, Indian, Latino author I hear about. But thanks to single focus promotion many aren't given the opportunity to hear about Black authors and decide for themselves if they want to read their stories.

I used to not recommend Black authors to White readers, I suppose I was feeding into the whole separation and I wondered/ worried what customers would think about the recommendation. That all changed when I started following White Readers Meet Black Authors.

Now I am like you loved Wally Lamb's I know This Much True, you should read 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell. Or you like Janet Evanovich's- Stephanie Plum series you should try Kyra Davis's - Sophie Katz's series.

It feels good to suggest stories I love without hesitation. To be fair to my customers, I don't think I was giving them enough credit. Many readers just what a good story. (surprise) I still get a few blank stares but happens with many book suggestions no matter the race of the author.

Enjoy the video



Before I started blogging my reading selection was not as diverse as it could be. Now reading novels by author of so many different backgrounds is one of the best things that came out of blogging.

Sensitive Reader - Books I couldn't enjoy

I am a sensitive reader. I am not talking about crying, though I am a crier. When I read books I am acutely aware of the characters that resemble me, be it gender or race. I find myself looking out for them. Even more so when a female character is created by a man or a Black character is created by a non Black author. This year I read a mystery one of my co-workers loved, called A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn. Set in South Africa. Its 1952 and new apartheid laws are being enforced. I liked the main protagonist Emmanuel Cooper. My problem with the book was with how Davida, only Black South African female featured in the book was treated.

I didn't care for the way Davida, was a used and abused pawn for everyone including her father. Davida is also drawn as a weak character. When I told my co-worker why I didn't like A Beautiful Place to Die, she said it was small part of the story. Maybe my co-worker's right and I am simply being the overly sensitive reader that I am. Big or small I couldn't ignore my feelings for how this character was treated.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Little Bee is a young Nigerian refugee living in Britain. Sarah and her husband took their holiday at resort near Little Bee's village and something very bad happened. Somehow Little Bee finds herself living with Sarah. Both characters have been through and lost a lot but its Little Bee who ends up comforting Sarah most of all. That just made me so mad. I thought Little Bee, a young girl living in a detention center in another country deserved someone to lean on.

Off topic but, the beach scene for this book is talked up, so my expectations were high. When I finally read it I was underwhelmed. If a scene is going to be hyped up, the author better bring it. My first thought after reading the beach scene was dude, have you not read The Kite Runner.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larrson. This mystery series is an international bestseller but it there was way too much sexual violence against woman for me. There were three sadist in this one book. In Swedish the original title translates to Man Who Hate Women.

Off topic - with all the unnecessary graphic sexual violence, I thought this read more like an American mystery as opposed to a Swedish one. If you are looking for a good Swedish mystery try Before the Frost by Henning Manknell or The Martin Beck mysteries by Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. The Beck mysteries are very good. The first one Roseanna was written in 1965. The series was released a few years ago, and they've lost nothing with time.

I got the idea to do this post thanks to Paul Mooney's autobiography Black is the New White. It wasn't that well written to begin. Mooney continuously equates beauty with fair skin. When he refers to his female cousin as very light light and attractive. I was done. Its been awhile since I looked at the book, Mooney could've used one light, though I am 90% he used two. I am 100% sure very was used. When I stopped reading Black is the New White over one sentence, my first thought was I am a sensitive reader.

I will never apologize for this. I am open to hearing other points of views but who I am will always influence how I see a novel.

Are you a sensitive reader? Is so what books were you unable to enjoy?

Favorite Movie Soundtracks

From Doret

Some publishers send advance reader copies or ARCs to the bookstore I work at. There is no reasoning behind what comes, though once in a while we get something really good. A few weeks ago a copy Terry McMillan’s upcoming new release Getting to Happy arrived. Thankfully it was two and not one, otherwise my co-worker would have fought me for that single copy. It could have gotten ugly. Getting to Happy is the sequel to Waiting to Exhale. Fifteen years later, the four friends still make me smile. I love losing myself in characters I never really forget.

Before I started Getting to Happy, I got the brilliant idea to play Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, as backdrop music. This never happened, the song didn’t fit these new stories, but what a soundtrack! All the songs were written and produced by Babyface. When I think about movie soundtracks, I consider Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale turning points. The powers that be realized it was worth putting a little effort behind soundtracks because they will sell.

Though it was only side A of the Bodyguard soundtrack (had the cassette), that was good. Side A was Whitney Houston, side B was everyone else. Some of my other favorite soundtracks of all time are Dead Presidents, Love Jones, and Jungle Fever. Yes, I have seen movies in this decade, but I simply can’t think of any other soundtracks that I loved.

What are some of your favorites? And yes, musicals count.