This book is not what I had naively expected — my brain ignored the “essays” part of the title in favor of the “how to” part — but it is, without a doubt, excellent.

If you’re looking for someone to put very simply why what’s happening in Palestine is not “complicated,” this is it. Required reading.

I had been hoping for a bit more from Essential Labor. The memoiristic parts are its strongest. The rest may be a good introduction to many different social issues for those new to them, but it stayed pretty surface-level.

Running While Black is the perfect blend of memoir and hard-hitting social commentary. Desir’s focus on the running world is both narrow (making it feel particularly fascinating) and broad (illustrating its necessity.

The Intersectional Environmentalist is a short but impactful read. While I did know some of the things it teaches, I learned plenty new and felt re-called to action.

Four Hundred Souls is a triumph of community history. Its unique format and exceptional contributors make it one of the most noteworthy works of nonfiction I’ve read.

Wallet Activism is a great book and I’m really glad I read it. It taught me new things, reminded me of others, and inspired me to make some changes.

All We Can Save is a moving, hopeful, and digestible collection of essays on climate activism. It made for an excellent book club discussion and inspired me to join/stay in the fight.

This book is obviously illuminating and inspiring and impactful to read, because Angela Davis is Angela Davis. Every word from her is a gift to our hearts and brains.

Carry is one of those memoirs that just stands so far out from all the others. The writing is fierce, poetic, and self-assured. Read it.

Is Rape a Crime? is a scorching, no-holds-barred work that’s part memoir, part investigation into a society that refuses to treat rape like the felony that it is.

White Tears/Brown Scars is a thoughtfully researched, convincingly argued, incredibly important book that should be required reading for white people everywhere.

Hood Feminism is a wake-up call that should be required reading for all white and/or mainstream feminists.

I don’t have much to say about this beyond what’s been said before: If you are white, read it.

How to Be an Antiracist is a frank, straightforward, clarifying, no-holds-barred book about racism — more so than almost any other book like this I’ve read in the past.

Rating: 5/5 | I listened to this audiobook in the week or so leading up to the 2018 midterms, and I actually had it in my ears as I voted. I finished it that evening, before the elections were decided. That was an excellent choice. (Click the post to read more.)

Rating: 5/5 | Zachary Wood is an impressive person. He wrote his memoir like he lives his life: free of judgment, open to interpersonal connection, assertive but not aggressive, and with plenty of room for the reader to maintain his or her dignity and opinion. He seeks to understand, to connect, to challenge assumptions, and to broaden both his and his readers' understanding of the world. (Click the post to read more.)

Rating: 5/5 | Tell Me How It Ends is a short, concise, but hard-hitting work of literary nonfiction. It made me think about an issue that I haven't let myself think about to deeply, and it humanized it more than numbers and statistics ever could. This will only take you a few hours to read. Do it. (Click the post to read more.}