What I'm Reading for Black History Month 2020

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A sampling of books for Black History Month

A sampling of books for Black History Month

Last year, I read 118 books, and one thing that made my reading challenge extra-enjoyable was spending specific months focused on a particular reading topic. I read books by Black authors for Black History Month, by women authors for Women’s History Month, and by LGBTQ+ authors for Pride Month. Of course, it’s important to read diverse authors year-round and not just in certain months, but it helped me to diversify my reading list all around. If you’re interested in diversifying your reading list, you can catch my best tips on the 540WMain blog.

This year, I’m slowing down my reading pace a bit, but I have four books I’m eager to dive into for Black History Month. You might recognize them from my roundup of 20 books I’m reading in 2020. Here’s what I have on deck for February: 

  1. The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray

  2. Fieldnotes on Ordinary Love by Keith S. Wilson

  3. Some of Us are Very Hungry Now by Andre Perry

  4. The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

Two novels, an essay collection, and a poetry collection. It should be a pretty great mix! If you’re in need of more recommendations, here are my Black History Month reads from 2019 (all of which were excellent):

  1. How Long Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin

  2. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

  3. Go Ahead in the Rain by Hanif Abdurraqib

  4. Arrival by Cheryl Boyce-Taylor

  5. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

I’ll sneak two more in here, just in case you’re in the mood for something romantic since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. You can’t go wrong with Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory (it’s super cute and fun) or Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (heavier but steamier).

Did any of these titles catch your eye? What are you reading for Black History Month? I’d love to hear! Tweet me at @servemethesky. You can also get more book recommendations from me in my email newsletter, the SkyMail Club!