I was on vacation in Washington, D.C., in the gift shop of the Library of Congress, when I came upon a book that looked good. Karla Holloway is a black woman around fifty years old. She is a professor of English at Duke University. She has written a book, which I love, but the subject matter may be a little esoteric. She talks about libraries and how libraries have shaped her world and black intellectuals through the history of America. She talks about personal libraries, prison libraries, negro libraries, and school libraries. She talks about the importance of books and how they can change lives. She talks about how race can effect what you read and why.
I found it interesting that almost all the people she mentioned loved Dickens and Shakespeare. I guess good writing is good writing. Maya Angelou said “But it was Shakespeare who said , When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes. It was a state with which I felt myself most familiar. I pacified myself about his whiteness by saying that after all he had been dead so long it couldn’t matter anymore.” (Page 96) Karla talks about her son in prison. She sent him books in hopes that would help. She sent him The Ender’s Game by: Orson Scott Card. When she went to visit him, he pretended he had read it and enjoyed it, to please her. Ralph Ellison could not get a library card, so he would check out books under his co-worker’s card. The librarian was suspicious because the book he checked out was by H. L. Mencken. The idea that you could not check a book because of the color of your skin really struck me. I have had a library card since I was about eight years old. I remember as a little girl being very proud of my library card and my mother showing me how to use the library and how to act in the library. The book is composed of short stories which lack some cohesion, but being someone who loves to read and loves libraries I really enjoyed it.
3 out of 4 Stars
Reviewed By: Anne Egger, Library Services
