Kamp Woods > Recent Status Updates

I already hate Jodi lmaooooooooo like PLEAAAASEEEE

I honestly might not finished this one, I know people LOVVE Eric and I've enjoyed other novels in the past but this one has lost my interest. I only started it because I was on a road trip but haven't really revisited it since...idk

Literally this is just a cute little romantic comedy lmao. I thought it was going to be more on the comedy and less on the romance based on the title but overall it’s a good balance.

lol it's actually well written and not ratchet what so ever (yet) Stories like this feel like talking to a homegirl or even give me the chance to think about life from another POV.

this book honestly feels like a hug that I needed. I honestly like Alice's essay's more than the Color Purple and to learn that she was so instrumental in honoring Zora Neal Hurston's life and legacy is so inspiring. ( I honestly would like to see a movie about her journey getting Zora a headstone) I'm so glad this was brought to my attention.

Alexis De Veaux
We have to pass our own image and stories on, nobody else can do it the way we can
How do you manifest, construct, and see love?
We’ve been writing since phillis wheatley, truly, and ida b wells and everyone else in between.
To stimulate conversation between black women and black men
To stimulate change and collective conservation
Don’t swallow everything you’ve been fed

Notes from Gwendolyn Brooks:
My biggest take away from listening to this book is how writers can have a way with telling the truth, it’s not all about constructing a fable or fantasy. Sometimes it’s just telling your story for it to become apart of the collective of “our story” as black people.

I love that it wasn’t a competition for her or a popularity contest, her aim was to keep her and other black womens voice alive. She talked about how she did not like being compared to her colleagues because she saw them as a collective, as unique individuals with a similar ability and interest to craft words.

Notes from Toni Cade Bambara:

Chasing the feeling of becoming. Writing is keeping track of your own process of becoming.
Her chapter made me think about telling my own story/stories. I do that with my journaling but her words make the process feel so much more important.

She talked about writing plays to create opportunities for other black women as well and that is so beautiful to think about.

“I would be writing even if there weren’t presses and markets” it’s a way to monitor myself, a way to understand myself.

I also like that she mentioned other authors that impress her in modern day, Her chapter reminded me of the importance of building relationships through the creative process. Opening myself up to new connections and new people. I like how she spoke about her relationship with her editor.

Reading this work reminds me of my central “why” when it comes to my own writing. Hearing the explanation provided by Maya Angelou of her process is refreshing and reassuring, it serves as a reminder of developing my own process when it comes to my craft. Whether it’s a coffee shop, a hotel room, a library, or even a cubicle, there has to be a space where the work takes place.

I mean…. It’s very different lol

I like how vividly the hurricane scene is depicted. It reminded me of Hurricane Ike and Harvey and even Katrina. The line “they were staring at the dark but their eyes were watching God.” Is the most poetic way to describe storm watching. Cause anyone who has seen the destruction and devastating of a storm knows that it’s only God that can be responsible.

LMAOOO yall, I honestly just started dipping my toe back into books like this and I ALMOST marked it as #DNF because the aggressiveness was taking me out, but it's one that I suggest sticking with to the end lol, now I am committed to seeing how it ends. It feels like a tubi movie in the best way possible.

It's the story of a woman who never got too bitter to wonder. The movie also left out some of the odd ball character that I feel like were important to the story. Like the random woman who is going on and on about how much she can't STAND black people and how she wants to mix races to fit in more with white people. (I think it's important to know people like that have always existed)

im kinda mad that the movie didn't show how Teacake won all the money back that he "borrowed" from Janie and also left out the part where he CHEATED ON HER WITH SOME BIG GIRL ON THE JOB...but also left out the part how he calmed her down and they actually made up after. I really really like this story because it's really just a depiction of life, in the sweetest way possible.

I read that Zoras father was the mayor of a black town in Florida and she had a step mom that was much younger than her own. I feel like this story, specifically the relationship with Jody, might be more aligned with Zoras own story. The fact that the town wanted her to talk and write, called her poetic, but Jody denied her and forced submission.

lol the movie didn’t include the fact that Jody thought Janie poisoned him. SMH. They left out the details about the mule he bought too (which I think was his way of trying to tell her he loved her in his own way)

lol I think it’s funny how concerned with image that Jody was before there were cameras or video and this subconscious role that women/wives had to fulfill.

Currently on chapter four. I watched the movie over the weekend and the book is already 10x more descriptive. We get the backstory of Janie’s parents and specifically how her mother was raped by a white man and shortly went mad after.

We also learn that Nana saw marriage as a way to protect Janie from her own innocence and the world.

I finally understand how some people be reading 50+ books a year. I've stumbled into the short but sweet genre and I'm Loving it like it's a happy meal!

This book is actually really funny. I got the chance to meet Keith at a book festival and I was drawn to the cover and his colorful commentary of his experience growing up in the 70s.

This reminds me of a coming of age story similar to American Pie or Taking Woodstock. My favorite part is I know that it’s true.