Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

The February nonfiction group read is Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston. This autobiography won Hurston the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction (1943). Hurston is a well-known African American writer whose memoir is a perfect fit for our February read, because February is Black History Month in the US. Her most recognized work is Their Eyes Were Watching God, which is often required reading for high school students. She lived from 1891-1960 and is noted as "one of the foremost female writers of the 20th century". (https://www.womenshistory.org/educati...)

Learn more about her at the above website or here: https://www.zoranealehurston.com/

PBS also recently did a feature on Hurston under their American Experience series: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexpe...

Below is the GR description of our NF book of the month:
Dust Tracks on a Road is the bold, poignant, and funny autobiography of novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, one of American literature's most compelling and influential authors. Hurston's powerful novels of the South--including Jonah's Gourd Vine and, most famously, Their Eyes Were Watching God--continue to enthrall readers with their lyrical grace, sharp detail, and captivating emotionality. First published in 1942, Dust Tracks on a Road is Hurston's personal story, told in her own words. The Perennial Modern Classics Deluxe edition includes an all-new forward by Maya Angelou, an extended biography by Valerie Boyd, and a special P.S. section featuring the contemporary reviews that greeted the book's original publication.

Enjoy reading of the journey of a great woman who lived during a tumultuous time period of US and world history. Any takers?

I liked Their Eyes were Watching God. I am interested in reading about this author. My schedule is not permitting but i will be reading it anyways.
I am reading Another Country by James Baldwin also , I like Baldwin's works.
The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
Many groups are celebrating Black History Month.

I’ll be reading this. I also enjoyed Their Eyes Were Watching God.

I'm reading this one.

It’s been some time that I’ve read a work of nonfiction that reads so much like fiction. I’m only 22 pages in but finding it to be very engaging.

I'm listening to the book. It does read like fiction. Hurston seems very open about her life, which was a hard one, especially after her mother died. She tells about her (view spoiler)[visions, in which she sees events that happen in the future. I found this fascinating. (hide spoiler)]

The audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin is excellent. In chapter 10 where there are many songs from Polk County, Florida are sung by Turpin.

I've finished the book. I admire Hurston's positive view of life but wonder what she's leaving out. By sheer perserverance and sass she makes her life. I hadn't realized she was an anthropologist and collected songs and folklore of "her people."

There is an appendix which seemed to me very repetitive and was used to voice her opinions again. She called for less "race consciousness," maybe thinking the problems would all work out. She also stated that individuals are all different; you can't say all black people (book says Negroes) are alike. I wonder what she'd think about the United States today...