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Racism and race relations have been a hot button topic in the news lately, but books have been written on the topic for decades now. This week, you're choosing a book with race as a central topic of the book. It could be a nonfiction book analyzing the current state of affairs, or a fiction novel where the main character struggles against systemic issues.

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Suggestions:




Books Shelved as Racial Identity

ATY Group Listopia

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Optional Questions:
1. What are you reading for this category?
2. How does it fit into this theme?
3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?

I'm doing either So You Want to Talk About Race or How to Be an Antiracist. I'll probably read both so whichever one I read first will be for this prompt.

Some that I’m interested in: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot, and I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.

I'll be reading The Nickel Boys for this prompt, although the other book I'm strongly considering depending on ARC expiration / getting the physical copy is The Prophets which I am so excited about and is a debut novel. And from the synopses, these books would be a great pair to read: Prophets is set on a plantation in the South during slavery, Nickel Boys in 1960s reform school, both speak to the structural systemic issues of racism that were instituted and the evolution of the carceral state for Black people.

I am thinking The Help seen the film but not read it

When George Floyd died earlier this year, it made me think about the death of an Aboriginal man on Palm Island in north Queensland several years ago (turns out it was about 6 years ago...!). I knew there was a book about it - Tall Man: The Death of Doomadgee by Chloe Hooper and I had thought about reading it, but I haven't yet! So this will be my pick for this category!

I am planning to read The Night Watchman. Unfortunately I know little about the fight for equality that the Native Americans faced and am looking forward to learning more

Both Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and How to Be an Antiracist are very readable and useful. But fiction is definitely an option too, from Toni Morrison to Angie Thomas.

1. What are you reading for this category?
Superior: The Return of Race Science

2. How does it fit into this theme?
It looks at the disturbing rise of racist "science", which I want to take a deeper dive into after reading How to Be an Antiracist.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
See above, but I'm also planning to read Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race for another prompt and going on the reviews I've seen I know that's going to be great.

Would Transcendent Kingdom fit in this category?

I wanted to choose a book that steps away from the black, hispanic and/or immigrant experience, as I feel I have read a lot of these.

So for this prompt, I'm going to read The Rape of Nanking. It discusses the mass murder and rape that the Japanese inflicted on Chinese a couple years before WWII.

Tanvi, to me it wouldn’t, it’s really just about a woman and her mother and race isn’t that central to the story. Ymmv!

Thanks Chrissy! I’ll use another book for that one, then :)

1. What are you reading for this category?
I've settled on Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

2. How does it fit into this theme?
It's an alternate history novel set in Prohibition-era Georgia. It involves monster hunters doing battle with Ku Kluxes (literal monsters conjured by racists).
3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
Kindred
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
There There
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

I plan to read:
Born a Crime
✅The Girl who Wrote in Silk (Chinese Exclusion law - historical fiction. Read Jan 6

Black Lives Matter and diversity were major topics for me in the last few years. Here are some of my favorites. I have more on immigration related racism, native americans, indigenous peoples and slavery.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?

Narrative non-fiction:
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI - Native American

Fiction:
The Nickel Boys
The Vanishing Half - colorism
Nothing More Dangerous
An American Marriage - jail
If Beale Street Could Talk - jail
Red at the Bone
Sing, Unburied, Sing- has a little magical realism
The Underground Railroad - alternative history
Yellow Crocus - cross-race friendship
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - color
Kindred
The Color Purple
Homegoing

Non-Fiction:
How to Be an Antiracist
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America

I read The Song and the Silence by Yvette Johnson for this prompt.

Finished Dear Justyce this morning for this prompt. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is an excellent, thought-provoking read.

Here's my review, if anyone is interested:


I would also recommend these titles (I teach high school and have a lot of YA books about the topic on my shelves):
Dear Martin
Internment
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Don't Ask Me Where I'm From
Trell
All American Boys
Tyler Johnson Was Here
A Very Large Expanse of Sea

1. What are you reading for this category?They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
2. How does it fit into this theme?
Is about the racism that Japanese American faced during WW2 the forced relocation and incarceration in concentration camps.
3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
The Hate U Give, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, and Becoming

1. What are you reading for this category? Dear Martin
2. How does it fit into this theme? About a young black man that gets profiled.
3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt? The Hate U Give, To Kill a Mockingbird A Time to Kill

1. What are you reading for this category?
Jack by Marilynne Robinson (4th book in the Gilead series)

2. How does it fit into this theme?
Della is a Black woman; Jack is white. In 1940s St. Louis, where they live, interracial relationships are punished with imprisonment.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
The Hate U Give, The Vanishing Half, Ayiti.

Is being Jewish a religion or a race?
I'm reading Just What The Truth Is by Cardeno C.
One character is Jewish and his boyfriend convert from christianity to Judaism. Does my book fit?

Micaela wrote: "Is being Jewish a religion or a race?
I'm reading Just What The Truth Is by Cardeno C.
One character is Jewish and his boyfriend convert from christianity to Judaism. Does my book fit?"

Good question. I was astonished at the time of Charlottesville that anti-Jewish sentiment was still so high. (I'm bothered by the term anti-Semitism because I think the idea of "Semites" is racist in itself). I would say that like everything in ATY, it is up to you to interpret the prompt.

1. What are you reading for this category?
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

2. How does it fit into this theme?
It's about a runaway slave and is an alternate historical fiction about the underground railroad.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

I just finished Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu for this week's challenge. It presents a young "Generic Asian Man's" search for identity and acceptance in a very unique fashion.
Other books that I would recommend for this prompt are The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, or The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

I read The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead in which black Africans were abused and killed as slaves by white slave catchers. A harsh read, but well written.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei has been on my read list forever. I've heard Takei talk about the Japanese American internment camps and it has brought tears to my eyes. Looking forward to finally reading this book.

I'm reading Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad for this prompt. I actually started this book last year, but life happened - my mother and my father-in-law both went into Hospice care - and it got put aside. I picked it back up recently. It is taking a while to read because I am doing it day by day. It is a very concise and to the point book. I would highly recommend it.

1. What are you reading for this category? The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
2. How does it fit into this theme? History of governmental segregation in the United States
3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt? This book had a ton of facts, but was a bit dry (it was written by an economist). I'd recommend I'm Not Dying with You Tonight (YA), When No One is Watching (thriller), and Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (nonfiction true crime)

1. What are you reading for this category?March: Book One by John Lewis


2. How does it fit into this theme?
This is a graphic memoir about John Lewis who was active in the Civil Rights Movement.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
The Hate You Give
Passing
They Called Us Enemy

1. What are you reading for this category? The Vanishing Half
2. How does it fit into this theme? Hard to sum up but it is a look into how skin color can impact how a person is perceived and how that can impact how someone lives their life.
3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
Well this one to start.
The Nickel Boys
Bluebird, Bluebird

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
2. How does it fit into this theme?
How Federal/State/Local governments and corporations created and continue to ensure segregation in living spaces. It is a dry read, it is a necessary read, and it will make you angry.

I have read Passing



It's set in the late 1920s and concerns a woman who is 'passing' as white who has a racist husband who doesn't know her secret.

I've listened to the audio book of The Nickel Boys

I went an unusual route for this prompt--not because I'm trying to avoid the intended issues, to be clear, but just because I happened to read this book first, and it fit well here, while other books I might read for this prompt will also fit into other prompts.

The book I read is Foreigner, a science fiction story that explores the communication difficulties between humans and an alien race who doesn't quite have words or concepts for things like 'friendship' and 'trust'. I found it it enjoyable and intriguing, despite being slow.

My recommendations:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Kindred
The Help
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

I listened to Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, which compares the American racially-based caste system with the Hindu caste system in India. Very compelling, and I'm going to be thinking about it for a while to come.

Jackie wrote: "I listened to Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, which compares the American racially-based caste system with the Hindu caste system in India. Very compelling, and I'm going to ..."

I am listening to that now.

1. What are you reading for this category? I read Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch.

2. How does it fit into this theme? A thoughtful and enlightening look at race and identity in Britain. I would recommend it highly.

3. What books would you recommend for this category? Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race ; Afropean: Notes from Black Europe.

I read I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

I am reading 'The Silk Merchant's Daughter' by Dinah Jefferies.
It is about race relations between the Vietnamese, French, and mixed race of the two as war breaks out in Vietnam in the 1950s.
I can recommended Cry the beloved Country by Alan Paton.

I ended up reading So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. This was SUCH a good book and highly recommended to anyone and everyone.

The Other Black Girl caught my eye, so I've put it on hold at the library. Some of my other reader friends have said good things about it, though I hear the blurb is misleading and it goes off in an unexpected direction. From the description:

"Urgent, propulsive, and sharp as a knife, The Other Black Girl is an electric debut about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing."

I originally had The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich slotted here, but as she wrote one of my favorite reads last year I was able to swap it out to that other category, though it would still work here as well.

Optional Questions:
1. What are you reading for this category?
Snow Falling on Cedars

2. How does it fit into this theme?
This book essentially follows the trial Of a Japanese man accused of murder. There are times when tje discriminatory nature of his accusation and trial remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
I think To Kill a Mockingbird is a much better book than this on
I also like some non fiction on this subject Between the World and Me is absolutely brilliant and for me should be compulsory reading for 15 and 16 year olds - much more effective in creating awareness than taking the knee (this is my opinion and is not meant to be derogatory)

1. What are you reading for this category? I read The Book of Negroes

2. How does it fit into this theme? The protagonist was was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery. Even after she was freed, she still experienced racism. And sexism too.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt? I really can't recommend this book enough. It's a hard read. The Illegal also by Lawrence Hill is another good book.

What are you reading for this category?
Non-fiction:
* So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
* Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

Fiction:
* The Pecan Man/ The Truth About Grace by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
* Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips -- it isn't stated that this is what the book is about, but it's a thread throughout
* Sister of Mine by Sabra Waldfogel

I recommend:
* Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
* Women, Race & Class (and also Are Prisons Obsolete?) by Angela Y. Davis

What are you reading for this category?
I read Passing by Nella Larsen
How does it fit into this theme?
It is about a negro woman back in the 1920's in the USA who is light coloured enough to "pass" as a white woman

For this prompt I chose: �Jack by Marilynne Robinson. It's a very moving but hard to read story about a white man and a black woman who fall in love in Missouri in the 1950's. It's illegal for them to marry or live together, and it would destroy her teaching career. This is the newest book in the Gilead series, but most of the events in this book precede the other books. I adore this series, but it's not for everyone.

I also read (and used for other prompts):
Island Beneath the Sea - slavery, set on Haiti
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk - Chinese/US early 1900's
Girl, Woman, Other - British, Nigerian diaspora

I made some recommendations above in message 15, and I will add:
The Deep by Rivers Solomon (POC and non-binary author,) - A short and magical fantasy about former slaves who became mermaid type sea creatures.

The Songbook of Benny Lament - I absolutely LOVED it. (For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Amy Harmon.) About the music scene in the early 1960's. A well known white song writer/musician joins a black band, and one of their songs lights a spark in the early civil rights movement. Lots of music, race issues, mystery, romance, and a glimpse of early Motown. 2021 book.

The Illegal by Lawrence Hill was my choice for this prompt.

Some other books I am reading or have read that fit are:

I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad

Lovecraft Country

The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui's Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory

The Beauty of Your Face

Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the Nhl's First Treaty Indigenous Player

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. It was a amazing.
I recommend The Color Purple and An American Marriage.

Plus
Based on the strong recommendations here, I also read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

1. What are you reading for this category?
Interior Chinatown

2. How does it fit into this theme?
The book explores Asian stereotypes in a story following Willis Wu, Generic Asian Man.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for this prompt?
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Homegoing
The Yellow House
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
They Called Us Enemy

Nancy wrote: "I'm doing either So You Want to Talk About Race or How to Be an Antiracist. I'll probably read both so whichever one I read first will be for this prompt."

I got What's Mine and Yours from NetGalley so read that. I didn't love it, TBH. I did read So You Want to Talk About Race for a similar prompt in the Pop Sugar challenge. And I still plan to read How to Be an Antiracist at some point, probably next year.