In a WSIRN Patreon bonus episode called How to read hard books and Black joy recommendations, we discussed Valencia’s seven-step process for reading challenging books. Valencia hosts the Well-Read Black Girl Book Club at Bookmarks and she’s also a What Should I Read Next alum. I don’t think I would be reading this if it wasn’t this month’s selection.Įarlier this year I had a conversation with friend and fellow reader Valencia Taylor that helped me think more about how to approach these difficult books. Take My Handby Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club May 2023 selection, is about the forced sterilization of young girls, specifically Black girls, set in the early 1970s, in my home state of Alabama. These books can be challenging to everyone: the marginalized community experiencing the harm and the rest of society who may be unconsciously inflicting that harm.

Personally, books that detail historical and societal trauma are ones that I find “hard” to read. What makes a subject or theme difficult is subjective and personal. For me, it’s a book that deals with difficult subjects and themes. What’s a “hard” book? For some, it might be a book with different (or dated) language, words, and dialects. I hope you enjoy and appreciate these insights as much as I did. When Shannan mentioned it could make a good blog post, I could not agree fast enough. (Oct.Dear Readers, today I’m delighted to welcome MMD team member Shannan Malone to the blog! I love the conversation that inspired this post so much. As fans of this writer know, years of experience have made him an author who promises a good story and then delivers it. Baldacci maintains interest during the long buildup by supplying fascinating historical facts, amusing characters, high-tech spy lore and the backstories of his super agents, both good and evil. When it finally appears, it's a doozy: kidnappers who harm no one and are reasonable people with a legitimate gripe bring the U.S. There are scores of characters and subplots to keep track of while the story veers back and forth between venues and villains, forcing readers to remain alert yet patient while awaiting the high-concept payoff. One night, while meeting on Roosevelt Island in the middle of the Potomac River, club members witness the murder of Secret Service employee Patrick Johnson, thus thrusting the wacky crew into the middle of a bigger conspiracy than they could ever have imagined. The Camel Club, a four-man group of Washington, D.C., misfits (their leader has taken the ironic pseudonym 'Oliver Stone') gathers every week to discuss political conspiracies they believe exist and what actions they might take. Arab terrorists, nuclear threat and political perfidy drive bestselling Baldacci's latest.

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