Books I Read Throughout My YAGM Year

Hey folks!

Throughout my YAGM year, I was intentional about the books I read. I tried to incorporate books by people of color, and about racial justice, responsible charity and aid, feminism, faith formation, etc. Of course, this was made possible by the lovely YAGM Senegal Library, which our country coordinator - Pastor Kristin - has curated and houses in her office in Dakar.

I have highlighted the books which I highly recommend by making them bold. I just wanted to share this in case it inspires you to expand your reading repertoire, or just gives you ideas on what to read next!

August

New & Selected Poems: Vol 1 by Mary Oliver

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

September

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

So Long A Letter by Miriam Ba

* Ba is a female Senegalese author, this book centers on one Senegalese woman's experience.

October

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya

*Please read this. Wamariya is a Rwandan-American author, and this is one of the best books I read all year.

Toxic Charity by Robert D. Lupton

*This book challenged me to reconsider how and why we do aid and charity work.

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

*It's just so cute and full of wisdom.

The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon

Waking Up White by Debby Irving

*EVERYBODY (well, mostly white folks) needs to read this book. It provides such a good way to reflect on your privilege and the ways we take part in and benefit from many systems and institutions, even when it's hard to see.

November

Rumi Day By Day by Rumi/Maryam Mafi

Tracks by Louise Erdrich

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Finding Grace at the Center by Abbot Thomas Keating

Girl In Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland

Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber

December

God’s Bits of Wood by Sembene Ousmane

*An eye-opening read on the realities of what colonialism looked like in Senegal in the 1900's. (Note, still fiction).

Islam: A Very Short Intro by Malise Ruthven

The Help by Kathleen Stockett

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

*A wonderful address to the political situation in the U.S., and how we are in community together.

The Freedom of a Christian by Martin Luther

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

January

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie

The Shadow Girls by Henning Mankell

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

February

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

*I very much enjoyed this novel, and look forward to reading more of Whitehead's writing.

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

*Once again, if you identify as a white person, give this a read.

No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe

Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

March

Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

*I found this work fascinating and provoking.

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

Hippies by Paulo Coelho

April

The Firm by John Grisham

Room by Emma Donoghue

May

This Messy Magnificent Life by Geneen Roth

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

*Oh my gosh, just do yourself a favor and read this book. It is simultaneously a love story, and a story about how race can affect someone's life in the U.S. Adichie does not compromise either part of the story.

Juletane by Myriam Warner-Vieyra

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

*Also so good. Gyasi is a Ghanain-American writer.

June

Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi