By Lesley-Ann Brown
As the season changes and colorful leaves fall to the ground, we want to make sure we arm you well with titles that inspire. Our recommendations come from some of our community’s most gifted writers. Some books are soon-to-be-released, others even a few years old, but each novelembodies a timelessness that is the stuff classics are made of.
“The Origins of Others” by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison’s latest “The Origins of Others” is based on Morrison’s lectures at Harvard on “the literature of belonging” and contains an introduction by author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. Morrison trains her well-aimed pen at the themes that only a titan such as herself can so gracefully take on like race, fear, borders and the mass movement of people, for example.
“We Were Eight Years in Power” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Speaking of Ta-Nehisi Coates, the best-selling author of “Between The World and Me” has a new collection entitled “We Were Eight Years in Power“. His publisher writes
“…the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me “reflects on race, Barack Obama’s presidency and its jarring aftermath”—including the election of Donald Trump.
“We Were Eight Years in Power” is a collection of this important thinker’s published essays during the eight years of former President Barack Obama’s presidency, including the author’s personal reflections introducing each piece. “Though the essays are about a particular period, Coates’s themes reflect broader social and political phenomena. It’s this timeless timeliness—reminiscent of the work of George Orwell and James Baldwin—that makes Coates worth reading again and again.” — Publishers Weekly
“The Mother of Black Hollywood” by Jenifer Lewis
Jenifer Lewis’ memoir “The Mother of Black Hollywood” is a heartbreaking, honest reflection on the actress, comedian, singer, and activist’s life told in the raucous, irreverent voice fans have come to love. Taking the readers from her humble beginnings in Kinloch, Missouri, Lewis gives us a front row seat to the trials, tribulations, and successes she has encountered. Known for her countless roles in Hollywood, including most recently in the sit-com “Black-ish”, this book is one you can’t put down, and it will inspire and make you laugh out loud on many occasions.
Read the entire list here.
