Lists

60 Titles From #BooksFightHate

Katie McLain Nov 21, 2016

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Katie McLain

Contributing Editor

Katie's parents never told her "no" when she asked for a book, which was the start of most of her problems. She has a BA in Creative Writing from Lake Forest College and is working towards a master's degree in library science at U of I. She works full time at a public library reference desk in northern IL, specializing in readers’ advisory and general book enthusiasm, and she has a deep-rooted love of all things disturbing, twisted, and terrifying. (She takes enormous pleasure in creeping out her coworkers.) When she's not spending every waking hour at the library, she's at home watching Cubs baseball with her cats and her cardigan collection, and when she's not at home, she's spending too much money on concert tickets. Her hobbies include debating the finer points of Harry Potter canon, hitting people upside the head who haven’t read The Martian, and convincing her boyfriend that she can, in fact, fit more books onto her shelves. Twitter: @kt_librarylady

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It’s been over a week since the election, and I’m still trying to process my emotions that range from anger to fear to determination to apathy to nausea. But one of the things I have been struck by, both on Book Riot, and on social media, is how librarians and authors and bloggers are drawing on their love of books to get themselves and their fellow book lovers through these emotionally exhausting days. Books have been one of the few constants in my life, and when I started writing for Book Riot, I was really interested in writing and learning about how my favorite books helped me understand myself better. It’s a feeling that many of us share. But over the last several months, I’ve seen how books give us hope and strength and courage. They tell us to empathize and keep fighting. They give us comfort. They’re an experience we can share with strangers.

In the wake of fear and violence left by the election, Justina Ireland put out this call on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/justinaireland/status/797790996339851264

It’s a call to share books and it’s a call to action that we can all easily get behind, especially for those of us who already work in a library, school, or bookstore. We can push back against ignorance and fear, and we can start with this list. Here are 60 titles pulled from the Twitter suggestions that you can use to jumpstart your own revolution.

Note: This is not a comprehensive list of all the Twitter recommendations. If you have any other #ownvoice titles to suggest, let us know!

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie