I haven’t been reading for leisure lately.
Instead, all of my tiny-text-reading hours are devoted to textbooks which have gifted my scholiocis with a flareup of painful symptoms. But, it’s all worth it! I know one day the textbooks I’m studying will enable me to serve clients and represent their civil and human rights claims.
In the meantime, Lena has been Lenaing–or, reading–a bunch. So, we’ve captured her top 5 favorites from 2021-2022! Take a break to invest in your brain and your dream world.
Love,
Carlie
First, something to consider if you’re interested in reading and/or investing in buying your own copy: buy from Thrift Books!
Thrift books is a low-priced online bookseller of recycled, or previously-loved, books based in Seattle, Washington.
We’ve gone ahead and linked each book to Thrift Books for your connivence. Alright, now, listed in no particular order:
1. They Don’t Love You Like I Love You by Carlie Jones
I haven’t been reading much, but I did write and publish a book in 2021!
Follow Olivia Grove through her sophomore year of high school as she navigates to find her place in the world amidst unpredictable family and social dynamics. Equal parts tender, turbulent, and tough, Olivia offers readers a uniquely personal perspective on social inequity and the generational traumas held by those whose voices are often left out. In the wake of poverty, racism, and addiction, Olivia learns, and reminds us all, that it is truly love that gets us through.
Purchase from Thrift Books here!
2. Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
A young Black British woman who has no interest in love and unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the man she warned her girls aboutSweet like plantain, hot like pepper. They taste the best when together… Purchase from Thrift Books here!
3. Arrested Justice by Beth E. Richie
Illuminates the threats Black women face and the lack of substantive public policy towards gendered violence Black women in marginalized communities are uniquely at risk of battering, rape, sexual harassment, stalking and incest. Through the compelling stories of Black women who have been most affected by racism, persistent poverty, class inequality, limited access to support resources or institutions, Beth E. Richie shows that the threat of violence to Black women has never been more serious, demonstrating how conservative legal, social, political and economic policies have impacted activism in the U.S.-based movement to end violence against women.
Purchase from Thrift Books here!
4. Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination by Robin DG Kelley
Unearthing the thrilling history of grassroots movements and renegade intellectuals and artists, Kelley recovers the dreams of the future worlds Black radicals struggled to achieve. Focusing on the insights of activists, from the Revolutionary Action Movement to the insurgent poetics of Aim? and Suzanne C?saire, Kelley chronicles the quest for a homeland, the hope that communism offered, the politics of surrealism, the transformative potential of Black feminism, and the long dream of reparations for slavery and Jim Crow.
Purchase from Thrift Books here!