Ep. 49 - Sam Miller: Reading for Summer Sun and Solidarity
It’s officially summer. The kids are done with school and it feels like time to relax a little after a stressful spring. Wouldn’t we all like to be sitting on a beach, by a lake, or on a shaded porch reading the perfect book? But not everyone’s plans are what they once were with the uncertainty that has plagued us in 2020. Maybe our biggest escape is through the pages of a book. Our guest this week is someone we trust to help us with finding that book. We are excited to welcome back friend of the show and bookseller Sam Miller, from Carmichael’s books here in Louisville KY.
When we planned this week’s episode weeks ago, we wanted to talk about summer reading, and in our minds we envisioned beach reads and books that people read for pure enjoyment. But with the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the protests that are occurring in response to those, we realized that summer reading for many people might look different than it usually does.
The Perks of Being a Book Lover has always been about books, reading, and sharing that reading with others. Reading, for us, has been about connection with others. And perhaps the most important part of the experience has been sitting back and being quiet. Listening to what others have to tell us. What their experiences can teach us and help us understand.
Early in our show, we were able to see the film Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am at the Speed Cinema and listen to the discussion about Morrison’s role in literature. Throughout her career as both an editor and author, Morrison said a lot of important things about what reading can do. In an interview in 2003, Morrison said: “Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind.”
Carrie and I at Perks of Being a Book Lover believe that black authors matter. Black voices matter. Black lives matter.
Books Discussed in this Episode:
1- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2- Beach Read by Emily Henry
3- The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
4- All Adults Here by Emma Straub
5- Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
6- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
7- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
8- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
9- Untamed by Glennan Doyle
10- The Splendid and the Vile by Eric Larson
11- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
12- Gifts From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
13- The Dry by Jane Harper
14- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
15- This is Chance: The Shaking of An All American City, A Voice that Held it Together by Jonathan Mooallem
16- The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McCissack
17- Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan
18- Well-Read Black Girl : Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves Compiled by Glory Edim
19- Harlem by Langston Hughes
20- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
21- Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
22- How To Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
23- Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (Children's lit version)
24- The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Richard Rothstein
25- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
26- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
27- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
28- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
29- On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
30- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
31- The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963, By Christopher Paul Curtis
32- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
33- Any book by James Baldwin
You can find us on FB, instagram (@perksofbeingabookloverpod) and on our blog site at www.perksofbeingabooklover.com
Perks airs on Forward Radio 106.5 FM and forwardradio.org every Wednesday at 6 pm, Thursdays at 6 am and 12 pm. We have purchased the rights to the theme music used.