Ever since reading Stephen King’s Memoir “On Writing” a few years ago, I’ve made it a goal to read daily. One can’t become a better writer, without reading. You need to study the art of story. And you can only gain perspective by reading the work of others. So every single day I read roughly 40 pages in what ever my current read is.

How I choose my books…

I try to diversify what I read, fiction, non-fiction, horror, suspense, romance, writers from different ethnicities, nationalities, socio-economic backgrounds…you get it. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t read my favorite genres. I love books by African-American woman writers because I like to see how close their experience is to my own and the different ways in which our collective story can be told. I also like to pick a writer who has a large catalog of work, and try my best to read through as many of their works in a year. This year, that writer was Stephen King. But seriously he has so many books that it’ll probs take me at least three years to get through them all.

So in 2017 I read a total of 31 books. That’s an average of 2.5 books a month. And of those 31 books, there were a few that really stood out, some because they were amazing, others because I pretty much hated them.

Here are the good, the bad and the ugly:

Best Stephen King

Salem’s Lot-Stephen King

It’s your classic vampire story. Vamps are sexy and scary and mysterious and all-around intriguing. Sure you’re terrified, but you can’t help but want to know more, to get closer. Well curiosity killed the cat, and in this case killed an entire fucking town. Oh sorry, spoiler alert: Everybody dies…or do they?

What I most liked about this book was that the reader cares about all of the characters, even the dumb ones.

Best Book by a Black Author

Queen Sugar-Natalie Baszile

Yes, this is the same Queen Sugar that is now a hit OWN television series. I watched the first season of the show before reading the book. So I came into this experience having already formed opinions about each of these characters. The book versions of Charlie and Ralph Angel are so much more complicated and polarizing.

Ralph Angel in particular was a really difficult character to process. He’s both infuriating and But the book paints these characters in such a different light. While their overall spirit is the same in the show, the level of vulnerability and fucked-up-ness in the book is through the roof. The character of Ralph Angel was particularly polarizing. At times I felt sad for him and at other times, completely furious. If you feel like you have the whole story by watching the show, you’re wrong. Pick up the book and check it out. It’s a real page turner and a great study in complicated family structures.

Most Surprisingly Good Book

Caucasia-Danzy Senna

Before reading this book, the only thing I knew about Danzy Senna was that her husband, Percival Everett is a writer. I’d even read his book I Am Not Sidney Poitier and found him to be an odd and humorous writer. I didn’t totally get the story, but found it interesting. So when I picked up Caucasia, I was expecting something lighter, something quirky, something totally different than what I got. This couple couldn’t be more opposite in their writing styles. Danzy is serious and detailed. I was completely dialed into this tale of colorism through the eyes of a child. Watching Birdie, the biracial child of radicals, stumble through puberty trying to figure out who she is, is painful. But I’m really happy I got to go on that journey with her and that there was seemingly some redemption at the end of the book.

Most Difficult to Get Through

Uncle Tom’s Children-Richard Wright

I really enjoyed Richard Wright’s Black Boy and Native Son. But I REALLY struggled to read Uncle Tom’s Children, a collection of novellas. My main issue was the phonetic, southern, uneducated, colloquial language. I had to read all of the dialogue out loud in order to understand what was being said. But beyond that, I found the stories in this collection made me so uncomfortable, there was little to no redemption and I felt awful after reading them. So the payout wasn’t worth the mental exercise it took to read it.

Most Problematic Book

Yellow Crocus-Laila Ibrahim

Yellow Crocus is a story about a black, slave, wet nurse and the young white mistress she cared for. The book is written by a non-black author who tries her best to represent both of these women’s perspectives. I’m black. And this woman very well may know more about the black slave experience than I. But every time she wrote in the slave’s voice (which sounded Sambo AF) I found my-self yelling:

Is it actually racist? Prolly not, but because of my own issues I just couldn’t give the book any kind of credit.

Best Book to be Adapted for Film or Television

The Handmaid’s Tale-Margaret Atwood

I actually read The Handmaid’s Tale several years ago. But in preparation for the new Hulu show, I decided to read it again. And good golly Miss Molly is this book more timely than ever. When I first read the book, I was a lot more hopeful for the future of womanhood than I am now. However, considering the current social and political climate, the plot of this book could very likely happen in real life. And I found myself getting anxious, the more I read it.

The adaptation was respectful to the original story, and I owe this to the author being so

I also thought the adaptation was so on point. The writers stuck to the book very closely while making necessary updates to keep it current.

Best Overall

The Darkest Child-Delores Phillips

My husband jokes that I love really tragic stories. And considering that my favorite book and movie is The Color Purple with Push running a close second, he might be right. So it’s not really a surprise that Delores Phillips’ book about colorism, racism, child abuse, rape, murder, mental illness, and a host of other fucking terrible things, gets my book of the year award. I felt all the feelings reading this book. And unless you have a cold, black heart, you will too. But through all of the profound emotional turmoil this book brings its readers through, there are still moments of unadulterated love, support and determination. So read it, please. Just have a box of tissues and some valium handy.

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2017 Book Review