October 1, 2021
Harper, who created the hashtag #DiverseSpines to spotlight titles by Black women and other women of color, and Mount (My Ideal Bookshelf) joyfully share favorite books by BIPOC writers, in loose categories (classics, mysteries and horror, queer stories, poetry, middle grade, etc.). Interspersed throughout are book recommendations from BIPOC authors and shout-outs to independent bookstores; comments rendered in a handwriting font lend this bright and breezy miscellany an intimate feel. Mount's colorful, detailed illustrations of authors, book covers, and spines add appeal. VERDICT Perfect for guiding book clubs or anyone looking to read more inclusively.
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 8, 2021
“Reading won’t solve all problems... but it offers a brilliant path to greater understanding,” write Mount (Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany) and Spines & Vines blogger Harper in this literary treasure trove. Harper and Mount highlight authors, bookstore owners, and literary figures, all of whom are people of color, kicking things off with a consideration of 20th-century classics and suggesting readers check out Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, and Claude McKay’s Romance in Marseilles, before offering more recent suggestions, including Ernesto Quiñonez’s Bodega Dreams and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. The authors are agnostic of genre, recommending works of speculative fiction, historical fiction, coming-of-age, and stories that center queer experiences, alongside mini-profiles of such literary lions as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston (as well as a list of “bookstagrammers” to follow). Nods come from such authors as Brit Bennett, Mira Jacob, and Melissa Rivero, and readers will find a bounty of bookstores across America and Canada to visit. Charming and colorful illustrations appear throughout and offer splendid renditions of book covers, shops, and writers’ offices. Readers in a rut will want to dive in.