I read recently that Kanye West is anti-reading. I thought at first that this had to be a joke, because who would be against reading? But sadly, it's true. As disturbing as this is, what's even more disturbing is that this genius has now written a book. Umm... what? Yes, the anti-book rapper has 'written' a book. And 'written' gets air-quotes because 1) he doesn't believe in books and 2) he had to have someone co-author a book that consists of random quotes, 'Kanye-isms' and blank pages.
As Jen over at Cake Wrecks said, "After banging my head against the desk and weeping for future generations," I thanked God that my parents did not feel this way. We were always encouraged to read and to write, and had our own library cards from a young age. We read mysteries, autobiographies, and poetry, along with the Bible. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom reading books to us on long car trips, and of my father making up stories to tell us at bedtime. I am incredibly thrilled and proud that I have passed the reading bug on to the Princess, who plows through books at an amazing rate. She read the entire Left Behind Kids series in about two weeks.
As Thomas Jefferson said, "I cannot live without books." As a lifelong reader and an aspiring author, I have the urge to tack Kanye's picture on my dartboard. The celebrity platform is a gift Mr. West, and you have clearly squandered yours. Young people looking for good writing by a black author, skip Kanye's 'book' and instead check out someone worth reading, like Howard Thurman or Rosa Parks.
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