February is Black History Month, and while we hope you are reading a diverse array of authors all year long, now is the time to highlight some Black authors writing powerful and illuminating work across genres.
From nonfiction, memoir and historical fiction, let these recommendations help you learn more about Black history and voices.
Amber Viola, podcast host
Book: "Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Unfinished Project of Emancipation"
Author: Julius B. Fleming Jr.
The very first sentence of the book says, "the history of blackness is at once a violent history of waiting and a radical refusal to wait."
I could not recommend this book any more. Go read it.
Brenda K. Johnson, president, Lackawanna County NAACP
Book: "Burn Down Master's House: A Novel"
Author: Clay Cane
My book recommendation for Black History Month is New York Times best-selling author Clay Cane's "Burn Down Master's House: A Novel." Each strong character has a story of survival, passing down verbal history and teaching how to survive and remain whole while burning down anything holding you back.
Jennifer Powell, owner of Breathe Love and JaM's Delights
Book: "Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom"
Author: Tabitha Brown
I recommend the book of "Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business)" by Tabitha Brown because her experiences I can relate to 100% in terms of just her abilities that she has and ailments that she has experienced in her way of life and her journey.
She is a person that is resilient and gives great nuggets on how to navigate this world when things come your way unexpectedly.
Sarah Scinto, WVIA Morning Edition Host and Reporter
Book: “The Reformatory: A Novel”
Author: Tananarive Due
I only recently picked up “The Reformatory” but I’m so captivated by this novel already I could not help but recommend it even though I haven’t finished it yet.
This is historical fiction set in segregated 1950s Florida. When 12-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr. kicks the son of a white landowner in defense of his older sister Gloria, he’s sentenced to six months at Gracetown School for Boys, otherwise known as the Reformatory.
The Reformatory itself would be scary enough, but Robbie also has a talent for seeing “haints” or ghosts, and they reveal to him the decades of horrors inside the walls.
I’m listening to this on audiobook and the narrator is fantastic. But the writing is so transportive and immersive, I feel every ounce of Robbie’s fear and Gloria’s desperation for justice for her little brother. I already know this book is going to be one that sticks with me for a long time.
That’s all for this edition of Bookmarks! Join us again on March 7. I’ll be looking for your favorite books about sports.
