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 annual 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
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
