Black History Month (Special)

I love reading about strong people overcoming difficult situations. It does something to one’s psyche. It gives you a feeling of ‘if they can do it, so can I’. This month especially, being Black History Month, I wanted to highlight some amazing stories I’ve had the honor of reading and would heartily recommend. Each book is special to me because they look at black history from different perspectives with different characters and genres.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Memoir, Humor) 

“Language, even more than color, defines who you are to people.” ― Trevor Noah 

I LOVE this book (and not just because I love Trevor), but because it is so well written. The stories have such humanity in them. There were so many points where I went ‘you too?’ and smiled. It’s one of the first books I read that made me proud of my heritage. 

I gave it five stars and a must read again.

 

Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta (Fiction, Classics) 

“She, who only a few months previously would have accepted nothing but the best, had by now been conditioned to expect inferior things. She was now learning to suspect anything beautiful and pure. Those things were for the whites, not the blacks.” ― Buchi Emecheta 

This book touched me deeply. I have to be honest; I haven’t read a lot of black writers, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, which I think was a good thing because I was very open. There are so many books about how other races treated black people, but this book talks about how we treat each other. 

I gave it five stars.

 

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba (Memoir, Science) 

“I went to sleep dreaming of Malawi, and all the things made possible when your dreams are powered by your heart.” ― William Kamkwamba 

I know I say this a lot, but I truly love this book (I have a lot of love to give books). I love the unity in the family unit. I love how the author sees his childhood. The ingenuity and brilliance he and his friends portray about the African mind (which is contrary to what most of us grew up hearing). This book got me strutting with my black head lifted all the way up.

 

James – A Novel by Percival Everett (Literary, Historical Fiction) 

“- You know, dull tools are much more dangerous than sharp ones. 

- I paused to admire his metaphor, but he continued.” ― Percival Everett 

I love this book for so many reasons. One of them is how it speaks of the ability of the human spirit to endure. In spite of bad odds, bad people and bad luck, a person’s ability to keep going when they know why they do what they do is incredible to me. This is a book about perseverance, determination, and liberating one’s true self. His love for his family makes him go completely against the grain.

 

No matter which part of the world you are in or come from, our history makes us who we are, but doesn’t have to keep us where we are. I hope these books inspire you to be the best version of ‘you’ you can be.

 

Thank you for spending time with me. Until our next bookish adventure…😜