"Things might be tough but it's great for artists! They'll create more!" You might not believe me but going through a lifetime's worth of stress Every Single Week for years and years- is actually not the optimal set of circumstances that inspires artists to create

In the final hours before the Gaza ceasefire I asked my friends and family, “What’s the first thing you’ll do?” Through their answers, I came to understand the truce was not a moment of joy but a chance for our postponed grief to finally surface.

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/what-is-the-first-th…

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is not a prop or a mascot. Please don't trot out memes and quotes today featuring his words when you haven't embodied those teachings or engaged with them intentionally on any of the other 364 days of each year.

Free Sudan.
Free Palestine.
Free Congo.
Free Hawaii.
Free Puerto Rico.
Free Haiti.

Free also those of us still trapped inside Empire.

Free all places and people from the colonial clutches of the very Empire that is on currently on fire.
We the People will free each other.

Every time you go on Amazon or Goodreads to leave a review for Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ibram X. Kendi, or Alexander Chee, leave one for a first-time Black woman author, too. We need support so much more than well-established millionaire male authors.

So this initial gift guide was longer than expected so this will be a two-parter. Part One is exclusively book gifting for some of my favorite genres.

These books have been favorites of mine and many others this year. I would even go as far as to recommend each author’s individual backlist.