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.

Poignant and key to continuing a legacy that elevates the voices of today's contemporary writers of color

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.

Reading this anthology of short essays from so many incredible authors was such a pleasure.  Authors whose works I have read before and loved, I now have a greater understanding and appreciation of.  As an aspiring writer, I have found motivation, inspiration, and great depths of emotion in these pages.



This book gave me a glimpse into a culture that I have never really gotten to experience in my life.  I can see how these essays will give young black people - young black girls, especially - a tremendous sense of community, belonging, and acceptance.  This book is not just for that specific audience, though.  I got so much out of this book.  I took so many notes - for myself, not this review - and found myself writing page after page, without conscious effort.  



While reading "Well-Read Black Girl," I added dozens of books to my To-Be-Read list, and I am excited to get to know these authors better through works of theirs that I'd sometimes not heard of before.  I've happily added this wonderful work of literature to my library and will be returning to it again and again.

I love every single thing about this book, from the book lists, to the personal stories, to the IRL book clubs. Glory you have created something wonderfully magical, a repository for everyone but especially for women of color to easily find ourselves and see reflections of ourselves in the written word.

Fantastic anthology of essays from Black female authors, each sharing what made them readers for pleasure, and ultimately made them writers of their own works.

So many classic texts are mentioned, along with lots of authors and works I had never heard of.

2019 will be my year of reading every book mentioned in this anthology, if it's available through my local library. Not every author mentioned as an inspiration is Black and/or female, but the vast majority were. Representation is critical to young readers, especially when you are raised in a society that renders you invisible unless something goes wrong (which is always your fault, of course).

Recommended for hard core readers and book geeks.

Glory Edim is the founder of Well-Read Black Girl, Brooklyn-based book club and digital platform that celebrates the uniqueness of Black Lit and sisterhood. Further expanding her platform to produce a book highlighting all it means to be a well-read black girl was everything I didn’t know I needed. 

In this anthology of essays, each author answers an important question posed by THE Well-Read Black Girl Glory Edim herself: when did you first find yourself in the books you read?

Reading Well-Read Black Girl was a beautiful experience that gave me all the nostalgic feels. Thoughts resurfaced of the first times I connected with heroines in books I read. Other thoughts of how often those heroines looked like me soon followed. Essays by black female writers sharing that magic moment in which they saw themselves within a book made me realize just how importance representation in literature is. It is through the books that we read in which our experiences are magnified and made familiar. We realize we aren’t alone in the world. We realize that the heroic women we read about can be us. We feel connected to the world when we read characters that not only reflect our experiences and dreams, but our faces.

I enjoyed each essay, feeling particularly moved by Dhonielle Clayton's essay about Coffee Will Make You Black, Mahogany Brown's essay about The Bluest Eye, and Gabby Sidibe's essay. Each essay shared a unique voice and an experience I felt the author shared with just me, as if I were thumbing through her personal diary. I love that this anthology allowed Glory Edim the opportunity to bring these distinct voices together to collectively share the importance of seeing ourselves in the books we read. I devoured the essays, made notes in my phone, and created the longest list of to-be-read books, thanks to the suggestions in Well-Read Black Girl. 

I have bought a physical copy and always suggest this read to my fellow book-loving friends, as I feel this is an important read, especially for black women. Our stories matter. They need to be shared. They need to be celebrated. And I believe this book and the Well-Read Black Girl movement is a great vehicle to get a many conversation started about our voices and these stories.    

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Well-Read Black Girl in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of essays from the founder of the book club Well-Read Black Girl which focuses on the importance of exploring reflections of the black experience in literature.  Edim's choice of essays from some of the best black female writers serves as a balm- the topics range from sexuality to religion, race, and a multitude of other topics.  If you have a book club and would like to examine the black experience, check this out.

A must-have edition to any bookshelf! The key aspect in reading this book involves seeing one's self represented in literature and how the opportunity molds lives. Great essays by wonderful writers and authors in their own right.

I wish a collection of essays written by prominent African American authors existed when I was younger. Representation matters. To be able to see people who look like you who , who have the same thoughts and feelings and interests as you is important and I'm grateful for Random House for breathing this book into existence and letting it reach the masses.