1. "so far I'm reading Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the" In response to Reply # 0
fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams.
in this book Abrams chronicles chilling accounts of voter suppression/intimidation tactics within the past recent years leading up to 2020. and her ordeal w/ secretary of state now governor Kemp using pervasive tactics such as name matching to keep certain voters off the rolls. its not only a book, but a how to manual for the average voter to get their voices heard at the state/local and on to the federal level.
2. "Real talk; The Virginia Mysteries Series " In response to Reply # 0
Over the summer went through the entire series reading to my daughters nightly. They absolutely LOVED these stories surprisingly.... I just stumbled on it looking for kids mystery books on Kindle and this popped up. It really got them interested in historic places in the state of Virginia (where we live) and gave us some cool day trip ideas.
I really appreciated that the stories were modern and geared towards kids in the age range of my daughters while not being watered down with simple sentence structures and subject matter that you typically see in kids mystery books.
4. "The Dead Are Arising by Les (and Tamara) Payne" In response to Reply # 0
This is a great new book on the life of Malcolm X. It’s 30 years in the making and covers a lot and makes good use of the passage of time in terms of looking back on important moments with numerous interviews of people in Malcolm’s life.
5. "RE: Your favourite reads of 2020" In response to Reply # 0
Get me out of here: A memoir by Jeremy Steig
The flute player who made a album with Jan Hammer (before Jan joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra). I made a post on that album "energy"
He was the son of the man who created the Shrek cartoon and Jeremy was the Pied Piper character in the 3rd Shrek movie. He was sampled on the Beastie Boys song "sure shot" (they used that in the Shrek movie with his Pied Piper character).
The book paints a good picture of a 1960's - 2000's NYC artist's life.
NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980 - 1990 by Tony Rettman
Good documentation of a scene I was a part of. So I like getting a fuller picture of it.
6. "I really enjoyed Trevor Noah’s book" In response to Reply # 0
Funny and heartfelt. I already had a general idea of what apartheid was, but it was even crazier than I realized.
Lenape Country- a book about the history of the Indians who lived in my area. It was just cool to learn about what was happening here before I lived here.
Friends of Eddie Coyle- About low level gangsters in Boston. Dark but funny.
The Quiet American- basically this dumb American guy goes to Vietnam believing he is doing the right thing but ends up causing a lot of damage.
Treasure Island- Easy, fun read.
A Walk in the Woods- a guy tries to walk the entire Appalachian trail and writes about it. Funny and very good.
Lucky Jim- I laughed a lot during this one.
“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”
7. "RE: Your favourite reads of 2020" In response to Reply # 0
Blacktop Wasteland, S.A. Cosby
-a light but fun crime fiction novel set in Tidewater, Virginia. If you like George Pelacanos, you'll love it.
Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, Marcia Chatelain -Gene Demby did a pretty good twitter thread about this book the other day. A really smart history of the relationship McDonalds has with the rise of black capitalism
Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Lessons for Our Own, Eddie Glaude Jr -Most people who write about Baldwin use him as a lens into America during the Civil Rights era. Glaude picks up and focuses on the story after Martin, Malcolm, and Medgar have been assassinated and examines Baldwin as his own star is beginning to fade and the country begins to forget about the black freedom struggle.
Thick and Other Essays, Tressie McMillan Cottom -This book came out in 2019 but Cottom one the MacArthur Genius award this year and if you want to know why, check out this collection of essays.
Be Holding: A Poem, Ross Gay Poetry isn't everyone's bag but if you are looking for a good poetry read, this is a good one. Begins with a meditation on Dr. J's grace on the basketball court and expands into a larger exploration of the small joys of black life.
Been meaning to pick up James McBride's Deacon King Kong. Heard it hits a lot of the same comedic beats of a Paul Beatty novel.
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
General Discussion
