NIRMV Recommended Reading Lists for Adults and Kids
Copies of the reading lists are distributed throughout the country via libraries, schools, churches, community centers and other public sites – including online connections on the NIRMM website and Facebook page. Special thanks to book clubs, community organizations and non-profits for providing assistance with both nomination and distribution efforts. In addition, a related dedicated display rack and showcases have been set up. Redford Township District Library has been a valued showcase partner.
Readers are encouraged to nominate books that inspired them for inclusion on the lists. Authors are not allowed to self nominate their books. Email nominations to nirmvdetroit@gmail.com.
2023 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Adults Edition (PDF)
Anappara, Deepa and Soomro Taymour, editors - Letters to a Writer of Color
Angelou, Maya -Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now
Benjaminson, Peter - The Story of Motown
Brooks, Arthur C. and Winfrey, Oprah - Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting
Happier
Campbell, Olivia - Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine
Copeland, Misty - The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace and Other Gifts
from My Mentor Raven Wilkinson
Davis, Belva - Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman’s Life in Journalism
Goldsmith, Donald and Bartusiak, Marcia, editors - E = Einstein: His Life, His Thought, and His Influence on Our Culture
Gray, Anissa - Life and Other Love Songs
Griffith, Elisabeth - Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920 - 2020
Hurston, Zora Neale - Dust Tracks on a Road: A Memoir
Jawando, Will - My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist’s Memoir of Race, Family and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole
King, Billie Jean - All In: An Autobiography
King, Jr., Martin Luther - Strength to Love
Marche, Stephen - How Shakespeare Changed Everything
Obama, Michelle - Becoming
Marenholtz-Bülow, Bertha von - How Kindergarten Came to America: Friedrich-Frobel’s Radical Vision of Early Childhood Education
Rimes, Shonda - Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Rivera, Chita - Chita: A Memoir
Stearnes-Brown, Rosilyn - Fans Called Him “Turkey,” I Called Him Dad: A Daughter Remembers Baseball Hall of Famer Norman Thomas Stearnes
Tutu, Desmond - No Future Without Forgiveness
Wilkerson, Charmaine - Black Cake: A Novel
Williams, Pip - The Dictionary of Lost Words: A Novel
Winfrey, Oprah - What I Know for Sure
2023 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Kids Edition (PDF)
Some list books focus on NIRMV Ongoing Theme: “Celebrating Who Inspires You” and
NIRMV 2023 Theme: Gaining Inspiration from Legacies and Legends.” Make nominations
anytime via nirmvdetroit@gmail.com. Visit nirmv.org for more information about NIRMV, a
50l (c)(3) public charity. NIRMV does not necessarily endorse or support all views of authors,
editors or characters expressed in list selections. ©2023 by NIRMV
2022 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Adult Edition (PDF)
Acho, Emmanuel - Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Adero, Malaika - Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path to the White House
Ansary, Cyrus A. - George Washington Dealmaker-In-Chief: The Story of How the Father of Our
Country Unleashed the Entrepreneurial Spirit in America
Benedict, Marie and Murray, Victoria Christopher - The Personal Librarian
Coelho, Paulo - The Alchemist
Copeland, Misty - Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
Dahler, Don - Fearless: Harriet Quimby A Life Without Limit
Donahue, Marilyn D. - Light From Above: Inspirational Poetry
Goodin, Patricia P. - The Santa Claus Girl
Goudsouzian, Aram - King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution
Gourley, Bruce T. - Historic Yellowstone National Park: The Stories Behind the World’s First
National Park
Habib, Ammar - Mary Edwards Walker: America’s Only Female Medal of Honor Recipient
Harford, Tim - 50 Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy
Hillenbrand, Laura - Seabiscuit
Ismail, Edna Adan - A Woman of Firsts: The Midwife Who Built a Hospital and Changed the World
Jones, Sherry - Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
Keller, Helen - The Story of My Life
Larks, Michelle - A Myriad of Emotions
Lindbergh, Anne Morrow - Gift from the Sea
Mandela, Nelson - Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Maraniss, David - Barack Obama: The Story
Marshall, Cynt - You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected
Min, Anchee - Pearl of China
Obama, Michelle - The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times
Oyeneyin, Tunde - Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to
Where You Want to Be
Pinkney, William - As Long As It Takes: Meeting the Challenge
Porter, Karra - Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women’s Professional Basketball League,
1978-1981
Shetterly, Margot Lee - Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
Simon, Scott - Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball
Smith, Jessie Carney - Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking
Events
Tanabe, Karen - The Gilded Years: A Novel
Tubbs, Anna M. - The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation
Some of the books on this list focus on the NIRMV Ongoing Theme: “Celebrate Who Inspires You” and NIRMV 2022 Theme: “Gaining Inspiration from the First and Foremost.” NIRMV Recommended Reading List Adults Edition nominations can be made at anytime at nirmvdetroit@gmail.com. Visit nirmv.org for more information. NIRMV is a 501 (c) (3) public charity. This
list is a signature product of National Inspirational Role Models
Visionaries (NIRMV). For more information, visit www.nirmv.org and
www.nirmvkids.org. ©2022 NIRMV
