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There really isn‘t anything I could add, or really should add, about James Baldwin‘s work, except to say, “Read him.” I fell madly in love with his voice when I read Go Tell It On the Mountain. You must read him.

It was high time that I read this. What would have been Baldwin‘s 100th birthday just passed, and I saw many references to his work. This is a slim work (2.5 hour audiobook) about race in America. It‘s about religions and the realities of life for black people in the 1960s, all presented frankly and succinctly. I can‘t do much better than the reviews that say simply: “read this”. It still applies today.

I haven‘t read this book in twenty years. It‘s beautiful and sad and infuriating as it is still applicable. It‘s not large, but you should read it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him."

James Baldwin, ginger peach tea, a vegan peanut butter cup, and a window seat? What more could I ask for this Memorial Day?
Also, I'm not a giant Great Gatsby fan but my former best friend gave me this bag and it's the perfect size and sturdiness. I can't bring myself to stop using it to haul my books around as an indecisive mood reader with ADHD and six book clubs 😂

There are too many things we do not wish to know about ourselves. People are not, for example terribly anxious to be equal (equal, after all, to what and to whom?) but they love the idea of being superior.

Scary how much of this book remains powerful and relevant….

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#blackhistorymonth recommendations day 3
Nonfiction

Baldwin.

BALDWIN. If you have not read him now is the time. His writing is earth shaking. It is both interesting and sad how his essays could easily have been written today. His insight is essential to understanding race relations in this country. I also like his writings on visiting our countries and how he is treated.

Day 6 for 12 Days of Christmas. #12booksof2022
This was the first book by Baldwin I‘ve read & would like to read more of his work.
Cerulean Sea was a reread, so I feel I can‘t count it as my favorite of June, but it really is. Did audio version this time. ❤️
@Andrew65

#Alphabetgame #LetterF @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I toyed with using Spenser‘s The Faerie Queene because it is such mind altering thing. And with Jeanette Winterson‘s Frankissstein, which is the most fun I‘ve had on audio over the past 3 yrs. But I went sacred. Baldwin was incomparable and his own fire is contained within this more than any other essay. And it‘s very relevant today.

#OnThisDay in 1924 author James Baldwin was born in NYC. As a teenager, Baldwin followed in the footsteps of his stepfather and worked as a preacher. A meeting with artist Beauford Delaney at age 15 showed him a glimmer of what was possible, a Black man could make a life as an artist. In his 20s Baldwin escaped from the sociopolitical pressures of life in America as a Black man and moved to France, where he wrote most of his works. #HistoryGetsLIT

My first book by Baldwin. Listened on audio. I think I‘ll want to read it in print sometime because it has so much to ponder. Very interesting to learn Baldwin‘s thoughts about whites & his experiences with religions. #doublespin for June

The two essays in this classic work of American nonfiction are powerful, rousing, deeply moving, and at times both righteously scathing and unbelievably tender. I read this book expecting it to develop my understanding of racial injustice in my country—I didn‘t expect the radical spirituality the irreligious Baldwin offers here. Every other line is a gut punch and a revelation and I couldn‘t help exclaiming aloud while listening to the audiobook!

Small and powerful book.

Baldwin‘s reflections on race and religion are sincere and thought-provoking. These two short essays brilliantly analyze race relations in early 1960s America and can so easily be applied today, they‘re practically prophetic. Unequipped to say more, I will leave you with this stirring quote, “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” 5⭐️

“God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!” First published in 1963, Baldwin could easily have written this today. So much of what he wrote about then is still at issue now, and that makes me tired. Baldwin‘s writing is a treasure.

Rita is watching the snowflakes while I finish up this book for a book club.

First entry in my book journal. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of what I‘ve read, but this appeals to me because I can write notes and quotes. A very thoughtful birthday gift!

Eloquent, concise and cutting; like they said: the truth hurts. Giovanni‘s Room is still close to my heart (love and subsequent abandonment at its thorniest and most dire) but Baldwin‘s essays on race relations are important, timeless reading: they slice right to one‘s moral core. The first essay, being Baldwin‘s letter to his nephew, led me to an inspired Ta-Nehisi Coates‘ 2015 article “Letter to My Son” in The Atlantic. Check it out!

I love that both my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin books for this month are from my #NYWD22 list!

This book covered so much in such an incredibly short space. James Baldwin was an absolute talent, a fierce warrior of a writer. What a pleasure to read.

There is important content about systemic racism in this book, and a lot about the dangers of religion too. I particularly liked the quote above because it so perfectly says something I‘ve been trying to articulate to my peers and friends for years.

1962 or 2021? 😡

An incredible human‘s birth day is just an excuse to post this photo of him being the icon he was, beautiful and not having it. So grateful he was in this world and I was able to read his writing and see videos of him speak. His work led me to read others and still teaches me.

“One cannot argue with anyone‘s experience or decision or belief.”

I‘ve been meaning to read this one for quite awhile. Grateful that Baldwin is July‘s #authoramonth. I‘m inspired to read one of his novels now, and checked out Giovanni‘s Room from the library.

#AuthorAMonth - July - James Baldwin:

I knew that the reread journey would lead here, though there are other books that remain unexplored. This book can never be read too many times. This book states a message that continues to be as relevant today as it was some 58 years ago. Am I shocked? No, humans seem to be predisposed to a base level unkindness to one another.👇🏽

I enjoy hearing his thoughts about religion. It is hard to break away from what you are taught even though you begin to doubt as an adult.

I'm very glad I got to know Baldwin this month. #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

This dude was sort of brilliant. This is non-fiction and it sort of looks at the way people are attracted to religion in the face of hardships like racism. At least that was what I got out of it. There's plenty of other stuff in there too but the focus was religion.

#AuthorAMonth with @Soubhiville

This has long been on my TBR and I‘m so happy to have finally read it. While Baldwin wrote in the 1963 as the Civil Rights Movement was getting started, so much of what he had to say then is still, unfortunately, true today. Will be picking up a physical copy for sure. #AuthorAMonth #BookspinBingo

Wow! What a powerful book and just as relevant now as it was then. Baldwin‘s perspective is sharp, clear and without reserve. Every American should read Baldwin, we are all better citizens and humans for doing so. #integrateyourshelf #Authoramonth @Soubhiville #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Came across this great quote by James Baldwin our #authoramonth @Soubhiville

Visited the American Writers Museum in Chicago today, and this was one of the murals on the wall. Thought #AuthorAMonth folks may appreciate this. @Soubhiville

I‘m so glad #AuthorAMonth got me to read this amazing collection of nonfiction.

I was reminded of how I felt when reading Audre Lorde‘s Sister Outsider last year, which is that we are still facing many of the same problems of structural racism that we did 50 years ago. He made a great point about how important allies are in this fight.

He also wrote a lot about religion, both Christianity and Islam, and their roles in Black culture. ⬇️

Baldwin describes eloquently the status of racism in the US in the 1960s - so relevant to me, being a tween and HS student at that time. My favorite part is his dinner/meeting at the home of Elijah Muhammad and members of Nation of Islam. JB is so honest and authentic

#doublespin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

#authoramonth2021 @Soubhiville

review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#the-fire-next-time

My urge to listen to some James Baldwin-themed audiobooks this month during my #audiocommute coincided unexpectedly with Baldwin being July's #AuthorAMonth! I finished my reread of The Fire Next Time, and now I'm onto The Fire This Time. Then Eddie Glaude's book, which is subtitled "James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own." I've been meaning to read the latter two for a while! Then maybe more Baldwin himself? ? @Soubhiville

I got in a last unexpected book for #littenlisten (and a day early #AuthorAMonth book, but I don‘t mind being early for that since I‘m not collecting points.)

This is a powerful collection of essays about race and religion. Is really short, but memorable. (2hrs)

Short but pionant audiobook interlude after all those big chonkers.

This book includes a letter to Baldwin‘s young nephew and an essay to the American people on the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. It explores Baldwin's experiences with and thoughts about race, religion, racism, and the country and American people as a whole. It is so sad and convicting that much of what he denounced and of what he hoped for are still relevant in our country decades later. Short and well written.

“I know it is said that history doesn‘t repeat itself, but rhymes. After reading this 60 year old essay on race relations in America, it feels like racial history gongs. Same hit. Same subject. Same effect. Ta- nahisi Coates‘ book, Between the World and Me, is an echo of this.

After the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I found myself frustrated. Frustrated with the battles we continue fighting and frustrated with what I did or did not understand. So, like countless Americans last year, I reached for books to educate myself. As I soaked up the words of James Baldwin, I was confronted with my own privilege and the part I play in the continuation of an unequal and unjust society.

February #bookspin board, 4 books for the month. Probably would have gotten a bingo but I‘m definitely a mood reader. Always fun to challenge myself in the midst of chaos of 3 kids still home & everything else.