Friday Mood Recs: 21 books to read right now

An assortment of books that have been calling to me this week

The day after Trump won the election in 2016, I had a very difficult time showing up at work. I taught at a fairly conservative school and knowing I was going to have to spend the day with colleagues who had voted for him and students whose families were celebrating was a tough pill to swallow. It was hard.

At the same time, being in those classrooms felt invigorating and important. I had many, many students who were crushed by the results and by being there for them I felt that I was doing a small thing that mattered. That day and for the days that followed, it also felt like it mattered to connect with all of my students in an earnest way about values, rhetoric, and the stories we tell. It mattered to model outspokenness and respectful disagreement, to teach them how to analyze the rhetoric they were seeing, and to give them ample opportunities to sit outside of their own perspectives in the books we read. Those four years were difficult, but I guess I felt like I was in the exact right place to use my skills and passions for human-to-human good.

But now my job is Professional Internet Book Person and, quite honestly, I’m not sure what it means to show up for this job under the current circumstances. It is very weird to see some corners of social media carry on as normal with gift guides and book stacks. At the same time, I can’t—and don’t want to—opt out of doing my work, even if it feels strange or trivial. To be clear, I am not asking you to tell me this work matters (I know it does) but I am asking myself how I can make it matter more and how I want to proceed from here.

With all of that in mind, today I do have some book recommendations for you. These are quite simply the books that I’ve been thinking about, for whatever reasons, all week. There is a comfort read or two here, but these books are not about escape. These are books that illuminated something for me, helped me see the world more clearly, or allowed me to tap into my humanity in a uniquely compelling way. I don’t know how else to say it other than these are books that are all doing something that feels essential right now. I hope you find something you need.