Books!

I love to read. I read a lot. I finish several books a week. I am nearly indiscriminate in my reading – except that I only read BIPOC authors for the past four years (alright, I admit I did read the new Stephan King and the new Dan Siegal). I read middle-grade and young adult and regular grow-up fiction as well as non-fiction. I read about racism, school organization, sleep, food, health, teaching, mental health, the “justice” system – really anything that catches my attention.  

Image of the top of my wordpress blog, bookspastandfuture with How to Be an Antiracist and The Hate U Give at the top.

I used to even have a blog all about books – Books Past and Future, I called it. I wanted to keep track of all the books I wanted to read and had read (no, never going to use Goodreads). The trouble was, I found it hard to write about every book.  

First, I personally am not a fan of reading the jacket. I like to be surprised by the story I’m reading, so I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else. If what you want is a summary, you can for sure find it out in the world.               

Secondly, because I’m mostly reading new authors and books I think were “pushed out” by the publishing world that suddenly realized that their BIPOC bookshelves were woefully thin – some of the books I’m reading aren’t…all that well edited.

I do not like to write a negative review, y’all, and especially because some of these books, even poorly edited, are sure to speak – LOUDLY – to folx who have not read/heard or seen their story ever in a book. And I want people to read them, both the people who see themselves represented there and also people who never knew that people like them exist in the world. The books on my website are all books I loved for one reason or another – just not always because of the writing itself.

I know I’m hard on books. Maybe because I’ve read a lot, I’ve seen enough really good writing to expect it from authors/editors. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived a lot of places and so can’t stand it when people don’t get the details right. Maybe it’s just because I’m judgey. I can own that.

What I’m trying to say is this: the books you’ll find on this website are legitimately #ownvoices; they are all books I have read; there are no summaries or reviews here, but I am always happy to talk about books I’ve read and make recommendations.

I believe that reading is a radical act, a way to broaden your world view without ever leaving your chair. It is a way to learn and to observe and to enter into someone else’s point of view. Over the years books have been banned (and still are) because people KNOW the power of words. I am encouraging y’all to read, widely and wildly. Let your imagination soar!

What are you reading? Make me a recommendation! Wanna talk books? Email me!

(banner photo shows a screenshot of my #ownvoices tab with Know My Name, by Chanel Miller, The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, How it All Blew Up, by Arvin Ahmadi, Slay by Britney Morris, Sanctuary, by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher and The Good Luck Girls, by Charlotte Nicole Davis)