Sponsored by Amazon Original Stories.
The last wish of Walter Kirn’s terminally ill father is to spend his final days in his remote Montana cabin. Settled into the cabin, he sticks with his pleasures: nature, Murder, She Wrote, and reminiscing with his adult son. The only thing Walter didn’t foresee is the bear rooting outside his father’s sickroom window—a bold and curious yearling with whom Walter forms a unique and consoling bond. Read the short and heartwarming true story There’s a Bear in the House! from New York Times bestselling author Walter Kirn. Prime members read and listen for free.
Hello and hooray for Friday, nonfiction friends! For whatever reason, I spent much of this week convinced it was a different day of the week, which feels very much like a February blues kind of problem.
As I’m sure you’re well aware, February is Black History Month. I love book lists and reading suggestions for different months, so I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few titles on my TBR, as well as link to some other related lists and resources on Book Riot and around the Internet.
Make sure to get your own Read Harder Book Journal from Book Riot to track your reading for the year!
First, here are a few of the books on my list for the rest of this month:
White Negroes: When Cornrows Were in Vogue… and Other Thoughts on Cultural Appropriation by Lauren Michele Jackson
In this book, critic Lauren Michele Jackson dives deep into the idea of cultural appropriation, specifically why American culture loves blackness but only allows white people to benefit when “Black aesthetics are converted into mainstream success.” Each chapter explores an example of appropriation through the lens of power – who benefits, why, and what does this to do existing inequalities. She also specifically looks at the role white people play, and how specific celebrities and artists have used Black culture in their work. It’s fascinating so far.
Ida B. The Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells by Michelle Duster
Ida B. Wells was a pioneering Black journalist, suffragist, and crusader in the United States. In her lifetime she fought against discrimination on trains, exposed the horrors of lynchings, and help co-found the NAACP. This book tells her story in a beautiful and accessible way, clearly connecting her experiences with contemporary activism for Black lives. She’s amazing, and I’m embarrassed I haven’t read her biography sooner!
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
In June 1921, a white mob marched into the Black Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, an affluent neighborhood known as America’s Black Wall Street. In just a few hours they destroyed 35 square blocks, killing hundreds of people. In this book, young adult author Brandy Colbert tells the story of this horrific event, unearths the underlying tensions, and connects it to America’s history of racial violence. I want to read more YA nonfiction this year, and so this one is high on my list.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
If none of those seem like your jam, here are a few other lists to check out:
- Book Riot: 15 Nonfiction Black History Books to Read This Month
- Powell’s Books: Black History Month: A New List of Nonfiction
- Bustle: The Nonfiction to Read for Black History Month
- New York Public Library: New Nonfiction Books to Read for Black History Month
One Thing I Like
Author Lyz Lenz has a great email newsletter called Men Yell at Me. She’s written about topics like being a woman on the internet and Casey’s Gas Stations, as well as her very funny regular topic, Dingus of the Week.
I want to call out this week’s newsletter about what happens when children read books they aren’t supposed to read as particularly awesome. She starts out writing about her childhood experience sneaking books out of the library (been there, done that), then goes on to explore what it meant to learn what she had been missing in her protected childhood. I think it’s a very moving and thoughtful argument for the damage that’s done when books on hard topics aren’t accessible to young readers. Just read it!
For more nonfiction reads, head over to the podcast service of your choice and download For Real, which I co-host with my dear friend Alice. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @kimthedork. Happy weekend!