If you happen to be in a bookstore, please ask if it carries or plans to carry 32 CANDLES. Even if you’ve pre-ordered or already have a copy, just asking about 32 is such a boon, because the more requests booksellers get, the more likely they are to stock it.
On other notes, there’s less than a week left until 32 CANDLES gets its official release. It makes me feel queasy just thinking about it, and the only reason I’m sleeping at night is because I’ve taken Amy Robinson’s (“Tall Drink of Nerd”) advice and started meditating. Also the whole 11-month-baby thing is a huge distraction, so thank the Lord for that, b/c I would completely freaking if I didn’t have mommy duties to keep my racing brain engaged.
Congrats to last week’s THEN and NOW totebag winner, Anne F, who I picked simply because she lives in the Philippines, and I’m all about sending the tote bag to rep abroad. Look for the THEN and NOW series to roll out next Monday and if you want to submit your own THEN and NOW, do it here.
Another congrats going out to Molly from the fabulous (I mean seriously if you’re an NYC actor, you should be reading this) blog, “Scenery Chewer.” She’s our Wednesday T-shirt winner! Oh, and keep your fingers crossed that she gets cast in the BILLY ELLIOT tour!
Now on to our final tote bag giveway challenge question: What book has changed your life and why? Seeing the movie version of THE COLOR PURPLE cmade me realize that one needn’t be fair-skinned to have a happy ending, as had been the case in all black novels prior to THE COLOR PURPLE, as far as I can tell. It also taught me that the best endings weren’t necessarily about getting the guy, but living the best life you possibly could, no matter what your circumstances. When I saw THE COLOR PURPLE, I remember thinking quite plainly that my life might turn out okay, despite being dark-skinned. But only after reading THE COLOR PURPLE in high school, did I see that Shug Avery, as written by Alice Walker, was also dark-skinned. Let me repeat that: The most beautiful woman in the book was just as dark as Celie, and the only reason Mr. hadn’t married her, was because he was light-skinned and his father didn’t approve. This blew my mind. It felt like the shutters had fallen off my eyes, and I saw that my own dark skin wasn’t a “even though,” but an intrinsic part of my beauty and future happiness. I stopped thinking that I was attractive despite being dark and started celebrating my dark skin, wearing bright colors to draw attention to it. THE COLOR PURPLE changed my entire outlook on the rest of my life as a dark-skinned black woman.
Do you have a book that changed your life in some profound way? Let us know in the comments!
Photo Credit: MorBCN