My Local Library Reads
Books I've checked out from my local library and read over the last 9 months that I recommend to you
While I don’t get to do nearly as much reading as I’d like, I still frequently utilize my local library and love it dearly. I also send book suggestions to a friend who is a library employee to see if they can get them in and they almost always are able to do so.
Below are books that I’ve checked out and read since December 2023 that I highly recommend to all of you:
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future by Robert P. Jones
The Death of Public School : How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America by Cara Fitzpatrick
The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson
On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US by James LaRue
They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri
Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis by Michael Mann
The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations by David Montero, forward by Michael Eric Dyson
The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial by David Lipsky
White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy by Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman
They Came for the Schools: One Town’s Fight Over Race and Identity and the New War for America’s Classrooms by Mike Hixenbaugh
Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy edited by Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll
I plan on sharing my library reading lists via Substack roughly every 6-9 months. I think it’s so important to share what we read with one another. It’s even more important that we frequently utilize our public libraries, not just for reading traditional books but for digital and audio books as well, along with magazines/newspapers/periodicals and other important services libraries provide.
My local library, the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library, also provides printing (including mobile printing), copying and faxing; free computer and internet access with Wi-Fi; notary services; genealogy services; free meeting room reservations; a library on wheels; public programming for all ages, and more.
Libraries are the cornerstones of American democracy. It’s no secret why they are some of the institutions culture warriors attack first and most viciously with every new salvo that comes along. We’ve got to protect and cherish the freedom of thought and speech that libraries represent, uphold and defend. One of the best and most important ways we can do that is by supporting our libraries as patrons.
Other ways to support our libraries are by voting for library levies and by donating to libraries as nonprofits. My library, like many, includes a Friends of the Library nonprofit entity that benefits from tax-exempt donations. Every year our community has a Give Local MOV (Mid-Ohio Valley) Day sponsored by the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation that includes Friends of the Library. The library always manages to receive extensive support from this event.
It’s not just our public libraries but our public school libraries that are crucial to our communities and our communal well-being. I attended Criss Elementary School in Parkersburg, WV and remember my librarian, Mrs. Hescht, very fondly. I remember the scholastic book fairs that were held every year and purchasing the always beloved R.L. Stine Goosebumps books. Listening to Mrs. Hescht or local volunteers (usually retired women) read to us throughout grade school was always something I enjoyed and I credit those reading sessions, in part, for helping me achieve strong reading comprehension skills and an extensive vocabulary as an adult.
What really gets targeted in all this right-wing, fever-dreamed madness about LGBTQIA+ children’s books and the whitewashing of U.S. history that these culture warriors want to engage in is that sense of awe and wonder children can get when they see shelves of books at their schools or public libraries. I remember thinking as early as kindergarten how amazing it would be to be able to read all those books on those shelves. I thought if I could do that I’d know everything there was to know and the thought of that was really exciting (even if the primary motivation in those days was being smarter than my classmates).
When these mindless controversies get stirred up, kids see their parents/guardians and talking heads on TV arguing over what gets shelved and what doesn’t and, speaking only for myself, I know that grade school me would have wanted to avoid that conflict and would have been a lot less excited about library time and reading in general. Just let them read!
If you’re reading this, I’ve enabled commenting even or folks who are not subscribers. Please feel free to share your reading lists!