Jamise Harper - Bibliophile: Diverse Spines

For marginalized writers and readers, and for the booksellers, librarians, and booklovers who champion those voices.

Text copyright 2021 by Jamise Harper and Jane Mount.
Illustrations copyright 2021 by Jane Mount.
Diverse Spines is a registered trademark of Diverse Spines LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-7972-1472-6 (epub, mobi)
ISBN 978-1-7972-1191-6 (hardcover)

Design by Kristen Hewitt.

Choose Your Own Adventure is a registered trademark of Chooseco LLC.

Chronicle books and gifts are available at special quantity discounts to corporations, professional associations, literacy programs, and other organizations. For details and discount information, please contact our premiums department at corporatesales@chroniclebooks.com or at 1-800-759-0190.

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In creating this miscellany, our goal is for you to find at least ten new-to-you and irresistible diverse books by authors of backgrounds different from your own (or from your own that you havent yet read!), that youll read in the next year. And then ten more for the year after that, and so on. The idea is to keep seeking out and reading diverse stories. Think of it as your very own pocket-sized (well, if you have a large pocket) local bookstore full of passionate shelftalkers from people with all different experiences.

The authors, illustrators, designers, store owners, and bookstagrammers highlighted in this book are all Black, Indigenous, and people of color, most existing in spaces where they have been marginalized by a dominant white society. There are, of course, many other ways to define diversity, but this is the one we have embraced for this book. It is our small offering to the world, sparked by social injustices and racial reckonings, and inspired by many years of reading diversely and realizing what magic can happen when people leave their comfort zones.

Reading diverse stories exposes us to other peoples experiences and expands our awareness of other cultures. Living several hours vicariously through a protagonist different from your own race helps foster empathy and gives you a look at life through a different lens. Reading wont solve all problems, of course, and you can never fully walk in another persons shoes, but it offers a brilliant path to greater understanding and opens up pathways for conversations. Plus, its just more interesting to read broadly, to discover stories about other ways to exist, other worlds to inhabit. In the end, you may find that the characters in these stories have the same loves and struggles you do.

To paraphrase what professor and childrens literature scholar Rudine Sims Bishop wrote (about children, particularly, but it works for everyone), books can be windows and sliding doors that you can walk through to immerse yourself in new worlds, but should also be mirrors, so you can see yourself reflected back. Representation does matter, and if you dont see it, you wont realize you can be it. Reading books about people like yourselfespecially if youre part of a marginalized groupgifts you the sense of belonging, which is crucial to a happy life.

Before we dive in, a little about us:

Jamise grew up with a book always in hand, and as an adult, most of the time has a glass of wine in the other. She loves talking about both, and friends always ask her for recommendations. In 2015, she joined Instagram, and at her sisters suggestion, began sharing the books she read and pairing them with wine, as @spinesvines. While she reads widely, she centers her focus on Black women and women of color. This led her to create #diversespines and then later @diversespines, to help readers diversify their bookshelves. A champion for amplifying marginalized voices, Jamise passionately believes that reading diversely cultivates the opportunity for growth and understanding.

Jane, too, grew up with a book in hand, and a paint-brush in the other (making it hard to hold the wine at times, but she figures it out). She has been drawing books since 2008, when she first realized how lovely they look together and how passionate booklovers are about them. Since then, she has created more than four thousand commissioned pieces, each filled with a persons absolute, heart-changing, happy-tears-making favorite books. The most important thing she has learned is that any book, read at the right time, can change everything, and that reading truly makes the world a better place.

We met soon after Jamises son AJ commissioned Jane to create a mug full of diverse spines for Jamises Christmas present in 2018. We chatted after that, but had never worked together before creating this book, nor even spoken on the phone. As we live far apart and were making this book in the midst of a pandemic, we collaborated remotely for the entire process and are both amazed at how easy and enjoyable it was, despite the crazy deadlines.

Weve included hundreds of books inside this book with a bit of information on many of them, but there is so much more that could be said about each, so just know they are all worth reading. And there are (of course!) so many more books we wish we could have squeezed in. Please dont feel limited by our lists; keep exploring on your own and dive into the vast number of wonderful books out there by authors from diverse backgrounds.

On the other hand, if the idea of adding hundreds of books to your To Be Read pile seems overwhelming, dont worry! On the opposite page is a stack of brilliant books, and that is where you can start. They are some of our favorites: some classics by legends and some fresh, urgent voices.

You will notice throughout the book we have added short comments here and there. For reference, this is Jamise's handwriting and this is Jane's .

Rich in history and timeless storytelling, classics speak to interconnected human experiences that have stood the test of time and are still meaningful today.

Things Fall Apart celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2018. The novel has sold over 20 million copies and has been translated into over 57 languages. President Barack Obama called Achebes novel A true classic of world literature... A masterpiece that has inspired generations of writers in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world.