I Really Will Read These One Day

Beyond the Book: Books I really really want to read

Hey y’all!

I’m still plugging away at my book which is absolutely in it’s fourth trimester. And while I’m writing a book, it’s very hard for me to find time or energy to read for pleasure. Which really sucks. Because books.

I receive books in the mail from authors and publishers pretty frequently and there are so many that look amazing that I also know I won’t have time to read until I ….I don’t know, retire???

But in recent weeks I’ve received some books that I just keep lovingly staring at and I feel strongly in my bones that I will read them and I will be better for it.

Black Disability Politics, by Sami Schalk. I’ve had the privilege of getting to speak with Schalk for my upcoming book and if you aren’t familiar with her or her work, please get accquainted. Her work in Disability Justice and documenting Black Disabled life and history is so wonderful. This book is one that is already making great waves through the BIPOC DJ world, and even a brief thumb-thru makes it easy to see why. I’m very excited to read this.

It’s Always Been Ours: Rewriting the Story of Black Women’s Bodies, by Jessica Wilson, MS, RD. This book looks at body liberation and Black women’s bodies and the way in which white supremacy and capitalism have shaped our relationships with our bodies. It has ringing endorsements from both Sonya Renee Taylor and Roxane Gay. Need I say more?

The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs, by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Not only is Leah an amazing writer and thinker on Disability Justice and Transformative Justice, they are a good friend of mine (and one of my spouse’s absolute closest friends). Leah could write me a grocery list and I’m sure that it would somehow manage to teach me something important about life. You should read everything they write all the time.

The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America, by Carol Anderson. Good analysis on why the US is as fucked up as it is isn’t exactly going to be a fun read, but it is always an important read. Anderson is wonderful at pulling together the threads of our history to show the true, often horrific tapestry of this country and I’m sure that this book will be no different.

Let Your Light Shine: How Mindfulness Can Empower Children and Rebuild Communities, by Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez. This book tells the story of the authors, who have spent 20 years teaching yoga, meditation and breathwork to at-risk kids in Baltimore schools. I feel like the importance of healing work and joy work in our communities is often overlooked in the larger battle against systemic oppression, and I look forward to reading about this important work.

So there you have it, some books that I’m really really really planning on reading very soon. What books are you looking forward to reading? What books have you recently read and loved and want to add to our to-read lists? Let us know in the comments.