FIVE SUMMER READS FOR WRITERS By Kimberly Garrett Brown

FIVE SUMMER READS FOR WRITERS

By Kimberly Garrett Brown

Henry James said it best when he wrote: “Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”  To me the best summer afternoons are spent with a good book. That’s why I plan my summer reading like most people plan their vacations. I start by browsing tables at the local bookstores, reading book reviews, and scouring my friend’s Goodreads bookshelves in search of books to fill my five category summer reading list. 

It may seem a bit nerdy to have categories for summer reading, but as a writer I always read with multiple purposes in mind. First and foremost, I read for pure enjoyment. There is nothing like finding a sentence that takes your breath away or falling in love with a character. I also read to study the craft of writing. And lastly, I read to expand my thinking about myself and the world. Each of the following categories nurtures me as writer.

Classics have always been a foundational part of my list. A classic isn’t limited to books listed in the Western literature canon and include women and people of color. It also doesn’t have to be written before a certain year. What’s important is that it profoundly speaks to what it means to be human. 

This year I wanted to read a classic written by a woman in the early twentieth century, most specifically in the 1920s. My debut novel, Cora’s Kitchen, is set during that decade. I thought it would be interesting to read a woman’s perspective on societal norms and expectations for the era. My research turned up The Home-maker by Dorothy Canfield. It is about a husband and wife who are both feel frustrated and oppressed by their gender’s roles. A near fatal accident causes them to switch roles.

The next category on my list is something whimsical or a romantic comedy. With all that is going on in our world today, I have found myself looking for more of these types of books. In fact, this year I actually plan to read two books under this category. The first one is called By the Book by Jasmine Guillory. It is the second in the Meant to Be series that features updated and contemporary takes on Disney princesses. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. 

The second book on my whimsical list is Yinka,  Where is Your Husband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. It’s the story about an educated British Nigerian woman who has a well-paid job and good friends but is hounded by her traditional mother and aunts to find a husband. It’s an unconventional romantic comedy that ask questions about love and what it means to make your way through two cultures. 

I decided to switch things up a bit to include a thriller/mystery as a category. It’s a nice counterbalance to the romantic comedies. I plan to read The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris. What’s cool about this book is that it is also a social commentary about race and workplace politics.

There is also a craft or creativity category. Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo, the first Black British person to win the Booker Prize, is a memoir about a creative who fought for decades to get her work into the world. It’s a manifesto to encourage creatives to persevere.

The last category is something inspirational. I became a certified to teach yoga earlier this year, and I am very interested in learning to incorporate the lessons learned on the mat into everyday life. I plan to read Yoke: My Yoga of Self – Acceptance by Jessamyn Stanley. This book looks at yoga outside of the traditional American complex and talks about things like imposter syndrome and self-acceptance, which will be helpful as a yogi and a writer. 

Much like other summer plans, my list is flexible. I sometimes decide a particular book isn’t interesting or find another book that I rather read. Either way what’s important as a writer is to spend time reading good books over the summer so that we are energized and ready to dive into our fall writing projects. 

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KIMBERLY GARRETT BROWN is Publisher and Executive Editor of Minerva Rising Press. Her work has appeared in Black Lives Have Always Mattered: A Collection of Essays, Poems and Personal Narratives, The Feminine Collective, Compass Literary Magazine, Today’s Chicago Woman, Chicago Tribune, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. Her first novel, Cora’s Kitchen, comes out from Inanna Publications in September 2022. It was a finalist in the 2018 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition and the 2016 Louise Meriwether First Book Prize. She earned her MFA at Goddard College. She currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

Website: https://kimberlygarrettbrown.com

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CORA’S KITCHEN

It is 1928 and Cora James, a 35-year-old Black librarian who works at the 135th Street library in Harlem, writes Langston Hughes a letter after identifying with one of his poems. She even reveals her secret desire to write. Langston responds, encouraging Cora to enter a writing contest sponsored by the National Urban League, and ignites her dream of being a writer. Cora is frustrated with the writing process, and her willingness to help her cousin Agnes keep her job after she is brutally beaten by her husband lands Cora in a white woman’s kitchen working as a cook.

In the Fitzgerald home, Cora discovers she has time to write and brings her notebook to work. When she comforts Mrs. Fitzgerald after an argument with Mr. Fitzgerald, a friendship forms. Mrs. Fitzgerald insists Cora call her Eleanor and gives her The Awakening by Kate Chopin to read. Cora is inspired by the conversation to write a story and sends it to Langston. Eventually she begins to question her life and marriage and starts to write another story about a woman’s sense of self. Through a series of letters, and startling developments in her dealings with the white family, Cora’s journey to becoming a writer takes her to the brink of losing everything, including her life.

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing