Soundtrack To My Thoughts: 2020 Books (January-June)
Hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and well! At the top of the year, I had a good idea of what I was going to read which was what I own as I saw Akili Nzuri post this challenge which made sense since, at this point, I had amassed over 35 books from author talks I attended or so many great recommendations through Bookstagram posts! I normally alternate between non-fiction and fiction but my mind was moving more towards non-fiction. I needed to channel away some negative energy from 2019, so I began with Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. ! I followed up that with some nostalgia and music criticism by Dr. Morgan, She Begat This about Lauryn Hill’s album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It brought back the thrill I had reading hip-hop magazines with women’s bylines talking critically about the music and one of the reasons why I wanted to write! Also, it reminded me of my brief encounter with Ms. Hill, before her seminal solo album or The Fugees, while on set in Queens for the Cosby Show spinoff that starred Malcolm Jamal-Warner, “Here and Now” where she was a guest star along with Omar Epps and I was just an extra playing a community center kid ironically, a week before I started college.
I moved quickly to one library book ( I know not sticking to the plan) Heart Talk by Cleo Wade which is a collection of poetry & wisdom feeling like that warm hug while reading it that all of us need just as the pandemic started!
Once the pandemic began, my mind started to have trouble focusing and what used to be my normal flow of a book a week turned into weeks, as did with most people. Because of the isolating feeling, I ended up seeking out personal essays or memoirs to feel connected to people even if not physically but to read about their personal journeys to have some semblance of a connection! Having followed Morgan Jerkins (This Will Be My Undoing), Claire Sulmers (The Bomb Life, My Brand My Terms) & Akilah Hughes (Obviously) online for some time, it was great to really sit & read their stories and be so inspired by them.
Looking back at my first author talk I attended last year while back living in NYC at Books Are Magic, it was an honor to witness Hanif Abdurraqib, whom I also had been following online for a while, read parts of Go Ahead In The Rain a book dedicated to one of my favorite groups, A Tribe Called Quest and now having the time to sit and be fully present with this masterful book felt very familiar and comforting.
As things became more unknown and finances started to come into question in the news, I sought to re-focus my mind to push forward with possible other options I could seek via La La Anthony’s The Power Playbook. Also on the matter of money, I had been waiting for Michael Arceneaux’s second book, I Don’t Want To Die Poor to release and was so looking forward to going to his author talk in the city but with everything turned upside down, the process of just reading this was so right on time and needed with his brilliant balance of laughter, sarcasm, and honesty.
Books continue to be a safe space for me and I look forward to leaning on them as the year progresses! Drop a comment below or via Twitter or Instagram about some of your books that you have been reading through these uncertain times.
