Do you want to honour Black History Month by reading a good book but don’t know what to pick? I’m here for you.
Here are some recommendations categorized by desired emotional profile.
If you want to read something that will make you feel…
Reflective and expansive
A Map to the Door of No Return by Dionne Brand
Drawn in by a distinct and lovely voice
The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
Incredibly angry but with a much deeper understanding of 20th-century U.S. race relations
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
Charmed, compelled, Canadian
Angélique by Lorena Gale
Alternately amused and horrified
The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes
Grounded and systematic
Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks
Convicted
The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah
Compassionate and self-reflexive
Welcome to Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe
Sad but in a beautiful way
Soucouyant by David Chariandy
Like calling your parents and having a good talk
Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi
Nostalgic for your youthful verve
Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid
Sporty and Marxist
Beyond a Boundary by C.L.R. James
Asha Jeffers is an academic and a sometimes creative writer from Toronto who lives and teaches in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
