Bookworm Cottage Style

Hello readers, it’s nice to be back!

A good book might not be able to solve all of the world’s problems, but that’s not going to stop us from trying. This year we are diversifying our bookshelves — reading more stories from people with a multitude of lived experiences. February is Black History Month, so exploring Black authors is where we’ll begin. Each of these are books that I’ve read and loved. There are so many amazing books by Black authors that it was incredibly hard to narrow my favorites down to the titles that would fit in this post. As for me, this month I plan to pick up a copy of The Seven Daughters of Dupree at my local bookstore and absolutely cannot wait to start it.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (2020; 343 pages)  // This engaging family drama is about two estranged twin sisters — one (Desiree) who lives her life as a Black woman, and one (Stella) who passes as a white woman without looking back. There is an element of suspense as we try to figure out what happened to Stella, and if the sisters will ever cross paths again. All in all, this is a captivating empathy and compassion-building book for readers of all backgrounds. But don’t just take my word for it… This was a GMA Book Club pick, one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year, a women’s prize finalist, and was included in several best book of 2020 lists, including the NYT. 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (2022; 385 pages) // This juicy family drama (and Read with Jenna book club pick) follows two siblings who, upon their mother’s death, discover secrets about their mother’s past life. The result is an incredibly riveting page turner about passion, regret, success, identity, and family. Highly recommend! I also enjoyed Wilkerson’s newer 2025 novel, Good Dirt. 

Girl Woman Other by Bernardine Evaristo (2019; 464 pages) // A fantastic book narrated by a diverse cast of mostly Black, mostly female characters in the UK whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. If you enjoyed Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson, or Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, you’ll adore this reflection on race, gender, motherhood, and connection. Bernardine Evaristo is a masterful storyteller whose work blurs the lines between poetry and novel, resulting in a magnetic book that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016; 320 pages) // The journey that author Gyasi packs into a little over 300 pages is incredible. This masterpiece of a novel traces the family line of two half sisters in Ghana from the Transatlantic slave trade up to present day, with each chapter spotlighting a family member from each successive generation. A saga you won’t soon forget, the structure of this novel expertly spotlights the legacy of generational trauma and resilience both in Ghana and in the U.S. 

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (2019, 292 pages)  // American Spy is a sharp book about African geopolitics and intelligence work set primarily in the 1980s. Marie is the only Black woman working in her primarily male, primarily white FBI department and is continually underestimated by her colleagues. When the opportunity comes up to transition into intelligence work, she jumps on it, quickly using her skills to infiltrate the government of Burkina Faso. The deeper Marie gets into her cover, the more she questions the moral compass of the mission and where her allegiances lie. This a great twisty book that will make you think. I cannot believe that it’s not a movie, as I feel like this story was made for the big screen.

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (2021, 336 pages) // This joyous and oftentimes funny book does a masterful job exploring love and second chances against the backdrop of NYC’s literary scene. Seven Days in June reminded me of a refreshing, modern-day, Black joy-focused version of The Notebook, and I loved every minute of it!

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson (2016; 368 pages) // I will continue to keep recommending this book until everyone I know has read it, because it is truly the most powerful book I’ve ever encountered. If you are new here, this book is a memoir written by an attorney representing individuals on death row. The book gives readers an urgent view of mass incarceration and the painful legacy of structural racism that is still in place today.

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith (2021; 352 pages) // This is another book that I’ve recommended before and will likely recommend again — truly a must-read! So much of the history that Americans are taught is incredibly whitewashed and misleading. Rather than shame the reader for their ignorance, award winning journalist, writer, and poet Clint Smith learns alongside us as he tours various places around the country to uncover America’s painful history, all written in Smith’s signature beautiful prose. This book is all at once welcoming, infuriating, heartbreaking, and necessary.