Marcus' Must Reads
Earlier during the start of this year I had made a personal goal to read and finish one book a month during any free time I had to myself and during my commute too and from work and I am glad to say I easily cleared my goal with 19 books read and as of today will be starting my 20th.
That being said I would recommend challenging yourself for the new year and reading a book a month and to get you started with a reading list here's a few of my favourites:
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (176 pages)
I got this book a year ago today and I can say its constantly been on my mind, if your single or even just in the talking stages of a relationship I would highly recommend especially if your a young black male Summary. Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists - he a photographer, she a dancer - trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them.
2. A Gift Of Love by Martin Luther King Jr. (224 Pages)
Doctor King's book on the gift of love is more than the tittle implies, as he delves into a more expansive definition of "love", love between men as well as between ideologies like science and religion, I would recommend this on if you would like to gain insight to his belief, A Gift of Love includes these classic sermons, along with two new preaching's. Collectively they present King's fusion of Christian teachings and social consciousness, and promote his prescient vision of love as a social and political force for change.
3. Heavy by Kiese Laymon (256 Pages)
My most recently finished book and probably one of the most recently finished book and its a memoir by Kiese detailing his experience with sex at a young age, dealing with racism through school and college as well as Kiese trying to find his place in the world, and how all that would effect him mentally and physically as the titlle of the book implies Kiese does struggle with his weight and its brought up quite a bit through out the book.It is about the jagged, uneven road to becoming a writer and a man; it is a chronicle of daily confrontations with the twin assaults of American racism and America's weight-obsessed culture. Heavy is a compelling record of American violence and family violence, and the wide, rutted embrace of family love.
4. Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Nietzsche (217 pages)
Nietzsche discusses how the concept of liberal democracy will not work because it still depends on good / bad religious moral views. Nietzsche did break the conventional view of liberal democracy by both focusing on the individual, but here the desire to achieve power (will to power) plays an important role. Anyone who studies liberalism should read this book beforehand. In a nutshell, in Beyond Good And Evil Nietzsche argues that: a) Concepts of good and evil ("morality") are culturally constructed rather than inherently "true"; different cultures develop different moral laws in order maintain social order.
5.The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré (350 pages)
The Girl with the Louding Voice is a 2020 coming of age novel and the debut novel of Nigerian writer Abi Daré. It tells the story about a teenage Nigerian girl called Adunni who becomes a maid and struggles with many things growing up, including her limited education, poverty and her ability to speak up for herself. I enjoyed meeting this character Adunni, this beautiful story shows how a young girl beats the odds life presented to her and moves on to find her self a better life, the path leading to fulfilling her dream of having a voice in the society which she calls a Louding Voice is rough. Child Marriage, the importance of girl child education, domestic abuse and stereotypes women face in the society all form part of the discuss. Adunni shows so much persistence, hoped against all hope and pushed until she achieved her goal. Adunni is an amazing character, she's funny, bold and daring making this book so hilarious yet you simply can't miss the point.
6. Childeren of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (525 pages)
A MASTERPIECE. Thats all there is to say about the absolute greatness that is this book. Adeyami pulls you into a world which absorbs you in its richness and delicacy whilst also simultaneously standing in for real life oppression. Never in my life have a read something so action paced - yet so well paced, that you never feel rushed. Everything seems to happen in such a perfectly woven pace. You are sucked into this legendary place of Orisha - and it took me a minute to get out of it. Then there are the characters. Inan is one of my favourite characters as the character complexities and dynamics make his POV the most compelling and interesting. I felt engrossed when reading about what he himself thought about his ulterior decisions and motives (which - no spoilers - changes quite often throughout the book). He in my opinion is the most misunderstood in his motives and although his final actions push him to an inevitable end, he held most of my attention throughout the book. That is not to say Zelie and Amari are two awesome female protagonist, struggling to survive in this race against time. I should stop typing and you should start reading this absolutely FANTASTIC book. It is a book for generations that tells the poignant love story of a young girl and her rise against the oppression. It pulls you in and does not let you out.