Ah, the clueless privilege of white men. James Patterson demonstrated that once again when, as one of the richest authors in the world, he complained that white men were having trouble getting writing gigs. Dude.
Seventy-six percent of books that were published in the United States in 2019-2021 were written by white people. Since white people make up 60% of the nation's population, this is hardly a hardship. The male-female split is about 50-50 overall. So, again, white men are not hurting unless the problem is that they are have not yet crowded out anyone else's voice being heard.
Patterson soon walked back his comment. Putting in a plug for Woody Allen was another tone-deaf statement. Again. Dude.
Instead of worrying about Patterson's concerns over making another million or two this month, let us instead celebrate novels by people of color. Some of my recent favorites follow. These are only among the books I've read; there are many, many others that should be added to the list but I haven't gotten to them yet.
Please add any not included that you know about.
And, yes, things out there continue to be perilous and traumatic and daunting. That’s why, to me, more than ever, any time I spent with books is time well spent. Even if it takes ages to finish one. Reading gives us a way to wonder, a way out, a way to discover, a way to recognize.
Also, two apologies. Last week, I didn't post a diary because the end of the school year/beginning post-teaching chores and being absorbed in the Jan. 6 committee hearings got the better of me. Tonight, I'm not sure I'll be able to get online to reply to any posts. Next week, things should be back to normal. Thank you for your patience.
The Night Watchman and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyaasi
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
Pew by Catherine Lacey
I Hold a Wolf by the Ears by Laura van den Berg
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cowby
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen (which can be read on its own but is even better after reading The Sympathizer)
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Matrix by Lauren Groff
READERS & BOOK LOVERS SERIES SCHEDULE