Do you know what I love about Fridays? The fact that I have an entire weekend to wake up a little bit early, snuggle up on the couch with my tea, and dive into a good book before the kids wake up. Some of my favorite books this last year have been on racism, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable living. I’d like to share these books with our community today!
This will be an ongoing list and I will simply update this blog post on the regular. I cannot read ALL the books out there, so please feel free to recommend any of your favorite books on these topics so we can stay on top of all the best resources! Either drop them in the comments or feel free to comment on our Instagram!
Anti-Racism Books
The Making of Asian America: The History by Erika Lee
A comprehensive and fascinating history of Asian-Americans and their role in American life, by one of the nation’s preeminent scholars on the subject.
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*FREE Book!* Stop Asian Hate
All You Need To Know About AAPI Heritage Month And How To Celebrate!
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The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? A wonderful story of dismantling racism and disconnect at a young age.
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Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
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So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.
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White Fragility
The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
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How to be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
“The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”—The New York Times
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An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The first history of the United States told from the perspective of the indigenous peoples. Now part of the HBO docuseries, “Exterminate All the Brutes,” written and directed by Raoul Peck.
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Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad
This eye-opening book challenges you to do the essential work of unpacking your biases and helps white people take action and dismantle the privilege within themselves.
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Minor Feelings (An Asian American Reckoning) by Cathy Park Hong
A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness
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Regenerative Agriculture Related Books
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices.
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The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
This beautifully written (one part romantic, one part scientific) book journeys deep into the forest to uncover the fascinating—and surprisingly moving—hidden life of trees.
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Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta
A paradigm-shifting book that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability—and offers a new template for living.
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Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman and Karen Washington
Farming While Black is the first comprehensive “how-to” guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the amazing contributions of African-heritage people in sustainable agriculture.
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Sustainable Living Books
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein
A brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core “free market” ideology of our time, restructure the global economy and remake our political systems.
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101 Ways to go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg
Minimalism meets DIY in an accessible guide to household waste reduction
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Green Washed: Why we cannot buy our way to a green planet by Kendra Pierre-Louis
A new and unique take on green consumption, Green Washed shows how buying better is only the first step toward true sustainability.
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How to Save the World for Free by Natalie Fee
Are you worried about the effects of climate change on our environment? Want to help but don’t know where to start? Natalie Fee’s new handbook to green living will help you to make small lifestyle changes that will make a big difference to our planet.
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A Life Less Throwaway (The Lost Art of Buying for Life) by Tara Button
A revolutionary guide to the art of mindful buying that will teach you how to resist cheaply made goods and make smart, fulfilling purchases that last a lifetime.
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Looking for more inspirations?
Thank you so much for sharing these! I love to read and really like to find books that teach me something, too. These are great suggestions.
Thank you so much!! Hope you love them as must as we do here at SKL!