In 2018, community sites took turns covering a book every week. You can see "In 2018, we read books" to review that coverage. We didn't want to repeat ourselves in 2019 or 2020. So when Marcia came up with a way to cover books but with a twist, we were all for it. Marcia's idea was for us to digital books -- we're largely a printed text crowd -- and to use AMAZON's KINDLE UNLIMITED. So for 2021, we'll be trying to do a book a week and trying to just use KINDLE UNLIMITED. This week, we're speaking with Betty about her ""John L. Williams' AMERICA'S MISTRESS: EARTHA KITT, HER LIFE AND TIMES."
Betty, you previously did two reviews this year, one of Alice Walker's "THE COLOR PURPLE" and the other a memoir about working with Prince,"Kim Berry and Andrea Williams' DIAMONDS AND CURLZ." This time round, you went with Eartha Kitt.
Betty: I did. This was an accident. I happened to see it and I was interested in it. It's not via KINDLE UNLIMITED. It was $1.99 and it was more than worth it at that price. What struck me the most was that Diana Ross should have played her. If they made the film today, it would be Rihanna. But for most of the 80s, Diana was attempting to get a film about Josephine Baker off the ground and that might have been a better film, I don't know. I mean it might have fit movie screens better, Josephine's life story, what with WWII and all of that. But Eartha and Diana shared a similar sexiness and a similar vocal style at times. And I just feel Diana would have been perfect for Eartha.
But not Josephine?
Betty: She's a talented actress, I'm sure she would have been fine in the role. But I just felt Eartha to be more real. Josephine was more ethereal, for lack of better terms.
Since we're talking Diana, we should note that Diana Ross' first studio album since 2006 comes out this Friday, November 5th, and is entitled THANK YOU.
Betty: And let's note "All Is Well" the latest single from that album.
Absolutely. Now what did you make of Eartha Kitt?
Betty: I liked the book but I would've liked more context and a slower pace. At times it moved to quickly and didn't explore the moment. I get that there's a lot of terrain to cover. But some of the moments really called for further exploration or noting what was going on at that time in the world. I recommend the book, I just felt like it should have been much longer. Or else just focused on one period of Eartha's life. And I felt for Eartha. You're talking about a woman who grew up actually picking cotton. And she wasn't wanted. And there's a part where he has her being -- the author -- fanciful about her mother when she tells someone her aunt in NYC is her mother. The writer dismisses that and I don't get why. This is the woman who brought her to NYC, who got her out of a bad home. And how do we know this wasn't Eartha's birth mother? Eartha's father is a White man. And this was the big secret. So this nonsense of the author saying if it were Eartha's real mother, there wouldn't have been any reason to cover it up at that point? Excuse me? A wealthy White man could make a lot of trouble if the truth starts coming out. And if it was Eartha's real mother, as Eartha said, what we've got is a woman who was so scared that she fled to NYC after her daughter was born. Where do you get off pretending that it would be no big deal to say "I'm her mother." Her father is unknown -- the author thinks he's tracked down some clues as to who it was. I just didn't like that. As a Black woman, I didn't like this British White man pretending to know what was what. We're talking before WWII. It's illegal for Blacks and Whites to marry one another. And this British man doesn't grasp that a mother and daughter might feel the need to keep a secret?
Listeners who hear this in HILDA'S MIX will hear the very real frustration in your voice. For readers, let us note that you're very upset.
Betty: I am. And it's so stereotypical of a man to take a woman's statement and then ignore it and tell you instead what's what. Even though he doesn't know what's what. That's very frustrating.
Did Eartha's life seem frustrating?
Betty: She had obstacles. She climbed them. For the most part, she climbed them. She was in love with one man who wouldn't marry her because of his family -- he was White. That was probably the only real obstacle she couldn't overcome. She starts as a dancer and becomes a star. She has to endure constant racism in the US and she goes to the less racist Europe. Where she becomes a bigger star. Her career should have died any number of times but she found ways to get over those obstacles. It's truly inspiring. She was a trail blazer.
How are you feeling about KINDLE UNLIMITED?
Betty: I'm used to the fact that we're not getting new, just published books. And wondering if maybe I should have been looking for something else all along. By that, I'm talking about books about people like Eartha Kitt. I'd be interested in reading about a lot of other Black pioneers, for example, and I'm sure KINDLE UNLIMITED probably has some books on that topic.
Are you done with KINDLE UNLIMITED?
Betty: I'll probably continue to subscribe in 2022. In fact, I may do another review before the end of the year. America Selby's WHO IS THE GREAT EARTHA KITT is a KINDLE UNLIMITED book and I've put it into my cloud to read next.
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