like water for chocolate

So this Sunday marks two weeks of the book club, and its going well (for the most part). Currently we’re working with The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah, a controversial text to say the least. Here’s an excerpt of our very first discussion:

BCBG (Book Club for Black Girls): Session One

In our conversation, the girls have picked up on the themes I have been toying with in my research: the effect of environment in reading, how black womanhood is construed in YA lit and literature in general, the type of characters they would like to see. I talk a lot this first session (because most of them didn’t get a chance to read the book yet) but the members mostly drive this question of what type of black girl they would like to see in books.

This group is thoughtful and approach the text and topic of discussion with relish, which I appreciate. They’re nerds just like me, and I don’t know how this project would be formed if I had someone who disliked reading. This makes me wonder once again if my research will unknowingly have an implicit bias, but once again this research is on the women here at this institution in this particular project….

Anyways all this is to say, this is where we’re at now, and I’m enjoying it.