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Darling readers, it’s almost that time, the time of Maas Destruction!!  If you’re ready (or will be ready enough) for our Virtual Book Club discussion of  House of Earth and Blood (#1) on Friday, February 11 at 7:30 pm CST, be sure to let us know by signing up here.  Beverages, excitement for House of Sky and Breath, and favorite quotes / moments welcome!  And, because we would feel terrible if we didn’t mention it, Maas’ Throne of Glass series is currently, as of this writing,  on sale for $5.99 from Amazon. Pick yourself up 4855 pages of amazing, fully completed series!

As you may have guessed, for the month of February, we’re featuring young adult books by Black authors on the blog.  Last week’s book introduced us to several new-to-us authors we’re looking forward to exploring more, and we’re also really excited about the titles we have coming up as well.  There are a lot of comments going around social media, including those run by Black people, about how to recognize Black History Month, and I want to discuss a couple of those here and put it in the context of creating a great reading life.

Comments I’ve seen on the social media accounts of Black people about Black History Month and reading include challenges not to read about slavery, oppression, and history, which I adore (and should have saved the link to credit the creator, I’m sorry!).  While titles discussing those topics are important, so are Black boy joy, Black girl magic, and tales of Black people living a modern life, all of which will likely include aspects of oppression because of systemic racism, but that doesn’t mean that has to be the focus (as in the case of Black Enough).  The most important comment I want to discuss is around if you’re just reading Black authors during February, it’s not enough.  That’s exactly right, and it’s why one of our reading goals includes reading diverse authors.  Are we as diverse or inclusive as we’d like to be?  No, not really, but we’re improving, and to me that’s the goal because habits are hard to form.  On a podcast episode last week, the host and guests were talking about Lent and its purpose (I know, stay with me).  They expounded that Lent isn’t about giving up something trite, it’s about giving up something meaningful and using that to turn more towards God, and hopefully using that temporary practice to build improved habits.  This idea can also be applied to your reading life, and it is why we read so many Black authors in February, to use this month as a practice with the goal of building a better habit, and learning some things along the way from these authors.  Our Black friends didn’t sign up to be the guides to their non-Black friends, but these Black authors did sign up to share their stories with the world.  I’m so grateful for the many teachers, both near and far, I have in my life who continue to shed light into my blind spots, call me in, teach me the things I didn’t know before, and provide examples of how I can be a better friend and a better person.  I hope you’ll join us on this journey, or embark on a similar one, this month and going forward, opening your mind and heart to Black voices speaking their truth to help guide us all towards a better world.  

Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi

Legendborn (The Legendborn Cycle #1) by Tracy Deonn

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Wings of Ebony (Wings of Ebony #1) by J. Elle

We’d love to hear what you’re reading this month, and what you think of our titles, especially as they’re skewing young adult.  We’ve mapped out March, but there’s still plenty of the year left so if you have a title you’d like to have our thoughts on, let us know!

~Ashley and Nikki

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