Book I've read until now in 2025
Most of them were audiobooks, please don't overestimate my reading abilities.
Semi Lazy Book review of what I’ve read. Summaries taken online and very short commentary, I will make a video to describe how I feel but honestly, I just feel like I need to go through some of those books again to properly encapsulate all the emotions they evoked in me.
Black Disability Politics
Summary: “In Black Disability Politics Sami Schalk explores how issues of disability have been and continue to be central to Black activism from the 1970s to the present. Schalk shows how Black people have long engaged with disability as a political issue deeply tied to race and racism. She points out that this work has not been recognized as part of the legacy of disability justice and liberation because Black disability politics differ in language and approach from the mainstream white-dominant disability rights movement. Drawing on the archives of the Black Panther Party and the National Black Women’s Health Project alongside interviews with contemporary Black disabled cultural workers, Schalk identifies common qualities of Black disability politics, including the need to ground public health initiatives in the experience and expertise of marginalized disabled people so that they can work in antiracist, feminist, and anti-ableist ways. Prioritizing an understanding of disability within the context of white supremacy, Schalk demonstrates that the work of Black disability politics not only exists but is essential to the future of Black liberation movements.”
Literally THE bible
Rating: 5/5
Author: Sami Schalk
All About Love
Summary: “Published in 1999, All About Love discusses aspects of love in modern society. The book is organized into thirteen chapters, in which each chapter discusses an aspect of love. Within these chapters, hooks also provides the reader with reflections on her own journey of love, as well as analysis of society's teachings of love”
This book gave me permission to feel and love. It made me realize that love is revolutionary and that there is political strength in having an abundance of love for the world. I definitely recommend for Autistic Black Girls.
Ratings: 4.5/5
Author: Bell Hooks
So you want to talk about Race?
Summary: “The book is about race in the contemporary United States, each chapter titled after a question. Oluo makes the argument that America's political, economic, and social systems are systematically/institutionally racist. The book provides advice for readers, when discussing race-related subjects, such as how to avoid acting defensive or getting off-topic. Statistics are used to support the book's arguments. Oluo also describes her upbringing and experience of living in Seattle, Washington. She was raised by a white single mother and became a single mother, herself, to two mixed-race sons, at a young age.
The book also covers topics including affirmative action, cultural appropriation, intersectionality, microaggressions, police brutality, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Oluo argues that use of the word "nigger" or other racial slurs by white people is not appropriate, even if the intention is ironic or the motive anti-racist.”
The basics, hitting the points that need to be hit.
Ratings: 4.5/5
Auhor: Ijeoma Oluo
Disability Pride
Summary: “In Disability Pride, disabled journalist Ben Mattlin weaves together interviews and reportage to introduce a cavalcade of individuals, ideas, and events in engaging, fast-paced prose. He traces the generation that came of age after the ADA reshaped America, and how it is influencing the future. He documents how autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement upended views of those whose brains work differently. He lifts the veil on a thriving disability culture—from social media to high fashion, Hollywood to Broadway—showing how the politics of beauty for those with marginalized body types and facial features is sparking widespread change. He also explores the movement’s shortcomings, particularly the erasure of nonwhite and LGBTQIA+ people that helped give rise to Disability Justice. He delves into systemic ableism in health care, the right-to-die movement, institutionalization, and the scourge of subminimum-wage labor that some call legalized slavery. And he finds glimmers of hope in how disabled people never give up their fight for parity and fair play.”
If Black Disability Politics didn’t exist, she would be my number one!
Ratings: 4.5/5
Author: Ben Mattlin
Negroland: A Memoir
Summary: “Jefferson takes us into an insular and discerning society: “I call it Negroland,” she writes, “because I still find ‘Negro’ a word of wonders, glorious and terrible.” Margo Jefferson was born in 1947 into upper-crust black Chicago. Her father was head of pediatrics at Provident Hospital, while her mother was a socialite. Negroland’s pedigree dates back generations, having originated with antebellum free blacks who made their fortunes among the plantations of the South. It evolved into a world of exclusive sororities, fraternities, networks, and clubs—a world in which skin color and hair texture were relentlessly evaluated alongside scholarly and professional achievements, where the Talented Tenth positioned themselves as a third race between whites and “the masses of Negros,” and where the motto was “Achievement. Invulnerability. Comportment.” Jefferson brilliantly charts the twists and turns of a life informed by psychological and moral contradictions, while reckoning with the strictures and demands of Negroland at crucial historical moments—the civil rights movement, the dawn of feminism, the falsehood of post-racial America.”
Relatable for Black people who grew up in white suburbia
Rating: 4/5
Author: Margo Jefferson
Fidel & Religion
Summary: “Fidel & Religion is a particularly unusual theological discussion, consisting entirely of a dialogue between Brazilian liberation theologist Frei Betto and Fidel Castro. Spoken over the course of twenty-three hours, the dialogue reveals Castro's background and his views on ethics, morals, religion, and revolution. Now with a new introduction revealing how Fidel & Revolution helped open the way for Pope John Paul II's historic 1998 visit to Cuba, and the Cuban Communist Party's decision to accept as members those practicing religious faith. Of especial interest are the parallels between Socialism and Christianity that Castro astutely observes. A thought-provoking examination for the sake of the ideals spoken as well as the political and historical importance of the man who espouses them.”
renewed my spirituality and belief in Christian philosophy
Rating: 5/5
Author: Frei Bretto
What Happened to you?
Summary: “Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my behavior?" Others may judge our reactions and think, "What's wrong with that person?" When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question. Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future—opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.”
Validating and powrful
Rating: 4.5/5
Author: Oprah and Bruce Perry
Black Pill
Summary: “This tour de force of investigative journalism depicts the United States of America as a country at a crossroads with the battle between the right and left spilling out from the darkest corners of the internet into the real world with often tragic consequences. Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and probing interviews under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups. At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, has spilled out into the real world with greater and greater frequency, culminating in the attempted coup on January 6th. Combining her years of on-the-ground reporting, Reeve clearly illustrates this shocking sweep of violence, where this cultural shift came from, and where it is going. She also introduces us to a shocking but powerful cast of characters, such as the creator of 8chan—an online hub for conspiracies and misogynistic rhetoric—and the white power leader who is still pulling the strings from a prison cell. Uncovering the hidden links between these events and how we can prevent further upheavals of this nature, Black Pill is a necessary read for any supporter of democracy.”
Opened my perspective
Rating: 4/5
Author: Elle Reeve
Burnout: The Secret to unlocking the stress cycle
Summary: “Burnout. We all feel it, and it’s time to end the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead of asking us to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand between women and well-being, this book explains with compassion and optimism what we’re up against—and show us how to fight back. With the help of eye-opening science, prescriptive advice, and helpful worksheets and exercises, all women will find something transformative in these pages—and will be empowered to create positive change.”
Saved my life not gonna lie
Rating: 4.5/5
Author: Emily Nagosaki, Phd and Amelia Nagosaki DMA
How Fascism Works
Summary: “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them is a 2018 nonfiction book by Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. Stanley, whose parents were refugees of Nazi Germany, describes strategies employed by fascist regimes, which includes normalizing the "intolerable".”
Helped me find the plot. Like among all the shit going on in the world, there is a very specific line of thoughts that need to be challenged.
Rating: 4/5
Author: Jason Stanley
The Art of War
Summary: The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period. The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, is composed of 13 chapters. Each one is devoted to a different set of skills or art related to warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. For almost 1,500 years, it was the lead text in an anthology that was formalized as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080
I am now a war general with training
Rating: 5/5
Author: Sun Tzu
Belly of the Beast: The politics of anti-fatness and anti-blackness
Summary: To live in a body both fat and Black is to exist at the margins of a society that creates the conditions for anti-fatness as anti-Blackness. Hyper-policed by state and society, passed over for housing and jobs, and derided and misdiagnosed by medical professionals, fat Black people in the United States are subject to sociopolitically sanctioned discrimination, abuse, condescension, and trauma. Da’Shaun Harrison–a fat, Black, disabled, and nonbinary trans writer–offers an incisive, fresh, and precise exploration of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness, foregrounding the state-sanctioned murders of fat Black men and trans and nonbinary masculine people in historical analysis. Policing, disenfranchisement, and invisibilizing of fat Black men and trans and nonbinary masculine people are pervasive, insidious ways that anti-fat anti-Blackness shows up in everyday life. Fat people can be legally fired in 49 states for being fat; they’re more likely to be houseless. Fat people die at higher rates from misdiagnosis or nontreatment; fat women are more likely to be sexually assaulted. And at the intersections of fatness, Blackness, disability, and gender, these abuses are exacerbated. Taking on desirability politics, the limitations of gender, the connection between anti-fatness and carcerality, and the incongruity of “health” and “healthiness” for the Black fat, Harrison viscerally and vividly illustrates the myriad harms of anti-fat anti-Blackness. They offer strategies for dismantling denial, unlearning the cultural programming that tells us “fat is bad,” and destroying the world as we know it, so the Black fat can inhabit a place not built on their subjugation.”
This book changed my life and I genuinely need to re-read it.
Rating: 5/5
Author: Da’Shaun Harrison
Honorable Mentions
The Anthropocene Reviewed
Summary: “The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale—from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar. Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity.”
I don’t know what I expected, it’s nice and funny but very much the words and opinions of a White man and I can’t listen to all those review without ignoring that.
Rating: 3/5
Author: John Green
Why Has Nobody told me this Before?
Summary: Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? teaches you how to fortify and maintain your mental health, even in the most trying of times. Dr Julie Smith's expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient, whether you want to manage anxiety, deal with criticism, cope with depression, build self-confidence, find motivation, or learn to forgive yourself. The book tackles everyday issues and offers practical solutions in bite-sized, easy-to-digest entries which make it easy to quickly find specific information and guidance.
Been there, done that, but still good advice and tools.
Rating: 3.5/5
Author: Julie Smith
The Old Regime and the French Revolution
Summary: “The book analyzes French society before the French Revolution — the so-called "Ancien Régime" — and investigates the causes and forces that brought about the Revolution. It is one of the major early historical works on the French Revolution.”
Justified my thoughts that the French revolution wasn’t real and we need a new “enlightenment” period
Rating: 4/5
Author: Alexis de Tocqueville
Memoirs On Pauperism
Summary: “England's Poor Laws, intended to ease the miseries of poverty, had in fact created an underclass of paupers. The paradox struck Tocqueville so forcibly that he reflected on it in one of his least-known pieces of writing (it was not translated into English until 1968), coming to the startlingly modern conclusion that any law giving the able-bodied poor the absolute right to legal charity will lead inexorably to an increase in their numbers, and also create mounting resentment on the part of the taxpayers forced to contribute to their support.”
great read, we really just hate poor people since day one bro.
Rating: 4/5
Author: Alexis de Tocqueville
Leviathan
Summary: “Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan is arguably the greatest piece of political philosophy written in the English language. Written in a time of great political turmoil (Hobbes's life spanned the reign of Charles I, the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, and the Restoration), Leviathan is an argument for obedience to authority grounded in an analysis of human nature.”
Old ass book still dictates our politics and way of life? Yeah he ate with this one.
Rating: 5/5
Author: Thomas Hobbes
The Message
Summary: Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set out to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic “Politics and the English Language,” but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities. In the first of the book’s three intertwining essays, Coates, on his first trip to Africa, finds himself in two places at once: in Dakar, a modern city in Senegal, and in a mythic kingdom in his mind. Then he takes readers along with him to Columbia, South Carolina, where he reports on his own book’s banning, but also explores the larger backlash to the nation’s recent reckoning with history and the deeply rooted American mythology so visible in that city—a capital of the Confederacy with statues of segregationists looming over its public squares. Finally, in the book’s longest section, Coates travels to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives, and the tragedy that lies in the clash between the stories we tell and the reality of life on the ground.
Rating: 5/5
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
TO BE CONTINUED
I haven’t finished reading those books but they are absolutely a MUST read
Hundred Years War on Palestine
by Rashid Khalidi
Ten Myths About Israel
by Ilhan Pappe
Justice for Some
by Noura Erakat
The Body Keeps the Score
by Bessel Van der Kolk
Black Skin, White Mask
by Frantz Fanon
State and Revolution
by Vladimir Lenin
The emancipation of Women and the fight for liberation of Africa
by Thomas Sankara
First off, I was hella surprised that my local library even had Belly of the Beast: The politics of anti-fatness and anti-blackness. This book packs a punch & im a bit dissatisfied that it’s still relatively unknown.