Whether you are looking for words of wisdom from a top chef or a former of secretary of state — or perhaps a little history, then a great love story — theGrio has your summer 2012 reading list covered. Check out our top picks by clicking the numbers below, then let us know what you’ll be reading on the beach, by the pool or wherever the warmer weather may take you in the comments below.
By Love Possessed: Stories, by Lorna Goodison, Amistad $14.99.
Set on the verdant island of Jamaica, this collection of 22 short stories offers lush depictions of love, loss, and yearning. Lorna Goodison, an internationally recognized poet and acclaimed author (From Harvey River, a Memoir), turns her keen eye on the very human and flawed relationships of both the upper and lower classes, and captures every nuance. Poignant and honest, the pages are brought to life with a colorful smattering of Jamaican patois. Let Goodison take you on this emotional tour of her beloved island; you won’t be sorry.
Ada’s Rules: A Sexy, Skinny Novel, by Alice Randall, Bloomsbury, $24.
Everyone loves a plucky heroine, and this book delivers in the plus-sized form of Ada Howard. One hundred pounds and 25 years ago, Ada was a hopeful college student basking in the glow of her first love. Now Ada is the middle-aged wife of a straying pastor, the caretaker of ailing parents, the mother of two grown daughters, a busy day-care worker, and a woman who has lost her sense of self. When she receives an invitation to her twenty-five-year college reunion with a flirtatious wink from an old beau, she has an epiphany: “She would be fit and fifty. She would not succumb to mammydom, or mommydom, or husband-come-undonedom. She would have change.” So she decides to take charge of her life, and her weight, and makes up a list of 53 diet rules and vows to stick to them. For example, “Rule #1: Don’t Keep Doing What You’ve Always Been Doing.” By the time her reunion comes in 12 months, she hopes to be slimmer, perhaps rekindle her old romance, and find happiness again.
Randall, the author of three other books, including the New York Times bestseller The Wind Done Gone, and someone who has struggled with her weight as well, has created a highly relatable character in Ada — a woman who gives so much to others that by the end of the day, she has little left to give herself. Sound familiar? Her loving depiction of Ada will inspire other women to find themselves and get healthier, both emotionally and physically.
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, by RJ Smith, Gotham Books $27.50.
Say it loud! “He was pint-size, lacking a formidable build, but Brown compensated with a way of moving that gave off waves of energy,” says RJ Smith, a Los Angeles-based music writer. Who could argue with that? With well over 100 interviews with everyone from record executives and musicians to ex-girlfriends, Smith traces Brown’s life from his humble beginnings in Barnwell, South Carolina to his meteoric rise to fame, warts and all. Thoroughly and thoughtfully researched, and beautifully written, the author places Brown in the historical and political context of America’s turbulent past and celebrates the victories of a man who rose triumphantly through the fire. This is a must-read for fans of The Godfather of Soul.
Swirling: How to Date, Mate, and Relate Mixing Culture and Creed, by Christelyn D. Karazin and Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn, Atria Books, $15.
It seems there are guides for everything these days. Thinking of mixing it up this summer, but don’t know how? Karazin and Littlejohn come to the rescue in this insightful and amusing handbook on the ups and downs of interracial relationships.
The authors lay out the dismal statistics we’ve seen over the past few years, the shortage of black men; the fact that seventy percent of black women are single,and that only forty two percent will ever marry. Karazin and Littlejohn encourage black women to break away from the sell-out stereotype of dating outside of their race (“you are allowed to love a rainbeau and still advocate for your people”) and embrace their options. Towards this end, Karazin writes: “…You just have to snatch snatch love for yourself when it comes knocking, in whatever color or cultural package he’s wrapped in. That’s the purpose of this book, and my hope is that all who read it will find love, however it arrives.”
No matter what your opinion is on this hot-button topic, Swirling, a well-researched and intelligently written book, is certainly food for thought.
Yes, Chef: A Memoir, by Marcus Samuelsson, Random House, $27.
Marcus Samuelsson was only two when a tuberculosis epidemic swept through his native Ethiopia. His mother, with Marcus and his sister in tow, walked more than seventy-five miles under the hot sun from their village to the hospital in Addis Ababa. His mother never made it out of the hospital, and Marcus and his sister soon found themselves living in Goteborg, adopted by a loving Swedish family. He had been given a second life, with which he appreciatively learned how to shine.
This vibrant memoir, which was penned with author Veronica Chambers, exquisitely details Samuelsson’s fascinating life and love of food, which started when he learned to cook on the knee of his Swedish grandmother and eventually led him to vocational cooking school and jobs as a cruise ship chef. When he came to New York’s Aquavit restaurant in 1995, Samuelsson became youngest chef to ever receive a three-star review from the New York Times. Follow that up with TV chef stardom, cooking for President Obama’s first state dinner, and owning the latest Harlem hot spot, Red Rooster, and you see the hard work, tenacity and passion that got him where he is today, despite the racial divide in the restaurant world.
“A hundred years ago,” Samuelsson says, “black men and women had to fight to get out of the kitchen. These days, we have to fight to get in.” But get in, he did.
A culinary journey lovingly and poignantly told with candor, Yes, Chef is a gorgeous, delectable read.
American Tapestry: The Black, White and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama, by Rachel Swarns, Amistad, $27.99.
Our personal and collective histories are comprised of many lost and an untold stories; most of us will die never knowing the truth. We should all be as lucky as Michelle Obama, who had investigative reporter Rachel L. Swarns to dig deep and uncover her fascinating ancestry.
It took five generations to get from slavery to the White House, and Swarns thoroughly guides the reader along the path. A path that began with a slave named Melvinia, Obama’s great-great-great-grandmother, and the white man she bore several children to in the mid 1800s. The book takes us through the pain and shame of slavery, Reconstruction, the Great Migration, and the jazz era in the Chicago of the 1920s and beyond, all with Obama’s family history woven into the mix.
Swarns , the journalist who covered Michelle Obama’s first year in the White House for The New York Times, not only explores the first lady’s roots, but she also reminds us how we, as Americans, are connected through common bloodlines and a shared legacy.
Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation, by Deborah Davis, Atria Books, $26.00.
Guess who’s coming to dinner, indeed. In the fall of 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt shook things up when he invited Booker T. Washington to dine with him at White House; it was nothing short of a scandal.
Roosevelt, the youngest American president and trailblazer at the time, believed that in order for the nation to prosper, blacks needed to play a bigger role, and he realized that the black vote in the South would strengthen Republicans in power. He reached out to Booker T. Washington, the distinguished educator and leader, as a consultant, and their liaison led to the infamous White House dinner. The action, a former slave sitting at the table with a president, provoked a series of highly inflammatory articles and outrage, from whites and blacks, which divided the country and threatened to take down the two leaders.
Davis draws parallels between the two men, including their admiration for Lincoln, and gives us a thorough account of the turbulent politics of that era. This one meeting shifted the national discussion on race.
It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership, by Colin Powell with Tony Koltz, Harper, $27.99.
“Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.” This is the third of Colin Powell’s Thirteen Rules, which have served him well over the course of his legendary career. The book opens with these affirmations before moving into chapters — really strong leadership parables — that address everything from the value of kindness to the importance of being responsible for your actions. The four-star general and former secretary of state is a masterful raconteur, and the book is full of thoughtful, sometimes funny, reflections on both his personal and professional life. He addresses the infamous United Nations “weapons of mass destruction” speech and realizes that his statements would be “…a blot, a failure,” and “will always be attached to me and my UN presentation.
“But I am mad mostly at myself for not having smelled the problem,” Powell continues. “My instincts failed me.” Many will want more answers, but they won’t really find them here; nevertheless, this is an inspiring memoir from a fascinating man.
The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reader, edited by Abby Wolf,Basic Civitas, $29.99.
“For my entire reading and writing life,” writes Gates, “I have been driven mainly by two questions: Who are we? And how did we get here?” This rich collection of interviews, essays and excerpts from over three decades of Gates’ writing are based on these ever-evolving queries.
Whether discussing 2 Live Crew, the African Slave Trade, Jean Toomer’s conflicted racial identity, the future of Africa, the practice of signifying, or his own ancestral roots, Gates’ wealth of information and engaging writing style make this book a true treasure trove.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is one of America’s most prominent and prolific scholars; how perfect to find so much of his wisdom and knowledge in one package. This is a hefty, satisfying read.
Home, by Toni Morrison, Alfred A. Knopf, $24.
Yes, Home was reviewed in depth by my colleague, Chase Quinn , but we just didn’t want you to miss out on Ms. Morrison’s latest oeuvre. This is the story of Frank, a tormented Korean War vet trying to find his footing when he returns to a racially turbulent country, with his own demons simmering within. This is yet another perfect literary vehicle for Morrison who deals so well with the themes of feeling uprooted, and the emptiness of loss. Don’t be fooled by Home’s scant 145 pages; this novel packs a big emotional punch.
Will you be selecting any books as beach reads from our black books round-up? If not, what are some books you will be including on your summer reading list for 2012?