Ever heard of #Diversiverse? At the risk of sounding cheeky, I'm going to tell you: it's a wonderful annual event hosted by Aarti of Book Lust with the goal of encouraging people to read books written by a person of colour.
The challenge is simple and very realistic. Three simple steps:
- Read and review one book
- Written by a person of color
- During October 4-17.
***
Last year I joined in with the intent of finally getting a review out for a book that I had read ... with a review I had let languish for maybe half a year! It was this amazing book:
This is a collection of short stories by Filipino author, Nick Joaquin, who is a Philippine Artist for Literature. This slim volume (only 100 pages!) contains five short stories and each is succinct and pithy, and has a bit of a "wow" to them which makes me appreciate how gifted a writer is Nick Joaquin. They deal with the double-edged sword that is family, love, religion and faith, and tradition. They are all set during the Spanish colonial period which spans 300 years, vestiges of which strongly influence Filipino life today. I highly recommend it! Go check out my full review HERE.
So if the challenge is simple, why is it so hard to figure out what to read? Probably because my list is already a mile-long; probably because I have books that I've read but haven't yet reviewed.
So if the challenge is simple, why is it so hard to figure out what to read? Probably because my list is already a mile-long; probably because I have books that I've read but haven't yet reviewed.
So ... here's a smattering of books that I want to "deal" with for this upcoming challenge:
Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (Japanese author)
Status: Read, re-read (repeat), loved, unreviewed
I've probably read this 4-5 times in total. I did a horrible job reviewing this because it's one of my favourites. Check out my half-assed attempt at simply putting together some quick thoughts). Deserves a better review because it is gorgeously, hauntingly written.
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (Japanese-American author)
Status: Read, loved, unreviewed
I picked this up for $2 at a book sale. I loved the cover (don't hate me); I mean, look at it! This is a historical book about young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago. I want to review this so more people read it!
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (French-Iranian author)
Status: Read, shocked and loved yet unreviewed
This is technically my first graphic novel and I didn't quite know how to deal with this rather shocking memoir. Except leave it unreviewed.
The Summer Solstice and Other Stories by Nick Joaquin (Filipino author)
Status: Read, enjoyed, unreviewed
Notice Joaquin's name again? I enjoyed yet another of his short story collections but never got to reviewing it.
Cain by José Saramago (Portuguese author)
Status: Read, WOW, unreviewed
I'm already a huge fan of Saramago after reading four of his books: (Blindness, Seeing, The Double and All the Names) so I naturally had to read this. Like I said: WOW. That's the extent of my vocab, then and now, and hence it remains unreviewed.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (Indian author)
Status: Started poking around at the beginning, ambivalent but hopeful. Is the book I'll be reading for this challenge.
I've had this for awhile now and I feel guilty that it's. just. there. So I am going to read it!
So many choices. So many read and unreviewed books! That's why #Diversiverse hopefully helps me get a little back on track with my reading and reviewing. October is going to be anything but boring!
Still building up your reading list? Here are a few more links to check out:
- #Diversiverse: Some Old Favourites
- Compilation of #Diversiverse reviews at Book Lust
- My Book Map - it lists books by setting but you'll find a lot of books perfect for this challenge!
Hope to see you in October!
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