some favorite books by Black authors
Hello, friends. What a heavy, heavy time. If you’re reading this, consider it a hug from me. Please don’t forget to take loving care of yourselves in order to extend love and care to others, and remember that even the smallest kindnesses make a difference. And if you’re looking for resources to help on some of the latest happenings, I’ve included a few links to resources I’ve found below (attributions at the bottom).
Regarding transgender kids in TX:
Regarding the invasion of Ukraine:
An on-going update of resources organized by focus
How to Help Ukraine as a Foreigner
For African Students Fleeing Ukraine
In the meantime, I wanted to share a selection of my favorite works by Black authors (eight book recs plus a poem…with two more books recs snuck in :)). Although Black History Month is coming to a close, seeking out and sharing BPIOC authors (as well as other under-represented groups of writers) is a worthy effort all year long. Bookstores, libraries, publishers, and marketers select their inventory based on what customers are choosing to request, to read, and to discuss. The publishing industry continues to have major demographic discrepancies in what they release, and only in the last few years did the gap between male and female author publication begin to narrow (and just recently, shift to women in front). A wider selection of authors leads to a wider selection of stories—which leads to opportunities for more diverse thinking, deeper connections, and an expanded ability to empathize, understand, and offer compassion to those outside of our own experience.
I hope you find something you connect with here. I’d love to hear your recommendations and thoughts as well—you can always reply directly to this email.
Sending you all love, strength, hope, and humanity in the upcoming weeks.
xx, Brooke
Some Favorite Recent Books by Black Authors
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
A book that mixes New England history, witchcraft, female empowerment, and the mortifyingly hilarious nostalgia of small-town high school during the height of 80’s pop culture (a real home run when it comes to topics in my sweet spot). This was a singular joy to read (it is a rare feat to pull off such flawless second person narration), and remains one of my all-time favorite books. (Plus, it gives full characterization to a woman’s teased bangs—as in, the bangs react to situations, judge things, have emotions. This alone should make it worth a read!!)
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
A study of the grey area between grief and hope, science and faith, loss and relief, despair and purpose. The way the author handles the matter of religion for a character who believes so firmly in fact—how personal and polarizing it can be, how there are no clear answers, how it can be a lifetime of dichotomy—was so carefully and beautifully handled. I cared so deeply for this narrator and still think of her often. (Trigger warning: opioid addition and loss). (“Homegoing” by Gyasi is also spectacular!)
Razor-sharp and finely nuanced, Reid’s story offers an unflinching look at the complexities of race, privilege, power, and intentions, folded within a page-turning plot centered around layered characters, surprising connections, and uncomfortable realizations handled with empathetic frankness. A stunning debut novel from an author who I hope has many more books to come.
This book starts subtle, light, a day in the life of a man at a Midwestern university, an opening scene of him approaching a lakeside happy hour gathering, but the unassuming style sweeps the reader into the depths of vulnerability before they even realize they’re along for the ride. The sheer strength of Taylor’s emotional impact (for me) lies in the simplicity of his writing. He is clear, direct, sparse, but never sparing in the (sometimes brutal) truths of the protagonists’s life, and the book has a lasting impact because of it.
A young woman falls into a relationship with an older married man—but becomes far closer than she planned to the man’s wife and child along the way. It says a lot when a unique predicament becomes entirely believable in the capable hands of a highly skilled author—when you trust an author to take you anywhere. I didn’t want to leave these characters behind when it ended.
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
Reading this made me think I should read more romance novels—or at least ones written by Jasmine Guillory. An intelligent, independent female lead who is fully realized with or without a man, who unapologetically loves food, who clearly asks and stands up for what she wants? The romance is just the bonus.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Young love that gets away—then matures and evolves and returns to find new life with the same people, made different by lived experience—is one of my favorite things to read about. This story follows Ifemelu and Obinze, two Nigerians who fall in love in high school, then separate and make their way to the U.S. and the U.K. (respectively), alternating between both of their perspectives but never forgetting the continued connection (even when it is hard to see) that ultimately brings them back together to find what remains.
Another one of my favorite things to read about? Love triangles and small town secrets. While Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half” is perhaps the book more recently (and rightly!) buzzed about (it’s also excellent and came out in 2020), “The Mothers” stole my heart and made it into my Ideal Bookshelf custom print of top ten favorite books (a wonderful birthday gift from friends I would recommend highly!). Bennett’s talents are at peak level as she unravels the secrets of her characters, and leverages the “mothers” of the church as a sort of Greek chorus presiding over the history of the town. I wrote about this story in the early Instagram days of The Brooke Report, and said the characters snuck into my heart and broke it. To build on that, this NYT review by Mira Jacob captures how I felt perfectly: “I found myself reading not to find out what happens to the characters, but to find out who they are. Long after closing the book, I am still, like the most dogged of children, trying to follow them.”
And finally, a poem until we meet again…
Meditations in an Emergency by Cameron Awkward-Rich
I wake up & it breaks my heart. I draw the blinds & the thrill of rain breaks my heart. I go outside. I ride the train, walk among the buildings, men in Monday suits. The flight of doves, the city of tents beneath the underpass, the huddled mass, old women hawking roses, & children all of them, break my heart. There’s a dream I have in which I love the world. I run from end to end like fingers through her hair. There are no borders, only wind. Like you, I was born. Like you, I was raised in the institution of dreaming. Hand on my heart. Hand on my stupid heart.
TX Links from Emma Straub’s newsletter
Ukraine links via Laurel Bristow’s Instagram, Joanna Goddard’s Instagram, Rachel Lindsay’s Instagram