Reading Lists ~ NIRMV

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.

2025 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Adults Edition (PDF)

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi - Americanah
Benedict, Marie - The Queens of Crime: A Novel
Boyd, Valerie - Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston
Bundles, A’lelia - On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker
Collins, Marva and Civia Tamarkin - Marva Collins’ Way
G, Kenny and Philip Lerman - Life in the Key of G
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins - What Diantha Did
Hanks, Tom - The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece: A Novel
Hannah-Jones, Nikole - The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
Hass Linda - Hidden in Plain Sight: The Underground Railroad in Jackson County
Johnson, Nancy - People of Means: A Novel
Jones, Quincy - 12 Notes on Life and Creativity
Lewis, John and Sehgal, Kabir - Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation
McConaughey, Matthew - Greenlights
Malone, Sharon - Grown Women Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy
Miller, Monica - Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and Styling of Black Diasporic Identity
Moran, Michelle - Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp
Mundy, Liza - Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Code Breakers of World War II
Omokha, Rita - Resist: How A Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America
Packer, Will - Who Better Than You? The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big
Peterson, Jordan B. - 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
See, Lisa - Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
Uche, Blackstock - Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine
Williams, Sheila - No Better Time: A Novel of the Spirited Women of the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion

Some books focus on NIRMV Ongoing Theme: “Celebrate Who Inspires You” and NIRMV 2025 Theme: “Advancing Awareness and Optimizing Opportunities.” Visit nirmv.org for more information and opportunities. Nominate books anytime via nirmvdetroit@gmail.com. NIRMV does not necessarily agree with/support all views and opinions of authors, editors and characters. ©2025 NIRMV

2024 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Adults Edition (PDF)

Allende, Isabel - The Soul of a Woman
Alvarez, Julia - How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Benedict, Marie - The Only Woman in the Room
Benedict, Marie and Murray, Victoria Christopher - The First Ladies
Cano-Murillo, Kathy - Forever Frida: A Celebration of the Life, Art, Loves, Words, and
Style of Frida Kahlo
Chancellor, Renate - Breaking Glass Ceilings: Clara Stanton Jones and the Detroit Public Library
Cheyene, Yasmine - The Sugar Jar: Create Boundaries, Embrace Self-Healing, and Enjoy the Sweet Things in Life
Chiaverini, Jennifer - The Museum of Lost Quilts: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel
Chung, Connie - Connie: A Memoir
Crittendon, Denise - Where it Rains in Color
Gates, Henry Louis - The Black Box: Writing the Race
Haley, Alex - Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Haley, Alex and Stevens, David - Mama Flora’s Family: A Novel
Hannah, Kristin - The Nightingale
Haw, Penny - The Invincible Miss Cust: A Novel
Jackson, Ketanji Brown - Lovely One: A Memoir
Johnson, Shelia - Walk Through the Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph
Kennedy, Rozelle - Our Brave Foremothers: Celebrating 100 Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous Women Who Changed the Course of History
Kidd, Sue Monk - The Invention of Wings
Lattimore, Ashton - All We Were Promised: A Novel
Lee, Debra - I Am Debra Lee: A Memoir
Li, Zhuqing - Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden
Morgan, Sharon Leslie - Finding Your Family Tree: A Beginner’s Guide to Researching Your Genealogy
Norrell, Robert J. - Alex Haley: And the Books That Changed a Nation
Pelosi, Nancy - The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House
Reid, Joy-Ann - Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America
Sebastian, Teresa Mosley - Lost Seeds: The Beginning
Shane, Scott - Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery’s Borderland
Skloot, Rebecca - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Smilios, Maria - The Black Angels: The Untold Story of Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis
Tan, Amy - The Joy Luck Club: A Novel
Tate, ReShonda - The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel
Tick, Judith - Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song
Valby, Karen - The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
Whitmer, Gretchen - True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything In Between
Williams, Venus - Strive: 8 Steps to Find Your Awesome