Well-Read | Book Recommendations for BHM
A good book is transformative, because it can take you into a whole new realm. When you get invested in the characters and the plot it so hard to put a good book down. Recently I've found myself reading or listening to audio books a lot over watching T.V. which I do throughly enjoy. I've somehow gotten to a point where I've hit my limit with Youtube videos and binge watching shows on Netflix/Hulu. Not because anything is wrong with Youtube, but the content I typically enjoy is becoming redundant. So in celebration of Black History Month, I want to share a few recommendation of books I've recently read, and some books that I am interested in reading, all written by Black women.
Luster by Raven Lailani
Summary : Luster sees a young black woman figuring her way into life as an artist and into love in this darkly comic novel. She meets Eric, a digital archivist with a family in New Jersey, who is in an open marriage. In this world of contemporary sexual manners and racial politics, Edie finds herself unemployed and living with Eric. She becomes hesitant friend to his wife and a de facto role model to his adopted daughter. Edie is the only black woman young Akila may know.
My Review: A beautifully written hot mess of a situation/relationship. It is beyond messy, but you can't stop reading and wishing for the best.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Summary: Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America.
My Review: This goes down as one of my favorite books ever. I will be the first to admit, Toni Morrison books aren't always an easy read. But the metaphors, analogies and imagery she uses to take on the intersection of racism, self-hatred, poverty, and sexuality is *chef kiss*
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
Summary: One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious.
My Review: Be prepared to be in your feelings. The tone of this book is very dark as you mourn the death of Vivek yet mysterious as you move through the story learning about not only this death, but his life that he lived unapologetically.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Summary:The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. The fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect.
*On my reading list*
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Summary: In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix's efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged.
*Currently reading and enjoying it*
What are you currently reading, let me know in the comments!
Cover Photo by @tylerkcalder