Books Every Black Woman Should Read
When I have free time, you can usually find me curled up with my kindle or a book. In honor of Women’s History Month, I’ve sifted through my recent reads to give you books that I believe every Black woman should read. Some classics, a lot of love, but always an amazing lesson.
Books I’ve Read
Memphis
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow covers the lives of three generations of Black Women who hail from the south. My favorite part of this book is that it emphasizes how the interconnectedness of generations influences what is to come. There's drama, there’s secrets, there’s love.
The Skyland Series by Kennedy Ryan
If you’ve found yourself anywhere near Black book influencers, you’ve heard of this one. In the Skyland Series, Kennedy Ryan gives 3 dynamic journeys toward love. Reminding us that no matter what lane life has positioned you in, there’s an opportunity to find your soulmate. Beyond romantic love, through the friendship of three women, we’re reminded of the necessity of sisterhood during the valleys of life. My favorite in the series is Before I Let Go, but the final installment will be released this May.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Black women typically don’t have the privilege of seeing Black women exercise choice in freedom in classic literature. Zora Neale Hurston flips the coin with this narrative of a Black woman’s journey through life and how she still manages to find a way out of each of her relationships. This has landed a spot in my top 3 books of all time because Janie is a true inspiration as she defies restriction as a Black woman in the 1920s.
The New Haven Series
Do you hate that some folks see Black women as a monolith? Like we all experience the same path in life. If you answered yes, The New Haven Series by J.L Seegars needs to be your next read. Through 6 books, Seegars narrates the very different lives of Black women and how they come to find love despite loss, abuse, and unfortunate circumstances. Read with caution, cause you’re going to need your tissues.
Professional Troublemaker
This one’s for my girls reading to reach their best self. To this day, Professional Troublemaker is one of the funniest books I’ve read, as Luvvie Ajayi gives sound and helpful advice on how to disrupt your environments, cause change, and create a track to the top. She gives Black girls the permission to be a badass in the professional world.
All About Love
If you know me personally, you know I don’t shut up about this book. If you want to understand how we love and what it means to truly love one another, this needs to be your next pick-up. Somehow bell hooks delivers research and personal experience in a digestible way to lead us to be better lovers, daughters, and friends, but also better practitioners of self-love.
On my TBR
Communion
The book that constantly begs for my attention is another installment in the Love Trilogy by bell hooks. This book specifically discusses the intersection of womanhood and the act of love and how our experiences shape the way we offer love.
Happy Reading!
With Love,
Allie
