Hello, nonfiction fans! Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss books with you all. I’d love to hear from you, so always feel free to reach out to me via email at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. As you may have gathered, I love Southern Literature, especially creative nonfiction titles. I also love memoir and collections of personal essays. So I’ll be recommending a couple of those kinds of books today, but first, bookish goods and new releases!
Ida B. Wells Literary Notebooks by Obvious State
When I’m annotating nonfiction books, I love having a notebook on hand to write down thoughts or favorite quotes. Obvious State has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Their unique literary print, t-shirts, and bookmarks have always brought me a lot of joy. But when I learned they now made notebooks, of course, I needed some. These little notebooks are the perfect size for tucking in a pocket or bag, ready for whenever you have a moment to sit and read. This Ida B. Wells notebook is one of my favorites.
New Releases
Fire Island: A Century in the Life of an American Paradise by Jack Parlett
Fire Island has been the destination for generations of gay men. Jack Parlett tells the history and cultural significance of the island. He introduces us to the men who frequented Fire Island, giving the book a personal feel as we learn more about this queer space.
How to Raise an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
One of the hardest jobs as a parent or guardian is finding the words to explain difficult things to their kids. Using both scientific research and an added personal narrative, Kendi gives adults the tools they need to have important conversations around race in the United States.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
I’ve been a resident of South Carolina for my entire adult life, and while I struggled with the adjustment at first, I’ve come to love the South. My roots are in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky, and I found the culture vastly different from my own. But reading Southern Literature helped me better understand my new home. Here are a few of my favorite nonfiction titles from the South!
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry
Many people view the South as a monolith of tragedy, a place with little to offer the rest of the nation, but Imani Perry begs to differ. In South to America, Perry returns to her Southern roots, taking us with her on a journey through the history of the South, stopping in different locations to explain key events. Perry’s love of the South comes across on every page, and she argues that the South holds the heart of America, for better or worse. She celebrates Black Southerners and their contribution to America’s culture as a whole. Perry also details the region’s unique role in the history of America’s systemic racism, discussing how the slave trade impacted different parts of the South over the course of time and up to the present.
Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South by Margaret Renkl
For years, Margaret Renkl wrote a column about her life in the South, sharing her thoughts on everything from politics to cuisine. Graceland, At Last features a selection of those columns, organized by topic. I loved the chatty quality of each essay as it discussed things like current events or observations about nature. Whatever the topic, I always felt like I was sitting across from her on the porch, sipping sweet tea in the sun as she shared her thoughts with me.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave or over on Instagram @kdwinchester. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy reading, Friends!
~ Kendra