5 Book Club Picks To Read During Black History Month

Every February since 1926 (more than half a century before Opal Lee made Juneteenth a reality), the U.S. has taken time to reflect on the immense history of African Americans — a tradition rooted in the work of historian Carter G. Woodson. At first, the week was designed to commemorate the cultural contributions of Black people and parry their misrepresentation. It expanded in 1976 to Black History Month, when President Gerald Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

One such area of endeavor is literature, where Black authors have shaped, stretched, and elevated the canon in abounding ways. The books on this list represent just a glimpse of this imperative legacy — a cultural inheritance that goes well beyond the confines of a single month. Black history is American history. Without Black literature, there is no American literature. These titles volunteer perspectives that we can revere and cherish: now, in February, as well as all year round.

Romance lovers, get ready to fall head-over-heels for "The Proposal" by Jasmine Guillory, picked for Reese's Book Club as a sizzling summer read. When writer Nikole's boyfriend pops the question at a Dodgers game via jumbotron (after just five months of dating and with her name misspelled), the answer is a definitive 'no.' With a stadium full of stunned fans, and a viral social media frenzy that follows, poor Nikole is left scrambling to deal with the fallout. With the kind of serendipity so jovially essential to the genre, these events nudge her into the no-strings-attached arms of swoon-worthy doctor Carlos. But what happens when a rebound verges into something more?

This book was well-received by fans of the genre, particularly because Guillory's writing is fuzzy, frolicsome, and filled with heart. Though this is the second in her series, "The Wedding Date," it stands perfectly well on its own. Light on spice but heavy on charm, "The Proposal" is a jovial treat that reads as a light and delightful escape.

Fresh off the celebration of James Baldwin's centenary in 2024, there's no better time to revisit his evocative classic, "Giovanni's Room," picked for Natalie Portman's book club in August. The novel traces the charged, fleeting affair between David, a young American adrift in 1950s Paris, and Giovanni, an Italian barman whose passion pulls David into an inescapable reckoning. When David returns to his fiancée in pursuit of promised protection, devastation becomes impossible to prevent.

Love, desire, and societal expectation play out against Gay Paree's irresistible, restless multitudes. Transcending its fraught mid-century context, Baldwin's work exposes both the heart's brittle ebb and its perdurable flow. His beautiful prose renders the fleeting weightless and the permanent inescapable, breathing life into words and imbuing even the smallest details with poetic weight.

With its all-encompassing meditation on sexuality and prejudice, "Giovanni's Room" prompts an earnest interrogation into how we construct and constrain our identities, and how those resolutions eventually ripple outwards. It is often deemed one of the best books to read during LGBTQ+ Pride Month. To live without having read Baldwin's outstanding accomplishment is to miss one of literature's most stellar gifts. This is essential writing.

Have you ever felt conflicted about the misogyny of rap music but find yourself humming along anyway? Or have you binge-watched "The Bachelor" while sighing at its outdated gender dynamics. Roxanne Gay's "Bad Feminist" might be the book for you.

From the celebrated cultural critic and professor comes this exacting yet approachable collection of essays, helping us wade through the messiness of modern feminism. This was a Library Science choice, the club co-captained by model Kaia Gerber and writer Alyssa Reeder. It's an intellectually rigorous read — we'd expect nothing less from the academic who's seen associate and visiting professorships at Yale, Perdue, and Eastern Illinois — but Gay's conversational style helps keep the topics relatable and real. Her conclusions are shrewd, but her tone stays reflective and hilariously self-aware. Reading her takes on pop culture feels as though you're chatting with a friend, one who also happens to be brilliant.

The insights in "Bad Feminist" are as germane today as they were when first published in 2014 — perhaps even more so. As the dial of women's rights turns ever murkier, this work remains a staple to anchor us in turbulent times.

"From an author who is a powerful, vital voice in our culture today," says Oprah, comes "Let Us Descend" — the 2023 tour de force by Jesmyn Ward. Not only is Ward a MacArthur Fellow, she is also the youngest recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Eagle-eyed readers may remember her from her former triumphs, "Sing, Unburied, Sing" and "Salvage the Bones." But with "Let Us Descend," she delivers a new, sensational example of historical fiction.

The novel imposes its ineluctable grip right from its very first line: "The first weapon I ever held was my mother's hand." This is a grip that will take hold throughout. Readers are introduced to Annis, an enslaved teenager forced to journey from a North Carolina plantation to New Orleans, where she is sold to another plantation owner. Amid unspeakable horrors and tested faith, we trace Annis' painful but pivotal story of bearing. In selecting it for her book club, Oprah hoped it would impact as many of her fans as it did her. After reading Ward's careful words, we are sure it will.

Brit Bennett was already a New York Times bestselling author with a Warner Bros film deal when her second novel, "The Vanishing Half," was named a top pick for Dua Lipa's Service95 book club. In this psychological bildungsroman, identical twins Stella and Desiree Vignes flee their small Louisiana town in 1954, seeking lives beyond the narrow future it can provide. Crossing state and decadian lines, Desiree returns fourteen years later with a daughter, while Stella has formed a life where she passes as white. Their decisions set the sisters charting dramatically different courses, as their sleepy, insular world rattles beneath them.

Bennett proves herself once again a master in her craft with this bewitching sophomore work, probing the tension between who we are and who the world demands we become." With "The Vanishing Half," it's not difficult to see why she garnered critical acclaim once more.

Given the substantial significance, we took extra care when picking the celebrity book club picks for our Black History Month recommendations. Many titles could have made the list, but these particular works stood out for how they execute their respective messages. We drew inspiration from a range of celebrity book clubs because we wanted a list that truly reflects the breadth and depth of what today's literary circles have to offer. We carefully considered our own readership, too, keeping titles in mind that would be likely to appeal. In including a range of different genres, we hoped to appeal to the diverse tastes of our audience – so there's a story for every preference. We're also confident these books will endure long after their publication date; some already have.