What percentage of books you own are by white authors?

[Delirium]

Have not people today come to think and care as much about race as before, only in other ways?

[Delirium]

And to prove my ignorance even further, I do not see the point in knowing a single thing about an author: ethnicity, gender, sexuality, shoe size or party membership, simply because I trust my own intelligence to evaluate their writing in and of itself. Just the text and nothing but the text.

[garbon]

And to prove my ignorance even further, I do not see the point in knowing a single thing about an author: ethnicity, gender, sexuality, shoe size or party membership, simply because I trust my own intelligence to evaluate their writing in and of itself. Just the text and nothing but the text.

That's odd. I would think some context would be good to wrap around the text. Otherwise, might be easy to miss some things because your dazzling intellect couldn't glean from text about the intended audience and nuances a given audience would be expected to understand.

[Razgovory]

It wasn't your fault Darwin!

Besides before then it was a religion to. Curse of Ham and Cush and all that.

It certainly wasn't Darwin's fault.  I think scientific racism predates Darwin and some of the scientific racists after Darwin rejected him.  Darwin himself is a bit of a anomaly in that he seems bereft of racism at a time when racism was the default.

[The Brain]

What would positive change be in this context?

Trying something new? Discovering new authors? New thinkers?

Why does a reader who seeks something new need to determine the particular shade of the skin of some author he or she wants to read?  I reject the implicit assumption here that there are only two kinds of writer, "white" and non-"white" and that, if most of the authors on your bookshelf are one or the other, you are not discovering new authors or trying something new.

Racism is as ugly when it poses as social justice as it is when it poses as racial supremacy.

I agree with grumbler.

[Jacob]

Open question: has any period of time in history placed as much importance on race as this one?

I'd venture that periods where they had miscegenation laws in the books and enforced did. I reckon the age of empire, with "the white man's burden" and scientific racism placed more importance on race as well compared to the current period.

To the extent that race matters today, it seems to be in attempts to wind down the effects of explicitly institutionalizing racist hierarchies.

[Syt]

I have no idea how many of my books are written by non-whites, to be honest.

I googled "famous black writers". There were several "Top 10 Black Writers You Should Read" lists. Invariably, the large majority of writers on those lists are black writers who were or ar epolitically active and primarily write about the experience of being black in America, racism, social inequality etc. This is very important writing, of course. However, my initial impression is that if you want to be a famous black writer you have to write about race.

[Delirium]

Why does a reader who seeks something new need to determine the particular shade of the skin of some author he or she wants to read?  I reject the implicit assumption here that there are only two kinds of writer, "white" and non-"white" and that, if most of the authors on your bookshelf are one or the other, you are not discovering new authors or trying something new.

Racism is as ugly when it poses as social justice as it is when it poses as racial supremacy.

I agree with grumbler.

I, too, agree with grumbler.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Relax, Drakken, no one has accused you of being a racist.

the implication -given the current events/context- is there though.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Why does a reader who seeks something new need to determine the particular shade of the skin of some author he or she wants to read?  I reject the implicit assumption here that there are only two kinds of writer, "white" and non-"white" and that, if most of the authors on your bookshelf are one or the other, you are not discovering new authors or trying something new.

Racism is as ugly when it poses as social justice as it is when it poses as racial supremacy.

I agree with grumbler.

I, too, agree with grumbler.

it's the one valid answer.

Though Monger's answer is pretty good too.

[Eddie Teach]

It's unusual for Grumbler to be so agreeable.   

[garbon]

I'm glad that the white boys of Languish could agree about how to deal with race...

[Eddie Teach]

There you go, being divisive... 

[grumbler]

I'm glad that the white boys of Languish could agree about how to deal with race...

Racism is an important issue.  Race is a fraud.

[Delirium]

I'm glad that the white boys of Languish could agree about how to deal with race...

It is quite telling that 'I don't give a fuck about race' today can be seen as a negative way to deal with race. I do not understand the young generation. Everything is black and white to them.