I definitely savored this book. Such sage advise. Such honest candid writing. Inspiration to return to over and over again.

Well put together anthology of stories. Well chosen authors and well worded and poignant stories to coincide. Definitely made me think and feel uncomfortable which means I have personal work to do with regards to race and prejudice.

My Takeaway

I absolutely loved and enjoyed each and every story in this magical book! Reading these beautiful essays, made me think about the first book where I recognized myself. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez immediately came to mind. I read this book in the ’90s and instantly saw me, my culture and family background. You see, although I was born in D.C., I did not speak or understand English until the second grade. My family came from the Dominican Republic and I was raised with their traditions, language, and music. I learned at a young age my friends and I were very different. For instance, many of them ate tortillas, tamales, and refried beans, while we ate “La Bandera” which consisted of rice, beans, and stewed meat. My grandmother cooked every single day and I honestly did not know what a hamburger or McDonald’s was until I was probably 8 years old (my younger brother was actually scared of Ronald McDonald).

Also, every summer I would visit the Dominican Republic with my grandmother. Our family lived in a small town where everyone knew one another (Cotui in the Cibao region). My cousins and I were allowed and able to run around and explore our surroundings without adult supervision. Those summers were some of my favorite childhood memories. Without a doubt, those trips enriched my life and shaped me into the person I am today.

It’s important we see ourselves in books. Individuals of all backgrounds and cultures have valuable experiences and universal ideas to share, and we all stand to gain when those voices are heard. I cannot recommend Well-Read Black Girl enough. The downside? Be prepared to add lots of books to your to be read pile. 🙂

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. You already know I purchased my very own copy!

A moving and thoughtful collection of tributes to life-changing books, and a call for more diverse and inclusive representation in all areas of literature.

There were a few that resonated with me, but my favorite essay was from N.K. Jemisin. In fact, N.K. is not a writer I'm familiar, which is really the benefit of this collection in introducing me to new names and voices. 

However, this took me a long time to get through. I started and stopped repeatedly. After a while, the essays said the same thing, referenced the same books and authors. Some of these messages were longer than others (example: when I was a child... then I was a student/reader/college kid... then I wrote/published/acted... now for my children...). It just got repetitive.

I totally get it would be hard to edit much of these stories, though. I agree all folks of color have been silenced for too long.

Glory Edim was promoting works of black women on social media and used her growing platform to create this book project. 

In Well-Read Black Girl, Edim reached out to women of color connected to the publishing industry in some way, be it as an author, playwright, poet, publicist, and so on, and invited them to reflect on what books spoke to them as children and made them feel noticed and recognized and made an impact in their vocation.

Throughout the book sections, Edim offers reading recommendations and thoughtfully gathers all the titles that are referenced in the essays into a complete list at the close.

As someone who loves books and recognizes the various impacts specific ones have made in my life in different seasons, I loved digging into this text and discovering both new and familiar titles. It is a valuable contribution, and I've added some of the authors or their referenced titles to my reading list. 

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review.)

This is an absolutely fantastic book about reading, one that made me inspired to read more myself and also made me question my own childhood, and how easy it was for me to find books that had characters that looked like me, and how difficult it was for so many other girls to experience that as well.

As I read this, I marveled at the contents - poetry, classics, sci-fi + fantasy, plays, as well as serious thoughts on black feminist theory and "sister-girl” friendships. Being a typical bookworm, I don't get much time to share my thoughts or hear those of other black women. So I jumped at the chance to peek inside the minds of queens like Jesmyn Ward and Morgan Jerkins.

It was to my joy and amazement that each of the essays possessed some of the same thoughts and asked the name questions as I do. I was over the top with excitement as I read and embraced the words of Tayari Jones. 

As an African-American woman who loves the art of literature, I received immense comfort in knowing that I was not alone in my approach to reading and internalizing the written word.

Hat tip and graceful applause to Glory!

An outstanding collection of essays about how absolutely essential representation in literature is. Well-Read Black Girl finally got their own book, and I am so here for it. Be inspired by the wide range of voices recounting what it's like to find yourself (or not) reflected in the books you're reading.

Surprised to be led here via Instagram, but that's the times, for you.  I've continued to be really impressed with the movement Gloria Edim's started.  This collection emphasizes American literati.  For me, it's a reminder that canon works we read as young adults have informed the lives and writings of some of our greatest contemporary writers. As an adult, reading these essays feels like commiserating, it brought back a lot of happy memories of past years where my books were my best friends.  This book might also be just the encouragement a young woman needs to motivate her to work on her own writing, and I think makes a great gift.  Well edited, relevant suggestions are listed for future reading.

This review is posted on Amazon.

Read this book with a notebook nearby. So many new authors for me! I loved the way each writer talked about when and how these books had an influence. Well done, and a huge variety.

Well-Read Black Girl is a collection of essays compiled by Glory Edim, founder of the online community baring the same name. These essays, written by black women writers, explore the influence that literature has had on them as writers and women discovering themselves.

Each women’s voice brings out that importance of representation. Specific novels are addressed as having more notable influence. There are an array of backgrounds, cultures, and time periods that have impacted these women. It’s a lovely read.

“I carried Spin A Soft Black Song with me as a textual North Star, a compass that could always help me find my way back to the center and back to myself”
-Jamia Wilson


There was a time, not so long ago, when there was a (more) severe lack of representation, for people of color generally and women of color specifically, in mainstream writing. When we could be found in mainstream literature and stories, we were extensively and grossly marginalized and misrepresented. Art imitates life. So, in response, countless visionaries began to create and popularize more of the art we all so desperately need in order to affirm our experiences and ultimately our existence.

“We are writing ourselves into spaces that neglect or ignore us. Headstrong. A necessary quality to withstand the losses and celebrate the victories.”
-Glory Edim


Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim, is a compilation of essays from women (read trailblazers, icons) who share their various experiences of having been moved and deeply impacted by literature that allowed them to see themselves in important ways for the very first time. In the essay aptly titled, “Dreaming Awake,” N.K. Jemisin discusses the call to build worlds that better reflect the beauty of Black people and Black culture by telling our stories in our own words. Our stories are most powerful when told BY US, firsthand-- from the angle of the informed, the impacted, the empowered. Stories positioned in this way differ greatly from stories ABOUT US but told from the lens of outsiders lacking the proper cultural competence to truly understand and appreciate our lived experiences.

The creation of better, more authentic stories BY AND ABOUT people of color requires dreaming, imagining, and reinventing possibilities with an eye toward the future; it requires that creativity be executed with a corrective approach to fix what has been broken by beginning with ourselves.

“Reading highlights the intersection of narrative and self-image to create compelling explorations of identity. Reading allows us to witness ourselves.”
-Glory Edim


When we are able to “witness ourselves” in literature and commune with others who have been affirmed in similar ways, we find community. Representation matters and great writers have a keen understanding of this vital truth. These great writers, the ones who create something where there was nothing, and tell the stories of the worlds we have built, are trailblazers. They are our literary heroines and foremothers. These writers, via words and deeds, have laid a foundation that allows the work of crafting worlds we have yet to build and inhabit, to continue.

“Our work is making sure that our stories are told and told true...our stories are at the core of our identity, and if they don’t exist, in some critical way we wont exist either…We are to live and tell the story…My stories could inspire other stories, and all those stories combined could remake the world.”
-Rebecca Walker 


“Maya Angelou, and the rest of the inspiring authors I’ve encountered throughout my life, have taught me that, as Black women, we define ourselves for ourselves. When you tell us we can’t, we simply resist and defy expectations. Our stories are filled with love, strength, and resilience. We are not looking for anyone else to give us validation; because we have each other. We celebrate one another. We have a tenacity and grace that is unparalleled.”
-Glory Edim


This anthology contains every kind of story- each one unique and transformative. There are stories of how a woman has been lost, to both herself and the world, and then found after having discovered the literature of Black women and had the experience of being acknowledged in meaningful ways. Prior to doing the work as writers, these women had the common experience of being children and avid readers. These young readers sought and devoured countless stories to make meaning of their worlds, only to find that they were not present in these same stories. Not in the ways that mattered most. And though they could relate to the characters in some ways- their experiences, their challenges, and their paradigms were vastly different. Reading these, and only these stories had the effect of relegating their own lived experiences to the margins. Time and again, they were sent the message that theirs was either a secondary experience or entirely nonexistent.

This changed when they found Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker, and countless other literary foremothers. Finally, they were validated; they were seen. In these stories, they found that the truth of their lives was told for the very first time. The reality of their experiences was lain out. These new stories highlighted and proffered resolutions to the distortions of history and affirmed their humanity; through these stories they were able to see themselves, reimagine possibilities and therefore venture to uncharted destinations. These were stories that dealt with the familiar issues of displacement, immigration, citizenship, terror, activism, and the myriad experiences of people dealing with the same. These were stories that filled the void of memory loss and absenteeism; healed the wounds of misrepresentation; alleviated the sting of offense. These were stories of affirmation and agency. These stories were cathartic for both reader and writer.

“Their fictional experiences were different from mine, yet their voices offered a reflection that I desperately needed.”
-Glory Edim


These young, avid readers, went on to inhabit and dominate a number of creative spaces in writing, television & film, theater, production, and more. Activism and representation are present in the works of each contributor to this anthology. Each of these women has continued in the legacy and tradition of our literary foremothers and gone on to empower and to build.

“…the glory in literature is that it asks you to do more than just see”
-Tayari Jones


In Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, the contributors have shared their journeys as readers, writers, and creators for change that continually move us forward and toward ourselves and our fellow sisters.

“Reading and writing…allow you to commune with the living and the dead, to listen to the thoughts of those who have come before you and argue, cajole and sing praise for them in response.”
-Kaitlyn Greenidge


I would agree with Barbara Smith in her assertion that “timelessness is a major characteristic of classic creations.” Glory Edim has created a classic work in the Well-Read Black Girl anthology. As part of the community of women that has been affirmed and uplifted by Glory’s organization and personal endeavors, and as part of a larger sisterhood of Black women, we salute her and appreciate her contributions. In executing her vision, Glory has had the effect of highlighting individuals that need to be seen and amplifying voices that need to be heard. This work is important. This is required reading for well-read Black girls everywhere.

“Storytelling is an extension of our sisterhood. From the very beginning, I’ve dedicated WRBG to the legendary Black women on our bookshelves. Yet it is also a call to action for Black women to freely define their own narratives on their own terms.”
-Glory Edim


ALL the stars, ALL the praise, and ALL the appreciation for Glory Edim’s Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves.



***NOTE: Well-Read Black Girl is an online community and in-real-life book club for women of color. Check it out:

Wellreadblackgirl.com

*I received an eARC of this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *

This was fine. Most of these didn't wow me or anything, and not gonna lie sometimes I got a little bored, but I'm not sure if that's the fault of the book really, or maybe I had different expectations. A lot of the essays focused on how the books they read formed them as writers, not so much as people, and since I'm not a writer I'm not sure I could relate as much as I wanted to.

That said it was nice to read this and the essays were intriguing and well written. I liked seeing the different stories the various writers saw themselves in and will definitely be taking some book recommendations from this book. If you needed to convince someone that representation matters I think this would be a good book to hand them. 

Magic Mirrors by Jesmyn Ward - 4 stars
Why I keep coming back to Jamaica by Veronica Chambers - 3 stars
Her own best thing by Tayari Smith - 3.5 stars
Go tell it by Barbara Smith - 4 stars
Legacy: A Conversation with Rebecca Walker - 4 stars
Zora & Me by Marita Golden - 4 stars, Their Eyes were watching God was already on my TBR but it's now been bumped up
Space To Move Around In by Renee Watson - 4.5 stars
Gal: A Hard Row To Hoe by Gabourey Sidibe - 4 stars, I hope she doesn't talk to her parents
The Need For Kisses by Dhonielle Clayton - 4 stars
Witnessing Hope by Stephanie Powell Watts - 4 stars
Dear Beloved by Nicole Dennis-Benn - 4 stars
Dreaming Awake by N.K. Jemisin - 4.5 stars
To Be A Citizen by Morgan Jenkins - 4 stars
Two New Yorks by Zinzi Clemmons - 4 stars
Putting Women Center Stage: A Conversation with Lynn Nottage - 4.5 stars
Finding My Family by Bsrat Mezghebe - 4.5 stars
Complex Citizen by Mahogany L. Browne - 4 stars
Living a "Soft Black Song" by Jamia Wilson - 4 stars
Amazing Grace by Carla Bruce-Eddings - 4 stars 
Continue to Rise: A Conversation with Jacqueline Woodson - 4 stars
Books for a Black Girl's Soul by Kaitlyn Greenwidge - 3.5 stars

After reading another book having to deal with race and color, I am making an effort to purposely read some writing from a different perspective than I might have. Also, I'm a teacher and a few of my students have talked to me about feeling disconnected to the community they do to school in because they are colored and "just different." I thought I might expand my horizons and read what other black women have felt. Well-Read Black Girl is a series of essays compiled by Glory Edim. All of the essays are written by black women and tell of times where they have discovered themselves in literature (or sought to find themselves in literary works.) I don't know if I think "this character is just like me" a lot, but this book really made me think about what it would be like if I never had characters that represented me. There are also various lists throughout the book- recommendations of poetry, essays, books, etc. written by black women. The end of the book has a list of all of the literature that had been mentioned in the book.

This book was wonderful. I was nodding and smiling throughout it. This is a book that I hope to incorporate in my literature. Each author's story provides a different aspect to focus on.

I couldn't love this book more if I tried. The stories were honest, real, inspiring and captivating.  Reading about  how books played a pertinent role in each writer's life was everything to me and I connected with these writers possibly more than I've ever connected with a writer before. I felt like I was getting a deep dig into their life-and I'm so grateful for that. Oh and the book list at the end-this literally made me day. Excellent book-all the stars!

A wonderful collection that every library should own (I already bought it for mine). The essays are diverse and inspiring.

I have heard so much about Well-Read Black Girl, as well as Glory Edim, founder of Well-Read Black Girl Book Club, I knew I had to read it. The collection of essays are incredible and inspiring. Some of my favorites includes Tayari Jones, Rebecca Walker and Barbara Smith.
 
Edim is an incredible person whom I've never met, but hope to one day. I also want to attend her literary festival in the near future. I am indeed a Well-Read Black Girl and people like Edim are needed to encourage Black girls everywhere to be culturally fed and celebrate their creativity.

A book about books. A book about women talking about books. A book about diverse women and feminists talking about books and how they influenced their lives.  It's not gonna get much better than this. 
Editor and founder of @wellreadblackgirl Glory Edim @guidetoglo says that the book started with a very simple question: "When did you first see yourself in literature?" WRBG features essays by twenty one Black women - many of them authors themselves - talking about just that. I've read books by quite a few of the women in the book, but reading essays about their personal literary journeys, about seeing themselves in books for the first time and what it meant to them...it is a whole new level of respect and understanding of these women and their writing.

Yes, the book is called Well-Read Black Girl, yes, the essays are written by Black women, and yes, many of the books discussed are written by Black authors, but I hope it is obvious that this book is and should be for everyone. Min Jin Lee's quote on the cover sums it right up: "This is a brilliant collection of essential American reading..."