Rae La Soul

Earlier this year, I purposely decided not to quantify my reading goal. I also didn’t necessarily determine the type of books I wanted to read, just that I wanted to do more reading. But being that October is known for all things spooky and since it’s one of my favorite holidays, I want to deviate from that a bit.

I’m striving to follow a theme for my October Reading List: African American Occult Lit, also known as all things Octavia Butler, Tomi Adeyemi, Tananarive Due, and the like. I was even nerdy enough to put together a themed list to keep track of my reading.

African Folklore : The Annotated African American Folktales (Chapters: Flying Africans, Magic Instruments, & Fears and Phobias: Witches, Hants, & Spooks)
Set in the South : How Long til Black Future Month
Teen Discovering Power/Teens with Power : Daughters of Nri: The Return of the Earth Mother
The Intersectionality of Superstition & Supernatural : Mama Day
Using Magic to Overcome Adversity : The Water Dancer
Female Heroine : Children of Blood and Bone (rereading)
Artificial Intelligence : Slay

I kept it short and sweet because the reality is I just don’t have the time to sit around and read all day as I’d would love to and like I was once been able to do. Although the list is short, how ironic that the books aren’t. But I’m in no hurry to finish by the end of the month. The structure of my life and responsibilities just may not allow it so I plan to just read when I can.

I’ve started with The Water Dancer and fell in love with how beautifully it’s written. If I could describe it in a tangible or concreate form, it feels like the first spoonful of your favorite ice cream. Or how velvet or silk would feel against your skin. I don’t know. It just feels soothing when I read the words. Poetic. I can’t wait to finish.. whenever I do.