It’s Week Three of Nonfiction November and it’s The Thousand Book Project’s week – see the main post here.
Week 3: (November 15-19) – Be The Expert/ Ask the Expert/ Become the Expert with Veronica at The Thousand Book Project: Three ways to join in this week! You can either share 3 or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert).
I wasn’t sure what to use for Be The Expert, then I realised people have been asking me about this, even recently, and I have an important point to make about timing …
Be the Expert (Guide?) – Books on Social Justice and Equality I’ve read this year
So this topic, especially Black Lives Matter, was certainly not just for 2020, even if the proliferation of lists and recommendations seems to have gone a bit quiet. I have continued reading books on social justice, marginalised people and equality/equity through this year (and always will do), using the groundswell in publishers’ interest to pick up books as they’re published. The book in the image is a case in point, “Black British Lives Matter” edited by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder pulls together pieces by Black British artists and activists and is just out and on its way to my bookshelf as I write this.
So here are the nonfiction books on social justice, marginalised people and equality I’ve read this year, all recommended (there’s a leaning towards the British experience here: our racism and class issues are quite different from the US, although just as insidious, and I’ve been trying to start from where I am). They’re in order of when I read them, not otherwise arranged. Note, these are books from the last year. I am adding categories for social justice – race, gender sex and sexuality, disability, class and neurodiversity this week so you can find all the books in a category on the blog not just these newer reads.
June Sarpong – “The Power of Privilege” – unpicking privilege and what we can do about it
Nikesh Shukla (ed.) – “The Good Immigrant” / “The Good Immigrant USA” – immigrant experiences in both countries
Reni Eddi-Lodge – “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race” – history and a call to action
Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené (eds.) – “Loud Black Girls” – essays by British Black women
Catrina Davies – “Homesick” – working class and housing inequality
Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff (ed.) – “Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children” – stories from people who came from the Caribbean to Britain in the 1950s and their descendants
Kenya Hunt – “Girl” – essays by a Black woman
Sathnam Sanghera – “Empireland” – the effect of Empire on Britain today
Christine Burns (ed.) – “Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows” – vital essays on the history and experience of trans people in the UK
Mike Parker – “On the Red Hill” – older and younger gay male couples and their different life experiences
Guvna B – “Unspoken” – race and class in South London
Jeffrey Weekes – “Between Worlds” – an exhaustive history of the gay liberation movement in Britain
Maya Angelou – “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” etc., – race relations in the US and Africa; so many statements we are still hearing today.
Danny Assaf – “Say Please and Thank you and Stand in Line” – the Lebanese community in Canada
Jonathan van Ness – “Over the Top” – a happy but still traumatic LGBTQIA+ life in America
Kit de Waal – “Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers” – class alive and well in Britain in this set of memoir pieces
Akala – “Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire” – race and class in Black communities in London and the UK
Juno Dawson – “Gender Games” – growing up trans in Britain
Anita Sethi – “I Belong Here” – woman of mixed heritage explores the British countryside
Nadiya Hussain – “Finding my Voice” – a British Bangladeshi life
Trystan Reese – “How We Do Family” – a trans man, his husband and their fight to have a child
Johny Pitts – “Afropean” – exploring African communities across Europe
Stormzy – “Rise Up” – class and race in music in the UK
David Olusoga – “Black and British” – history of Black people in and in association with Britain. Seminal. TV series also recommended, though different.
Damien Le Bas – “The Stopping Places” – the life of Travellers in the UK and Europe
Sophie Williams – “Anti Racist Ally” – provocative ideas and concrete things to do
Emma Dabiri – “What White People Can Do Next” – you thought the above was provocative!? Really made me think.
Pete Paphides – “Broken Greek” – growing up in the Greek Cypriot community in the Midlands
Armistead Maupin – “Logical Family” – creating a family when yours rejects you for being gay
Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff and Timi Sotire (eds.) – “Black Joy” – there’s joy, but often in overcoming challenges
Johnny Agar and Becky Agar – “The Impossible Mile” – a life lived well with cerebral palsy in the mix
Michaela Coel – “Misfits” – a call to be a misfit and to extend the ladder down to help other marginalised people in the entertainment industry
Shon Faye – “The Transgender Issue” – debunking the myths and showing the struggles of the trans community; a call for lifting all marginalised people through mutual aid
Hassan Akkad – “Hope, not Fear” – inspiring story of a man who escaped from Syria and joined the NHS, campaigning for refugees and low-paid workers
Raynor Winn – “The Salt Path” – class and homelessness and health
Anita Rani – “The Right Sort of Girl” – race and class and growing up unconventional in a traditional Indian expatriate community in Yorkshire
Something for everyone there, right?! and of course there are more to come!
Ask the Expert – Books on Returning (especially to Africa)
I’ve read quite a few books this year that have featured returns to African roots, whether that’s Afua Hirsch in “Brit(ish)” packing up her English life and going to live in Ghana for a few years, Alex Haley finding his tribe through language then finding his people in “Roots” or Maya Angelou living in Egypt and then Ghana, too, in her autobiographies, and discussing at length the experiences of mostly Americans who have ‘returned’ to Ghana. Toufah, of course, bravely returns to The Gambia to help justice be done, although she’s not away in Canada for very long. On the TV, Afua Hirsch’s African Renaissance series showed Jamaican people who have moved to Ethiopia to connect with the foundation of Rastafarianism, and I caught a bit of Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson on the TV, which had him reconnecting with his ancestral Benga tribe in Gabon and being welcomed into it in an emotional ceremony. So these returnees have been following me and interesting me.
I am aware of the book “Return” by Kamal Al-Solaylee, which looks at various returnees and includes a chapter on Africa, and I’ve read Jackie Kay’s “Red Dust Road“, in which she traces her Nigerian roots. Ore Agbaje-Williams and Nancy Adimora’s edited collection, “Of This Our Country” about Nigeria and Britain has some examples of writers who have gone from Britain to Nigeria. But there must be more narratives, preferably but not only modern ones, about people who have found their roots in Africa or tried going and living there and re-establishing a link with their ancestry and/or families.
Suggestions, please!
Nov 15, 2021 @ 10:30:08
Excellent point about the difference between American and British experience with racism and class issues.
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Nov 15, 2021 @ 15:52:58
Thank you! I just watched a very interesting documentary by Will.I.Am which looked into racism in the UK and US.
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Nov 15, 2021 @ 15:54:42
Oh, was that on YouTube?
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Nov 15, 2021 @ 15:56:51
We caught it on TV, part of Black History Month (last month, oops, but we did record a lot last month to watch) so it might be available on catch up on the ITV pages – https://www.itv.com/hub/will-i-am-the-blackprint/10a0996
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Nov 15, 2021 @ 15:58:40
Brilliant Thanks so much – I’ll give it a try.
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Nov 15, 2021 @ 16:07:00
Thank you Liz – you’ve been a great guide this year to books that are available out there, always offering a balanced and measured response, and reasoned coverage of the books and issues!
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 09:49:00
Thank you, and for your steadfast support of my getting diverse and social justice reading and reviews out there when it’s not been the most popular strand on the blog!
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Nov 15, 2021 @ 22:42:41
Such a wealth of ideas here. You truly are an expert! I was going to mention Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, but I can see you’ve already read it, though some years back. My book club discussed it last year and it mostly stood up to a reread for me — especially the Kenya section; not so much the Chicago part. (We’ve also done Red Dust Road, one of our most successful reads ever!)
I know this was geared towards nonfiction, but the rest of what comes to mind for me on your requested theme is fiction: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, some of the stories in Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, and Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo. I’ve read the first two but not the others.
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 10:08:48
Yes, I could do with rereading Dreams from my Father as it was indeed a long time ago (and thank you for searching and checking whether I’d read it!). Those novels are great, I loved Americanah and I’ve added Sankofa to my wishlist – thank you for those suggestions!
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 12:30:37
I also thought of Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi.
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 03:22:38
Those are just from this year?? Holy! You are indeed the expert. I just read an article about the proliferation of anti-racism book clubs and where they are now on Vox last week (most petered out, some are still going but losing purpose). Very American-centric. I’ve got a few Canadian titles I’d like to check out, Disorientation by Ian Williams at the top of the list (he won the Giller two years ago, this is his book of essays about being Black in Canada).
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 10:14:23
Yes, I’ve seen a fair bit of lamenting this year that our Black History Month (October) wasn’t as feted and pushed as last year, and that White people have given up on learning, so I think it’s really important to do the work and share the work and keep on reading and sharing (even when those posts are often the less popular ones!). I have reassured myself when adding my social justice categories on here that I have always read widely around race, gender, sociology etc. – mainly novels and memoirs on the race side until the last few years, and I’m now taking advantage of the bloom in publishing on these areas more widely to pick up the books then drip-feed them through. Plenty more to come.
I’ve added Williams’ book to my wishlist – I’ve read a couple of books set in Canada but there don’t seem to be many, so thanks for that rec!
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 05:55:18
You really dug deep on this topic. Should be bookmarked for future reading (I’m with Laura above, amazed at all you’ve done this year.) I need to make these a regular part of my reading diet.
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 10:16:30
I’m glad you feel it’s useful! As I said above, I’ve always read pretty widely but had to gain knowledge on race in particular through novels and memoirs, so I’ve grabbed all the essays and other analytical works that have been coming out, then drip fed the reading and reviewing of them back out onto the blog. Do let me know if you pick any of these to read!
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 07:58:04
I saw your comment on facebook, but good on you for putting in the hard yards and doing all this reading on what is a crucial issue if we are ever to have a properly equal society.
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 10:17:58
Thank you – comments like the ones on here make all the “write it and nobody comes” posts feel more worthwhile – not that people like you don’t turn up for them but I do get a noticeable lag in figures and comments when I post these reviews, which is troubling. That is starting to pull up though and I won’t be stopping – plenty more on the shelves and in the currently reading pile!
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 11:41:08
This is a comprehensive and thorough list. Beautifully done. I admire you for your work.
I can’t add to your list for adults, but I could suggest some books for children:
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
Change Sings by Amanda Gorman
In My Mosque by M. O. Yuksel
Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition)
Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers
Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
Speak Up by Miranda Paul
We Are the Change: Words of Inspiration from Civil Rights Leaders
Equality’s Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America
The World’s Poorest President Speaks Out
I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 11:44:00
That’s a great list, thank you, I wonder if someone will come up with something similar and UK-based, too! I was actually asking for recommendations on books about returning to one’s roots but this is a great resource, too, thanks.
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 15:46:03
What a comprehensive list, thank you for sharing it. I know these aren’t quite what you are looking for but you may be interested in the Growing Up in Australia series that includes Growing Up Disabled in Australia, Growing Up African in Australia, Growing Up African in Australia, Growing Up Asian in Australia, Growing Up Queer in Australia and Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
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Nov 16, 2021 @ 16:00:30
Oh, that does sound like a really interesting series, thank you – I am exploring a bit more about Indigenous Australian peoples in another book this month but am quite low on knowledge or resources about other marginalised groups.
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Nov 17, 2021 @ 05:37:20
This is a topic of interest to many of us I suspect Liz, and you’ve read a lot this year. I haven’t heard of most of them, let along have read them, but I did read Maya Angelou’s memoirs a long time ago. I read Maupin’s Tales of the city series yonks ago too, but haven’t read any nonfiction by him.
Thinking about categories, this is an area that is so hard to add categories for isn’t it? Are you going to use those categories for fiction or just nonfiction?
Finally, I did Become the expert, and for Ask the expert I chose the same topic and nominated “two” experts I’d ask. A bit different to the intention but I decided to give a shout out to a couple of bloggers this way!
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Nov 17, 2021 @ 10:56:06
I’m glad to find people are interested in this topic as I’ve found I often get less engagement with my posts on books about social justice type issues – though that is diminishing now and won’t stop me posting about them! I am loving Maya Angelou’s memoirs, had only ever read the first couple. And I read a lot of the Tales of the City but not all of the modern ones.
Regarding the categories, I decided to go for a few wide ones, social justice – race, – gender, sex and sexuality, – class, – disablity, and – neurodivergence, and I’ve added them to fiction and nonfiction, since I often use fiction to learn about different cultures, races, places and experiences, and fiction and memoir were often the only genres available until publishers decided to put out more analytical and critical works more recently. That also honours and demonstrates my lifelong commitment to reading widely about people’s lives which are different to my own, rather than it looking like bandwagon-jumping, as I think it’s important to set a good example where one can.
BTW can’t imagine why I wasn’t following your blog; you’re on my Feedly reader now!
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Nov 17, 2021 @ 11:32:02
Oops I told a lie … I’ve read the first 6 Tales of the City books, but not those from those century.
I think I’ll need to rethink my categories for this area. I haven’t been very thorough I notice and don’t have many categories anyhow.
Oh, and I thought I was following you too, and found I wasn’t!
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Nov 17, 2021 @ 16:05:38
Quite a variety of books. I am impressed by your knowledge and diversity in reading these nonfiction accounts. I seldom read about modern times/politics. I seem to be to depressed about the subject. It seems enough to read the papers every day. Having said that, I know I should read more contemporary nonfiction and I will definitely look into your expert advice here. I have only read Maya Angelous’ wonderful book. The last contemporary book I read was Barak Obama’s ‘Dreams from my Father’ which I liked very much. I am still listening to Michelle Obama’s memoirs. Maybe I should have read them instead. Interesting, but sometimes a little bit too detailed. Probably, because I don’t like audiobooks so much.
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Nov 17, 2021 @ 16:08:44
I don’t read much about politics in the governmental sense, just politics with a small p. Obama’s “Dreams” was amazing and I should re-read it as I read it ages ago. I want to read Michelle Obama’s book, too, definitely on my list. Maya Angelou’s books have been an absolute delight, I’d only ever read the first two before! I hope you find something interesting to read here, and look forward to hearing what you think of whatever you do pick up.
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Nov 19, 2021 @ 03:39:10
I kept thinking this was a brilliantly curated list and then I had to remind myself that these are just what you’ve read this year. There are several of these that are definitely making their way on my TBR pile: Loud Black Girls, Trans Britain, On the Red Hill, and The Transgender Issue for sure.
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 13:01:39
Thank you! I’ve added categories for these kinds of books now which should make it easier to find more. Those are great choices and I look forward to hearing what you think of them all. If you haven’t yet read “Slay in Your Lane” by the editors of “Loud Black Girls”, I’d recommend you read that, too, as they work really well together.
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Nov 19, 2021 @ 17:33:28
Yes so appreciate this continued dedication to reading books by marginalized authors and about social justice issues! It is sad and unfortunate that oftentimes people will only try to work on equity and justice issues immediately after a big tragedy, when the work requires much more consistent dedication. Glad you’re able to recommend and offer these titles to your readers.
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 13:02:46
Thank you for your kind and continued support of what I’m trying to do. Just took delivery of two more social justice books (see my Twitter or my state of the TBR post for December!) so the fight goes on, and I still have a fair few on the TBR in between, too.
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Nov 19, 2021 @ 20:31:43
Love your expert topic! I’ve only read a few of these so it’s nice to get your recommendations. I recently finished “Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality” by Sarah McBride. It was very good.
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 13:05:17
That’s a good recommendation, thank you. The US attitude and publications on trans issues have really affected the UK situation, too, although we then used our own legal system to make things harder for trans people (see my review coming out tomorrow).
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 03:12:36
This is an impressive list!!
My post is about graphic nonfiction: https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/11/15/nonfiction-november-2021-expert-on-graphic-nonfiction/
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 13:05:56
Thank you – I enjoyed your one, too, such a different topic to cover. I do love this week, where there never seem to be any overlaps and we can learn so much!
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 09:41:56
Brilliant post, you have read such an incredible range of books this year, and shone a light on important but also fascinating subjects. That difference between the racism in the UK and US is very interesting. I see you mention the Will.i.am documentary in the comments above, I would love to watch that.
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 13:06:30
Thank you, and I’m glad you’ve been able to find and watch the Will.i.am documentary, it was really revealing and powerful, wasn’t it.
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 16:02:06
I am so impressed with your reading on this topic! Incredible that you’ve covered so many different areas too! I added Girl to my list a long time ago based on your review but still haven’t managed to get to it. I’m bookmarking this for so many good recommendations!!
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Nov 20, 2021 @ 16:23:24
Thank you – how lovely! I have added categories now, too, so that should help people find older reads in these areas.
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Nov 22, 2021 @ 01:53:04
I find it quite astonishing just how few of these books are on my reading radar here, even though I read widely in these subjects. And I know that most of the books that I read about the Canadian experience (I second Laura’s rec of Ian Williams, BTW, which I wrote about just last week on BIP) are not available in the U.S. either. I wonder if this is another way of perpetuating division within “communities”. I’m sure the experience of prejudice does vary from country to country, but equally sure there are universal elements too. I know I rec’d Al-Solaylee’s book to you but it’s international in scope and from one of the Big Five publishers; I wonder if there’d be any point in sharing any of the others…whether they’ve been determined to be of “regional interest” and are available only in the author’s country.
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Nov 22, 2021 @ 07:38:33
It is difficult as I find Canadian books hard to source here often. I would like to see info about any others on “returning” you know about, if you have time and energy, just in case I can get hold of them, as I haven’t had that much response to my call for that side of things (maybe there isn’t anything!).
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Nonfiction November Week 5: New to my TBR | Adventures in reading, running and working from home
Dec 03, 2021 @ 09:01:06
Dec 20, 2021 @ 11:41:11