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A review by laurareads87
Bibliophile: Diverse Spines by Jamise Harper, Jane Mount
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
An absolute delight that would make a wonderful gift to any reading enthusiast. I read this book in two sittings but I know I'll return to it again and again for reading ideas. The book celebrates the work of authors, cover designers, book store owners, and more, all of whom are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour, and features colourful illustrations of stacks upon stacks of books alongside recommendations. A wide range of genres are represented, as are reading levels / ages (including books for children), and identities (with pages celebrating 2SLGBTQ+ books, books from around the world, books on feminism, etc).
The book begins with the authors' goal: that you (the reader) "find at least ten new-to-you and irresistible diverse books by authors of backgrounds different than your own (or from your own that you haven't read yet!), that you'll read in the next year. And then ten more for the year after that, and so on" [9]. Being one who enjoys taking up a goal like this, I stuck a large lined post-it note in the back cover and proceeded to make my list of ten books to read this year as I went. I have ended up with a list that includes diverse authors, genres, and publication dates, and which is comprised predominantly of books I'd not heard of before encountering this one.
I appreciate that the book doesn't provide details for every single book depicted -- as a reader, I did the work of looking up information on titles that looked intriguing, and in the process my TBR grew by quite a bit. I look forward to engaging with Bibliophile: Diverse Spines for years to come and anticipate buying several copies as gifts for friends and family members.
The book begins with the authors' goal: that you (the reader) "find at least ten new-to-you and irresistible diverse books by authors of backgrounds different than your own (or from your own that you haven't read yet!), that you'll read in the next year. And then ten more for the year after that, and so on" [9]. Being one who enjoys taking up a goal like this, I stuck a large lined post-it note in the back cover and proceeded to make my list of ten books to read this year as I went. I have ended up with a list that includes diverse authors, genres, and publication dates, and which is comprised predominantly of books I'd not heard of before encountering this one.
I appreciate that the book doesn't provide details for every single book depicted -- as a reader, I did the work of looking up information on titles that looked intriguing, and in the process my TBR grew by quite a bit. I look forward to engaging with Bibliophile: Diverse Spines for years to come and anticipate buying several copies as gifts for friends and family members.