Book Recommendations: Books by Black Authors about Friendship, Family, and Community to Read During Black History Month

Our Friend is Here: Black History Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond during the month of February, where Black authors are invited to celebrate being Black and Black books! Find the introduction post for Black History Month here.

In case you’re new to the Pond’s book recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has come up with their latest costume, they will always recommend a few books that inspired them!

I love books that explore the relationships that we have in our lives. Friendship and family relationships can be so enriching and wonderful, but can also be deeply complicated too, particularly when others – or we – go through change. And then I also love the stories about community, where we discover that we can connect and find belonging, home, and understanding with others.

Book Recommendations: 5 Books about Friendship and the Inevitability of Change

In case you’re new to the Pond’s book recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has come up with their latest costume, they will always recommend a few books that inspired them!

It’s nearly the end of the year – a time of reflection, thoughtfulness, and change. I thought I’d do a book recommendation post on change because, well, change is hard! and scary! Even though we say that change is the one constant in life, it’s inevitable, and on and on and on, change is different and new every single time. When I myself face change, I look to books; in their stories, I find comfort in the discomfort and a little ray of hope that things are going to be okay, even if they aren’t okay for a time.

Book Recommendations: 6 Amazing K-Pop Books that Will Light [You] Up Like Dynamite

In case you’re new to the Pond’s book recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has come up with their latest costume, they will always recommend a few books that inspired them!

Years and years ago, I loved K-Pop. I remember having to explain to my friends that, yes! I can enjoy music that isn’t in English! and listening to Girls Generation, Super Junior, Shinee, EXO, and 2NE1. One of my fondest memories in Biology was sitting with my friends in the back learning about DNA, and our teacher talking about base pairing rules. Pointing to the board, she said, “if there was C, C, C, C, then it’ll pair with G[ee], G[ee], G[ee], G[ee]”, which made us collapse into a fit of giggles.

Book Recommendations – 9 Books by Indigenous Authors that We’ve Read and Loved!

In case you’re new to the Pond’s book recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has come up with their latest costume, they will always recommend a few books that inspired them!

November is Native-American Heritage Month, and we wanted to share the joy of indigenous books with you all! Heritage Months are a call to reflect on and thoughtfully engage with colonial histories and realities, but they can also be an opportunity for us to uplift and celebrate achievements of Indigenous people. Though today’s book recommendation post takes place during Native-American Heritage Month, our hope is that you will read these books, not just in November, but also every other year of the month as well and engage with Indigenous literature all year long.

Book Recommendations – 8 Books That Will Make You Cry, Break You, but Put You Back Together Again

In case you’re new to the Pond’s book recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has come up with their latest costume, they will always recommend a few books that inspired them!

It’s been a tough year, hasn’t it friend? Sometimes when things are hard and there’s just so much building inside you, there are few things more liberating and cathartic than a really good cry. Unfortunately, I don’t possess the extraordinary ability to cry on command, but whenever I need a good cry, I pull up YouTube and masochistically re-watch the first five minutes of Pixar’s Up. But sometimes, you want something that not only makes you cry, you also want something that puts you back together again.