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Amir's Picks

Amir found Charis Books upon his first few months of living in Atlanta after arriving from Northern California.  Perusing the shelves turned into finding books that were gems, which turned to getting flyers from the community resource section of the store.  And from there, he decided to always come back.

He’s worked at the store and volunteered off and on for the better part of two decades.  So much so, that the shelves at the home that he shares with his family mimic those in the bookstore.  When not working at Charis as a bookseller, he works for a local Reproductive Justice organization, and loves on Johnny Cash (his dog and not the singer). Should Amir not be on his bike (which is a rarity), you can find him having a coffee with a book in hand.  Check out his staff picks section, which reflects his interest in memoirs, history//herstory books, LGBTQ authors, poetry and more.  He says, “ Books, much like music, can be the soundtrack to our lives.  I’m happy to help folks add chapters to their own sights and sounds….”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horse Barbie: A Memoir By Geena Rocero Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593445884
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: The Dial Press - May 30th, 2023

“A moving chronicle of trans resilience and joy” (Vogue) from one of Out100’s Most Impactful and Influential LGBTQ+ Storytellers

“Groundbreaking . . . [Rocero] quite literally models what triumph can look like.”—Glamour (Women of the Year)


An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created By Santi Elijah Holley Cover Image
$32.50
ISBN: 9780358588764
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Mariner Books - May 23rd, 2023

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' PICK

An NPR Best Book of the Year • Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

Longlisted for the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence

"Magnificent…. A uniquely intimate history of Black liberation." Los Angeles Times


Dark Testament: and Other Poems By Pauli Murray, Elizabeth Alexander (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Pauli Murray, Elizabeth Alexander (Introduction by)
$15.95
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9781631494833
Published: Liveright - September 4th, 2018

With the cadences of Martin Luther King Jr. and the lyricism of Langston Hughes, the great civil rights activist Pauli Murray’s sole book of poems finally returns to print.


Begin the World Over By Kung Li Sun Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781849354721
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: AK Press - August 23rd, 2022

"This historical fiction with a twist has an intriguing plot that will make the reader ask how the world could be different."
--Booklist

A revolutionary tale of Black and Indigenous insurrection. History as it should have been.


Staff Pick Badge
Fresh Ink: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology By Lamar Giles (Editor) Cover Image
By Lamar Giles (Editor)
$11.99
ISBN: 9781524766313
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Ember - July 30th, 2019

All it takes to rewrite the rules is a little fresh ink in this remarkable YA collection from thirteen of the most recognizable diverse authors writing today including Nicola Yoon, Jason Reynolds, Melissa de la Cruz, and many more, and published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. 


The Prosaic Soul of Nikki Giovanni By Nikki Giovanni Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780060541347
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: William Morrow - December 16th, 2003

This omnibus edition collects celebrated poet and activist Nikki Giovanni’s adult prose: Racism 101, Sacred Cows and Other Edibles and seven (7) selections from Gemini: An Extended Autobiographical Statement on My First Twenty-Five Years of Being a Black Poet, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 1971.


Everything Inside: Stories (A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick) (Vintage Contemporaries) By Edwidge Danticat Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525563051
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Vintage - July 7th, 2020

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • "Unforgettable tales of families and lovers—from Haiti to Miami, Brooklyn, and beyond—often struggling with grief, loss, and missed connections.” Vanity Fair • REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK


My Brother By Jamaica Kincaid Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780374525620
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - November 9th, 1998

Jamaica Kincaid's brother Devon Drew died of AIDS on January 19, 1996, at the age of thirty-three. Kincaid's incantatory, poetic, and often shockingly frank recounting of her brother's life and death is also a story of her family on the island of Antigua, a constellation centered on the powerful, sometimes threatening figure of the writer's mother.


Go Tell It on the Mountain (Vintage International) By James Baldwin Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780375701870
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Vintage - September 12th, 2013

One of the most brilliant and provocative American writers of the twentieth century chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention in this “truly extraordinary” novel (Chicago Sun-Times).