We’ve been talking a lot at Powell’s about the election, our country’s deepening divide, and the challenges ahead of us. One thing we can all agree on is that there’s nowhere we’d rather be working right now than at a bookstore. Our faith in books and their ability to inform, to inspire, to entertain, to comfort, and to effect change remains unshaken. Here you’ll find a sampling of books we’re reading now to guide us through this tumultuous time. We encourage you to add your own reading selections in the comments below.
March, Book Three
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
The day after the election, I read March, Book Three. It reminded me that even in dark times in our past, people have stood up and fought against oppression. It put things in perspective and gave me hope.
– Carrie L.
them
by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an author who’s been on my to-read list for a while, and now that I’ve read about half of them, she’s on my must-read-more-of-her-work list. Great authors’ works are timeless and always relevant, and this biographical and historical novel that moves towards the race riots of a late 1960s Detroit is no exception.
Up Next: Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Because things could be worse, right?
– Jeff J.
Yes, Please
by Amy Poehler
I was really in need of Amy's combination of brassiness, thoughtfulness, and heart. She's mouthy and insightful and funny and tough and strong, but also deeply compassionate — what I'm trying to be and what I need from my friends right now. Yes, Please is also a great distraction because she's had a pretty happy and successful life, so I don't have to deal with suspense or excessive pathos.
Up Next: Comic books and middle-reader fantasy novels. Light escapism and nothing emotionally taxing.
– Suzanne G.
The Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead
I'm reading it because I feel like we are getting closer to forgetting our history and therefore being compelled to repeat it. Also, black lives matter.
– Dianah H.
A Man Without a Country
by Kurt Vonnegut
Reading Kurt Vonnegut gives me the same comfort I would get as a kid sitting on my grandpa’s lap. He can make me laugh about the saddest things and cry over the most beautiful things. When feeling the weight of the world’s problems on my shoulders, I remember the quote, “We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.” So it goes.
Up Next: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, because this is starting to look like our future. Also, Cunt: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio, because I don’t want The Handmaid’s Tale to be our future.
– Ronnie C.
A Time of Torment
by John Connolly
I’m reading A Time of Torment. The title resonated, but I’m also a huge fan of the Charlie Parker series and all of Connolly’s work. It’s a horror novel, and a very effective one, but it still qualifies as escapist reading!
– Drew P.
Darktown
by Thomas Mullen
This suspense novel tells the story of the first African American police officers in Atlanta in the late 1940s. Although most of the eight black officers were WWII veterans and college-educated, upstanding citizens, they were bombarded with racial prejudices from their supervisors, court officials, peers, and the very citizens they were trying to protect and serve. I think this book is important to read now in order to remind ourselves of the pain and suffering caused by racism and discrimination of minorities who are trying to lead a successful, fulfilling life in America. This book also celebrates bravery, hope, and determination in the face of adversity and fear. I think we need these things now more than ever.
– Kathleen B.
The Reader
by Traci Chee
I needed some escapism reading, but not so far off from my reeling state of mind that I wouldn’t be able to relate. The Reader: YA fiction about protecting banned books… perfect! Throw in some swashbucklers and teen assassins… even better! Top it off with our plucky heroes and heroines fighting the system with the end goal of greater freedom for all… just what I need to read right now.
Up Next: You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson, an advance reader’s copy of The Songs of Trees by David George Haskell, and White Trash by Nancy Isenberg.
– Tracey T.
Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns
by Andrea Gibson
This is my comfort book. In this slim volume, Andrea Gibson tackles some of the biggest, scariest troubles in the world and makes them feel conquerable. Full of hope, heart, and just the right blend of gravity and humor, I pull these poems out on the hardest days, because they make me feel like I can keep moving forward. "Say Yes," in particular, is a masterpiece.
– Madeline S.
You Will Not Have My Hate
by Antoine Leiris
After the election and trying to analyze and overcome my feelings of anger and disappointment (not to mention disbelief), I picked up You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris. It's so easy to fall into patterns of hatred when terrible things happen, easy to dismiss and ignore and let the venom flow — but I didn't want to become that person. You Will Not Have My Hate is this amazing memoir of a man falling apart and yet standing his ground at the same time. Hatred is easy to ignore and dismiss, but disappointment and compassion aren't.
I've also just started reading White Trash by Nancy Isenberg in an effort to understand the disenfranchised rural communities of America who voted for Trump despite his more hateful rhetoric.
Finally, I have a manuscript copy of American War by Omar El Akkad (coming out spring of next year) that I've found to be exceptionally poignant. I'm almost done with the novel and it's given me so much to think about these past few weeks. I've flagged many powerful lines that resonated with me.
– Monica D.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
by Jack Finney
Widely thought to be a metaphor of anti-communist paranoia, this story feels eerily familiar in that it is largely based on our fear of one another.
Up Next: The Stand by Stephen King
– Laura M.
The Tao of Pooh
by Benjamin Hoff
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement
by Angela Y. Davis
It took less than a week of all of the online fervor for me to decide to take a break from the Internet and only read books, so I have been concurrently reading a pair of titles that I thought worked well together as a response to the election and the current political climate: The Tao of Pooh and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.
The Tao of Pooh is about accepting the more difficult aspects of life, particularly the things that you cannot change. I find coaching of this type of acceptance to be comforting, especially when put through the lens of Winnie the Pooh.
Angela Davis is one of my favorite authors to read when it comes to complicated subjects; she has a way of breaking down complex ideas so that they are understandable and relatable. It is especially important to stay educated at this time, and her newest book, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, covers a number of subjects, connecting the dots from the prison industrial complex to our actions in Israel and Palestine.
– Lonnan R.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X
I picked this up because I need strength after this election and Malcolm X was a powerful leader who made huge, historical changes. I'm hoping that through his life I will be able to find some way of educating and empowering my own community around me.
– Carina G.
Odes
by Sharon Olds
These poems have served as a warm elixir, grounding me firmly in the terrestrial — the elemental — at a time when I mostly just feel like George Clooney's character in Gravity, floating ever so handsomely toward the abyss.
Up Next: Bestiary: Poems by Donika Kelly and My Private Property by Mary Ruefle.
– Justin W.
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote
by Duncan Tonatiuh
My Night in the Planetarium
by Innosanto Nagara
Marching for Freedom
by Elizabeth Partridge
As part of the Hawthorne kids’ team, I'd like to offer up a few titles for the younger set. Malcolm X has said of young people in nations of upset: "Because the revolutionaries are children, young people. In these countries, the young people are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and the necessity to eliminate the evil conditions that exist."
I think this is important to keep in mind as we grapple with injustice and fear — our kids are dealing with this reality as well and they need to be empowered with knowledge and resources. Here are some titles I have found worthwhile and have highlighted at Hawthorne:
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: Duncan Tonatiuh is a Mexican-American author and illustrator whose work I love. This picture book serves as an allegory for the exploitation and hardships faced by families trying to cross the border.
My Night in the Planetarium: You might be familiar with Nagara from the much-loved A Is for Activist or Counting on Community. My Night in the Planetarium is his latest, in which he shares a story of defiance and a fight for justice from his childhood in Indonesia.
Marching for Freedom: These are true stories from the children involved in the civil rights marches of the ’60s, showing that even the smallest of us can be a part of the movement. For a more in-depth account of one girl's story, check out Lynda Blackmon Lowery's Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom.
– Britney T.