Welcome to Litsy!

Getting my nonfiction itch scratched by the incomparable Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Coates is never an easy read, but he is worth the time. He forces me to slow down and read each word. I found the last part of the 3-part book especially eye-opening as he recounts his time in Palestine and draws parallels to colonization across time and specifically to our own storied history of oppression.

A friend suggested I read Between the World and Me, but it wasn't available, so I thought I'd get the next best thing.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, It was thought-provoking and I found it very interesting, even learning a thing or two.
The second half I found a bit boring and laborers to get though. I'm not denying the importance of the subject matter, it was just that I didn't really feel a connection to it.

“Oppressive power is preserved in the smoke and fog and sometimes it is smuggled in the unexamined shadows of the language of the oppressed themselves.” Ta-Nehisi Coates The Message If books weren‘t political they wouldn‘t be trying so hard to ban them. Especially books that challenge the norm & the “correct” narrative.

Galentine‘s Day gift that includes the Barbie movie and I just happen to be reading tagged book…love when my reads coincide with real life!

I always learn so much when I read or listen to a Coates book. I listened to this one, mostly because I love his voice. This one is about his first trip to Senegal, a visit to South Carolina to defend his book from being banned, & his experience in Palestine & Israel. The last one was the longest, & I feel I learned the most from that one. I think Coates is a wise person who is always trying to grow & learn more.

“And through words I understood that my Baltimore was not damned, that what I saw in the eyes of the boys there, what I heard in the music, was in fact something old, something ineffable, which marked all of humanity, stretching from Stratford upon Avon to the Streets.”

I don‘t think I can add anything to what has already been said about this collection of brief essays on writing, racism, reparations, and apartheid. It is short and powerful. I knew some of the history, but not all of it. I appreciated the push to read books by oppressed people, not their allies or their oppressors. I loved that he was honest about his perspective and opinion changes in the face of new/more information.

Ta-Nehisi Coates has such a beautiful way with words. Getting lost in his view of the world opens my mind and my heart and gives me hope, which is something that is hard to find in our current world.

I will definitely be purchasing myself a copy of this one so that I can revisit it.

And here's the book haul! I feel like only 9 books across 5 different book stores demonstrates an impressive level of self-control 🤷‍♀️. I'm excited to dive into these - even as my tbr shelves are currently giving me the side eye 😂 😒