READING CHALLENGE | Diversify that Shelf

Looks like reading is the only thing I will be doing this month but I am not complaining. This month, I will be aiming to read a total of thirteen books and will be participating in three readathons. I originally planned on taking part in only two but could not help myself when I saw this readathon my friend Noura will be hosting.

Diversify that Shelf is a readathon that focuses on “reading and supporting diverse books, experiences and authors of colour”. There are a total of sixteen challenges and the readathon takes place from the 10th to 19th of August. To find out more about the readathon, be sure to check out Noura’s Twitter here.

The main readathon I will be participating in this month is the N.E.W.T.’s Magical Readathon (to complete my career as a potioneer) so, all the books I will be reading this month is for that readathon. I do not think I will be able to get to any more books, therefore I will be using some of the same books for this readathon and the Bibliothon readathon.

I will be aiming to complete ten of the prompts with five books. So, without further ado, let us look at my TBR!

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MY DIVERSIFY THAT SHELF TBR

DIFFERENT CULTURE THAN YOU.
POC ON COVER.

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

G O O D R E A D S  |  S Y N O P S I S

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren’t Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson’s emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults.

I have been wanting to read this one since I first saw bookstagrammers talk about it. The cover is absolutely stunning and I have heard nothing but amazing things about it.

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BY BLACK AUTHOR (ANY GENRE).
A FRIEND’S FAVOURITE DIVERSE READ.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

G O O D R E A D S  |  S Y N O P S I S

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren’t affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ that led to this book.

Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today.

Many people and bookworm friends have recommended this book to me for a while and I am so excited to finally get to it. I just know it will be a book that finds its way into my heart and that it will be one I will remember for a very long time.

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FOCUSES ON IDENTITY.
DIVERSE BOOK WITH MORE THAN 300 PAGES.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

G O O D R E A D S  |  S Y N O P S I S

The memoir of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

This book is yet another one I have been wanting to get to for a long time. I am cheating with this one a bit because the Kindle edition has 304 pages but I will be listening to the audiobook. However, I am not going to be too hard on myself. Reading diverse books is all what this readathon is about and as long as I am having a good time, it does not matter to me.

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DIVERSE CONTEMPORARY.
OWN VOICE (IDENTITY, CULTURE, ETC.)

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

G O O D R E A D S  |  S Y N O P S I S

Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Never mind she’s also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she’s also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.

I received an eARC of this one on NetGalley a while back and still have not gotten to it yet. I am really looking forward to pick it up soon!

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BOOK BY AN AOC YOU’VE WANTED TO READ FOR A WHILE.
PICK A BOOK BY AN AOC RANDOMLY!

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

G O O D R E A D S  |  S Y N O P S I S

No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

I downloaded the second book in the series last month, The Silvered Serpents, and will be binge reading the two books this month. I am super excited to finally get to this one as I have been wanting to read it since it was released.

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That is it for my TBR! Will you be participating in this readathon as well? And if so, which books will you be reading?

Keep reading and never stop telling stories.

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