…put it in a book. At least, that’s how the saying goes.
And the main folks guilty of making such an allegation…?
You guessed it… Black folk themselves.
You see, many of us who say this do so not to hate on our own community, but rather to stir black folk in to understanding what we’re missing in life by not consistently reading books.
For there are many secrets contained in books. Secrets other folk don’t want you to know. Secrets of knowledge; of the world around you; on how you can succeed in life; on how you can transform a negative situation into a positive one … secrets on who you are and where you come from; or on how you are currently being lied to about who you are and where you come from. There are many secrets hidden between pages, valuable ones, holding the very keys to our economic and spiritual success, and our mental emancipation as a people.
It certainly follows that one of the most empowering things you can do as an individual is to make a commitment to find a book and read it from cover to cover each month. Even if you don’t complete it by month’s end, just make sure you complete it. And then pick up the next one… and the next one…
You see, the mind is a complex thing. It lives and thrives off of stimulation, knowledge and inspiration. We must feed it constantly or it will become parched, thirsty and weak, and begin to work against us.
So in the spirit of feeding our minds, welcome to the debut version of Charisse’s Lit Bit, a literary review forum I will host each week here at NewsOne. Charisse’s Lit Bit will pull in reviews, events and happenings in the world of books while engaging authors, reviewers, black book sites, and others relevant to the written (and digital) word. It will focus on books by or about black people, literary fiction, urban fiction and non-fiction.
Be sure to check out Charisse’s Lit Bit here, each week, at NewsOne.com to discover incredible jewels about life, drama, mystery, success and happiness. Trust me, you don’t want to be the one who misses out.
Because these are valuable secrets we can no longer keep.
Charisse Carney-Nunes is the award-winning author of the children’s books, I Am Barack Obama, I Dream For You A World, and Nappy. She is the founder of new media publishing company, Brand Nu Words and a senior vice president of the Jamestown Project, a think tank focusing on democracy.
