Reading Lists

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

2022 NIRMV Recommended Reading Lists Kids Edition

2021 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Adult Edition (PDF)

2021 NIRMV Recommended Reading List Kids Edition (PDF)