#Yaa Gyasi

[chellilonaaphra]

#hi #lup.txt #the jungle #a raisin in the sun #the grapes of wrath #god bless you mr Rosewater #behold the dreamers #invisible man #death of a salesman #transcendent kingdom #the great gastby #the house on mango street #upton sinclair #lorraine hansberry #imbolo mbue #ralph ellison #arthur miller #yaa gyasi #john steinbeck #kurt vonnegut #f scott fitzgerald #sandra cisneros

[convulsionofhonesty]

top 10 books of 2022

i read 50 books this year and i’m going to share my top 10 and what i loved most about them (in no particular order)

1. writers & lovers by lily king - this book legitimately changed my life by reminding me of how desperate i am to lead a creative life. there are certain books that make you want to be a writer. this is one. featuring clean-cut, economical prose that gets straight to the point, and the point is diving into one of the most compelling characters i’ve had the honor to spend a story with. i read it twice this year because i will never be ready to part with this main character.

2. last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo - this was a reread for me and i appreciated it infinitely more the second time. the vividness of the writing strikes me as a particular triumph of this work. you can feel every emotion, see and hear every setting. that and a deeply engaging narrative make it one of those books that i continue to think about constantly.

3. crush by richard siken - my favorite poetry collection i have read, and reread, both within this year. he is one of those writers that reminds you how amazing it is to be a human that can feel and say so much. sharp images, glorious repitition, and stunning formatting that has inspired much of my own adventure into the world of unique poetic structure on the page.

4. homegoing by yaa gyasi - probably one of the most ingenious books i have ever read. to this day i fail to understand how it is possible to cover so much in so few pages and not leave the reader feeling like something is missing, but she certainly does it. sweeping multi-generational story where each chapter reads like both an exquisite short story that could stand on its own and a part of the richly woven whole. phenomenal novel that i wholeheartedly believe will be a classic in the future.

5. the idiot by elif batuman - another character that weaseled her way into my brain and has never left. a plotless, indulgent, meandering character study that struck such a cord with me. i read this at the exact right time in my life and for the week that i was making my way through it, there was no distinction between the narrator and myself in my mind. i don’t know how to explain this, but i was narrating my own life through this character’s eyes. captivating.

6. piranesi by susanna clarke - an exemplary work of fantasy that explores the nuances of knowledge and gratitude, balancing expertly between critiquing the pursuit of knowledge and power and exalting wonder, curiosity, and science. a book written in journal entries which flows perfectly and never feels choppy. leaves you thinking differently about the world.

7. open water by caleb azumah nelson - a short novella you can read in a day, and you will have to, as it is so enchanting and haunting that you cannot stop. it fully took over my mind until i finished it. it features second person narration which creates an unmatched level of closeness between reader and narrator. triumphantly evocative, intimate, and precise prose. the most poetic novel(la) i've had the pleasure of reading since on earth we're briefly gorgeous.

8. the great believers by rebecca makkai - the highlight of this book is the dense prose; every sentence feels perfectly chosen and hits you just as hard as the last. there is never a break, never a breather from the stunning writing. for that reason it is a slow book to move through, but in the best way. also accomplishes using dual pov/timelines in a way that does not detract from the fluidity of the work. very heavy subject matter but imbued with hope, gratitude, and affection.

9. the starless sea by erin morgenstern - prior to reading piranesi, this was my favorite fantasy read of the year. the world is so engrossing and the formatting of the novel is unique and inventive. vivid world builidng and a meandering, cris-crossing plot that enthralls from the beginning. an ode to humanity and the interconnectedness of the stories we tell.

10. babel by r.f. kuang - a lengthy novel that is well worth the time it takes, featuring a slate of morally ambiguous young people bumping up against the limits of their social power. similarly to piranesi, it embraces curiosity, drive, passion, and learning while chastising the intrenchment of power in academia. kuang cements herself as figurehead of the historical fantasy subgenre, tapping into its full potential.

#mine #writers and lovers #lily king #last night at the telegraph club #malinda lo #crush #richard siken #homegoing #yaa gyasi #the idiot #elif batuman #piranesi #susanna clarke #open water #caleb azumah nelson #the great believers #rebecca makkai #the starless sea #erin morgenstern #babel #r.f. kuang

[gennsoup]

"The truth is we don't know what we don't know. We don't even know the questions we need to ask in order to find out, but when we learn one tiny little thing, a dim light comes on in a dark hallway, and suddenly a new question appears. We spend decades, centuries, millennia, trying to answer that one question so that another dim light will come on. That's science, but that's also everything else, isn't it?"

Yaa Gyasi, Transcendent Kingdom

#Yaa Gyasi #Transcendent Kingdom #questions #science #exploration #curiosity #discovery #Ghanaian literature #African literature #African American literature #quotes #quotes blog #literary quotes #literature quotes #literature #book quotes

[wellconstructedsentences]

Theirs was the kind of life that did not guarantee living.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

#Homegoing #yaa gyasi

[skyler-reads28]

On Wednesdays we *read* pink 💖

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett - 5/5 ⭐️

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell - TBR

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas - 5/5 ⭐️

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue - 3/5 ⭐️

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi - TBR

QOTD: What’s your first read of August?

AOTD: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 🔥

#the grace year #kim liggett #then she was gone #lisa jewell #a court of wings and ruin #sarah j maas #all our hidden gifts #caroline o'donoghue #transcendent kingdom #yaa gyasi #pink books #book blog #book blogger #booklr #books of tumblr #readers of tumblr #book lover #book reccs #reading #book #book challenge

[mydailybookquotes]

“Healed, but in the way a broken bone that's healed still aches at the first signs of rain.”

-Yaa Gyasi, Transcendent Kingdom

#Yaa Gyasi #transcendent kingdom #quotes #book quotes #books #inspirational quotes #mydailybookquotes #inspire #life quotes #inspiring quotes #life #bookblr

[itisiives]

My pangobook haul. You love to see it! ✌️

#bookblr #writers of tumblr #books #photo #book haul #i'm a pangobook baby lol #lgbtq reads #lgbtq books #poc books #disability books #asian books #bipoc books #black books #nk jemisin #elliot page #yaa gyasi #seanan mcguire #won-pyung sohn #i haaaaate that elliot looks like a cherubic fuckboy (❤️❤️❤️)

[heycressy]

“You want to know what weakness is? Weakness is treating someone as though they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves.”

#book #booklr #homegoing #yaa gyasi

[jamietukpahwriting]

Thinking about Lazarus has always led me to think about what it means to be alive, what it means to participated in the world, to be awake. When I was a child, I wondered how long Lazarus lived after he died. Was he still among us now? An ancient, a vampire, the last remaining miracle? I wanted an entire book of the Bible to be devoted to him and to how he must have felt to be the recipient of God's strange and amazing grace. I wondered if he was the same man he was before he cheated death or if he was forever changed, and I wondered how long forever was to a man who had once been asleep.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

#writeblr #bookblr #books #book quotes #quotes #transcendent kingdom #yaa gyasi #transcendent kingdom by yaa gyasi #transcendent kingdom quotes #jamietukpahwriting

[chellescorpuz-blog]

I finished Homegoing

I have only been reading comics this year and haven’t been able to finish any books I started towards the end of 2021 and at the start of this year. With my 1+ hour commute to and from work, reading wasn’t something I had the energy for. Now that it’s summer, I’m able to build my reading stamina again and actually read.

I came across Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi while doing research for books to teach next school year. I could not put this book down. It was such a compelling read and I was impressed by Gyasi’s effortless storytelling and how the book traces 300 years of familial history beginning in the mid 1700s through 2000. The book covers so many different themes: identity and heritage, the effects of generational trauma, the horrors of colonization and slavery, and home.

5/5 stars from me & I highly recommend.

- chelle

#books #review #Homegoing #Yaa Gyasi #Goodreads #Reading Challenge #Reflections #Writing #Home

[whilereadingandwalking]

New glasses, same bookish lady.

#transcendent kingdom #yaa gyasi #new glasses #bookish love #bookstagram #bookworm vibes #librarian vibes

[notthatitreallymatters]

His grandmother didn't speak at first, just watched him.

"We are all weak most of the time," she said finally.

"Look at the baby. Born to his mother, he learns how to eat from her, how to walk, talk, hunt, run. He does not invent new ways. He just continues with the old. This is how we all come to the world, James. Weak and needy, desperate to learn how to be a person."

She smiled at him.

"But if we do not like the person we have learned to be, should we just sit in front of our fufu, doing nothing? I think, James, that maybe it is possible to make a new way."

Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

#reading #quotes #homegoing #yaa gyasi

[aquaticsola]

transcendent kingdom, yaa gyasi. (2020)

#transcendent kingdom #2022 reads #bookblr #contemporary fiction #yaa gyasi #literature #reading

[wellconstructedsentences]

We believe the one who has power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there you get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

#homegoing #yaa gyasi

[stephen-narain]

#Yaa Gyasi #Roger Reeves #Homegoing

[kamreadsandrecs]

#transcendent kingdom #yaa gyasi #books #tv