LheaJLove's Challenge for 2010

Alright, alright. 2009 was a good year for reading... hopefully 2010 will be even greater.

I hope to read 100 books in 2010.

Including: 15 Black Classics, 6 Great Books, 6 Shakespeare, 10 South East Asian, 20 Before I Die, 10 Erotica, 5 Romance, 10 Books & their Film Adaptations, 12 by LGBT authors and 25 authors who I've never read before.

There will be a lot of overlap...

A few of the South East Asian authors will be part of the 1001 Books to Read Before I Die challenge, while a few will be part of the 25 authors I've never read before. Some of the Erotica books will also be Romance, some of the romance also books with films. And probably half of the Shakespeare I read will have films as well.

Honestly, my primary reason for seeking a new job is so that I can expand my personal library. Some says I am a selfish loner, others that I am obsessive.

I'll accept both. Cheers!

Visit my blog at http://blackbookshelf.blogspot.com

Do the Black Classics Challenge at http://blackclassicschallenge.blogspot.com

Lhea's 2010 Completed Reading

1. Excuses Begone
2. 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Economics
3. Sellout
4. Burn This Book
5. Don't sweat the small stuff
6. The Hours
7. Best African American Essays 2010
8. It's Bigger than Hip Hop
9. The Hip Hop Generation
10. Best African American Essays 2009
11. Rich Dad, Poor Dad
12. Black Greek 101
13. Vagina Monologues
14. What's Your Dangerous Idea?
15. Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age
16. Hung: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men
17. Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
18. The Good Guy

I've read:

16 Total

0 Comics
0 Poetry
4 Fiction
14 Nonfiction

3 Novels
0 Short Story Collections
0 Erotica
1 Stageplays/Screenplays

0 Memoir
3 Essays
0 Philosophy
0 Psychology
2 Science
7 Cultural Studies
1 Spirituality
0 Christianity
1 New Age
0 Health

6 African American
1 Women/Feminism
1 Men/Manhood
0 Babies/Children

1 On Writing
0 Quotations

0 Complete Challenges

1 Black Classics
0 Great Books
0 Shakespeare
0 South East Asian
7 African Diaspora
0 Before I Die
0 Erotica
0 Romance
1 Book & Movie Adaptation
0 You've Got Mail
1 LGBT
6 Authors I've Never Read Before
0 Ebooks
0 Chunkster
0 Books about Books
0 What's In a Name

0 Mann-Bookers
0 Pulitzers
0 Nobels

Not another challenge...don't tempt me :) I think I'm already doing too many.

1. Excuses Begone

I have been reading Dr. Wayne W. Dyer for over a decade. There are many lessons that one must learn and relearn through out one's life - so that she does not forget. The lessons of 2010 is, "Excuses Begone!"

The most difficult thing to realize is that everyone has setbacks. Some people battle with their health, others with their temper; Some struggle to handle finances, others with racial, gender or sexual-orientation related discrimination. Difficulties do not have to develop into excuses.

Dr. Dyer discusses in depth how each imagined rationale, is simply an excuse - one that can be eliminated and overcome. From genetic health positions (referencing The Biology of Belief and Virus of the Mind) to family history and conditioning, each person can redevelop their habitual mind, rewrite each meme and manifest a new destiny.

Dyer provides a catalogue of common excuses: It Will Be Difficult, There Will Be Family Drama, I Can't Afford It, I'm Not Strong/Smart Enough, I'm Too Busy or I'm Too Scared. And Dyer guides each reader through solutions to combat each excuse - beginning with the power of affirmations. The solutions include Seven Principles to remember and Seven Questions towards a paradigm shift.

While there are some books to be read once and immediately appreciated, there are other books that will remain useful throughout your lifetime to be referred to again and again. Excuses Begone, is a lesson each person must learn -- and there is no author better suited to teach it than Wayne Dyer.

2. 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Economics

No matter how much I read, or how often, I am constantly reminded of how much I do not know and how little I understand. Economics and the Economy are two areas to which I could stand to be reintroduced.

Understanding the fundamentals of any field, requires understanding the definitions. Without the definitions, it is impossible to speak, read or understand the language. I found this to be true in Philosophy, Law and Medicine. Economics is no exceptions.

101 Things Everyone Should Know About Economics is not a textbook, a business guide or a collection of current economics events. It is simply a reference book that will give you the language to understand everything else.

I enjoyed Sander's book as a starting point for further learning.

3. Sellout

As much as I love fiction, the majority of books that I own and read are nonfiction. And when I survey my favorite books they are often written by journalists and lawyers. Randall Kennedy's Sellout is a book that I have been dying to read.

In what has been deemed, "Post-Racial" America, many would question what role with race, or specifically "Blackness" play. Is the month that Carter G. Woodson recommended still necessary? Is only five US doctoral programs in African American studies enough? Are African languages worth studying? In a post-racial society, is there a such thing as "selling out," "being an uncle tom" or "racial betrayal?" These are my questions that roam my mind about race as I pick up Randall Kennedy's book.

In order to determine whether racial betrayal can or does exist within the African American community, first Kennedy tackles "Who is Black". By discussing the one drop rule as it pertains to Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Tiger Woods or President Barack Obama. Kennedy outlines the history of the Black sellout from the redefining of the word coined in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin through the modern day cases of the accused betrayal of Clarence Thomas (for example). Most importantly, he cautions and encourages the Black community to be careful when accusing a member of "selling out."

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Sellout" almost as much as I enjoyed "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word". But admittedly, Nigger is tough title to beat.

4. Burn this Book

I have been reading Toni Morrison for over a decade now, but 2009 marked the beginning of me reading her nonfiction works. I have found her essays to be just as impactful as each of her novels.

In a slinder anthology, Morrison has gathered many of the most thought-provoking writers of the 20th and 21st centuries; and, each reader is reminded that a pithy statement of truth can strike harder than thousands of pages of loose prose.

Toni Morrison describes the necessity of the writer's safety, life and work. Nadine Gordimer writes about the writer as both a protaganist and witness. Salman Rushdie explores the relationship between a writer and his or her nation. And, John Updike discusses why he writes along with why others before him have written.

In this collection, the reader is reminded that the writer always has a strong relationship to the time, place and nation in which she or he is writing. This relationship may effect the writer's own safety and community; and thus, it is one that cannot be ignored.

#5> I do have to agree, that's one pretty great title! I would say "I'll keep an eye out for it", but I think a book with that title will rather stand out in the bookshop. :)

I think I read your review of it last year, it does sound rather fascinating.

5. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff

While I'm not completely convinced that it's all small stuff, I definitely gained value from this book. The experience of reading this book has been another example of the power and importance of living in the moment.

Most of the things that we sweat comes from harboring the negativity of past incidents or fearing the possibilities of future calamities. There are very few moments in life --- very few times when you are living in the present moment --- that would call for you to sweat.

These "biggies" are best handled when you use the small trivial moments as practice. In these moments you learn how to be the "eye of a storm", using calmness and clarity to find the best exit strategy and positive action.

I found myself wishing I had read this book years and years ago. But, perhaps it is divine timing that I read and re-read this book right here, right now.

6. The Hours

At the end of my college years, I decided watch a few more movies. I don't own television, haven't watched it actively since my childhood, and anyone who knows me can testify that I am the farthest thing from a movie-buff. But, I decided to watch more movies -- as if I did not have enough school work to catch up on -- and my first decision was to watch movies relating to writers and writing.

The Hours was one of the movies that I watched and re-watched. Year after year, I intended to read the Cunningham base novel in full. Finally, I sat down to read it.

I loved the book -- but, I wish I would have read it first. I loved the structure, loved the premise, loved the characters. I loved the books. But, I sure wish I would have encountered the novel before falling in love with the movie.

7. Best African American Essays 2010

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Erasmus, although I am not sure if the quote makes since given the time period when Erasmus lived. "When I have a little money, I buy books. If I have any money left, I buy food and clothes."

My sister gave me a little money as a Christmas present, I debated on how much to spend on books -- and how much to spend on my daily food allotment for January. I decided to buy a single book, "Best African American Essays 2010" as opposed to two or three books. Now that the month has ended, and I have gained a few pounds that in February I will try to shed by fasting, I realized that I would have rather eaten less and read more.

This was one of the greatest anthologies I have read in a very long time. And, I am a huge fan of anthologies.

It begins with a speech by President (then Senator) Barack Obama, continues with essays on our president and first lady, revisits Jeremiah Wright & Bill Cosby and discusses Racial Profiling and Race Cards. While I am not sure if the book was a snap shot of 2009, it is definitely a snap shot of African America in recent years. I was deeply moved, informed and in some ways challenged by each of the entries in this collection.

Much of my reading is a foolhardy attempt to play catch up: my attempt to read all the classic novels I have not read, my attempt to discern who is thinking, writing and inspiring in 2010. Outside of a university or academic community, I cannot keep up. I appreciate the annual collection because it helps the unaffiliated readers (nonjournalists, nonacademics) stay abreast of American happenings.

This is a very fine collection of talented writers, I am certain that I will revisit this anthology throughout the year.

8. It's Bigger than Hip Hop
9. The Hip Hop Generation

Irrefutably, the world would be a different place without hip hop. The synthesis of rap music along with the elemental presence of tagging, breaking/jitting/juking and fashion has already influenced a generation of children who are now adults.

I have found it interesting to watch the maturing of the fathers (and mothers) of hip hop. While my friends and I were the first set of youth to grow up within popular rap culture, those who were gracing the world's stage - a generation ahead are now parents and, probably, grandparents.

With my peers I stand on the cusp between The Hip Hop Generation and the Post Hip Hop Generation.

What difference does it make? Well the impact of a single musical form is impacting (and being impacted by) every level of society -- from the popular culture of fashion and dance to the legal arena of litigation, laws and penal industry; from the spirituality and institution of religion and church worship to the power of both bottom-up activism and top-down politics. I cannot think of a single area of American (or Western life) that has not been touched by the hands of hip hop.

The question remains: what difference does it make?

The jury is still out.

Two of my favorite books on my bookshelves seek to answer that question. It's Bigger than Hip Hop by M. K. Asante, Jr and The Hip Hop Generation by Bakari Kitwana. Both books begin with the oft quoted message of Frantz Fanon:

Each Generation out of relative obscurity must discover their mission, fulfill it or betray it.

Hip Hop is more than a form of music it is simultaneously an industry, a community, a culture and a movement. And we have found, in our globalized world, that hip hop has more than a singular mission. Could Hip Hop address activism without approaching politics? Could Hip Hop address incarceration without influencing education? Could Hip Hop impact music without impacting publishing, film or television.

We now know that the answer is no.

I wish every Black person in America could read each of these two books -- whether they listen to hip hop or not.

Is Hip Hop misogynistic? Yes, most of it. But, I have not heard any woman say that any prior generation was less misogynistic (Civil Rights included) -- perhaps Hip Hop is guilty of glorifying that which was once shameful, but was always both ever present and accepted.

Is Hip Hop minstrelsy? Unfortunately yes, too much of it. But Hip Hop is and will always be a reflection of the people. When we want Hip Hop to change, we will change our own families, our own schools, our own laws, our own churches/mosques and inevitably our own country.

Bakari Kitwana published The Hip Hop Generation at the beginning of the new millennium, new decade and M. K. Asante, Jr. published It's Bigger than Hip Hop at the close of the first decade. And much of the problems faced in both books are the same.

Poverty, Politics and Prisons.

Generation Gaps and Gender Divides.

While Asante talked with Hip Hop and the Ghetto, Kitwana explores AIDS and feminism as well. Asante and Kitwana are crucial pieces of the current American puzzle.

You cannot expect to find answer, if you cannot identify the problems. Asante and Kitwana, individually, discuss the problems and cite emcees, academics and authors who are exploring the depths of 21st century issues.

It matters not, what your socio-economic background is -- nor, your field of expertise. Everyone benefits from learning more about themselves, their community and their history. Please keep, Asante's "Two Sets of Notes for Black Students" close to heart.

from "Two Sets of Notes for Black Students"

I find myself feeling
As I am 'pon the ground & ceiling,
In institutions that disengage from healing
Instead, they simply warp open wounds
& Entrap me in rooms
where I am consumed by hypocrisy
& It occurs to me:
Greek philosophers didn't author their own philosophy

&The statues on campus be watchin' me
Washington... Jefferson... Williams,
Clockin' me--
As if to say 'time's up'
But I don't run laps on tracks
I run laps around the scholars of tomorrow
Because new schools of thought
Are merely our histories borrowed

& The label me militant, and black national radical,
trying to put my learning process on sabbatical.
I don't apologize,
Instead I spit truth into the whites of eyes infected by
white lies.

They even try to get me to see--
Their point of view from a brother that looks like me,
but that brother don't--
walk like me
talk like me
or
act like me
and that brother turned his head
when I asked if he was
black like me

Mastering their thoughts and forgetting our own
and we wonder why we always feel alone,
from the media to academia--
hanging brothers like coats
and in their schools....

I always take two sets of notes,
one set to ace the test
and
one set I call the truth,
and when I find historical contradictions
I use the first set as proof-
proof that black youths'
minds are being--
polluted,
convoluted,
diluted,
not culturally rooted.

In anything
except the Western massacre
and most of us are scared of Africa,
we view our mother's land
Through the eyes of David Hume and Immanuel Kant
well
Immanuel kan't tell me anything about a land he's never
seen
a land rich with history
beautiful kings and queens.

They'll have you believe otherwise
their history is built on high-rise lies
the pyramids were completed
before Greece or Rome were conceptualized,
the they'll claim the Egyptians' race was a mystery
you tell them to read Herodotus Book II of the histories
it cannot be any clearer....

Black children
look in the mirror
you are the reflection of divinity
don't let them fool you with selective memory
walk high,
listen to the elders who spoke
Black Students
Always take two sets of notes.

Wow, great reviews! The essay anthology looks really interesting, too.

10. Best African American Essays 2009

Tobias Wolff once wrote, "All this parading on the high road has nothing to do with the real possibility of the personal essay, which is to catch oneself in the act of being human." Each time I return to this excerpt, I am reminded of the gift of prose. The ability to communicate telepathically from writer to reader transcending time and geographic barriers.

The Best African American Essays 2009 compiled by Gerald Early and Debra J. Dickerson catches snapshots of the African American community in the act of being human. This collection of essays includes the words of Walter Mosley, Chimamanda Adichie, Martha Southgate, Malcolm Gladwell, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Michael Eric Dyson and (then) Senator Barack Obama. Spanning the topics of entertainment, science, sexuality, race and activism, this collection is a vivid depection of Black America towards the close of the first decade of the 21st century.

If you would like to know who's thinking and who's writing, Best African American Essays is a great place to start.

11. Rich Dad, Poor Dad

There are several popular books often listed as essential guides that people should read to understand money. Over the past 10 years, Rich Dad, Poor Dad has risen to the top of that list.

There are a few fundamental truths that are clearly outlined in Rich Dad, Poor Dad that can save years of heartache once learned. And evidently, the sooner you learn the better.

"Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities, but think they are assets." This truth is well explained, and well worth reading a few times.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad works best when coupled with other great books. I enjoy the works of Jeffrey Gitomer and John Maxwell.

Remember, in cases of riches and poverty, reading is never enough. What matters most is, can you implement consistently what you have learned?

12. Black Greek 101

There are many books that discuss the long, beautiful legacy of African American Sorority and Fraternities. No book to date discusses the truth (positive and negative) of Black Greek Letter Organizations with the honesty, clarity and, perhaps most important, succinctness of Walter Kimbrough's Black Greek 101.

Since it's first printing, I have been a huge fan of this work. Primarily because I think some things need to be compiled, recorded and analyzed before they are completely lost.

There are probably those who believe that this book goes to far, and perhaps this book may be missing from your local or school library; however, Kimbrough addresses the history and current culture of Black Greek life without telling too much or going too far.

What other book will list an appendix that includes the chronology of hazing incidents (primarily deaths)?

I am not a fan of ignorance. People should know who they are, what there history is and what they represent.

Who knows about the collegiate Black Greek organizations that were formed before Alpha Phi Alpha? Who knows about the non-greek letter collegiate Black fraternities?

The history and importance of Black Greeks is one that must be preserved. Its preservation depends on our diligence and honesty. I love Black Greek 101, and am extremely glad that I reread it this year.

13. The Vagina Monologues

For the past 9 years, The Vagina Monologues has played a central role in my life, my growth and my womanhood seeing five separate renditions of the Vagina Monologues each performed to audiences of hundreds and thousands and people.

My first encounter with the Monologues, and in many ways with my own Vagina, was for my 17th birthday. I encouraged my older sister to San Francisco to see Eve Ensler recite the Vagina Monologues.

For a girl soon to graduate from high school who had only kissed once, very poorly, and had never been touched. The monologues was an eye-opening experience.

In college at the University of Michigan, I had the opportunity to see The Vagina Monologues produced three times. The third time, I participated in the "Reclaiming Cunt" monologue with three beautiful women. This production, an all women of color cast, was one of the most beautiful and influential experiences of my life.

Seeing the production in three states, San Francisco, CA; Ann Arbor, MI; and, New York, NY has showed me how both unique and universal the experience of womanhood is.

Regardless of age, race or location, each woman who experiences the monologue on stage or in the audience can relate to the stories Eve Ensler weaved from the lives of 200 women.

This Valentine's Day season. This V-Day, I am reminded of the fight to end Violence against women. The first step is always awareness for the women and for the men.

When I first saw Vagina Monologues, I could only relate to "My Angry Vagina". When I was in college, I began to relate to the vagina facts and vagina questions. After entering and re-entering the real world, I began to understand "The Flood", "My Vagina Was My Village", "Because He Liked to Look at It" and "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy".

And that is the Vagina Monologues experience, for women and for men. As you grow, your understanding of each monologue grows.

And regardless of how many times you see it, it's always a fresh, refreshing experience unveiled.

LheaJLove, great reviews! You're reading some fascinating stuff at the moment.

14. What's Your Dangerous Idea?

I loved the premise of this book. Unfortunately, I think my excitement surpassed my enjoyment of the book. Honestly, I don't think the vast majority of the ideas were dangerous, at all.

I still recommend the book to popular science, technology and information enthusiasts. But I'm sure that the lay reader can think of much more dangerous ideas than those the scientists and intellectuals interviewed were willing to print.

15. Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age

16. Hung: A Measure of Black Men in America

This book has been on my to-be-read list for the past five years. Finally, the opportunity to explore intimately and honestly what I won't experience first hand.

I was unsure of what to expect, and thus I had no expectations. What I found in each page was an honest self-exploration of a communal experience. Similar to a memoir, Poulson-Bryant, brought a level of clarity and transparency to the page. I found his work necessary and brave.

While the text was not as inclusive or objective as ethnography, the reader can experience the similarities between the author and other black men's account.

I truly enjoyed the book. Sometimes, the positive and negative effects and implications of stereotypes and preconceived notions must be explored. I applaud Poulson-Bryant for doing so publicly and honestly.