So happy to have an E copy of Well Read Black Girl! Absolutely powerful book and so many “yes moments” as a Black woman and little girl!!

When I first saw Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves I knew this was one I had to read. The reader in me immediately felt the call because of my own love of reading and books. I have read a small few of the authors featured in this collection (Jesamyn Ward, Rebecca Walker, and Nicole Dennis-Benn), with books by several others on my TBR shelf. Only a couple of them were completely new to me.

In Gloria Edim’s introduction she talks about her mother reading her Eloise Greenfield’s poetry, of recognizing herself on the page, and just how significant that was for her as a black girl—and woman. She goes on to write about the influence reading had on her life. I can relate to the connection a reader makes with the characters in books and how their stories can sometimes influence our own life stories. As a white reader, I do not have far to look for stories in which I can see myself. For a young Black girl and even Black women, it is much harder to find a reflection of oneself within the pages of a book. I will never know just how powerful a connection like that can be as a result.

Gloria Edim has long been an advocate for promoting black voices in literature, celebrating their stories, and bringing them to the forefront. The collection of essays she shares with us in Well-Read Black Girl is beautiful. In each of these essays their authors share a a bit of themselves and their connections to literature, what inspired them, moved them, and helped shape who they would become. If you are looking for some great book recommendations, you will get that here. You will also get a glimpse into the minds and hearts of these brillant African American authors who have inspired others with their own writing and work.

One particular essay that I especially loved is written by Jesamyn Ward, who is a beautiful writer. It shows in her books as well as in her essay “Magic Mirrors” in which she shares a couple of childhood experiences of finding her own reflection in the books she read—how rare it was and how precious when it did happen—and yet also how disappointing it could be. Ward writes, “I read to escape, to molt my skin. Something inside of me recoiled from Cassie’s world at the close of the book.” She could relate to Cassie’s character in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, finding it both beautiful and painful. She also talked about her love for Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, which swept her off her feet and carried her along—until the end. A magic mirror should do more than just reflect our own image back to us, but rather, in Ward’s case, she wanted that reflection of herself to transform her into something more.

I have a long list of quotes I highlighted throughout this amazing collection. Here are just a small few of my favorites:

This is, of course, what great writers do. They make you feel as if they are spies; as if they have somehow crept into your room at night and stolen your dreams or your nightmares. ~ excerpt from "Why I Keep Coming Back to Jamaica" by Veronica Chambers.
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[...] the glory in literature is that it asks you to do more than just see. ~ excerpt from "Her Own Best Thing" by Tayari Jones
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I still and will always believe that representation of all kinds is essential. ~ excerpt from "Legacy: A Conversation with Rebecca Walker"
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Reading for me was a vehicle for self-exploration when real life wasn't safe. But without seeing that path in the power story, I didn't know that it was one that existed for me. ~ excerpt from "The Need for Kisses" by Dhonielle Clayon
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I hope that by writing some of the stories I know, people will hear some of their own voices in my characters. ~ excerpt from "Witnessing Hope" by Stephanie Powell
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I felt she was talking to me, telling me over and over again as a young black girl that I am my own best thing. ~ excerpt from "Dear Beloved" by Nicole Dennis-Benn about reading Beloved by Toni Morrison
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Myths tell us what those like us have done, can do, should do. Without myths to lead the way, we hesitate to leap forward. Listen to the wrong myths and we might even go back a few steps. ~ excerpt from "Dreaming Awake" by N.K. Jemisin
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So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all, every single of us us, no matter who we are and no matter what's been taken from us or what poison we've internalized or how hard we've had to work to expel it---
--we all get to dream. ~ excerpt from "Dreaming Awake" by N.K. Jemisin
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In the story of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye was the first time I ever saw myself. Black girls go missing all the time. And missing doesn't always mean disappeared, never to be seen again. It can slso signal the loss of one's self. ~ excerpt from "Complex Citizen" by Mahogany L. Browne
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The folly of youth is believing that the road to success is a straight one. It is believing that self-improvement functions as holding a version of yourself forever just out of arm's reach, presuming her to be better, prettier, freer.

The truth is that I needed those misteps, sharp turns, the quiet moments of self-doubt that led to my own pep talks in the kitchen. I wasn't Grace; not really, not in the way I originally wanted to be. Nor was I supposed to be. Eventually I realized, and continue to realize anew, that I, Carla, am quite enough. I'm damn amazing. ~ excerpt from "Amazing Grace" by Carla Bruce-Eddings
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So my advice to other young writers: Read widely. Study other writers. Be thoughtful. Then go out and do the work of changing the form, finding your own voice, and saying what you need to say. Be fearless. And care. ~ excerpt from "Continue to Rise" by Jacqueline Woodson

Go read this book. Whether you want to read the perspective of these amazing Black women and the way literature has touched their lives, get a long list of books to try, or just enjoy books about people talking about reading, you cannot go wrong with this one.

Well Read Black Girl was such an inspiring collection of stories and I found myself smiling often as I read these original essays. Curated by the founder of the book club / online community by the same name, it includes various voices of Black writers and creatives stressing the importance of representation in stories.

From Jacqueline Woodson to Gabourey Sidibe I enjoyed every single one of these essays, in particular the tales of childhood reading, where these incredible women each found themselves in literature. When they first encountered a character who seemed to be written just for them, and discovered their favorite authors in the process.

It's eye-opening as well, as I've never felt like I didn't see myself in books when I was younger, and shows the importance to making sure books are accessible that everyone can connect with, no matter your age, race, gender, etc.

A must read for any book lover, that shows the powers of stories and those that share them. It also includes a hugely extensive list of books by Black female authors that is reason to get this book alone.

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves is the perfect book to show us how important it is that every child is able to see themselves on the page, the screen, and the stage. It shines a light on how seeing oneself gives one agency and a sense of belonging, and why the arts must realistically mirror reality (in its diversity). The love of books expressed in these stories made me want to devour every one in the lists of recommendations.

Thanks to the editor, the writers, the publisher, and to NetGalley for a copy of the ARC.

The essays that Glory Edim compiled in Well-Read Black Girl illustrates the need for diverse stories to speak to the multiplicity of readers. In Edim’s introduction, she describes hollowing out a place of her own in the world that she filled with books. In the first essay entitled Magic Mirrors, Jesmyn Ward describes seeking and almost finding a mirror in literature that would reflect her childhood experiences and yet not finding a perfect one until she wrote her own stories; and Veronica Chambers recalls being inspired by an author who she felt had entered her private space and written down her thoughts, so concrete was the connection she made with Jamaica Kincaid’s short story, Girl.
Well-Read Black Girl is Black women acknowledging the writers and writings that have helped make them. 
So in this compendium of brilliant writing by the authors who tell the stories of our generation, we get the spectrum of meaning that is literature - the expression of soul, the medium of connection, the bridge between producer and consumer that offers, accepts and transforms. 
Included here is a statement from the daughter of Alice Walker, who describes what literature meant to someone who witnessed her mother making history with words; a gay writer who describes being impacted by the freedom and sophistication that James Baldwin channeled through his writing into her life at a time when she didn’t feel that freedom anywhere else in her life; Gabourey Side's story of feeling unwanted in her family and reading the memoir of someone who was valued even lower in her childhood and yet found enough power in forgiveness to inspire the actress as well.
Well Read Black Girl is a tear jerking collection because it's impossible to read about the moments when the world seemed to stand still or spun faster or just made sense for someone else, and not be affected by their telling of it, especially if you can relate to where they were before that experience. This is a book about literature as a mirror for life and any reader, but likely any black girl reader, can find herself in these pages as well. 
At just over 270 pages, this volume will make a great addition to a reference library as these essays are such that one can return to them for inspiration or affirmation. Having contributors with such a range of experiences and ages will almost guarantee that one of your favorite black women author's words are included. And in addition to the content, the book itself is also a treasure for a bookworm as Edim includes lists curated to delight the black book lover who yearns for a canon that reflects her interests. With captions such as "Well-Read Black Girl Selections 2015-2018", one can find popular as well as lesser-known but just as important titles of books that deserve more attention, all books by black women authors.

Note: I received a free electronic download of Well-Read Black Girl from the publishers Penguin Random House, as part of their influencer program. I was not otherwise compensated for this review and the above reflects my honest opinion about the book.

I loved how this book featured so many different essays from authors on the importance of recognizing yourself in literature. Plus there’s a ton of recommendations for every type of reader! I’d also recommend checking out @wellreadblackgirl’s Instagram and website! Their book club is dedicated to Black women writers and I’ve already added quite a few new books to my tbr just from looking at their last book club picks.

Thank you Random House for gifting this book.
As many I have been trying to incorporate more books by black creators and especially, black female authors. This book of essays on being black and having a love of reading was a wonderful expression of both and exposed me to many new to me titles. This book was not made for just black women to read and I feel like everyone can find joy in reading this title and connecting with their various stories of loneliness, oppression, love and all the other things that connect us as humans. However it also shows us how being a young black woman in America is often times looked down on and treated different.

The best part of this book is the recommendations by all the writers of what they think is a great book from various genres including classic novels, books about black girlhood and friendship, science fiction and fantasy, plays and even poetry by black women. I am ashamed to admit there were many I had never heard of but now want to seek out and read. This list alone is makes this book worth reading but added to that are stories that many can relate to by authors of various experiences and ages. We dive into their brains and peer into their hearts as they discover books that revolutionize their worlds. I highly recommend this book for all to read.

What a brilliant collection of essays by black women. I love books about books, readers and writers and Well-Read Black Girl covered all three. I admire so many of the writers who contributed to this collection, it is no wonder I devoured this book because I wanted to know more about them and who influenced their writing. So many of the things they made references to I felt:
1. Growing up and reading books where the main character didn't look like them.
2. Being readers, to the point where their parents forced them to go out and play
3. I love how each could remember how fond they are of reading and when they first discovered a character that spoke to their soul.

Glory Edim did an exceptional job of pulling together strong black women who are crushing it in their field. I loved reading about some of my favorite writer's background and the women who influenced them.

I value this collection because I understand the importance of seeing, hearing, connecting, and identifying with characters, in novels, because at an early age, as an avid reader, I didn’t have that in literature. So, I felt, as if I didn’t belong. It wasn’t until my 20s that I discovered me, if you will, in books! With that said, because it took me so long to find my rhythm, my Cultura, my Song, and my Dance, through characters in books, I Vowed never to allow my children and/or students to feel that way. Therefore, I make a conscious effort, to have a wealth of material, with characters, that mirror my students/children, at their reach!!

I loved this little book. There were quite a few stories I could relate to. Such as Jesmyn Ward's "Magic Mirrors" I completely understood her voracious reading appetite and recalled reading some of those stories she devoured. And I also recall feeling that those stories I enjoyed so much were not my stories and that I felt like an encroacher.

I received a reviewer copy of Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim from the publisher Ballatine Books from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: This is a collection of essays from black women (mostly authors) talking about how black literature influenced, touched them, or made them feel seen.

What I Loved: As a reader this book made me smile because there is passion for literature throughout and the feeling of being seen in your books. This book is especially powerful because these women have had to deal with feeling isolated by society and treated like garbage because of the color of their skin. And there were less books for them to be seen and finding these books was especially important. Also loved all the books recommended.

What I didn’t like so much: Like any essay collection there were some that I didn't love and sometimes I just kind of dragged through.

Who Should Read It: People who are readers. People who want to see the power of literature on shaping someones identities. People who love collections.

General Summary: An essay collection about seeing seen in literature when you don't feel seen anywhere else.

Wonderfully curated, I recommend this constantly to people looking to expand their reading. The lists are diverse and though the essays can get a touch repetitive, they are extremely intelligent. A great coffee table book.

While I won't order this as a text for a class, it is a book I've frequently recommended to students and will continue to recommend. Working with first-year, first-generation college students, I am always looking for titles that can both inspire and demystify participation in the great discussion that is the world of books.

Though I am a white woman, I really enjoyed Well Read Black Girl. I try to read diversely so I can better understand those who are not like me and don’t have the same experiences I do. This book gave me a peek into the way black women feel and helped me understand them a little more and the struggles they experience. At the same time though, I felt that so many of the themes discussed could be applied to so many other people, not just black women. I even saw myself in many essays. This book has a ton of fiction, essays and poetry suggestions written by black women.

A book that shows Black Woman are important, intelligent and can write their butts off. The authors such as Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Jacqueline Woodson, Gabourey Sidibe, Tayari Jones and Barbara Smith who gave Black Women a huge platform of complex and intelligent account of what is looks and feel like to to read about yourself in a book and the very importance of books. It is an awesome book and it still sells well in my store.

I need all brown bookworms to read this anthology. You won’t regret it at all. This anthology reminded me of my younger book worm self and I found myself nodding along as I read. This book also gives you plenty of recommendations for several genres written by black authors which I loved as well. Some of the authors in this anthology I have read before and some are new to me. I did like some stories more than others but overall I enjoyed this anthology very much.

Enlightening to read how literature sparked a fire in many of the black women who are trailblazers and pathfinders in literature today.

It's nice to witness how the WRBG platform has evolved and this is a solid collection of essays that I would buy.

This is a wonderful collection of stories of bookish black women applying their love of reading to their lives. As a longtime black female bookworm myself, this book resonated with me. I loved hearing everyone’s perspective on how a certain author or book changed their outlook on life. I live how they weren’t shy on acknowledging their blackness and how it relates to world of books and life. I love that there were many book recommendations of so many books written by black authors. Black folks especially women deserve to have their story told!

I received a copy of Well Read Black Girl from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I have since purchased a copy. Glory Edim’s essay anthology, Well Read Black Girl, is guaranteed to be on my top favorites of 2019. Authors, playwrights, poets, artists, actors speak about when they first saw themselves represented as black women in books and how that went on to impact their lives. This essay anthology left me with a list of new texts to discover and with many wise words from familiar favorites. Most of all these essays remind me that the publishing industry needs to continue to do better and publish black women with the same vigor and breadth of genre as white folks.