It is no secret around here that I absolutely loved Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s novel The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois. It was just such a beautiful story. There is so much to take in, and there is so much to think about. While I was reading the novel, I kept thinking of different Black … Continue reading
Category Archives: African
A Review of “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois”: Race, gender, and the pecan tree that watches it all
Nations are fiction. The U.S. is fiction. Australia, my home country, is fiction. The stories that are celebrated and told about these nations do not speak to the true history of these lands. They begin at an arbitrary point, picked by and for white supremacy. They are stories told over and over again, like water over stone. They are stories about collective groups that change and form over time. But they are just that – stories. Continue reading
“Witch Doctor Poet”: The body, beauty, and poetry with Bola Juju
Bola Juju is an American author and this is her first collection of poems. Bound2Books is no stranger to poetry. I love to read poetry books, I love to talk about poetry, and I feel like it is extremely important to celebrate and keep poetry alive and in conversation in the contemporary world. Juju’s collection … Continue reading
3 Things to take away from Aminatou Sow’s and Ann Friedman’s book “Big Friendship”
2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least. It has made a lot of us rethink our goals, our relationships, and our personal boundaries. But just because we are all thinking about these things, doesn’t mean we know what we need or should be doing for ourselves and the people we love. I … Continue reading
A Review of “Such A Fun Age”: talking about white fragility in literature
I loved Such A Fun Age. This book was so easy to read. It had me laughing and cringing from beginning to end. It has been a while since I couldn’t put a book down, and this book was definitely that — un-put-down-able. The book offers up so many interesting discussion points but I wanted … Continue reading
Understanding Black Hair Culture: a review of Emma Dabiri’s “Don’t Touch My Hair”
Emma Dabiri’s part memoir part scholarly investigation of African hair culture in and outside of African countries is close to my research heart. I have always been fascinated by female hair and beauty and the culture around it. So much so, that I wrote my master’s thesis on Black hair. Female hair and beauty are … Continue reading
Roxane Gay Live at the Open Air Literatur Festival in Zurich 2019
Roxane Gay’s work has been seminal for feminist and fat liberation movements around the world. She draws on her own experiences about trauma, body image, feminist ideals, and Haitian and Black identity. Seeing her talk about her two most popular books Bad Feminist and Hunger: A memoir of (My) Body. I used Gay’s feminist text … Continue reading
The Best and Worst of Celebrity Memoirs
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. In the last decade, there has been an explosion of celebrities writing memoirs and autobiographies. Within this celebrity genre, comedians and comedic actors and actresses are some of the most published. This … Continue reading
“On The Come Up” Review: a close look at racial tensions and gang violence in Angie Thomas’ new novel
On The Come Up is Angie Thomas’ second novel. Her first, The Hate U Give, was a runaway success and was also adapted for film. Thomas’ first novel was amazing and the outstanding reviews and its reception from around the globe are a testament to her writing abilities. With that kind of first-time success, producing … Continue reading
A practical guide to feminism: a review of “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo
As an avid reader of feminist literature, a student of feminist theory, and general lover of feminism, I have read a lot of books that talk about gender, race, class, xenophobia, and discrimination. For me, the importance of these topics is obvious. We need to have discussions about these topics and should be having more … Continue reading
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