What was the most unusual (for you) book you ever read? Either because the book itself was completely from out in left field somewhere, or was a genre you never read, or was the only book available on a long flight… whatever? What (not counting school textbooks, though literature read for classes counts) was furthest outside your usual comfort zone/familiar territory?

And, did you like it? Did it stretch your boundaries? Did you shut it with a shudder the instant you were done? Did it make you think? Have nightmares? Kick off a new obsession?

RESPONSE:  Hmmm this is such an interesting question, especially since I am such an avid reader and also have eclectic taste–which basically means I will give anything a try once.  I do not read strictly by genre or subject matter.  While there are some genres that I prefer vs. others, I try and read a couple from all of them before swearing them off.  So, to come up with books that totally are out of left field, unusual, different…hmmm that is  a stretch for me.  Definitely cannot think of any book that I read this year that fits this category.

So…stroll down memory lane with me.  Let’s go back about 10-15 years ago.  Terry McMillan was new on the scene and making waves.  She was writing about folks that looked like me, talked like me, acted like me and had problems like me.  Folks I could identify with.  I quickly grabbed her books and gobbled them up.  I was on the hunt to find others who represented, ‘Our Voices, Our Stories.’  Discovered Dickey, Connie Briscoe, DeBerry and Grant, Tina Ansa and a few other pioneers for contemporary African-American fiction.  I no longer had to read non-colored authors when I wanted to escape with a book that was not considered high brow literature.  Oh…and I even found E. Lynn Harris.  He was self-published and still selling books out of the trunk of his car.  He did not have a deal with a major publisher yet…because ‘they’ didn’t think that ‘we’ wanted to read about gay, male characters.  I guess we told them because over 10 years later Harris is still with us and on the New York Time’s bestsellers list with his gay characters to boot.

Fast-forward to the end of the nineties and the beginning of the new millennium and we have genre authors coming on to the scene.  Zane…who’s addicted.  Sister Souljah who wants us to explore the Coldest Winter Ever and Victoria Christopher Murray who gives us Temptations.

Even with how far we have  come, there are still some genres that we have not made inroads due to publisher’s ignorance…or is it our own fault.  Some genres just do not seem to say African-American readers.   Sci-fi is nearly dead now that Octavia Butler is no longer with us.  Beverly Jenkins flourishes with historical fiction but she stands alone.  LA Banks seems to have found a cult following with her Vampire Huntress Series.  Mysteries…well it’s a mystery to me because years ago Valerie Wilson Wesley commented that she wanted to do some other than…mysteries.  Although, she did come out with a book for her Tamara Hayle series earlier this year; which I have yet to read.

Thanks to amazon.com and review books, I do not have to visit book stores very often.  But, when I do, I am always surprised to find the shelves still look the same and more often than not,  I leave the store empty-handed.  Or without books by us, for us.  I miss books of yesterday from authors like Bernice McFadden, Elizabeth Nunez, Alex Pate, Brian Keith Jackson but those books are far in between because publishers say ‘ Black folks don’t want to read about those type of black characters.  Give us story lines with lots of gratuitous sex, pimping, slinging drugs, baby mama drama, absentee fathers.  That’s what black folks want to read about.’ 

Can someone tell me who these black folks are that they are talking about.  Because all of my reading friends–and even those who are not–swear that they do not want books that only have sex, street life violence, and ova the top drama as the premise.

In fact, I think someone forgot to tell Ann Patchett that books with NON-STEREOTYPICAL black characters do not sell and that they do not make the New York Time’s Bestsellers List.  They also forgot to tell Patchett that books with black characters who DID NOT have sex, cheat on each other, bang on each other, extemporaneous drama, bible-tooting, cuss you out in the next breath or as we turn in the hood characters did not sell either. I guess they forgot to send that message to African-American authors…or did they.  Better yet…why can’t African American authors write books about non-Colored characters…don’t they sell?  Or is really about the color of the characters…or the color of the author…ouch…well.  (Didn’t 40% of white-American Democrats recently say the would not vote for Obama because he was BLACK…and this is only the group that who were not ashamed to say so.  I wonder how many others hide under sheets or behind poll booth curtains.) 

Oh yeah, I digressed big time with this post…lol.  And I am turning this question on its head, because for me…I want DIFFERENT…I want books that STRETCH ME…I want books with out-of-box story lines…ones that are unique, creatively crafted and not the usual suspects.  I HATE that I have to go outside of the talented pool of African-American authors to find books that feed my jones…because publishers will not print books with themes that I like when the author is African-American.

Well, I guess I have sounded off enough for one day.  Just maybe by putting it in a public forum it will spark conversation…folks will consider sharing it with others…and just maybe publishers will see it and say…’she’s on to something.’  Then again they do not usually listen to one voice.  But, if all of the tiny voices, came together collectively, and boycotted what we were currently being offered, just maybe we could have better books and ones that represented ALL OF US rather than just some of us.  And maybe so many of my favorite authors (and I know there are others who consider them favorites also–just think of any African American author whose book you enjoyed reading in the past…but you cannot remember the last time you saw a new release from them) would not be on the street without book deals today.  Better yet…BUY THEIR BOOKS.  Keep them in business so that we will have CHOICES tomorrow and not have to wait 70 years for another African-American Literature renaissance.  Even better, publishers can we ‘have our say’outside of the 2×4 storylines you’ve designated for us.  Black folks can we get our own publishing houses so that we don’t have to be dependent on the man determining what a ‘good read’ is for US?

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Run by Ann Patchett is predominated with African-American characters, however, this book will not be found in your local store’s African-American Lit section nor did it make it on the New York Times Bestsellers list because only black folks wanted to read about black characters.

I’m out of here.

APOOO’s DISCUSSION QUESTION

What was the last book you read outside of your comfort zone?

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