[Book Quote Tuesday] Decolonizing One’s Reading Practices

Myra here.

It is that time of the week again where we share a book quote that seemed particularly striking for us.

Our book quote theme from here on onwards will be about BOOKS and READING.

I featured Elaine Castillo’s How To Read Now: Essays (Amazon) as part of my #Top22of2022 – in nonfiction titles back in 2022. It was the book that I recommended to friends, colleagues, students with an almost religious zeal that year. I would often use excerpts from the many post-its I tacked onto my personal copy to share during conference presentations or professional development workshops.

The above quote mirrors my own notions of what a decolonial reading is like in my efforts to find and surface stories that are buried, silenced, rendered invisible to many so that the wheels of the world continue turning uninterrupted the way it had been for millennia. Yet Castillo’s voice disrupts, implicates readers, forces us to remember and recognize our own complicity in ways that bring discomfort and unease – because it is not the writer’s duty to placate or make readers feel good about themselves. Good literature is meant to bring forth lengthy conversations about what it means to be human. And yes, the quote above ends with a question, because indeed, how do we let the story of ourselves be told?

Have you read Elaine Castillo’s books? Share with me your thoughts.