I know we're all in the same boat when it comes to 'so many books, so little time', but if, like me, you haven't got around to Between the World and Me yet, put it on your priority list. Written as a letter to his teenage son about what it means to inhabit a Black body in America, this book is full of emotion, especially noticeable listening to it as an audiobook, which Coates narrates himself.

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It's hard to review something so personal, as although Coates does include some US history and politics, he interweaves this with his own personal journey as a Black man in America. So I thought I'd mention some points to show you why you need to read this book if you haven't already:

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Remember that when we talk about racism, we're talking about real visceral acts that are performed on the Black body. It's easy to get lost in the terminology we use to talk about it and lose sight of what the real-life consequences are.

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Coates talks a lot about growing up in Baltimore where street violence was rife, but that violence was borne out of fear. Black boys acting tough because they need to feel like they're secure in their own body, like they're not constantly in danger because of a system which is designed to benefit white bodies.

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Had Coates himself not had to expend so much time and energy as a youth doing the same thing, protecting his body, what might he have accomplished? If he'd had the freedom of those little white boys he saw on the TV, what could he have achieved?

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Black people and white people are held to different standards. During Black History Month, only the non-violent activists are taught and praised in schools, while perpetrators of genocide and those who built a country on the back of slavery are held up as heroes.

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I could go on and on, but just read the book for yourself and see why so many people (including Toni Morrison!!) considered and consider it essential reading.

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Thanks to Traci at The Stacks Pod for giving me the kick I needed to push this one up the TBR with her podcast on Breathe by Imani Perry with Kiese Laymon!