Jessye Norman's Reading List

The singer and author of “Stand Up Straight and Sing!” cried when she read Marian Anderson’s autobiography, “My Lord, What a Morning”: “She blessed this earth by walking upon it.”

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By the Book: Jessye Norman (2014)

NYT By the Book column (2014-06-05).

Source: www.nytimes.com

At the Bottom of the River

Jamaica Kincaid · Buy on Amazon

"In this book I find wild imagination keeping joyful company with real life. The broadest, magical mind on display full of dreams and unbridled thought."

Elder Grace

Chester Higgins Jr. · Buy on Amazon

"A gorgeous book of photographs with the wisdom that living imparts accompanying the portraits. The glory of this book is the glow of time streaming from the faces of these "divine works in progress.""

Swan

Mary Oliver · Buy on Amazon

"Reading from this book is as if visiting a very wise friend. There is wisdom and welcoming kindness on every page."

The Law of Love and the Law of Violence

Leo Tolstoy · Buy on Amazon

"I cannot explain this great book, this guide to nonviolence, better than to take a short passage from it... A complete world of wisdom in just that sentence!"

My Lord, What a Morning

Marian Anderson · Buy on Amazon

"A woman of such courage, such majestic bearing and determination clothed in the quiet sureness of her faith. She blessed this earth by walking upon it."

The Legs Are the Last to Go

Diahann Carroll · Buy on Amazon

"This true American treasure shares her life's story to date with the wit, incisive discernment and charm of a relaxed storyteller. I laughed at the stunning descriptions of countless escapades."

Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison · 1952 · Buy on Amazon

"The first book of real importance from my reading list in high school and which made an impression on me that causes me still to question, to look deeper, to take nothing and no one at face value."

The Story of Ferdinand

Unknown · Buy on Amazon

"One of my most favorite childhood books was and remains "The Story of Ferdinand" the bull."

The Kingdom of God Is Within You

Leo Tolstoy · Buy on Amazon

"I would choose this first because it is a classic, a great philosophy for living, and then because I believe these teachings are already a part of our president's view of the world."

Beloved

Unknown · Buy on Amazon

"Having read "Twelve Years a Slave" late last year, I shall reread "Beloved." My spirit demands it."

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