Welcome to Litsy!

60s and sunny in November? I‘ll take it! Starting the tagged book this morning, another one that I can‘t believe I haven‘t read…Going to remedy that right now.

#OutAndAbout #ReadingOnTheTrain #SpringInNovember

Technically a re-read but I was in high school the last timeI read it (30+ years ago 😳) and not much remained beyond a Black girl's desire for blue eyes. A complex novel that shows understanding and empathy for even the worst of humanity's acts, of which Black girls are often the victim. Morrison's writing is beautiful and brutal. Even in her first novel, her artistic vision is undeniable. I read it as part of a deep dive into Morrison 👇

How could this possibly be Morrison‘s first book? It is incredibly well done. 😍

“He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see. How can a fifty-two-year-old white immigrant storekeeper with the taste of potatoes and beer in his mouth, his mind honed on the doe-eyed Virgin Mary, his sensibilities blunted by a permanent awareness of loss, see a little black girl? Nothing in his life even suggested that the feat was possible, not to say desirable or necessary.”

A harrowing examination of the racism underpinning society's notions of beauty. I feel I should say more about it, but the writing is poetry and left me with more feelings than words.

Brutal and devastating.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WHOA! I was not prepared for the BRUTALITY of this book nor the extremely graphic sexual abuse depicted. Just heartbreaking. Absolutely gutted by this book. I can‘t say I “enjoyed” reading this one, but it‘s definitely a powerful piece of writing. Does this belong in a classroom? I‘m not sure it‘s right for every student but it certainly is the RIGHT place to explore the themes of poverty, inequality, cruelty and damaging beliefs.

Another book that seems fitting to read for #BannedBooks #TitlesAndTunes #Blues
#LetFreedomRead #BannedBookWeek

@BarbaraBB please add Beautiful Scars by Merry Clayton to our playlist

1.99 today

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TWUTYQ?nodl=1&_bbid=158698107&tag=bookbubemail1-20...

I‘ll never forget reading this the first time …it has stayed with me ..

It never occurs to her that, if in her sleep, her hand hangs over the edge of the bed, something will crawl out from under it and bite her fingers off. I sleep near the wall, because that thought has occurred to me.

library haul :)

Why? Why have I waited so long?

Beloved on audio, read by the author, was staggering. One of the most emotionally impactful works I‘ve experienced. This one is no less.

this book is absolutely gut-wrenching. Morrison shows the vulnerability of children so well, and aims (I think) to show the psychological complexity of humans, and how we‘re driven by motivations, sometimes self-less, misguided, or just cruel. She doesn‘t aim to humanize the horrible people in this book, just explain their existence. I feel so emotionally heavy after reading this. Please please PLEASE look up trigger warnings for this book

Not my favorite Morrison, but I love just reading the words she puts together.

This book follows Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, as she nears puberty during the 1940s in Lorain, Ohio. With her newfound friends Claudia and Frieda, she learns the truth behind her poverty, 'ugliness' and misfortunes in life. If you enjoy books that explore themes of beauty, conformity, race, gender etc. you will enjoy this book. A theme in this book is how external forces affect internal struggles, because the girls battle-

How can a book break you in just the first two pages?

Reading through the books currently being challenged at my local library. All these wanna-be book banners are doing is expanding my TBR pile.

“Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another—physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.”

Morrison wrote The Bluest Eye because she was “interested in talking about black girlhood”. It seems sadly inevitable that it would end up a foundational text about the impact of Euro-centric beauty standards and self-loathing. She also said her ‘job‘, as she saw it, was to “rip that veil drawn over proceedings too terrible to relate”, which she certainly achieved. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-bluest-eye-toni-morrison/

One of the saddest books I‘ve read in a long time. Read as part of Banned Book Challenge.

📖The Bluest Eye
🖋Charles Bukowski
📺Barney Miller
🎤David Bowie
🎼Blitzkreig Bop -The Ramones
#manicmonday #LetterB @CBee
Everyone play! My Monday has been a bit manic .😀

Another intense, deeply emotional story from Tony Morrison; the first she told to the world. The heart of the story is something that still happens and you don‘t have to look far to see it. A story of poverty, class, abuse, white supremacy and how all these impacted one little girl forever. A story true, yet banned. Read it, pass it on, and uplift Black girls and Black womxn. Black is beautiful. Black is to be celebrated.

I did not know writing until I read Toni Morrison for the first time. Ms. Morrison encouraged all of us to read and learn from her books and while I‘m just beginning to discover the talent and the power of Ms. Morrison I am haunted and enchanted by her characters and their lives.

Reading my way through Morrison this year. This was her first published book. I appreciate how her themes both evolve and stay grounded in the same topics. Her writing is much easier to understand the deep meanings now that I have read a few of her works.

The Bluest Eyes is Toni Morrison‘s first book. It‘s about a girl in Ohio that wishes her eyes to be blue like the blonde haired white girls because they are beautiful, and clean unlike how she feels. It was very moving and emotional. There are some triggering topics that were a little uncomfortable to read, but still a good read.

3 out of 5. Good prose but how is this a literature book for middle and high school students?! I think its too traumatic for young minds.

#OnThisDay in 1931, Chloe Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio. When fellow students at Howard University had trouble pronouncing Chloe, she took a nickname based off her baptismal name "Anthony", and went by Toni from then on. One of the first Black editors at Random House, she championed the work of other Black Authors before releasing her own work and becoming the first African American recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature #HistoryGetsLIT

This was my first Toni Morrison book. It was beautifully written.

This book was as captivating as it was chilling. A moving piece that highlights the effects of internalized racism on a young girl.

On the surface, a story of a little black girl who wishes for the epitome of white beauty standards: blue eyes. I found it really thought provoking, a lesson in intergenerational trauma and betrayals, and revealing of the subtle, implicit biases in society and in myself. I loved the writing. Powerful and painful. 9/10

amazing
i love toni morrison but a lot of her books don‘t get to the point until the end but her writing is always beautiful and inspiring

Thank you @melissajayne for the wonderful #wintersolisticeswap package. I am looking forward to reading these books and the tea sounds delicious. I don‘t have my tree up yet, but once it is up the ornament will be going on. Thank you
@Chrissyreadit @sprainedbrain

This is the third book by Toni Morrison that I‘ve read. Her writing is good, granted, but I find her stories over-layered, inaccessible, and all over the place. This particular book is very segmented and that made it hard for me to focus. The topic of this book is interesting so I had very high expectations on how she would navigate it and what answers she had to offer but unfortunately she didn‘t do that for me.

⚠️https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southlake-texas-anti-racist-book-school-library-rcna2734

'“One of the questions we‘re supposed to ask is ‘Does the writer have a neutral stance on the topic?‘” the teacher said. “Well, if you are Toni Morrison, how can you have a neutral stance toward racism? Now history is being depicted through this rose-colored lens, and all of this is creating a chilling effect that‘s going to hurt our students.”'

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexalisitza/banned-and-challenged-books-quiz

Well that was fun 😂

I can confirm that this novel hurt my feelings in all the ways I expected it to and more. Its measured examination of how trauma is accumulated and internalised is thoughtful, and most importantly confronting. It‘s basically a perfect novel.

💔

#BannedBook
#FallTreasures

A couple from my tbr shelf 💙📚

How does one even review a book that causes this many feelings? Toni Morrison delivered gut punch after gut punch that all coincided with one another as the seasons went on. I want to reread this now that I know how all the pieces come together.

I 💙 Toni Morrison. I never read her books until I started my master's degree, but WOW. She quickly became one of my favorites after I read Song of Solomon.

I picked up this one at a thrift store, and I'm excited to jump in. 😍

Thanks @Tanisha_A for gifting me this book.
I‘m embarrassed to say it is my first Morrison but it definitely won‘t be my last.
Such a sad book. So much pain and tragedy. It‘s heartbreaking that society is the cause of such self hatred in some children. That there is only one way to look, one kind of beauty. And if you don‘t conform to this beauty standard then you are worthless. We still have such a long way to go to undo these wrongs.

I loved this. If you're reluctant to dive into Toni Morrison because of a previous bad experience (🙋), I definitely recommend this one. And the #audiobook is amazing and read by the author. ❤ It's so good. I can't believe this was her first book.

I'm late posting some of my May reads, so bear with me while I catch up. 😂

I took a couple days off to visit with my parents and a couple of my siblings and their families. For whatever reason, I have woken up The last two mornings at 5:38am. It‘s weird, but I do love my morning coffee and reading before the chaos starts up! Starting this one as a reread for book club ❤️

Finished my seventh and final book for the #readtherainbow challenge! For violet, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Up next for the #readtherainbow challenge is The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I've been meaning to read this for SO long!

Book 9 of Top10 Challenged Books. Well written. Because of that the ugly and sad parts really hit you. I always have trouble with Rating books like this. It's a classic and important read. But while I was intrigued to see how it was going to end, it was a hard read. So now I can say I've read it and it's doubtful I will ever read again.
9️⃣ #top10challengedbooks

ALA announced the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2020 today as part of #NationalLibraryWeek.
Once again I will be counting down to #BannedBooksWeek Sep 26 - Oct 2 and reading Amy I haven't previously read.
Numbers 9,8,6,4,3, & 2.

A powerful book that is meant to have readers reflect on our role in the ongoing issues with racism, classism, sexism, and white beauty standards. The story was excellent, albeit heartbreaking, but the organization of the narrative made this book feel unnecessarily complicated to understand and took away from the potential power of the story.

This is a powerful story by Toni Morrison. It forces you to reflect on your part in the story and why the story happened the way it did.