December Meme: beeej asked

[roxy]

Dec. 10th. What's the best book you've ever read, and why was it so awesome?

There are a couple of books actually, and I probably talked about them before

1 Starman's Son by Andre Norton. It shocked me and thrilled me to my wee roxy core to read a book that featured a Black character who was not comic relief or needed to be guided and coddled.

2. Black Majesty by John W. Vandercook. It's not a very good book but to me as kid raised in a world where Black folks were mainly depicted as cooks and maids, it was amazing to read about a Black man who was a king.

I imagine that kids today can't begin to understand what that felt like. The world is different now and we take a lot for granted but back then, these books helped a little kid realize that heroes could be anyone.

Comments

[tabaqui]

Had to look them up. 'Starman's Son' sounds very cool. And 'Black Majesty' is about a real person, also cool! :) I'm glad you had these books, bb.

[tifaching.livejournal.com]

I LOVED Starman's Son! I think I first got it from one of those Scholastic book thingies we used to get in school where we could order really cool books. I always loved it when a new one would come out because I lived WAY out in the sticks and there were no bookstores nearby and definitely no internet to order from back in nineteen I'm not sayin'. :)

Recently I saw it at a used bookstore and picked it up again. Awesome book.

Books don't have to be perfectly written as long as they speak to you.

[askellington.livejournal.com]

They did a lot for me back then in the Dark Ages. :)

[askellington.livejournal.com]

YES!!! Me too, omg! I *LOVED* those Scholastic book sales! I loved them so much that I volunteered at everyone my kid's school had. I pushed books like crack. :D

The joy I felt holding a new book that totally belonged to me forever, oh man...*happy sigh*

[beeej.livejournal.com]

These sound wonderful! I am currently on another page scanning amazon's listings for Andre Norton, and there are so many that I think I want to read! Thanks for helping me find a new author! :)

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Oh, excellent! I'm glad to be of service! :D