Got Books? For The Smart & Sexy
Have you ever dated someone who didn’t read? Someone who was into you, but not into books? Ugh! I’ll tell you now: You will not get to first base with me if the only “literature” you read is the menu at your favorite Thai spot and the headlines on ESPN.com. I think reading is so friggin’ sexy! As a matter of fact the only pic I have of the last guy I dated is of him lying on my bed in nothing but his boxer briefs reading one of my essays. Hot! I’m a sucker for bookworms. I’ve dated all types of men—blue collar, white collar, Black, Latino, White—and the thread that ties them all together is their affinity for books. I remember the taxi driver who took me from Chelsea in Manhattan to the Northeast Bronx. He flirted with me all the way up the Major Deegan, but it wasn’t until I spotted the copy of Richard Wright’s “Native Son” on the front seat next to him that I reciprocated the attraction. And then there was the college administrator who had me on lock for about a year. He loved books, especially mysteries. Often I would just catch myself staring at him while he sat on the couch reading. There was nothing like seeing him in his reading specs intensely focusing on the text before him to turn me on.
And while I’m keeping it one hundred with you, I have to also share that I’m not too keen on having non-reading women in my crew either. Reading is not only fundamental, it’s empowering. It gives us substance and revs-up our intellect and imagination. I don’t think I have to suss this point out any further as Oprah has proved it time and time again through her mega-successful book club. So whether you’re reading J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Audre Lorde’s “Sister Outsider,” or Tyra’s “Modelland” (well maybe not “Modelland”), you would probably have to agree there’s such a liberating feeling of transport that you only get when reading a good book. That feeling translates into a personal vibe that is crazy, sexy, cool.
Armed with this knowledge, and a stack of books on my nightstand– Touré’s “Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness?” Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies,” Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird” & Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project”– theHotness is going to bring the heat in the form of personal, provocative, raw to the white meat, insightful book reviews. A new feature in “The Goods,” our book reviews will introduce or re-introduce folk to books that haunted us, inspired us, made us laugh and left us shook. Get ready, theHotness is bringing sexy back one book at a time.
We are looking for writers who love books, so if you have a book you’d like to review please send a note to: editors@thehotness.com
I was chatting with author Walter Dean Myers yesterday. He made the point that one’s reading alility not only determines ones quality of life (where you live, how long you live, what you eat, etc.), but who you marry.
Sometimes you’re the only book a person will read. That notwithstanding, some folk may have to get chopped in 2012 – cause Gossip is not literature.