Welcome to the weekend, nonfiction friends! It’s been a week of ups and downs for me. On Monday I celebrated World Mental Health Day with a stupid little walk outside on a beautiful fall day. But Thursday temperatures had dropped into nearly winter coat weather, with rain and threats of snow in the forecast. I am not ready!
This week I’m wrapping up Hispanic Heritage Month with a couple of books on Hispanic and Latine history. Enjoy!
Bookish Goods
Bookish Halloween Coffee Mug from MeloiraStore
For whatever reason, this mug made me actually stop and LOL when I saw it on Etsy. That’s a good enough reason to recommend it! $20 (on sale for $10)
New Releases
Bad Vibes Only (And Other Things I Bring to the Table) by Nora McInerny
As the host of the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking, Nora McInerny tells stories about people going through some of the hardest and most awkward experiences in life. This is her fourth nonfiction book, and is a collection of essays about optimism culture, self-improvement, and living life online. It’s also a book for “the overthinkers, the analyzers, the recovering Girl Bosses, and the burned-out personal brand,” which is a list that makes me laugh every time I read it. I suspect this one would also be great on audiobook.
Home Bound: An Uprooted Daughter’s Reflections on Belonging by Vanessa A. Bee
Throughout her life, Vanessa A. Bee has lived everywhere from Yaoundé, Cameroon to Reno, Nevada, with multiple stops along the way. In this book, she grapples with the questions her “adoptive, multiracial, multilingual, multinational, and transcontinental upbringing” have caused: what is home, and how does home connect to our ideology and social status? She wrestles with these questions through a personal lens and through the lens of economic justice, trying to contend with her (and our) place in the world.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end, I want to wrap up by sharing a couple of great books about Latine and Hispanic history:
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America by Juan González
First published in 2011 and updated in 2022, this book is a look at five centuries of Latine history in the United States. Journalist Juan González begins with America’s colonization and continues through the 2020 election, showing the growing impact of Latine people on American culture and politics. He offers profiles of Latine pioneers, including stories about why they came to the United States, giving voice to many different experiences.
An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz
This book is described as a “revolutionary, politically charged narrative history” that uses the stories of African American and Latinx people to show how U.S. history is a story of “the working class organizing against imperialism.” Paul Ortiz links historical movements like segregation, Mexican labor organizing, and the Civil Rights Movement to show how different historically oppressed groups worked together to push back against the dominant narrative. I’m interested to learn how these stories all work together.
For more nonfiction reads, head over to the podcast service of your choice and download For Real, which I co-host with my dear friend Alice. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @kimthedork or send an email to kim@riotnewmedia.com. Happy weekend!