So You Want to Talk About Race (backordered as of 7/15/20) by Ijeoma Oluo is a fantastic book. While I was disappointed that Oluo did not read it herself, the narrator did a good job. I’ve done a lot of driving back and forth to the beach this summer and this was a great listen. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 8 about schools and Chapter 12 on microagressions. Overall, though, it provided such a great way to think about talking about race and issues of race. I also appreciated the stories she told about her own life experiences. Some of the book repeated information I have learned in other books, but overall, if there is only one book you choose to read about race this summer, I would choose this one.

I’m lukewarm on Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe. On the one hand, it was an interesting story about a gay teenager whose mother goes to jail and he moves in with his aunt and befriends the girl next door. On the other hand, it was a bit overly detailed for me. Amazon describes it: “With storytelling as intoxicating as it is intelligent, Rufi Thorpe has created a tragic and unflinching portrait of identity, a fascinating examination of our struggles to exist in our bodies, and an excruciatingly beautiful story of two humans aching for connection.” I don’t disagree with this description, but even though it gets rave reviews on Amazon, it wasn’t particularly my favorite.

I generally enjoy books by Curtis Sittenfeld and put Rodham on my summer TBR list a few months ago. Lucky for me, the DCPL and MCPL were swimming in available Kindle titles this summer and I got so many books for free! I really enjoyed this story. It took what could have happened if Hillary had not married Bill and ran with it. While I didn’t realize this at first and was a bit confused when she broke up with him, I had said, as reading about their dating life, “Geez, why did she marry him?” and then, she didn’t. It was very satisfying and had a particularly satisfying ending, which I won’t spoil for you. This is a fun romp and I would recommend it!

White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo has been on my shelf for a while. I read What Does it Mean to be White (reviewed here) in a book group at school and heard her speak at a conference. White Fragility was a quick read, and one that reiterated a number of the same ideas in What Does it Mean to be White. However, there were a number of good take-aways, especially in the last chapter, “Where Do We Go from Here.” This is a good primer on the concept of white fragility and includes useful information and things to think about in one’s own experience.

Red Dress in Black & White by Elliot Ackerman ended up on my TBR list somehow and then was also recommended by a friend. It all takes place in one day with flashbacks to earlier times. It’s the story of an American expat living in Istanbul who seeks to take her son and leave her husband. I slogged through this one until about the last quarter. The pace picked up and the story became much more interesting. On the whole, however, even with the better last quarter, I don’t recommend this one. I didn’t like the characters and didn’t really care about what happened to them.

How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi is everywhere right now and you are lucky if you can get your hands on a copy (link is to local Mahogany Books where it is presently – July 14, 2020 – backordered). How to be an Antiracist included a good amount of the history found in Stamped (reviewed here) but woven in and among personal stories and Kendi’s own theories on racism and antiracism. I enjoyed reading Kendi’s own stories and learned a great deal from his theories, but, in moments, found the text a bit dry. I imagine this is mostly because I just read Stamped where the style (Jason Reynolds’) is quite different. Overall, however, How to be an Antiracist is an informative and important read.

“The history of racist ideas is the history of powerful policy-makers erecting racist policies out of self-interest, then producing racist ideas to defend and rationalized the inequitable effects of their policies, while everyday people consume those racist ideas, which in turn sparks ignorance and hate. Treating ignorance and hate and expecting racism to shrink suddenly seemed like treading a cancer patient’s symptoms and expecting the tumors to shrink. The body politic might feel better momentarily from the treatment–from trying to eradicate hate and ignorance–but as long as the underlying cause remains, the tumors grow, the symptoms return, and inequities spread like cancer cells, threatening the life of the body politic. Educational and moral suasion is not only a failed strategy. It is a suicidal strategy.”

(page 230)

All Adults Here by Emma Straub has been on many summer reading lists this year (including my own planned summer want-to-read list). It’s the story of a family of three siblings and their fraught relationships. The beginning bodes well – a jarring incident where a woman in the town is struck and killed by the school bus – to get you into the story, but overall, the book was cold and I didn’t like any of the characters. Perhaps that was part of the point, but I didn’t find it an enjoyable read.

I didn’t realize when I grabbed Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad that it is a workbook, designed almost as a course to help you understand systemic racism and your own biases. Since I listened to it on a long drive, I wasn’t able to participate in the journalling, but everything about this book was food for thought and would be perfect for a group to read and work through together. My kids and I listened to Me and White Supremacy and it gave us opportunity to have some deeper discussions as a family. The book is based on a viral Instagram challenge that asks readers/listeners to: examine their own white privilege; understand what allyship really means; learn about anti-blackness, racial stereotypes, and cultural appropriation; change the way they view and respond to race; and continue the work to create social change. In essence the book gives you the language to understand racism, and to dismantle your own biases. I would think it would be a great book to use anywhere to lead discussion and promote change.

The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester was a perfect beach read. WWII (I know, I know, how many WWII books can one person read) and family saga back and forth in time – just what I like. In one story we meet Estrella, a seamstress in Paris who is forced to leave for America to stay safe. In the other, we meet her granddaughter, Fabienne, who has similar talents. There’s mystery, love, intrigue – all the elements that keep you reading in a 400+ page novel. And, it’s a good one. Thanks to my neighbor for lending it to me – it’s a great choice.