Books on my summer TBR | Book Haul, Self-education & way too many books!

Hey, guys! I hope all of you are doing well! 

2020 has been very tragic, but also very important, year, and we are only halfway through it. From COVID induced quarantine and the need to take care of ourselves and the others to the BLM movement and absolutely horrible events that made the world finally revolt against the injustice and racism, 2020 is one of the most important years of my life and I really hope that we take something from this, learn on our mistakes and try to build a better future for ourselves and for the future generations. 

I have been following social media, trying to soak up everything that was said about the Black Lives Matter movement and see what I personally can do to support it. 

It made me very sad and angry to see how media only highlighted violent outbursts and raids but didn’t show the positive part of this movement. They didn’t show how everyone around the globe has come together to support this cause, how many people care and want to be heard, how many people want to spread a positive message. 

As a white female, I’m no expert in any of the issues raised by the BLM. So I really want to take time to educate myself, to bring this movement from online to real life, keep engaging people close to me in these conversations and try to transmit a positive and confident message to make sure that I reach more people in my life. 

I would love to hear your advice as well. What books do you suggest? What method of spreading the word do you think is more effective? 

In today’s post, I decided to combine my B-day book haul with Top Ten Tuesday topic “Books on my summer TBR” and also share some lists of books I found to help me read more purposely and will be helpful in my journey of self-education about race. 

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SELF-EDUCATION TBR

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A lot of Bookstagrammers and Booktubers I follow have been sharing lists of books about race and I chose a few that I already own, but would love to see your recommendations as well!

Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

ADD ON GOODREADS

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives…

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In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion.

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From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl Woman Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They’re each looking for something – a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .

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Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

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BIRTHDAY BOOK HAUL

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Most of the books I purchased for my B-day were the books from my “15 before 30” list so I won’t be mentioning them here again. But I also received some other books as gifts:

Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja lead a privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They’re completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating.

ADD ON GOODREADS

Imagine… Leaving your house in the middle of the night. Knowing your mother is doing her best, but she’s just as scared as you. Imagine… Starting a new school, making friends. Seeing how happy it makes your mother. Hearing a voice, calling out to you.
Imagine… Following the signs, into the woods. Going missing for six days. Remembering nothing about what happened.

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For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

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The gods are dead. Decades ago, they turned on one another and tore each other apart. Nobody knows why. But are they really gone forever? When 15-year-old Hark finds the still-beating heart of a terrifying deity, he risks everything to keep it out of the hands of smugglers, military scientists, and a secret fanatical cult so that he can use it to save the life of his best friend, Jelt. But with the heart, Jelt gradually and eerily transforms. How long should Hark stay loyal to his friend when he’s becoming a monster—and what is Hark willing to sacrifice to save him?

ADD ON GOODREADS

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And as I love making my TBR very very large, here are some posts I shared with you this year of the books I also will be reading this summer [hopefully… 😀 ]:

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There are A LOT of books I’m hoping to read this summer. Share your TBRs in the comments below! Are you going to read any of the books I mentioned?

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