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| Jason Reynolds |
The
Books
0f my
life
Jason Reynolds: “Reading rap lyrics made me realise that poetry could be for me”
The American YA author on discovering Stephen King, growing into Toni Morrison – and the perfect novel
Friday 12 November 2021
My earliest reading memory
I remember Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are being read to me when I was five, by my kindergarten teacher. There are certain words in that book that stick with you, such as “rumpus” and “mischief”. If I look back on it now I can see it was lighting up certain sensory stimuli in my brain, which means that my love for language was showing itself early.
My favourite book growing up
Books weren’t really my thing as a child. I didn’t read on my own until I was 17 or 18. It just wasn’t my life.
The book that changed me as a teenager
The first one I picked up to read on my own was Black Boy by Richard Wright. It changed me just because it felt familiar. And also the excitement of it starts at the outset. By page two or three the house is on fire. I think it’s always about which book meets you at the right time. It just clicked. And I was off to the races after that.
The book that made me want to be a writer
That’s tricky, because I don’t think it was a book. When I was young, I would go to the music store, and I would buy rap cassettes. And I would open them up and read the liner notes. And reading rap lyrics was the beginning of my entry into writing, because I wanted to be able to do what my favourite rappers were doing. I realised that poetry was something that could be for me, because these rappers were doing it. I still think the poetic devices they were using are completely underrated. So really it was Black Reign by Queen Latifah that began my love for writing.
The book or author I came back to
Toni Morrison. Her work is like a suit that one has to grow into. I first read her books when I was 19, at college, and I didn’t understand a word. But when I was 30, I read Sula, and I thought: “Oh, this is beautiful.”
The book I reread
I read Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward about once a year. I’ve probably read it 15 times. To my palate, it’s the closest thing to a perfect novel.
The book I could never read again
Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State. I couldn’t stomach it twice because so much of it is about sexual violence. But the love story that’s woven into it is brilliantly rendered. I had never read a book that existed at such polar ends of the spectrum, from absolute violence to absolute euphoria – I thought it was genius.
The book I discovered later in life
I read Stephen King’s novella The Body [on which the film Stand By Me was based] recently and it is amazing. It’s so slight – 190 pages. I think the best of us know how to say a whole lot with a few words. And that book is pretty incredible.
The book I am currently reading
Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle. It’s great. I think it’s hard to argue against the view that he is the best living American male author. He’s consistent – and it feels like he’s still just having a good time. With this novel, he’s saying: “Alright, I did some serious works back to back. Now I’m going to take a turn and do something a little pulpy.” And I think we should all be so lucky to feel that free. Gosh, that’s inspiring to a young writer like myself.
My comfort read
Any of James Baldwin’s books. If you’re black in America, Baldwin is the guy who tells you that you’re right for feeling how you feel. So he’s super comforting for me.
