Recs if you like The Autobiography of Malcolm X...
HOW TO FIGHT A DICTATOR
books by or about people who have fought against authoritarianism. recommendations, critiques, and discussions welcome!
Read Until You Understand
novels, poetry, literary criticism, and history books by Black authors referenced in Farah Jasmine Griffinβs Read Until You Understand; The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature β forming a type of Black literary canon
Black History
Books you SHOULD be reading all year
the government would never do that
Books specifically about the lives and deaths of members of the Black Panther Party, government led assassination plots, the processes the US created to take down the flourishing community created by the Black Panther Party, and the histories of the BPP through the words of multiple members.
non-fiction books about american politicsπ¦ π¦
books to read on 4th of july and beyond. politics/history/social issues, let me know if you have any suggestions!
Handbook for the Revolution
Why we need a revolution and how we get there
Black Panther Reading List
The 1968 suggested reading published by in the Black Panther's newsletter
The Big List of Banned or Censored Books
A list of Banned or Censored books (from around the world) that I want to read and form my own opinions about...
Black American Classics
Essential literature by African American authors that changed the world, but somehow none of us were expected to read in school. Note: Most of these are available for free from Project Gutenberg.
Black Classics
A curation of Black classic novels, poems, essays, and more from across the diaspora. Fiction and Non-Fiction. More will be added, recs welcome.
How did we get here? The USA at 250
A growing collection of books that can help to better understand the past, present, and perhaps future of the US.
books about sex work
books about sex work and what it entails
ramadan readings: returning to the Beloved
this list is my way of answering the offering and call of ramadanβto always return to al-WadΕ«d, the Most Loving and Affectionate, no matter where we are in our spiritual journey. it brings together non-fiction thatβs meant to aid us in that consistent return (al-inΔbah), and features quranic reflections, duas, examples of good character, and remembrance rooted in the qalb (heart) and divine love, while also serving as a reminder of our duty to resist indifference in the face of human suffering
Widen your horizons π NON-FIC
A list of books to help you assimilate different perpectives - in politics, sociology, race studies, humanities, real history, psychology.
Books you might need in order to become "disgustingly educated" on various topics that concern all of us.
As always, anything must be taken with a grain of salt, even when it's a perspective we agree with β οΈ
Never forget πΈ
Political nonfiction to aid unlearning
themes: liberation, decolonisation, non white authors, anti zionism, social justice, Palestine
black history, resistance, and memory
books to change how you understand history, protest, and survival
Mary Karr's Required Reading: Memoirs & Hybrids
Abridged list curated by Mary Karr in Art of Memoir (2015). I've selected only the books she's denoted to be "better written" as the original list is seven pages long.
to expand your world view
a collection of fiction and nonfiction texts on gender, race, culture, history, politics that feel like absolute must reads
Diverse Baseline Challenge
These Diverse Baseline Challenge was created by @bookish.millennial & @themargherita.s (on instagram). In 2025, the goal is to read 1 book by a racialized author each month. This challenge is meant to encourage readers to try genres they historically donβt reach for, find new-to-them racialized authors, and to encourage reflection on our reading habits.
This is a mix of recommendations by the challenge organizers and myself.
Reading to Learn
Some books I want to read in the next couple years. I want to learn more things, especially about philosophy, the state of the world, mythology, and history.
