Books like To Be Young, Gifted and Black — picked by fans

This is an angry book.

Rereading it made me angry all over again. Much about U.S. race relations has improved since Baldwin's essay was published in 1963. But rereading it now, after six decades when I myself have sometimes been active in anti-racist efforts, I was stunned by how penetrating and accurate his critique remains, and how enduring the depredations he described back then have proven to be.

And yet! And yet, the writing is suffused with empathy and, disarmingly, even with love. Discrimination and inequality made Baldwin a militant, but he never turned mean and never embraced violence. He is a model of how to stay humane.

Of all Dr. King’s books (many of which I helped assemble, edit, and/or find publishing for), his last seems to strike at the heart of what really got him killed: his non-violent fight against poverty (The Poor People’s Campaign).

Such a radical preacher was always considered dangerous to the status quo, but once he fully moved out of the minority interest of Black Americans and started speaking to poor Americans of every color (a vast majority), a line was crossed and his fate was sealed. Still, his vision of a future of fairness and opportunity lingers on in Where Do We Go from Here.

There is something in the structure of this true story that aligns with my fundamental understanding of life as a Black American man.

Education saved me, plain and simple. Education is the answer out of the ghetto, out of street life, out of poverty. Two Black boys named Wes Moore grow up on the same streets, get into the same kind of trouble early, and start a friendship as adults – one is a governor-elect of his home state, the other serving life without parole.

Their names appeared in the newspaper on the same day: for one, the announcement of a Rhodes Scholarship win; for the other, a manhunt in a botched robbery. Little difference between the men, but a lot in terms of where they put their focus.

This is perhaps a cheat, as it’s the script of a film. However, it’s published just like a book, you can read it just like a book, and it was written by my Last of the Lions co-author.

The less said about this thriller the better for the reader, but suffice it to say if Ferguson, or George Floyd, or Breonna Taylor… or Philando Castile…Freddie Gray… Eric Garner… Amadou Diallo… and so many more… mean anything to you, this twisty parable about racial profiling and policing will take your breath away, keep you on edge until the end, and leave you thinking.

I am fairly convinced that Grace Burrowes is a time traveler, for I have never seen a modern author get period-specific language so right. Unlike all the other books on my list, the Lady Violet series does not include any murders.

Instead, Lady Violet’s penchant for solving “puzzles” made for a nice break from the more macabre. I got lost in the twisty details and adored the Agatha Christie-style reveal at the end of the book.

Full disclosure, Darcie was a producer on Legally Blonde and was president of MGM On Stage. Darcie was a real character, and she also dripped with worship for the theater.

This book is a meticulously researched love letter to the fusion of film and theater, filled with phenomenal photos and teeming with love. Chronicling West Side Story, Gypsy, Chicago, and beyond, it’s a great coffee table book you’ll actually want to read.

I absolutely loved King’s novel Writers & Lovers, and her story collection did not disappoint! Here, too, are the struggles of writers—to find the right words and something meaningful from loss.

There’s nothing typical in King’s diverse array of characters, and her intimate portrayal of their desires—their strengths and failings, their glimmers of hope as they brave new starts—drew me in and kept me turning the pages.

I love this cookbook because it is a collectible and a treasure. Kasey Rogers was Louise Tate, the boss's wife from the television show, Bewitched. I was fortunate to have coordinated a book signing at Barnes and Noble in 2005 with Kasey. I got to hear firsthand knowledge of her memories of being on the set of Bewitched. She actually was able to participate in a lot of cast parties and be invited to the star of the show’s home, so the recipes are authentic. Everyone knows that "Samantha Stephens" didn't have to lift a finger in the kitchen... Now, "Bewitched" fans everywhere can share the kitchen with "Louise Tate" (the boss's wife) as she conjures up the magic that turned "Samantha Stephens" into a household name. In The Bewitched Cookbook, you'll discover "Cousin Serena's" "I-don't-cook" quick-fixes, "Dr. Bombay's" exotic banquets, "Maurice's" special drinks and delicacies, "Endora's" wickedly tasty tricks… show more.

Coraline and her very preoccupied parents move into their new house. They seem to have very little time for her. While exploring the house, she finds a little door that takes her to another house. One that is exactly the same but different. Her “other” parents are doting on her, and aside from the fact that they have terrifying buttons for eyes, they seem to love and need her around. 

This is the graphic novel version of the creepy story that captivated so many kids by Neil Gaiman and the first visualization of the story before it was animated. I have always loved this version illustrated by P. Craig Russell.

Simone de Beauvoir met Nelson Algren in Chicago in 1947.

A couple of years later, his novel The Man with the Golden Arm won the National Book Award, and a few years after that De Beauvoir won the prestigious Prix Goncourt for her novel The Mandarins, which featured a character based on Algren. They became famous literary lovers, involved in a complicated triangle with De Beauvoir’s long-time partner Sartre.

But Cowie’s novel brings to life the ordinary intimacies and misunderstandings of their love affair – the title comes from de Beauvoir’s confusion about the time difference between Paris and Chicago. Caught up in the details of day-to-day life, people, even brilliant writers, don’t always have the time or vision to make real decisions about how they want to live, or who they want to love. It’s a brilliant book.