Sponsored by Adams Media’s Ultimate Writing Humble Bundle.
Whether you’re going back to an idea you’ve had swirling in your head for years or just seeing where your quill takes you, the Ultimate Writing Bundle will help you unleash your creativity. This toolkit includes more than $481 worth of inspirational and instructional ebooks. When you pick up this bundle, you’ll help give back to this community-powered effort, too. Each purchase supports the National Novel Writing Month organization, who believe in the transformational power of creativity. Pay what you want, support charity, and start mapping out those 50,000 words!
BOOKS. You want ’em, we got ’em. Fresh new books, printed on paper or digitally sourced. This week has a good number of social justice and Black activism books being released, so let’s look at some!
We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World by Carolyn Holbrook (Edited by), David Mura (Edited by)
It’s a collection of BIPOC writers from Minnesota! Such a cool project. Indigenous, Black, and writers of color share essays and poems focused on the year 2020, from the pandemic to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police officers. Contributors include people from an array of cultures, including “Indigenous Dakota and Anishinaabe, African American, Hmong, Somali, Afghani, Lebanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Puerto Rican, Colombian, Mexican, transracial adoptees, mixed race, and LGBTQ+ perspectives.”
Black Artists Shaping the World by Sharna Jackson
Love nonfiction aimed at kids. This is for children ages 9-12, and focuses on twenty-six contemporary artists from Africa and of African descent. These include “American artists Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, portraitist to Michelle Obama Amy Sherald, and Kehinde Wiley; British Turner Prize–winning painters Lubaina Himid and Chris Ofili; renowned South African visual activist and photographer Zanele Muholi; Nigerian sound artist Emeka Ogboh” and more. Are there amazing images of the art? Yes, there are.
John Lewis: The Last Interview and Other Conversations by John Lewis, Jelani Cobb (Introduction)
Part of Melville House’s Last Interview series, this (short!) book contains interviews of civil rights activist and decades-long congressman John Lewis. Honestly, this feels like an amazing end of year read: “From a young activist testifying in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday to recounting the violence he met as a Freedom Rider to an elder statesman inspired by today’s civil rights activists, this collection forms a portrait of a man whose life was spent fighting for a better world and never lost hope.” It’s the right kind of inspiration to end 2021 with.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
We’re hiring an Advertising Sales Manager! Do you like books and comics? Does helping advertisers reach an enthusiastic community of book and comics lovers intrigue you? This might be your job. Apply by December 5, 2021.
For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. And don’t miss Book Riot’s new podcast Adaptation Nation, all about TV and film adaptations of awesome books. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.