It looks like Hollywood’s elite are skipping after parties for page turning. Ta-Nehisi Coates highly anticipated new release The Water Dancer has turned half primetime hooked thanks to Oprah’s Book Club. Following the story of an enslaved boy whose memory can help access superpowers that access paths to freedom, this magnetic novel is Coates’ first popular fiction effort. Everyone from Kerry Washington to Lena Waithe has posted a picture of themselves curled up with their copy. See what they had to say about Coates’ latest literary smash below.
Kerry Washington held the book closely on a sunny day calling it “Extraordinary.”
Tracee Ellis Ross took a break from caring for our curls to thank Coates for his creation. She called the book, “a worthy read filled with truth and magic. it will conjure much to ponder and discuss. thank you for yet another extraordinary contribution to our culture, Ta-Nehisi.”
Angela Bassett and her hubby Courtney B. Vance were relationship goals for library lovers. They each posted up on the ‘gram with their copies.
Lena Waithe told us not to look for her as she gets lost in the story. “I just read the first few pages and now I’m all in! if you don’t hear back from me, it’s because I’m reading this cover to cover. This is an important story for our times that the world needs NOW!”
Tika Sumpter kicked off hoodie season with a fresh read. “After work I’m ready to curl up and read Ta-Neshisi Coates’s The Water Dancer.” Excited to dig in,” she wrote in her caption.
Anthony Anderson posted nestled in his robe. The Black-ish star let us know that for something to catch his attention it has to really be groundbreaking. “I’m not easily excited by things but Ta-Nehisi Coates new novel ‘The Water Dancer’ excites me,” he wrote.
Queen Sugar’s Dawn-Lyen Gardener, with her flawless lashes, said they were, “diving in.”
Niecy Nash said you can’t sit with her if you’re not packing pages. “I don’t trust people who don’t read,” she wrote in the caption for her selfie with the title.
After a busy weekend working, Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown advised us to avoid spoilers while he was catching up. “You don’t want anybody to ruin it for you!”
Tyler Perry called it, “powerful.”
Greenleaf’s Merle Dandridge spoke to how work like The Water Dancer, can provide community for those without it. “May #thewaterdancer continue the refreshing and raw look at where we are with race in our country. Growing up bi-racial in Nebraska, feeling foreign to my peers, it is a relief to have forum. Let’s get talking,” she wrote on Instagram.
Tell us what book has your full attention this fall.