Let summer vacation commence. #teacheronbreak #summer #books #ilovereading #readmorebooks #summerreading #summertbr

This is a #bookstsgram darling and I can see why. A novel about four lesbians fighting every day to find some sense of freedom under a brutal dictatorship in Uruguay that traverses decades, I thought it was a gorgeous story full of lush imagery and rich characters. Sometimes I felt the themes were expressed in a heavy handed manner, but I loved it just the same. If you like historical fiction that inspires, read this book. Shout out to @ellehaunter for the buddy read. I loved talking about this book with you and getting the push to read it!

#Cantoras #HistoricalFiction #BeachRead #SummerBooks #ILoveToRead #QueerReads #LGBTQIANovels #BestBooks #AlwaysReading #ReadMoreBooks #Fiction

#JuneWrapUp, I read great books in June, and was on a nonfiction kick. I would recommend any of these books, depending on what you are looking for. All were standouts in different ways, and I did love how my three nonfiction reads were sometimes in conversation with one another. When I can make connections between reads I feel like it deepens my learning. I don’t really have much else to say. I just hope everyone else is doing okay and my greatest wish for all of you is that you find some time this summer to enjoy nature in some way. A hike, the beach, a local park, heck even finding a quiet deck or porch or rooftop somewhere to enjoy the blanket of the night, just anything to help you slow down.

Pictured are the books #Severance by #LingMa, #ButterHoneyPigBread by #FrancescaEkwuyasi, #HoodFeminism by #MikkiKendall, #TheBloodTrials by #NiaDavenport, #WhiteNegroes by #LaurenMicheleJackson, and #WelcomeToTheTerrordome by #DaveZirin

Britt Hawthorne is an antiracist educator I respect tremendously. So when I heard she was working on a book for parents, I was beyond excited. Published on June 7th, it has already made the New York Times Bestseller list. I love that this book focuses on how to build community and to focus your efforts locally. For me personally, I feel like I have really lost touch with that and I want to work on building roots in my current community, one I hope to be a part of for the foreseeable future. It is a very practical guide that is not just for parents but really for anyone that wishes to invest in the generations that follow us, which is to me the most essential investment for us all. As stated in this guide, we are all connected, and if you have children or don’t there is information here you will definitely find useful. Hawthorne has a way with words, and gentleness that makes you feel less alone, afterall no one should take this journey alone, in fact the only way to do this work is together.

Thank you so much to @simonandschuster and @sabrina_dax_pr for this review copy.

#BrittHawthorne #AntiRacistParenting #EssentialBooks #ParentingBooks #Parenting #Education #InvestInTheFuture #RaisingAntiRacistChildren

#coffeeandcurrentlyreading Happy Wednesday folks. Excited to read this one. Jason Reynolds is an author I really admire, he has so much love and respect for his audience.

I think I have typed and re-typed this first sentence one million times, but alas Beloved is a book that does not need an introduction. To experience this book is to experience brilliance.

I can sit here and wonder all day and night why this was not present on any syllabus during my high school or college years, even though to me it is an ESSENTIAL American text. But we all know why. The answer is always simple: racism, and probably more specifically misogynoir. Of course I read Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, even had to read Uncle Tom’s Cabin in an American Protest Lit class in college, but anything by Toni Morrison? Not anywhere. And those three books? All written by white people. The first time I read anything by Morrison, my college years were well behind me. I can just be thankful that today, I can experience her works of art easily and engage in conversations with readers Like @readwithemilyg and @becksisreading . It was really special to share this reading experience with those two, and reaffirms why I love being here so much. I probably think about this book a few times a week. With book bannings on the rise across the states I feel nothing but sadness and anger as access to this tectonic work (as well as many of her others) is severely limited in American classrooms. What a fucking egregious omission to not be given the opportunity to study Toni Morrison in an American Literature class as a junior in high school or even in college as writing minor.

Read this book if you have not already. And read it with friends if you can! If not, I’m around, and this novel is simply unforgettable. I also suggest listening to the @thestackspod episode breaking it down. It was a really great conversation that helped us digest the text even further.

#Beloved #ToniMorrison #EssentialReading #EssentialAmericanBooks #BrilliantBooks #BooksYouHaveToRead #ReadMoreBooks #AmericanLiterature #ReadBooksByBlackWomen #20BooksByBlackWomen #bookstagram