Melissa's Staff Picks

I'm a librarian at Southeast Regional Library, and these are some of my favorite reads! Feel free to email me at melissa.schultz@wakegov.com if you enjoyed one of these books!
 

Showing 1 - 6 of 6  There are a total of 209 valid entries on the list.

1. Between the world and me

Book cover for "Between the world and me"
Star rating for Between the world and me
Author:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF OPRAH’S “BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH” • NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT
Hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading,” a bold and personal literary...

2. Caste: the origins of our discontents

Book cover for "Caste"
Star rating for Caste
Author:
Wilkerson, Isabel
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"In this ... Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate....

3. I'm still here: black dignity in a world made for whiteness

Book cover for "I'm still here"
Star rating for I'm still here
Author:
Brown, Austin Channing
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
An "account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America ... [that looks] at how white, middle-class, evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God's ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness--if we let it--can save us all"--Amazon.com.

4. The nickel boys: a novel

Book cover for "The nickel boys"
Star rating for The nickel boys
Author:
Whitehead, Colson, 1969-
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Follows the experiences of two African-American teenagers at an abusive reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.

5. Such a fun age: a novel

Book cover for "Such a fun age"
Star rating for Such a fun age
Author:
Reid, Kiley
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar....

6. White fragility: why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism

Book cover for "White fragility"
Star rating for White fragility
Author:
DiAngelo, Robin J.
Average Rating:
2 stars
Choose a Format
On Shelf
East Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
305.8 DIANG
Eva H. Perry Regional - Adult Non-Fiction has 3
305.8 DIANG
Fuquay-Varina Community - Adult Non-Fiction
305.8 DIANG
Description:
Explores counterproductive reactions white people have when discussing racism that serve to protect their positions and maintain racial inequality