Tag Archives: Pick a Book

Pick A Book Activity

What goes into one’s decision when it comes to picking a book to read? Is it based on how captivating the cover is, or how interesting the synopsis is? There are so many reasons as to why someone picks a certain book to read over another. In this case, books that deal with how we handle complicated human relationships and try to resolve the conflicts that arise is what compels me to read a book. I would like to read Kiese Laymon’s Heavy because this memoir allows us to learn about a narrative that is oftentimes overlooked. It delves into the struggles of trauma, the reality of being a Black boy and man in America, and the emotional turmoil our relationships can put us through. I think that by reading this memoir we can come to understand not only Laymon’s reality, but possibly the realities of others going through similar situations as well.

There were many reasons that went into my decision to read Heavy. When we were completing the judge a book by its cover activity, the synopsis and the reviews immediately caught my attention. Words such as “fearlessly”, “defiant”, “vulnerable”, along with many others were used to describe Laymon’s memoir. These words explain to the reader that this will be a very raw and emotional story that explores different aspects of Laymon’s life. Just from this initial exposure to the book, it’s easy to become curious about the struggles that Laymon went through to have this memoir be labelled as powerful and provocative. In addition, when reading a review about the memoir, this view that Laymon was completely honest about his story is further driven home. This was done in the hopes of relaying his trauma and freeing himself from it (Key, 2019). Writing can become therapeutic, especially when it pertains to such a serious topic. The desire to read this memoir doesn’t only have to do with his struggles, but also the way he used this as an opportunity to address things that were weighing heavily on his mind.

While learning more about Heavy, I was captivated by Laymon’s storytelling surrounding his interpersonal relationships and how he navigated them. In order to get a better understanding of the author’s work, we were told to read another piece of writing from the various authors. “Quick Feet” details Laymon’s stay with his grandmother and his vulnerable interaction with her. He explains how although he loved his grandmother, he hated having to stay at her house for various reasons. One of those reasons being that he hated seeing her work for a white family. Although this family had the means to afford a washer and dryer, they still made his grandmother wash their filthy clothing . This all led to him resenting the white family, but his grandmother made him understand that this was, unfortunately, one of the only ways to survive in Mississippi (Laymon, 2018). In the same piece, he also addresses how he came to confide in his grandmother about his sexual and physical abuse. It was difficult to do, and his grandmother’s reaction to this was kind of cryptic, but it was a start on his journey of becoming honest about these things. He felt that he could be honest with her because they loved each other. It’s clear that if he didn’t feel safe with her he probably wouldn’t have confessed. Throughout the memoir, he touches on other relationships with those around him and I’m looking forward to seeing how he writes about these relationships. The short snippets that I have read have been very emotional and vulnerable in nature. Laymon’s willingness to address these topics, despite how serious, makes his memoir more compelling and increases my desire to read it.  

Additionally, Laymon’s honesty in telling his story really motivated me to want to read his memoir. While doing the internet assignment, I came across a video of Laymon reading a chapter from his book and then proceeding to answer questions from this audience. Laymon didn’t shy away from the questions that some might label too sensitive. He wanted to get his point across that honesty was the only way to address past struggles even if it was hard to say the words most times. Laymon acknowledged that it’s not often that Black men write stories about love and trauma, and that he wanted Heavy to serve as a story about just that (Strand Book Store, 2018). It’s difficult to find a memoir by a Black man that touches on these subject matters, so it’s important to read these types of narratives to show that people are willing to listen. As Laymon states in the same video, he wanted to feel “heavier” and substantive which is why he shared his story. A whole lot of people and their experiences go unheard of and ignored because they’re hesitant to share stories similar to Laymon’s. This is why it’s important to pay attention to these narratives and uplift the authors who write uncommon memoirs. We can help people with similar experiences become “heavier” as Laymon said, and we can come to understand the realities of people who are typically ignored. Laymon’s honesty serves to make people understand and connect to his story, and this along with the fact that it’s an uncommon narrative are some of the many reasons why I would like to read his memoir.

It’s sometimes hard to pinpoint what exactly makes one want to read a book. In the case of Kiese Laymon’s Heavy, the fact that it’s an uncommon narrative and it addresses various, serious topics makes me more interested in reading it. Hopefully, reading this book will allow us to learn about the struggles he underwent and also understand stories from people who aren’t usually in the spotlight.

Bibliography

Key, J. (2019). Kiese Laymon. Heavy. Prairie Schooner, 93(2), 189. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A607709278/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=cd36a34e

Laymon, K. (2018). Quick Feet. The Virginia Quarterly Review, 94(3). https://www.vqronline.org/memoir-articles/2018/10/quick-feet

Strand Book Store. (2018, October 31). Kiese Laymon | Heavy: An American Memoir [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_w7xkpQnr24

Pick a Book – Ordinary Girls: A Memior

Fatou Kebe

ENGL 21002

09/20/21

Option 3: Jaquira Diaz and Sandra Cisneros

Ordinary Girls: A Memoir is the book that I have chosen to read for our book club. It’s a narrative autobiography written by Jaquira Diaz about the obstacles she had to face growing up with family struggles, poverty, mental illnesses, and her own sexuality. The book covers Diaz’s violence-riddled childhood in the projects in Puerto Rico to her rocky adolescence in the housing projects of Miami. It is a coming-of-age story that depicts girlhood in its rawest form. Doing research and assignments on this memoir reminded me of another female writer that wrote a book that also shows the reality of growing up as a woman. Sandra Cisneros is the author who wrote one of my favorite books, The House on Mango Street. That book is a modern fiction piece that details the story of young Esperanza and her desire to find her place in the world. It tackles identity, womanhood, family, and friendship. The significance of names and the power in language are themes of this literature and it connects to who Cisneros is. To me the topics that both Diaz and Cisneros highlight in their stories are similar in the fact that it connects back to girlhood and the lives women live. Cisneros even commented on Ordinary Girls: A Memoir saying “Jaquira Díaz writes about ordinary girls living extraordinary lives. And Díaz is no ordinary observer. She is a wondrous survivor, a woman who has claimed her own voice, a writer who writes for those who have no voice, for the black and brown girls ‘who never saw themselves in books.’ Jaquira Díaz writes about them with love. How extraordinary is that!” Here she clearly states her admiration for Diaz and the importance of writing her life story.

Jaquira Diaz is a Puerto Rican writer that was raised in Miami, Florida. She is also an essayist, journalist, critic, and contributor to many notable periodicals. She was born in Puerto Rico to a family that lived in the housing projects. The neighborhood was known as a violent place with a lot of crimes occurring. When she grew older into her adolescence phase, her family moved out to Miami where they struggled with similar problems. They faced obstacles with their financial situation and poverty, with Diaz’s mother and her mental illness, with being queer in a neighborhood that was not open to LGBTQ+ people, and growing up being biracial with a white mother. As Diaz grew older writing became such an outlet for her to express herself and her dealings with identity, drugs, and self-harm. 

Sandra Cisneros is a Mexican-American writer from Chicago, Illinois. She is a novelist, poet, short-story writer, performer, and artist that has also been teaching professionally for years now. She was born in the USA and she also holds dual-citizenship with Mexico due to the frequent times her family would go back to Mexico City during her childhood and adolescence. After her parents got married they settled in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. Soon after when she would turn 11 her family was able to put a down payment on a house in a Puerto Rican neighborhood on the east side of Chicago. This neighborhood and its people would be the inspiration for Cisneros when she wrote The House on Mango Street. As she grew older due to all of the moving back and forth from Mexico City and Chicago, her six only siblings [all brothers] soon departed the household leaving Cisneros to experience and call herself the isolated one. 

Diaz and Cisneros are both Hispanic authors who wrote phenomenal work that I admire. Both writers produce pieces that are showing the importance of finding one’s own identity and the path and courage it takes to do so. In Diaz’s case, she writes in nonfiction about her own voyage to self-discovery and becoming the woman she is. For Cisneros, she wrote about a girl who wanted to escape more than anything, and during her girlhood, she found who she was inside. Both of these women write so that girls, especially those of color, can resonate and know that there are others who go through the same things, that they are not alone. That being a woman is a challenge of its own, never mind how we are treated in society. They both write to be a voice in addition. To let these stories be known to the public about the struggles and barriers women face while growing up. With this comes my deepest commendation because this is not an easy thing to do. To come out with personal stories of suicide, sexual assault, and mental illnesses, is a very brave and courageous thing to do. When I met Sandra Cisneros back in 2018 when she visited my high school, she quoted Plato and said “Courage is knowing what not to fear,” and I will never forget that. 

Citations:

Cisneros, S. (1984). The House on Mango Street. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, April 28). Jaquira Díaz. Wikipedia. from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaquira_D%C3%ADaz.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, September 20). Sandra Cisneros. Wikipedia. from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Cisneros. 

Pick a Book Assignment

Kevin Guaman

ENGL 210

Professor Dalton

9/17/21

         Writing a memoir can be a challenge. The author is exposing their stories to the world while also trying to make it something that will attract audiences to want to read it at all. However, Heavy by Kiese Laymon, Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Diaz, and Fairest by Meredith Talusan are examples of memorable memoirs that audiences could relate to and enjoy reading. Out of the three choices, the book I choose to read is Talusan’s memoir. I would like to read Fairest because it will help me know more about transsexuality, race, and immigration. The activities and research done for class allowed me to learn more about Talusan and her work.

         The topic of transsexuality is one of the focal points in Talusan’s memoir. After looking at the cover of the book in one of our activities, the book was bright, a rainbow color, and had a large eyelash in the front. The rainbow represents the LGBTQ+ flag due to her story involving the community. The blurb confirmed that she transitioned from a boy to a girl. This interested me because it relates to my past. I considered transitioning just like she did. However, I never ended up going through with it. The part where a person must decide what to do with this revelation is where our paths diverge. Reading more about the journey she went through as she transitioned and the changes in her life that came from her decision makes for an interesting story. For example, in her article “The Cover of My Face”, Talusan brings up how the thought of how her looks would be perceived if she did transition was a factor in her decision (Talusan, 2020). This is an interesting thought because I thought the same thing. I went through the same process. It helps me know that it was not just me experiencing this. I believe this would help me better understand the life of those who decide to transition from one gender to another. Another topic that is touched upon in her memoir is race.

Race is a factor in Talusan’s journey that she discusses in her book. According to “The Cover of My Face”, She mentions how albinism made her appear whiter and how that gave her more advantages (Talusan, 2020). The usual stories involving race are about the discrimination they suffer due to their skin color and culture. However, Talusan went through a unique situation where she was perceived as white because of her condition. This brought benefits to her that she may have never received if she looked Filipino. This is a unique perspective that no one can really experience. It makes me want to read the memoir to know more about what the advantages are, how did it start, and how did she handle it emotionally. Finally, she mentions in her memoir how she is a first-generation immigrant.

          Immigration is a topic Talusan had to experience that is a part of her memoir. Talusan had to leave her home in order to go to the United States. During an interview, she discussed how it was difficult leaving her home and her family to have more opportunities in the United States (CNN Philippines, 2021). This doesn’t directly relate to me because I was born in the United States. However, my family is full of immigrants that had no choice but to leave their homes at a young age in order to get the opportunities they couldn’t find back home. I heard the stories and the struggle of having to grow up quickly and learn how to survive while also providing for the rest of the family back home. During our Page 99 activity, there was a part of her book where she discussed leaving the Philippines and how even with the opportunities, would she be happy if it meant leaving all she loved behind. It is interesting to hear these stories to know what it felt like because it is something I would never truly understand. I can never go through that same exact experience, however, reading it can help me learn to understand it better.

         Therefore, Fairest by Meredith Talusan is the book I choose due to it helping me understand immigration, race, and transsexuality. Her memoir goes through each of these topics and I can relate to them due to my experiences growing up. This is significant because her memoir can help me understand the topics through a different point of view.

Citations

CNN Philippines. (2021, July 12). Fil-Am author Meredith Talusan talks about her memoir “Fairest” | New Day [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTBPKGQVJx0&t=11s

Talusan, M. (2020, March 10). The Cover of My Face. Guernica. Retrieved from https://www.guernicamag.com/the-cover-of-my-face/