Song of Solomon | 
pickI found myself torn between wanting to race through to learn what happens to Milkman, Guitar, Hagar, and Pilate and slowing down to soak in every word Toni Morrison had to say. Such as it always is with her! I‘m just thankful to have lived on the same timeline as Morrison, thank you for sharing your gift.
pickFinished the third book in the Toni Morrison author spotlight series mid-flight. My first time reading and I found it dense, and different from her other novels I've read. Wordier somehow. Not sure how to capture it. The story of Milkman who needs to shed what he knows to discover who he is. A simplistic summary of a very complex book. Glad I read it, but feel left with lots of questions. @HardcoverHearts
Sunday vibes.
#everydayiscaturday
30 book recommendations in 30 days...
Day 6: I think I am a minority in the Toni Morrison fan club in saying that this is my favourite, but this is the one I come back to over and over. I tend to recommend it to people who have dipped their toes in the Morrison catalogue with The Bluest Eye, as a way to work towards some of the others (of which I will definitely include a few more in my 30.) #30recsin30days
“I wish I‘d a knowed more people. I would of loved ‘em all. If I‘d a knowed more, I would a loved more”
Morrison was, in my imagination, very angry writer in a good way, and I‘ve felt that always comes throug in her writing. Here she found a creative balance, a playful way to express that anger, making this, for me, the most enjoyable of her terrific novels.
I came across so many terrific S‘s, I made categories! See the comments.
#Alphabetgame #LetterS @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickA man on a quest to uncover his inheritance and understand his identity; a very special family novel, slow, heavy and painfully realistic in the first half, with quite a steep shift to a more alert and captivating storyline in the second, flirting with magical realism, myths and allegory.
pickI bow down….I salute you….. I hate myself for how long it took me to read a Toni Morrison book. It was recommended that I read this one later, after I‘ve experienced her other writing. There was absolutely no reason. I can‘t get my hands on the rest of her work fast enough!
pickAnother wonderful Morrison read. So many amazing and deep scenes, but this one gave me all the feels 👆🏾🙌🏾
I always hate having to admit when I haven‘t read something that seems to be a mainstay. My Midwestern & primarily white school system didn‘t help this fact, so I‘m working through the classics that took me so long to find. I can‘t wait to love Toni Morrison.
I finished the rest of my #reread of this book with a lunch of chili cheese dip. I‘ve read a few of Morrison‘s books over the years and this one is still my favorite. I didn‘t read it as carefully as I did during college, but the characters in this story are fascinating.
#Deweys24HourReadathon #Readathon #ReadAndEat #1001books #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown October 2021
It‘s a beautiful but slightly cooler fall weekend, so I made a pot of chili and had a bowl for supper along with a few chapters. I haven‘t read this book since college, yet I‘ve continued to consider it my favorite of Morrison‘s books that I‘ve read. I‘m looking forward to the reread and seeing what I think this time.
#ReadAndEat #reread #1001books
#Reading1001 #TBRTakedown October 2021
pickI felt the characters were especially vibrant in this novel.
An epic family saga reminiscent of Shakespeare‘s Hamlet and Homer‘s Odyssey, blended with magical realism and a vibrant cast of unforgettable characters.🔸#augustreads2021
pickBeautifully written, hypnotic in a way takes you deep into the story of the characters life, town, and family. #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
5 💫💫💫💫💫
1. Tagged!
2. The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
3. Fall! ???
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
pickI haven‘t read Morrison in the past 20 years. It was wonderful to revisit her work as part of #blwnl week. This is the part of librarianship I do not like—the pressure to always be reading new releases. We miss out on the great works—which we‘re the only books I read before I entered the profession. I loved it.
pickA short read/listen. The exploration of misogyny in black communities stood out as the main theme, though it's a story of family(??). Morrison is always worth the read, and her narration was incredible.
pickI didn‘t understand SoS as well as I usually like, but Morrison delivers a complex, emotional read. I like that it‘s a lot to digest and it‘s not all obvious to me with a first read. It‘s opportunity growth. I also loved the character portraits!
Late lab nights require books during wait-breaks. Morrison‘s Beloved was a beautiful, emotionally-heavy read. Looking forward to discovering this one.
pickPhoto is a day late in honor of National Dog Day. Jackson is my reading companion! The book: I hadn‘t read the tagged book in nearly 30 years. Got so much more out of it, esp since I‘ve been reading some Faulkner, Flanner O‘Connor and other southern writers. Wow. A lot to unpack in this book.
so-soThis is a reread for me. I read it many years ago while in college. I did not like it and found it hard to understand. This time, I had the audiobook. I understood it better, but it wasn‘t a great book. Interesting stuff going on in the family, but it was too much for me.
#WondrousWednesday @Eggs 🌸 Others view me as a fashionista. 🌺 72 hours was the longest I‘ve gone without sleeping. I was prescribed Prednisone for a sinus infection and it kept me from falling asleep.
pickSong of Solomon is stunning — for Morrison‘s writing and the impact it has. Milkman Dead is going to rate up there for memorable characters (although he‘s not always likeable).
Read this for August‘s #authoramonth2020. I‘ve read The Bluest Eye & Sula (left) in the past. Unintentionally I‘ve read in chronological order so far. If I want to continue to do that, need Tar Baby before continuing on with the two in TBR (right). 👇
pickWhat an amazing book. I love Morrison's writing but really didn't like the main character, Milkman Dead, because he is a deeply flawed character with very little to recommend him. He's selfish, spoiled, drifting rather aimlessly through life, and just as I was about done with him and the book, Morrison has him head South and everything that went on before in the story made much more sense and the end made the book worth the parts I hadn't liked.
so-soThis was just an ok book for me. I feel like if Morrison had made the book longer (the audiobook is 3 hrs) I would‘ve enjoyed it more. My meh feelings towards this book may also be due to my not being a huge fan of magical realism, they tend to be hit or miss books for me. I did however enjoy the Biblical allusions and the characters, Corinthians, Pilate, etc who were named for either a book or person in the Bible. #AuthorAMonth #AAMTM
Starting a reread of this for a book club. It‘s been a couple decades at least!
“You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.”
What a legend.
#augustauthors #tonimorrison
so-soThis book is biblical. It‘s a song or memories of songs—it‘s metaphors and allegories and poetry; but amidst all that, it does not inspire me to care about the characters at all.
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
#authoramonth2020 @Soubhiville
#tonimorrison #augustauthors @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620
pickI‘m bummed bc I obliviously picked the abridged version so this text flew by and I was often like “Wait - what?” especially bc this was my first Morrison. But I love her style of prose, so melodious & descriptive! 😍
#AuthorAMonth #AuthorAMonth2020
pickGreat book about a black family living in the 1930s to 1960s in Michigan. The characters aren't exactly likeable--we eventually get both sides of the story of the parents' unhappy marriage and moderate pity was about all I could stir myself to feel for them--but they are fascinating. I especially liked how Morrison's characters try to put together their family history, impossible to verify, through snatches of memory and imagined narratives.
"Bryn Mawr had done what a four-year dose of liberal education was designed to do: unfit her for eighty percent of the useful work of the world." This rings true still and is why I referred to my first degree as a B of U: Bachelor's in Unemployment. ?
The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance agent promised to fly from Mercy to the other side of Lake Superior at three o'clock.
#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl
Pearls pick for the month of July is none other than Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. It‘s been years since I‘ve read this (20+ to be exact) and I‘m curious to see if I have matured with my thinking. I‘m making way slowly through this piece and finding that Milkman is someone who still sits with me to this day.
pickI enjoyed this book. Though written in 1977, it could have been written just a few months ago. Not much has changed when it comes to the black experience in America. But what I especially enjoyed was Morrison's storytelling. The problematic relationships and the mystery of the family origins were so compelling. I sped through the last third because I had to find out what happened!
pickSo good. A circular life, love, self loathing and misplaced hatred in a family. May #BookSpin #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance agent promised to fly from Mercy to the other side of Lake Superior at thee o‘clock.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
1️⃣ any character that makes you trust them and then stabs someone in the back, and totally betrays my heart.
2️⃣ my new purple Passion flowers are the most fragrant I‘ve ever smelled!
3️⃣ tagged book
@MoonWitch94 #ThoughtfulThursday
1. 📖 Song of Solomon; 🎧 Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World
2. Crystal in Geek Love
3. 30 Days to Happiness
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain
pick" o sugarman done fly away
Sugarman done gone
Sugarman cut across the sky
Sugarman gone home.
O sugarman done fly
O sugarman done gone."
I always brace myself before reading any of her book, I'm glad it was not dark like beloved. This is my favorite Morrison novel thus far. The way she balance between humours and depth. Her characters has life, voice, and distinct personality.
