Once again it is time for our annual diversity audit. 

Why? Because we believe that we are what we read; and also because we believe that a great way to expand our horizons is to read books written by or about people who have lived radically different lives from ours. So each year, we use Black History Month to explore how diversely we ourselves have read during the previous 12 months.

So one quick number from this year's audit -- overall in 2021, we reviewed 78 books in total. And, a second stat, just over half, (51%) of the authors we reviewed were written by authors of color (up from 47% in 2020, 28% in 2019, and 36% in 2018). 

The other thing we use Black History Month to do is feature amazing books by superb Black authors. So now, some thoughts about great books, followed by numbers from this latest audit for those of you who like data and accountability.

How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith (2021). This history was named a Best Book of 2021 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, Smithsonian, Esquire, Entropy, The Christian Science Monitor, WBEZ's Nerdette Podcast, TeenVogue, GoodReads, SheReads, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Fathom Magazine, the New York Public Library, and the Chicago Public Library. It was also longlisted for the National Book Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In it, Smith, a staff writer at The Atlantic, examines how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history and ourselves. In doing so, he travels, among other places, from New Orleans, a port for much of the slave trade, to Monticello where park rangers talk about how the narrative they present to visitors  has changed over the decades, to Manhattan where the slave trade built wealth. Ultimately this book offers hope by creating a new understanding of the role that personal stories and history can play in making sense of our country and the people who live here and lead it. ~ Lisa Christie

Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky (2020). This book exists because sometimes you need a board book to start difficult conversations. With this picture book, Mr. Kendi gives excellent tips for all of us to use as we try to be antiracist humans in the world.  We are so glad they created something for infants and children and the adults who love them. ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie

And now the audit numbers. Although we know some of the authors we highlighted identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community, we do not know the sexual orientations for all the authors we review, and thus, we do not audit by sexual orientation. We also do not have access to economic class statistics. Thus, our diversity audit focuses on identified gender and race/ethnicity.

We read and reviewed fewer books this past year than in any other year - 78 compared to 153 books in 2020, 94 books in 2019, 202 books in 2018, and 164 in 2017. We may need to fix that.  (Note: For these audits, we do not include posts by guest reviewers or events such as Pages in the Pub because these books are selected by others.)  
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Over half (62%) of the books we reviewed were written by women (65% in 2020; 57% in 2019). Staying with stats regarding women authors we reviewed, almost a quarter (23%) of all authors we featured were white women from the USA (up from 21% in 2020 and 2019, down from 32% in 2018), and 8% of all authors we read were white women from outside the USA (down from 14% in 2020 and 20% in 2019 and same as in 2018).  Latina authors were 5% of our authors in 2021; down from 11% in 2020 and up from 2% in 2019 and 4% in 2018. Like last year, only 1% of featured authors were Asian women (down from 4% in 2019 and 6% in 2018). We featured more Black women in 2021 - 18% (up from 2020's 14%, 10% in 2019, and 12% in 2018). We also featured more Arab American women (4%) and Native American women (3%), both up from zero in previous years. 

As for the authors identifying as men, white men from the USA were 14% (down from 17% in 2020 and 23% in 2019) of the authors we featured. Fewer (4%) of the authors we featured were white men from outside of the USA (down from 13% in 2020 and 8% in 2019). We featured more Black male authors (13%) this past year, compared to 5% in 2020 and 7% in 2019. Very few authors we featured were Asian men (1%) or Latinos (3% which was up from 1% in 2020). None of the authors we featured identified as of Middle Eastern descent (down from 2% in 2019). We increased the number of Native American male authors we featured (4% compared to 2% in 2020 an 0% in 2019).

Adding men and women together, 51% of the authors we reviewed were persons of color (up from 47% in 2020, 28% in 2019, and 36% in 2018). Within the white authors there was a decrease in geographic diversity, 18% (down from 21% in 2020 and 33% in 2019, and up from 16% in 2018) of the white authors we featured were from outside the USA. The largest group of authors of color were Black (31%), up from 24% in 2020, 15% in 2019 and 13% in 2018.

​To sum, we improved the percentage of authors of color we reviewed: 51% of all authors reviewed in 2021 were authors of color (47% in 2020, 28% in 2019, 36% in 2018, 32% in 2017, 26% in 2016, 23% in 2015). And, once again, we vow to continue to review a diverse range of authors year after year. 

Dear Martin by Nic Stone (2017). A superb YA novel about being profiled by the police, and how current events, BLM, and politics affect Black youth today.  In this excellent debut novel, a Black student – Justyce McAllister, top of his class, captain of the debate team, and set for the Ivy League next year – is handcuffed by a police officer and released without physical harm. The psychological toll of being profiled is explored as this novel delves into his life at his mostly white prep school and in his mostly Black neighborhood. To help cope, Justyce researches the writings of MLK and writes him letters asking for guidance about how to live today. While Martin obviously never answers, the letters provide a great premise for thinking about how MLK would have handled life as a black man today. The letters also provide grounding once the novel’s action turns extremely ugly. Read it and discuss. I also highly recommend the sequel Dear Justyce - which we do not think has been banned yet. (Both novels could be considered the boy’s perspective on the situations in The Hate U Give reviewed below.) ~ Lisa Christie (Previously reviewed in some-ya-titles-that-lead-to-great-discussions)

There There by Tommy Orange (2018). The writing in Tommy Orange's debut novel is forceful and builds a percussive momentum as the story progresses, perhaps not unlike the beat of a drum at a Native American Powwow. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the author himself majored in sound engineering as an undergraduate before working in a bookstore and falling in love with reading and writing. There There explores identity and sense of place, telling the story of twelve characters, mostly urban Native Americans, all living in Oakland, California. Their lives are braided together though it is not until the end, at the Oakland Powwow, that the reader understands just how. From the outset, it is clear that things won't end well. However, the beauty of the prose, the poignant stories of the individuals it tells, and the insights and honesty it offers into the Native American experience compel one to read to the painful, shocking finish. Orange's work has received a great deal of publicity since it was published in 2018. Margaret Atwood and Pam Houston have both sung its praises. The New York Times named it one if the "10 Best books of the Year" in 2018.  It was even a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. These kinds of reviews can be off-putting to the casual reader, the hype overwhelming, the literariness of it all stopping one before the first page can even be turned. Don't let this get in the way of reading such an important and accessible book. For me it was one of those "shape shifters," a work that helped me to understand our culture and history in a different, richer (though not easier or more comfortable) way. ~ Lisa Cadow (Previously reviewed in the-book-jam-returns-with-two-great-titles-just-for-you​)

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (2007). This graphic memoir by Vermont’s own Ms. Bechdel bravely tackles how sexual identity is formed, the costs of suppression, and well, “coming of age” for lack of a better phrase. We also highly recommend the Tony Award winning Broadway play. ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie (Previously reviewed in substantive-reads-for-great-discussions​)