I read only non-white authors for 12 months. What I learned surprised me | Sunili Govinnage

Reading science fiction, chick lit and fantasy novels by people of colour for a year brought home to me just how white my reading world wasIn 2014, I managed to read 25 novels. All of them were written by people of colour. That was the result of a small challenge I set myself: not to read books by white authors for a year. The things I learned in my year of selective reading made me pretty glad to have persevered. Rather than restricting myself, my decision to be conscious about what I read introduced me to books I ordinarily would not have bothered with. Instead of my usual crime/procedural/legal thrillers, I actually read some science fiction. And some fantasy. And I loved it. Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon and Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death are now two of my favourite books. I would never have heard of them had I not deliberately sought them out.One difference that my book list made is that it ever-so-delicately altered the way I looked at the world. It was slow at first, but opening myself up to a variety of female perspectives made me more aware of the female lives around me … Feminism, as bell hooks pointed out, is for everyone. And when we become more aware of the small injustices and tiny everyday tragedies around us, we become better people. Reading women’s voices helped me to hear them more loudly in my daily life. Our culture is getting better and better at encouraging women to speak, but it’s not doing enough to listen to what they say when they... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #reading women #daily life #encouraging women

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Ukrainian Author Andrey Kurkov Among National Book Critics Circle Award Winners

A collection of fantastical short stories and a book of poems about escaping capitalist society were also among the 2022 winners. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-03-24 00:51:07 UTC ]
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Eric Brown, science fiction author and Guardian critic, dies aged 62

Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
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This Aussie author had a book idea while ‘high as a kite’ after brain surgery.

She might not have written an entire book in one day, but Australian author Karina May has a pretty good, pretty sweat-smile story behind the rom-commy Duck à l’Orange for Breakfast, which comes out March 28 from Pan Macmillan Australia. First, you need to understand the plot: The novel centers... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-22 08:59:40 UTC ]
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Taoist rituals via video call and Tarot readings over WeChat: China’s spiritual market is going digital

Digital media is facilitating spiritual practices in China, leading to the emergence of new online cultures and businesses. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-03-21 02:59:12 UTC ]
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Author Sim Kern Launches #TransRightsReadathon

More than 2,100 participants will spotlight books by trans authors and raise funds for trans rights organizations via TikTok and Instagram this week under the #TransRightsReadathon hashtag. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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I believed readers only wanted trauma stories from writers of colour. Then I became an author | Zoya Patel

For so long, it seemed that readers were only interested in the experiences of people like me if we were traumatised, not triumphant – and I internalised this as an indisputable factGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI can’t pinpoint exactly when I started imagining myself in the stories... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-18 19:00:19 UTC ]
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What We’re Reading

Gilbert Cruz talks to Book Review staff members about the books they’ve been enjoying lately. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-03-17 17:38:27 UTC ]
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20 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books Set in China

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[ Book Riot | 2023-03-16 10:31:00 UTC ]
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How Online Book Clubs Transformed Reading Groups — And What's Lost When You Don't Meet IRL

Many readers are back to meeting in person after being forced to embrace Zoom book clubs during the pandemic. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2023-03-16 09:45:02 UTC ]
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10 of the Best Flannery O’Connor Short Stories Everyone Should Read

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) In a short life beset by ill health, the American writer Flannery O’Connor (1925-64) wrote two novels, Wise Blood (1952) and The Violent Bear It Away (1960). But it is for her short stories, many of which were collected in just two volumes, that […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-03-14 18:00:54 UTC ]
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Nobel Prize-Winning Author Kenzaburo Oe Has Died at 88

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[ Book Riot | 2023-03-13 16:17:07 UTC ]
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By Attracting National Budgets, Texas Monthly Grows Ad Revenue 31%

Publisher Texas Monthly, which marked its 50th anniversary last month, grew its overall revenue by 39% in 2022, an uptick the privately owned media company attributed to its expanded number of advertising channels and an ongoing effort to cultivate new sources of revenue. The publisher increased... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2023-03-13 10:21:33 UTC ]
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“Everything is Riding on Your Author Photo.” Mary Childs on What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Book

I thought having a book published would turn me into the confident, self-assured person I always knew I could be. I thought everyone but my enemies would be happy for me, and I would be, too. I thought I would become a morning person. So when my publication date finally came around, I was very […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-13 08:54:19 UTC ]
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Why authors might want to pay to go on a podcast.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-10 17:36:58 UTC ]
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Sheikh Zayed Shortlists: Literature, Young Author, Criticism

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-03-10 16:05:15 UTC ]
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AWP23 in Seattle Showcases Presses, Journals, and Authors

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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10 of the Best Edna St. Vincent Millay Poems Everyone Should Read

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[ Interesting Literature | 2023-03-09 18:00:15 UTC ]
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9 of the Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books To Read In March 2023

This exciting mix of new science fiction and fantasy novels out in March 2023 will help you finish off the worst of the winter. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-03-09 11:34:00 UTC ]
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My Author Photo Brought Me Face to Face With the Body I Hated

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[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-09 09:53:57 UTC ]
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[ CBC | 2023-03-08 22:24:00 UTC ]
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