February 15, 2025 • 23 mins
As we celebrate Black History Month, the Distracted Librarians share recommendations from their favorite Black authors and discuss the importance of representation in literature.
Want to join the conversation? Email us at distracted@btpl.org
Many thanks to BCTV for their support in recording, editing, and releasing this podcast; and to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring closed captioning on every episode.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
(Nicole) - Hey there.
(00:01):
Welcome to the "DistractedLibrarians Podcast".
We're your friendly neighborhoodbookworms with a penchant
for all things pop culture.
(Drew) - Picture thisas our digital campfire
where we dive into our latest obsessions,
analyze our favorite distractions,
and rediscover the joy of reading.
(Killian) - Whether you're amedia enthusiast, a book lover,
or just need a break from the daily grind,
(00:23):
you've come to the right spot.
(Amanda) - So kick back, relax
and get delightfully distracted with us.
(Drew) - Hello, welcomeinto another episode
of "Distracted Librarians",my name is Drew,
(Killian) - I'm Killian.
(Amanda) - I'm Amanda.
(Drew) - And today, weare gonna talk about some
of our favoritecontemporary Black authors,
and why it's important to read diversely,
(00:46):
and with a fixation on Black authors.
So why is it important tohighlight books by Black authors?
I could keep going.
(hosts laughing)
(Killian) - Well, like it's one
of my favorite thingsabout books is being able
to read stories from different people
and different perspectives,
(01:07):
and kind of figure out how
other people in the world see the world.
Getting outside of my own perspective.
(Drew) - I think that is really important,
because when I'm choosingbooks for myself,
it is not a very diverselist until I choose
to actively pursue it,which is probably something
(01:28):
that I need to work on as well.
But it's always so interesting to see
how they perceive the world.
(Amanda) - I also thinkit's important for everyone
to see themselves reflected in a story.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm(Killian) - Absolutely.
(Amanda) - And so it givespossibly a different perspective
(01:53):
or even just like a perspective
that is one where a kid can see themselves
in that character.
So I think it's very, veryimportant to always have
Black authors highlightedas well as, like you said,
diversity in general in thecollection and in stories.
(02:16):
(Drew) - Also, just speakingas librarians, we need
to have a very diverserepertoire of titles
that we at the very least know about
and at the most canrecommend to anyone coming up
to the desk who islooking for stories that
they could see themselves in,
or stories that are representativeof their experiences.
(02:37):
We need that broad base.
(Killian) - Yeah, and notevery person who comes up
to the desk is looking forbooks that are my personal taste
or your personal taste.
So like it makes sense for usto keep track of the things
that are out there by differentpeople for different people
so that we can help everyreader find their book.
(02:59):
(Amanda) - I also think thatby highlighting Black authors,
you are more accuratelyhighlighting American history,
because Black history is American history,
and so, you know,
you're not gonna get the wholestory if you aren't including
the stories of Black authors.
(03:19):
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.
(Amanda) - So on many, manylevels, I think it's a great
way to yeah, get that accurate history of,
specifically in the US, butof course across the world.
(Drew) - There's also something that's
so interesting aboutlooking into Black authors,
(03:39):
or indigenous authors, orMuslim authors or what have you,
because they're stillgoing to span every genre.
(Killian) - Mm-hmm.(Amanda) - Mm.
(Drew) - You know, every timethat I've gone looking for
a Black author to read, becauseI haven't in a month or two,
or whatever,
I can always find somethingstill within the range of titles
that I would otherwise be interested in.
(04:05):
So... (laughs)
I have no plan.
So there are a lot of the classic titles
that get talked about,
and those are the ones thatcome up in school curriculums.
The James Baldwins, theToni Morrisons of the World.
(04:26):
I remember being a huge fan
of "Beloved" when I was in high school.
It was the one that thatthey had me read from,
from that set, that, andI wanna say "Black Boy"
by Richard Wright.
(Amanda) - Mm-hmm.(Killian) - Yes.
(Killian) - Yep, yeah, Iknow my American Lit class,
we read "Their Eyes Were WatchingGod" by Zora Neil Hurston,
and I remember enjoyingthat one when we read it.
(04:48):
I couldn't tell you muchabout it now anymore.
(Drew) - I know.(Killian) - We talked about my aversion
to classics on this podcast though.
(Drew) - We sure have.
Which I think is why we,
for the next several minutes are going
to focus more on the contemporaryside of things, the ones
that we were more likely tohave read in more recent years.
(05:09):
Titles that we found that may speak
to the Black Experience,
or may just have beenwritten by Black authors.
What are some of your favorites?
(Killian) - I, in looking for booksto BookTok several years back,
I found the book "Genesis Begins Again"
by Alicia D Williams.
(05:31):
And the author was born in Detroit,
and is now in North Carolina,
but "Genesis Begins Again"was her debut novel,
and she pulls on thoseexperiences living in Detroit
to write about a Blackgirl living in Detroit
and dealing with a lot of the things
(05:51):
that Black girls, butalso like any kids living
in Detroit might encounter.
And I think that it gives youa really interesting insight
into some things that willaffect the main character,
because she is a Black girl.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.
(Killian) - But also that affect the kids
around her in her school who aren't Black,
(06:12):
Those are the experiences of childhood.
And it was just really well written
and very easy to readeven though the topics
in this book are not easy.
And so that's one
that I will often recommendwhen kids are like,
"I am looking forsomething set in Michigan."
Or, "I am looking for somethingthat is realistic fiction."
(06:37):
Making sure that thatis in my list of things
to recommend just becauseI really enjoyed it.
It was a contender for a lot of awards,
so it has like that stamp
of approval if thatmeans something to you.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.
(Killian) - And yeah,that's one of my favorites.
(Amanda) - So one of myfavorite authors in general
(07:01):
is Jesmyn Ward.
So she wrote her memoir,"The Men We Reaped".
She also did "Sing Unburied Sing",
which was a 2017 NationalBook Award winner.
And when you read her writing,
I feel like she is channeling something.
(07:21):
It's very poetic, it's lyrical,
specifically "Sing UnburiedSing", it's like haunting,
and it dealt with issuesof generational trauma,
and also some literal ghosts.
And reading her writing is a bit
of like a spiritual experience.
(07:42):
I didn't actually knowthis until I looked it up,
but "Sing Unburied Sing"is the third book in sort
of like a loose trilogy.
(Drew) - Oh...
(Amanda) - Starting withher first novel, which was
"Where the Line Bleeds",
which I have unfortunately not read,
but I wanna go back and read it now.
And then followed by "Salvage the Bones".
(08:04):
I also didn't know thisuntil I was looking sort
of revisiting her.
She was a 2017 MacArthurGenius Grant winner,
and her most recent bookis "Let Us Descend".
So highly recommend her.
She's, I actually featured"Sing Unburied Sing"
(08:25):
for a book club,
and it was not well received.
(Drew laughs)
I think if you are someone who like loves
literary books that are going
to use experimental writing styles
(08:46):
or a lot of symbolism, she is for you,
if you are someone whowants like a happy ending,
I mean, the subjects she deals with
are definitely thegenerational effects of racism
and slavery in the United States,
which is a really toughtopic I think for some people
to think about.
(09:09):
But I think it's alsowhy she's so important,
and why writing about thesethings is important so that
people can get a view
that is really personal,
because you're delvinginto a specific character,
and you're getting detailson what their life is like.
So she's high on my list.
(09:30):
(Drew) - Well, one of myfavorite reads of 2024,
that I would've goneoff the deep end talking
about in our Best of 2024 episode,
if it hadn't been a '23public publication date,
was "Chain-Gang All-Stars"by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
I think I have talked aboutit here before at some point,
but it's, oh, so, so good.
(09:52):
It's a mashup of the USprison industrial complex
and reality TV.
So it gives inmates who are in prison
for at least 25 years for,you know, violent offenses,
the chance to enter intothese like death matches,
like gladiator type battles
to eventually earn their freedom.
(10:16):
And you know, the main character
that follows is a womannamed Loretta Thurwar,
who is the closest to freedomthat anyone has ever gotten
outside of the one like tokenperson that they let win.
So that there was proof
that the system would work, I guess.
The book is so fixatedon this whole experiment
(10:39):
that it covers it from theperspective of the inmates,
from the jailers, from theTV producers, the fans,
the protestors, really,really interesting stuff.
It's interesting to lookat it from the perspective
of him being a Black author,
because the main characters are Black,
(11:00):
and live in their Blackness,
but that's not really a fixation of them
because they are also these female inmates
in a war battle system.
There's enough going on,
but the,
it's the authors look at theprison industrial complex,
and his relationship to it
as a black man in America.
(11:24):
(Amanda) - What year did this?
Was being portrayed?
(Drew) - It's near future.(Amanda) - Okay.
- I don't think theyput an exact date on it,
but definitely near future.
Like all of the structuresof today's society are there.
It's just, this is a thing in it.
(Amanda) - I mean, how resonant,
as inmates fight fires in California.
(11:48):
(Drew) - Yeah, there is that.(Amanda) - Wow
(Drew) - But there was one linefrom the book that has stuck
with me really hard, thatwas talking about how
how easy it is for the fansof the show to dehumanize them
and see them as, you know, TV characters
and how it was easiest
(12:09):
and how the producers ofthe show would be thrilled
that biggest stars were Black women,
because they were theeasiest to dismiss as people.
(Killian) - Mm.(Amanda) - MM.
(Drew) - And that was something,
(Amanda) - Yeah, hittingon some truth there.
(Drew) - Yeah.(Killian) - Yeah.
(Drew) - I also readthat for my book club.
And like five of us thoughtit was the best book
that we've ever read, andthe rest didn't finish it
(12:32):
because it was too violent.
(Amanda) - Mm-hmm, yeah.
(Drew) - And that was anamazing conversation to have.
It was a really cool,cool hour of my life.
- Yeah, that's awesome.
- Don't mind me,
I'm just adding booksto my TBR as we talk.
(hosts laughing)
(Drew) - That's how it should be.
(12:54):
(Amanda) - Another one I loved isCharmaine Wilkerson's "Black Cake".
So that has gotten a lotof hype lately, especially
because, I mean it's a great book,
but also it was madeinto a series on Hulu.
So if you wanna jumpstraight to the series,
I haven't seen the series yet,
but it follows a family fromthe Caribbean to England
(13:15):
to the United States.
So you have these different generations
and it focuses on African diaspora
and specifically Black cake being
a traditional Caribbean cake.
That was significant toone of the characters
and sort of how food can be a way
(13:36):
to transfer culture and stories.
Super enjoyable read.
Pulls you through in theauthor's writing style,
and now she has a new bookout called "Good Dirt",
which I'm excited to read as well.
The other thing that Iactually really wanna watch,
(13:57):
the Hulu series, is becausethe, it focuses on characters
that are open ocean,long distance swimmers.
(Drew) - Oh...
(Amanda) - Which sounds like themost terrifying thing to me ever.
(Drew) - It sure does.(Killian) - Yeah.
(Amanda) - And to be able
to see a visual component of that,
I can just imagine theexpanses of beautiful ocean
(14:18):
with sunlight hitting the waves.
And I think it's gonnabe a really good series.
(Drew) - I'm horrified for the people
who swim the EnglishChannel, and that's bordered.
(Amanda) - (laughs) Yes, yes.
(Killian) - I'm gonna comeback to another kids' one,
and I'm gonna kind of startgoing towards some genre things.
(Drew) - Yes.(Killian) - Because that's what I read.
(14:39):
I am a genre fictiongirl through and through.
Books that came outta nowhere.
And I say this, like I've read the ones
that have come out since, and I haven't,
because again, I struggle
to read sometimes in general, just sitting
down and actually doing it.
But the "Amari and the Night Brothers"
(15:00):
series by B.B. Alston,
when the first book came out
and I picked that book up,I could not put it down.
And it is like the topcontender on my list of books
for books
that are like a certain other series
that I don't recommendanymore With a magical school.
(15:24):
So it's about this girl who finds out
that there is this wholeother world kind of parallel
to ours that has all of this magic
and technology that ours does not have.
And that her brother wasvery, very involved in it,
and that's why he was gone a lot.
And then, that he has now been,
(15:46):
he's now disappeared, he's now missing.
So she decides that she's going to go in
and figure out how to get him back,
because he is one of the mostimportant people in her world.
And going in,
she finds out some thingsabout herself that kind of
set her at odds with this worldthat she's found herself in
(16:07):
But also, like people want to support her,
but also people want tobring her down type of thing,
which I think feels very part of
that Black experience with people wanting
to put Black people ona pedestal in one way,
but also not let themsucceed type of thing.
(16:30):
So seeing kind of how that'sat play in the first book,
I have the second book,
I believe the third book has come out now.
So many people who I'verecommended this book to,
and given them the first book as a gift
and that sort of thing,have raced through it
and they're like, "Oh my gosh,
I wanna talk to you about it,"
and I'm like, "I haven'tgotten to it yet, sorry."
(hosts laugh)
Sorry,
I, so it's books 2 and 3 are on my list.
(16:51):
But it is a really great
example of genre fiction storytelling
and bringing all of those things
that we love about genre fiction
and while also addressinglike issues in our world.
(Drew) - That is one of thefunniest Patron interactions,
I'll give like a book one that I loved,
(17:11):
and then they'll come back.
I'm on book seven, what are your thoughts?
I'm like, "I did not read past book one."
- I've never got thereyet, and I'm so sorry.
(hosts laughing)
I had so many otherthings I had to read too.
- In the category of genre fiction,
one of my other favorites was a YA Romance
by Julian Winters called"As You Walk On By",
(17:32):
it's a really cute story.
It's at a house party
that this kid's high schoolfriends are throwing.
And he is very antisocial, introverted.
So about halfway throughthe party he retreats
to one of the bedrooms,
and just hangs out in there to decompress.
And the vast majority of thebook is just his interactions
(17:54):
with the people who walkby the room that he's in.
And like he has these littlesnippets of moments with them,
and his crush is there of course.
And they have their littleflirty, flirty moments.
Shockingly he keeps coming to walk
by the room over and over.
It's just a really, reallycute, cute teen book.
(18:15):
I don't read enough teen romances anymore.
I told myself that I'dnever let myself age
out of that range.
(Killian)- And then it started happening.
(Drew) - And then itstarted happening and-
(Killian) - Yeah...(Amanda) - Was it aging out
or were you expandinginto other type of books?
(Drew) - Six and onehalf dozen in the other
(Amanda) - Yeah.
(18:36):
(Drew) - YA obviouslycovers a large range of
ages for protagonists.
And the books that arewritten for the like 12
to 15 range are harder for me now
in ways that the like16 to 18 crowd aren't.
(18:58):
(Amanda) - Yeah.
(Drew) - But you never quite know
until you get into it, whichrange is gonna be written for.
(Amanda) - Mm-hmm.
(Drew) - So that's always fun.
(Amanda) - I've found thata couple of books that were
written for more of youralmost tween 12 year olds were
some of the most charming ones.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.(Killian) - Mm-hmm, yeah.
(19:21):
(Drew) - So we can talk about,now that we've talked about
some of our, you know, ourfavorite contemporaries.
We can talk about someof the common themes
that exist in Black literature.
We've mentioned, youknow, Black excellence
and Black joy several times,
but there are also thenegatives that they are
unfortunately more able thanothers to portray in the,
(19:43):
racism and systemic issues of the world.
(Amanda) - Of course,and I think that's again,
another reason why readingfrom Black authors is
so important, becauseyou're gonna get a firsthand
experience, you're, or a perspective,
and be able to speakabout it intelligently.
(20:05):
I don't know when theterm "microaggressions"
came into the public vernacular,
but that was something that I think
that a Black person introduced,
and had to sort of explain it-
(Drew) - Yeah.
(Amanda) - To the general publicand be like, "This is what
This is." And I thinkthat it was maybe be,
(20:28):
I'm sure being portrayed in books,
but it was one of those things where it's,
you don't get it ifyou aren't in that body
and in that experience.
So being able to
see race racism throughthe lens of a black person
is an essential thing.
(20:51):
And I think a narrative form,like a novel is a great way to
explain that and portray that.
(Drew) - Yeah.
(Killian) - And people will say like,
"Oh, I don't wanna read thatbecause it's uncomfortable."
Because it makes meuncomfortable, and it should be.
It's supposed to be,
and it's learning to be uncomfortable.
(21:11):
And then understand that
you were uncomfortable in this moment.
(Drew) - Yeah, there was one book-
(Killian) - For somepeople, that's their life.
(Amanda) - Yeah.
(Drew) - There was one bookthat I read for book club
like two years ago,"The Sweetness of Water"
by Nathan Harris.
And it was one of those things
that made me think about a perspective
that I'd never had before.
(21:31):
It's immediately
after the Civil War when theEmancipation Proclamation
happened and you know, everythingwas supposed to be okay,
and this small town in, Ithink Georgia of, you know,
the immediate aftermath
and the plantations thatwere falling into disrepair
and the ways that, you know,
obviously society still was not ready
(21:54):
to embrace the fact that, you know,
Black people could exist inthe area as not slaves again.
And it was just, I, I've never,
I've always thought about the Civil War
as its own like exclusivething that ended in 1865.
And I was like, "What about 1866?"
(22:14):
was something that I'dnever thought about.
(Amanda) - Yeah, and theentire reconstruction period
and everything after that.
(Drew) - Right.
(Killian) - And it's easy toignore those things if they
don't affect you as an individual.
Whereas when you readabout someone's experience
who experiences those things going on in
that continuation, it opens your eyes.
(22:35):
(Drew) - Yeah.
All right, well we would loveto hear some of your favorites
that you have read over thepast several, many years.
Please school us on the classics
that we have forgotten the plots about.
And thank you all for joining us.
(Nicole) - Thank you forjoining us for this episode
of "Distracted Librarians".
(22:56):
(Drew) - Many thanks to BCTVfor their support in recording,
editing, and releasing this podcast.
And to the friends of the library
for sponsoring closedcaptioning on every episode.
(Killian) - If you have any questions
or suggestions, feel free to reach out
to us at distracted@btpl.org.
(Amanda) - Until then,keep those pages turning
and those screens lighting up.
(23:16):
We'll catch you in the next episode.
(Emily) - The views and opinions expressed
in the "Distracted Librarians Podcast"
do not necessarily reflect those
of Bloomfield Township, BloomfieldTownship Public Library,
Bloomfield Community Television,
the Birmingham Area CableBoard, or its producers
or production staff.
(Nicole) - Hey there.
(00:01):
Welcome to the "DistractedLibrarians Podcast".
We're your friendly neighborhoodbookworms with a penchant
for all things pop culture.
(Drew) - Picture thisas our digital campfire
where we dive into our latest obsessions,
analyze our favorite distractions,
and rediscover the joy of reading.
(Killian) - Whether you're amedia enthusiast, a book lover,
or just need a break from the daily grind,
(00:23):
you've come to the right spot.
(Amanda) - So kick back, relax
and get delightfully distracted with us.
(Drew) - Hello, welcomeinto another episode
of "Distracted Librarians",my name is Drew,
(Killian) - I'm Killian.
(Amanda) - I'm Amanda.
(Drew) - And today, weare gonna talk about some
of our favoritecontemporary Black authors,
and why it's important to read diversely,
(00:46):
and with a fixation on Black authors.
So why is it important tohighlight books by Black authors?
I could keep going.
(hosts laughing)
(Killian) - Well, like it's one
of my favorite thingsabout books is being able
to read stories from different people
and different perspectives,
(01:07):
and kind of figure out how
other people in the world see the world.
Getting outside of my own perspective.
(Drew) - I think that is really important,
because when I'm choosingbooks for myself,
it is not a very diverselist until I choose
to actively pursue it,which is probably something
(01:28):
that I need to work on as well.
But it's always so interesting to see
how they perceive the world.
(Amanda) - I also thinkit's important for everyone
to see themselves reflected in a story.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm(Killian) - Absolutely.
(Amanda) - And so it givespossibly a different perspective
(01:53):
or even just like a perspective
that is one where a kid can see themselves
in that character.
So I think it's very, veryimportant to always have
Black authors highlightedas well as, like you said,
diversity in general in thecollection and in stories.
(02:16):
(Drew) - Also, just speakingas librarians, we need
to have a very diverserepertoire of titles
that we at the very least know about
and at the most canrecommend to anyone coming up
to the desk who islooking for stories that
they could see themselves in,
or stories that are representativeof their experiences.
(02:37):
We need that broad base.
(Killian) - Yeah, and notevery person who comes up
to the desk is looking forbooks that are my personal taste
or your personal taste.
So like it makes sense for usto keep track of the things
that are out there by differentpeople for different people
so that we can help everyreader find their book.
(02:59):
(Amanda) - I also think thatby highlighting Black authors,
you are more accuratelyhighlighting American history,
because Black history is American history,
and so, you know,
you're not gonna get the wholestory if you aren't including
the stories of Black authors.
(03:19):
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.
(Amanda) - So on many, manylevels, I think it's a great
way to yeah, get that accurate history of,
specifically in the US, butof course across the world.
(Drew) - There's also something that's
so interesting aboutlooking into Black authors,
(03:39):
or indigenous authors, orMuslim authors or what have you,
because they're stillgoing to span every genre.
(Killian) - Mm-hmm.(Amanda) - Mm.
(Drew) - You know, every timethat I've gone looking for
a Black author to read, becauseI haven't in a month or two,
or whatever,
I can always find somethingstill within the range of titles
that I would otherwise be interested in.
(04:05):
So... (laughs)
I have no plan.
So there are a lot of the classic titles
that get talked about,
and those are the ones thatcome up in school curriculums.
The James Baldwins, theToni Morrisons of the World.
(04:26):
I remember being a huge fan
of "Beloved" when I was in high school.
It was the one that thatthey had me read from,
from that set, that, andI wanna say "Black Boy"
by Richard Wright.
(Amanda) - Mm-hmm.(Killian) - Yes.
(Killian) - Yep, yeah, Iknow my American Lit class,
we read "Their Eyes Were WatchingGod" by Zora Neil Hurston,
and I remember enjoyingthat one when we read it.
(04:48):
I couldn't tell you muchabout it now anymore.
(Drew) - I know.(Killian) - We talked about my aversion
to classics on this podcast though.
(Drew) - We sure have.
Which I think is why we,
for the next several minutes are going
to focus more on the contemporaryside of things, the ones
that we were more likely tohave read in more recent years.
(05:09):
Titles that we found that may speak
to the Black Experience,
or may just have beenwritten by Black authors.
What are some of your favorites?
(Killian) - I, in looking for booksto BookTok several years back,
I found the book "Genesis Begins Again"
by Alicia D Williams.
(05:31):
And the author was born in Detroit,
and is now in North Carolina,
but "Genesis Begins Again"was her debut novel,
and she pulls on thoseexperiences living in Detroit
to write about a Blackgirl living in Detroit
and dealing with a lot of the things
(05:51):
that Black girls, butalso like any kids living
in Detroit might encounter.
And I think that it gives youa really interesting insight
into some things that willaffect the main character,
because she is a Black girl.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.
(Killian) - But also that affect the kids
around her in her school who aren't Black,
(06:12):
Those are the experiences of childhood.
And it was just really well written
and very easy to readeven though the topics
in this book are not easy.
And so that's one
that I will often recommendwhen kids are like,
"I am looking forsomething set in Michigan."
Or, "I am looking for somethingthat is realistic fiction."
(06:37):
Making sure that thatis in my list of things
to recommend just becauseI really enjoyed it.
It was a contender for a lot of awards,
so it has like that stamp
of approval if thatmeans something to you.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.
(Killian) - And yeah,that's one of my favorites.
(Amanda) - So one of myfavorite authors in general
(07:01):
is Jesmyn Ward.
So she wrote her memoir,"The Men We Reaped".
She also did "Sing Unburied Sing",
which was a 2017 NationalBook Award winner.
And when you read her writing,
I feel like she is channeling something.
(07:21):
It's very poetic, it's lyrical,
specifically "Sing UnburiedSing", it's like haunting,
and it dealt with issuesof generational trauma,
and also some literal ghosts.
And reading her writing is a bit
of like a spiritual experience.
(07:42):
I didn't actually knowthis until I looked it up,
but "Sing Unburied Sing"is the third book in sort
of like a loose trilogy.
(Drew) - Oh...
(Amanda) - Starting withher first novel, which was
"Where the Line Bleeds",
which I have unfortunately not read,
but I wanna go back and read it now.
And then followed by "Salvage the Bones".
(08:04):
I also didn't know thisuntil I was looking sort
of revisiting her.
She was a 2017 MacArthurGenius Grant winner,
and her most recent bookis "Let Us Descend".
So highly recommend her.
She's, I actually featured"Sing Unburied Sing"
(08:25):
for a book club,
and it was not well received.
(Drew laughs)
I think if you are someone who like loves
literary books that are going
to use experimental writing styles
(08:46):
or a lot of symbolism, she is for you,
if you are someone whowants like a happy ending,
I mean, the subjects she deals with
are definitely thegenerational effects of racism
and slavery in the United States,
which is a really toughtopic I think for some people
to think about.
(09:09):
But I think it's alsowhy she's so important,
and why writing about thesethings is important so that
people can get a view
that is really personal,
because you're delvinginto a specific character,
and you're getting detailson what their life is like.
So she's high on my list.
(09:30):
(Drew) - Well, one of myfavorite reads of 2024,
that I would've goneoff the deep end talking
about in our Best of 2024 episode,
if it hadn't been a '23public publication date,
was "Chain-Gang All-Stars"by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
I think I have talked aboutit here before at some point,
but it's, oh, so, so good.
(09:52):
It's a mashup of the USprison industrial complex
and reality TV.
So it gives inmates who are in prison
for at least 25 years for,you know, violent offenses,
the chance to enter intothese like death matches,
like gladiator type battles
to eventually earn their freedom.
(10:16):
And you know, the main character
that follows is a womannamed Loretta Thurwar,
who is the closest to freedomthat anyone has ever gotten
outside of the one like tokenperson that they let win.
So that there was proof
that the system would work, I guess.
The book is so fixatedon this whole experiment
(10:39):
that it covers it from theperspective of the inmates,
from the jailers, from theTV producers, the fans,
the protestors, really,really interesting stuff.
It's interesting to lookat it from the perspective
of him being a Black author,
because the main characters are Black,
(11:00):
and live in their Blackness,
but that's not really a fixation of them
because they are also these female inmates
in a war battle system.
There's enough going on,
but the,
it's the authors look at theprison industrial complex,
and his relationship to it
as a black man in America.
(11:24):
(Amanda) - What year did this?
Was being portrayed?
(Drew) - It's near future.(Amanda) - Okay.
- I don't think theyput an exact date on it,
but definitely near future.
Like all of the structuresof today's society are there.
It's just, this is a thing in it.
(Amanda) - I mean, how resonant,
as inmates fight fires in California.
(11:48):
(Drew) - Yeah, there is that.(Amanda) - Wow
(Drew) - But there was one linefrom the book that has stuck
with me really hard, thatwas talking about how
how easy it is for the fansof the show to dehumanize them
and see them as, you know, TV characters
and how it was easiest
(12:09):
and how the producers ofthe show would be thrilled
that biggest stars were Black women,
because they were theeasiest to dismiss as people.
(Killian) - Mm.(Amanda) - MM.
(Drew) - And that was something,
(Amanda) - Yeah, hittingon some truth there.
(Drew) - Yeah.(Killian) - Yeah.
(Drew) - I also readthat for my book club.
And like five of us thoughtit was the best book
that we've ever read, andthe rest didn't finish it
(12:32):
because it was too violent.
(Amanda) - Mm-hmm, yeah.
(Drew) - And that was anamazing conversation to have.
It was a really cool,cool hour of my life.
- Yeah, that's awesome.
- Don't mind me,
I'm just adding booksto my TBR as we talk.
(hosts laughing)
(Drew) - That's how it should be.
(12:54):
(Amanda) - Another one I loved isCharmaine Wilkerson's "Black Cake".
So that has gotten a lotof hype lately, especially
because, I mean it's a great book,
but also it was madeinto a series on Hulu.
So if you wanna jumpstraight to the series,
I haven't seen the series yet,
but it follows a family fromthe Caribbean to England
(13:15):
to the United States.
So you have these different generations
and it focuses on African diaspora
and specifically Black cake being
a traditional Caribbean cake.
That was significant toone of the characters
and sort of how food can be a way
(13:36):
to transfer culture and stories.
Super enjoyable read.
Pulls you through in theauthor's writing style,
and now she has a new bookout called "Good Dirt",
which I'm excited to read as well.
The other thing that Iactually really wanna watch,
(13:57):
the Hulu series, is becausethe, it focuses on characters
that are open ocean,long distance swimmers.
(Drew) - Oh...
(Amanda) - Which sounds like themost terrifying thing to me ever.
(Drew) - It sure does.(Killian) - Yeah.
(Amanda) - And to be able
to see a visual component of that,
I can just imagine theexpanses of beautiful ocean
(14:18):
with sunlight hitting the waves.
And I think it's gonnabe a really good series.
(Drew) - I'm horrified for the people
who swim the EnglishChannel, and that's bordered.
(Amanda) - (laughs) Yes, yes.
(Killian) - I'm gonna comeback to another kids' one,
and I'm gonna kind of startgoing towards some genre things.
(Drew) - Yes.(Killian) - Because that's what I read.
(14:39):
I am a genre fictiongirl through and through.
Books that came outta nowhere.
And I say this, like I've read the ones
that have come out since, and I haven't,
because again, I struggle
to read sometimes in general, just sitting
down and actually doing it.
But the "Amari and the Night Brothers"
(15:00):
series by B.B. Alston,
when the first book came out
and I picked that book up,I could not put it down.
And it is like the topcontender on my list of books
for books
that are like a certain other series
that I don't recommendanymore With a magical school.
(15:24):
So it's about this girl who finds out
that there is this wholeother world kind of parallel
to ours that has all of this magic
and technology that ours does not have.
And that her brother wasvery, very involved in it,
and that's why he was gone a lot.
And then, that he has now been,
(15:46):
he's now disappeared, he's now missing.
So she decides that she's going to go in
and figure out how to get him back,
because he is one of the mostimportant people in her world.
And going in,
she finds out some thingsabout herself that kind of
set her at odds with this worldthat she's found herself in
(16:07):
But also, like people want to support her,
but also people want tobring her down type of thing,
which I think feels very part of
that Black experience with people wanting
to put Black people ona pedestal in one way,
but also not let themsucceed type of thing.
(16:30):
So seeing kind of how that'sat play in the first book,
I have the second book,
I believe the third book has come out now.
So many people who I'verecommended this book to,
and given them the first book as a gift
and that sort of thing,have raced through it
and they're like, "Oh my gosh,
I wanna talk to you about it,"
and I'm like, "I haven'tgotten to it yet, sorry."
(hosts laugh)
Sorry,
I, so it's books 2 and 3 are on my list.
(16:51):
But it is a really great
example of genre fiction storytelling
and bringing all of those things
that we love about genre fiction
and while also addressinglike issues in our world.
(Drew) - That is one of thefunniest Patron interactions,
I'll give like a book one that I loved,
(17:11):
and then they'll come back.
I'm on book seven, what are your thoughts?
I'm like, "I did not read past book one."
- I've never got thereyet, and I'm so sorry.
(hosts laughing)
I had so many otherthings I had to read too.
- In the category of genre fiction,
one of my other favorites was a YA Romance
by Julian Winters called"As You Walk On By",
(17:32):
it's a really cute story.
It's at a house party
that this kid's high schoolfriends are throwing.
And he is very antisocial, introverted.
So about halfway throughthe party he retreats
to one of the bedrooms,
and just hangs out in there to decompress.
And the vast majority of thebook is just his interactions
(17:54):
with the people who walkby the room that he's in.
And like he has these littlesnippets of moments with them,
and his crush is there of course.
And they have their littleflirty, flirty moments.
Shockingly he keeps coming to walk
by the room over and over.
It's just a really, reallycute, cute teen book.
(18:15):
I don't read enough teen romances anymore.
I told myself that I'dnever let myself age
out of that range.
(Killian)- And then it started happening.
(Drew) - And then itstarted happening and-
(Killian) - Yeah...(Amanda) - Was it aging out
or were you expandinginto other type of books?
(Drew) - Six and onehalf dozen in the other
(Amanda) - Yeah.
(18:36):
(Drew) - YA obviouslycovers a large range of
ages for protagonists.
And the books that arewritten for the like 12
to 15 range are harder for me now
in ways that the like16 to 18 crowd aren't.
(18:58):
(Amanda) - Yeah.
(Drew) - But you never quite know
until you get into it, whichrange is gonna be written for.
(Amanda) - Mm-hmm.
(Drew) - So that's always fun.
(Amanda) - I've found thata couple of books that were
written for more of youralmost tween 12 year olds were
some of the most charming ones.
(Drew) - Mm-hmm.(Killian) - Mm-hmm, yeah.
(19:21):
(Drew) - So we can talk about,now that we've talked about
some of our, you know, ourfavorite contemporaries.
We can talk about someof the common themes
that exist in Black literature.
We've mentioned, youknow, Black excellence
and Black joy several times,
but there are also thenegatives that they are
unfortunately more able thanothers to portray in the,
(19:43):
racism and systemic issues of the world.
(Amanda) - Of course,and I think that's again,
another reason why readingfrom Black authors is
so important, becauseyou're gonna get a firsthand
experience, you're, or a perspective,
and be able to speakabout it intelligently.
(20:05):
I don't know when theterm "microaggressions"
came into the public vernacular,
but that was something that I think
that a Black person introduced,
and had to sort of explain it-
(Drew) - Yeah.
(Amanda) - To the general publicand be like, "This is what
This is." And I thinkthat it was maybe be,
(20:28):
I'm sure being portrayed in books,
but it was one of those things where it's,
you don't get it ifyou aren't in that body
and in that experience.
So being able to
see race racism throughthe lens of a black person
is an essential thing.
(20:51):
And I think a narrative form,like a novel is a great way to
explain that and portray that.
(Drew) - Yeah.
(Killian) - And people will say like,
"Oh, I don't wanna read thatbecause it's uncomfortable."
Because it makes meuncomfortable, and it should be.
It's supposed to be,
and it's learning to be uncomfortable.
(21:11):
And then understand that
you were uncomfortable in this moment.
(Drew) - Yeah, there was one book-
(Killian) - For somepeople, that's their life.
(Amanda) - Yeah.
(Drew) - There was one bookthat I read for book club
like two years ago,"The Sweetness of Water"
by Nathan Harris.
And it was one of those things
that made me think about a perspective
that I'd never had before.
(21:31):
It's immediately
after the Civil War when theEmancipation Proclamation
happened and you know, everythingwas supposed to be okay,
and this small town in, Ithink Georgia of, you know,
the immediate aftermath
and the plantations thatwere falling into disrepair
and the ways that, you know,
obviously society still was not ready
(21:54):
to embrace the fact that, you know,
Black people could exist inthe area as not slaves again.
And it was just, I, I've never,
I've always thought about the Civil War
as its own like exclusivething that ended in 1865.
And I was like, "What about 1866?"
(22:14):
was something that I'dnever thought about.
(Amanda) - Yeah, and theentire reconstruction period
and everything after that.
(Drew) - Right.
(Killian) - And it's easy toignore those things if they
don't affect you as an individual.
Whereas when you readabout someone's experience
who experiences those things going on in
that continuation, it opens your eyes.
(22:35):
(Drew) - Yeah.
All right, well we would loveto hear some of your favorites
that you have read over thepast several, many years.
Please school us on the classics
that we have forgotten the plots about.
And thank you all for joining us.
(Nicole) - Thank you forjoining us for this episode
of "Distracted Librarians".
(22:56):
(Drew) - Many thanks to BCTVfor their support in recording,
editing, and releasing this podcast.
And to the friends of the library
for sponsoring closedcaptioning on every episode.
(Killian) - If you have any questions
or suggestions, feel free to reach out
to us at distracted@btpl.org.
(Amanda) - Until then,keep those pages turning
and those screens lighting up.
(23:16):
We'll catch you in the next episode.
(Emily) - The views and opinions expressed
in the "Distracted Librarians Podcast"
do not necessarily reflect those
of Bloomfield Township, BloomfieldTownship Public Library,
Bloomfield Community Television,
the Birmingham Area CableBoard, or its producers
or production staff.
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