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What Good African American Book Can I Read? im looking for a fiction or nonfiction book by an african american writer that is actually good. im not bashing any of the other prominent african american writers but I am sick of reading about some buxom ebony beauty who falls in love with a gangster or a stripper & her pimp or a Christian based book where everybody runs to God for the answer at the end.
I've read Their Eyes Were Watching God, Malcolm X, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, etc. but I haven't stumbled upon any new, FRESH material.
I don't care what era its from, I'd just like to get my hands on something.
So I was hoping someone could suggest something. | | Roots by Alex Haley is a classic that I LOVE. If you plan to continue to delve into African American literature, you should poke around in the Harlem Renaissance era... there are a LOT of really good short stories and poems. You would also be very well served to actually talk to a local librarian at your public library or a near-by university library. Actual librarians have master's degrees in finding stuff. :-) You can physically go to a library, or you may be able to find a library that has a live chat feature on their website and a librarian can help you out that way. Good luck! | How does this sound to you? Just started this; no editing yet, sorry. :(
Raw. The whole place was raw; the smell, the people, the blurred sights, it all wavered right into his unbarred senses. The intermingled smells of roasting tobacco and still vodka flood the room, like an insensible haze; hidden behind the strobe lights which doubled to conceal the drunken faces of the spray tanned orange woman. Isaac pushed through the swaying crowd of annoyed with the tingle of their skin against his. It was like the alcohol trickled out of their pores; hidden in the disguise of stifling sweat. It coated the room with the unnatural humidity, reeking of the vomit worthy scent. He could turn away from this place; ram out the very door which provided him access to this hell riddled place and never dare to look back; but that be leaving his charge; his duty, his problem. With gritted teeth he shoved through the unbarring crowd, his body taking the most of the hits from the sloppy dancing of lost minds. And mentally, his began to brace his scenes and over ride them; manually turning them to the lowest pities of their abilities effortlessly. Raw, uncanny, his movements where sly as he finally emerged from the intoxicated mob into the classier section of the Kanora Club; where the people had dispersed and the nauseating smell faintly lingered. He fixed his tuxedo, relining his striped tie as he crept forward in then darkness. The strobe lights had dimmed as he gradually strolled to the chic part of the club. With the dying phase of the flashing, Isaac finally got to glimpse his surroundings; getting his bearings as he crept onwards.
Leather couches were rammed up against the night black walls; which upheld paintings of money, drugs, and mob symbols Isaac couldn't’t identify. A cat walk, which blended into the black tile of the icy floor, gleamed as his eyes momentarily scanned over it. A bar wasn’t too distant from either of the main structures, with red swivel stools; all token with wasted men. Isaac’s tinted shades barely allowed a vision of the hazy people who sat back and lounged on the elongated sofas and the intimidating bar tender. Yes, this certainly was the upper class section of the club.
He cranked his neck in a swivel, allowing a cracking sound to erupted, but it was only piercing enough for his tuned senses to catch. Isaac let his teeth loosen as he strolled boldly to the last leather sofa, prime seating for watching his surroundings and the cat walk. He sat down, and made sure to scan the eyes of his fellow attendees as he did. None of them took much concentration to his presence or covered up attire. He involuntarily grinned.
Isaac leaned back, putting his tanned hands on his knees and stretching his lumbar; making sure to double check his surroundings slyly. Everything seemed normal. Now he just needed to find his man, Zack. His tongue licked the pinked sides of his lips as he scouted the room for the individual. The note had said Zack was blond, blue eyes, extremely pale. That kind of appearance would catch his eye anywhere, even in this pitch-black pot hole. But as his eyes flickered, he own seemed to witness dark haired men and woman with empty eyes.
“Hello.”
Charming, sweet, intoxicating. Deceiving; a voice of a makeup caked girl. Isaac barely glanced up from his ebony shades to find a teenage, in her fifteens or sixteen’s, gleaming in his direction. Her eyes danced, even in the dim light. But clearly, she wasn’t the type of girl he would dare even mull over. She stood on top of the cat walk, exposed. Her skin was clanged to only by a few flimsy straps; a thong, fish nets, and a strapless bra which all merged with the echoing background. She was a stripper; the tasteful entertainment of the Kanora Club. Isaac didn’t give her a second glance and slightly cursed at her, but faced another direction as he mumbled his hate. Out of his peripheral vision he watched the blacken figure of her body twirl and scat away, back the way she came. A deep sigh fled his inebriated lungs as she departed; obviously she was aware he had no need for her presence. Once more, he refocused; Zack. | First off, when you ask someone how a piece of writing is, grammar is typically included. If there are grammar or spelling issues, that should be brought up in the critique since it effects the overall writing. If you didn't want people's thoughts on your writing, you really shouldn't have posted it on here, asking for opinions. Don't get mad at honest critique, use it.
I love the details, and the writing is amazing, but you might want to learn how to use a semi-colon. You have abused the semi-colon like I have never before seen. And this sentence bothers me: "Isaac pushed through the swaying crowd of annoyed with the tingle of their skin against his." The swaying crowd of annoyed? Annoyed what? Bees? Monkeys? Be more clear.
As I previously stated, I loved the detail you included, but it's a little misused. There are a few repeated adjectives in just this small excerpt of writing, which isn't good. And it didn't make a lot of sense when you wrote about your character wanting to "ram out the door."
Other than those few mistakes, this was a really good piece. The detail was very good, but you really do need to work on your grammar (especially regarding punctuation), sentence structure, and clarity. | Australian racing a roundup of the weekends racing????????? ROSEHILL....... the golden rose, i thought desatude was unlucky, had he got clear in the straight he probly should have won by 2 lenghs or more!
duporth... to me still looks green and could go a long way to winning a nice race in the spring
stripper..... great run 1st up, i think one to follow
premier stakes....... red lord just keeps rolling on, he's definatly the form stayer in sydney and given a try track for the metropoliton handicap in early october i cant see anything beating him, unless something from melbourne comes up for the race, he's the clear favorite!
fenech boxing handicap........ashikaga....... is on track for an epsom, should get in with a lite weight and will be a force, and in those colors remids me of desert war!
CAUFIELD......
clamms seafood stakes..... how dissapointing was miss andretti!
all i can say it was a good call by craig newitt to ride bel-mer!
memsie stakes...... il say this much, it was a great trial for some of the cups horses! how bout pompeii ruler, i never seen that run from him coming i thought he would take a couple of runs to find some form, he blew me out of the water!...sirmione, tuesday joy, maldivian, c'est la guerre all did there best work late in the race....... the hussler..... im not sure about how i rate his run it looked like a bit of a gut buster for him i know he was only 2nd up but to me it looks like his devestating turn of foot has been trained out of him somewhat?
rokk ebony handicap..... leica falcon.... i thought it was a great run despite finishing last, when you consider the race pace (slowly run) to finish with in 6 lenghts was great il be looking for him as the distances rise!
any thoughts on the weekends racing would be great,
i posted this so us aussies have something to debate and discuss, as there is not alot of aussie questions!
also any aussies interested in a saturdat tipping challenge for the spring let me know? | Rosehill - Fenech Boxing..... Ashikaga if Gai Waterhouse says he's the next desert war than he is. Can't wait to see him against Racing To Win in the Epsom, he'll get alot less weight than Racing To Win and i think they is a big enough advantage to win.
Dry It ...... Neroli won even though Very Grand won in protest, both horses should win a nice listed or Group 3.
The Nova Achiever...... Black Piranha amasing run from the back.
Premier's Cup....... Red Lord what a handy stayer nice race like the Sydney Cup for him, and good old Hadaaf he's becoming a great old war horse.
Golden Rose...... Top three will go onto bigger and better things, and Baci Amore and Rhyno Chaser should win a nice race at a bit further distance.
Sheraco Stakes..... Hairy and Judged nice mares still got a few nice wins in them, and Occurrence needs a little further.
Caulfield - Blue Ribbon Day...... Fly Higher, went from a maiden win at Sale to coming second in a handy race at Caulfield, from near last to second. (starting to notice a running pattern for Lonhro's)
Starcraft Plate........ the best horse won, Joyeuse
McNeil Stakes....... Sugar Babe and Whobegotyou, both nice horses will do well.
Clamms Seafood........ time for Miss Andretti to be retired.
Memsie........ What a race, Lets start with the top three, on that run Hussler won't get past 2000m, but still a nice run, Maldivian what a brave strong horse, bring on the Caulfield Cup for him. Alamosa may win a race when he gets away from these guys. Pompeii Ruler what a return best run of the race i think. Another nice run came from Casual Pass, been awhile since we've seen him so it would be nice see him win a good race. Sad to hear what happened to Sarrera, ruptured spleen hope everything works out.
Chetlenham - Race 7 nice horse by the name of Gulliotine won, this horse is a 3/4 bro to Efficient, should win a few nice middle distance races but not up to the staying races unlike his brother.
Also love the idea of a tipping a challenge for the spring. It should be a good spring. We will have to communicate further on how to organise it etc.
We should atleast do this after every weekend, might shine the light on a few horses some of us didn't see and nice to talk about Aussie racing for a change. | Stripping paint from a wood cabinet? I'm in the midst of stripping the paint off of a wooden cabinet (in the bathroom). I've already applied paint stripper three times and have finally scraped down to the wood. My goal is to stain the wood with a really dark (ebony) stain. Now that I'm down to the wood however, I'm noticing that there is a white look to the wood...like the wood soaked up white paint at some point (maybe it was primer). Is it possible to remove the white? Sanding? Chemicals? Or will the stain cover it up? Any advice? I'm willing to spend time and energy and elbow grease. I actually like doing such things. | Clean the piece off with laquer thinner and steel wool 0000.
Then sand with 200 grit sand paper. Clean with tack cloth to remove the dust. You are now ready to stain, then put on your finish to protect. There are several different kinds, make sure your stain and finish are compatible. Apply about 3-4 coats of finish. When the finish is dry at least one day, get furniture paste wax and steel wool and lightly scrub all over, polish with a soft cloth. It will be as smooth as a baby's bottom. |
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