August Booklist

Summer is the season we all have been waiting for and it’s just reaching its peak! Bookstores are open. Libraries are back open. Many of us are coming “Outside” for the first time in a long time. Some may be taking last minute vacations or exploring the cities we live in for outside adventure. Remember to toss a book or two in your tote bag as you visit the lake, beach or park. Also, sunscreen and water for those books you just can’t put down. The genre of the book is completely up to you. The last year and half have been one of transition and change, so pick up a light and airy fiction title or nonfiction title that may teach you new perspectives. 

This month’s book list will include local libraries. While we have been absent physically for the library, they vamped up their presence virtually and challenged the access to services for the community. They are open and ready for you! This is a good place to take the kids, where they can read and participate in fun activities. There are many summer reading programs and challenges for all ages. 

Local booksellers are opening their doors for browsing too. Many locations have dropped masks and restrictions for vaccinated individuals. This is exciting! We haven’t had the chance to stroll through the aisles of our favorite bookstores or libraries, smell the scent of fresh books and pages to be read. This pre-pandemic adventure may feel fresh and new to many of us who have found solace at home. The opportunity to return to society and the outside is empowering and picking up new titles can allow us to explore and create memories with our own boundaries. 

If you cannot support artists and local booksellers, always remember your local libraries. This is one of my favorite resources as a reader. Oftentimes it is to cut back on my personal expenses and also leave room for new titles I absolutely love on my bookshelf. 

August Book List

The Age of Phillis
By Honoree Fanonne Jeffers 

In 1773, a young African American woman Phillis Wheatley published a book of poetry. In her writings she challenges Western prejudices about African and female intellectual potential. In this book, award-winning writer Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, creatively imagines the life and time frame of the life of Phillis Wheatly. You have the chance to learn about Wheatly’s early childhood in Gambia, West Africa, the transatlantic slave trade, friendship and love. Throughout the pages you will find poems about Wheatley and her mark on history.   

Arrival:
Poems by Cheryl Boyce-Taylor

This poetic love story between daughter and mother. Generations are intertwined in this narrative as early as 1950 with a woman pregnant with twins. She experiences many tragic events and through poetic retellings of family, home and identity. 

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois
By Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

This novel is intimate as it chronicles the journey of an American family. It ranges over centuries of the slave trade, civil war and the era we journey today. Ailey Pearl Garfield does not take the words of W.E.B. Du Bois lightly. She is named after important Black Americans, one being her grandmother. While reared in the north, she spends summers in Georgia. As she comes to terms with her own identity she must journey through her family’s past over generations in the deep south. In doing so she must embrace her full heritage. 

The Final Review Of Opal & Nev
By Dawnie Walton

This electrifying novel explores the iconic interracial rock duo during the 1970s. Opal is a fierce, independent woman who pushes the limits of her style and attitude. Opal was Afro-punk before the term was even coined. Believing she was a star she took a leap after being discovered at a bar during amateur night. Opal was brave enough to speak her truth in bold protest that changed the course of her life and for the people she loves. 

A Little Devil in America
By Hanif Abdurraquib

Inspired by the words of Josephine Baker who said: “I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too.” With great inspiration he has written a beautiful reflection on Black performance in America. He examines and pays great attention to details on how Black performance is woven into American culture. As he digs deep into these layers Abdurraquib shares his own personal story of love, grief and performance. 

The Renunciations:
Poems by Donika Kelly

This collection of poetry is one of endurance and transformation. Donika Kelly moves through childhood enriched with love, abuse and failing relationships. Memory can be a powerful force in a person’s life. Kelly explores how the act of remembrance allows you to be creative. In these words, you find home and what needs to be tended. 

The Collection of Plate:
Poems by Kendra Allen

The award-winning essayist and poet has woven together personal narrative and cultural commentary. She loops these overlapping experiences of girlhood, Blackness, sex and identity in America. In her poetry she explores how we collect and erase our voices leaving us unrepresented. 

Instructions for Dancing
By Nicola Yoon

Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. In her mind all of the greatest love stories end with a broken heart. She joins a dance studio where she meets a boy named X. Opposites attract and Evie falls for X, enjoying their differences. With this new-found relationship and hobby of dancing, Evie questions all she knew about life and love.