Needy Little Things – The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

Here in the U.S., February is Black History Month! Another year, another post where I lament the erasure of history by the Trump administration. There’s no end to the irony of this erasure when our country was quite literally built off of the labor of enslaved peoples. This is just somebody’s blog and not some grand antifascist statement, but I can’t help but think that education, and reading in particular, is one of the best ways to combat the government’s erasure of the contributions of Black people in the U.S. And if my post gets just one person who didn’t know about our history to look further, then I feel like I’ve done something good.

This year, I’ve included nonfiction as well as fiction, many of them concerning the often glossed-over history of Black people in this country. But during any month celebrating marginalized people—and every month in the year—it’s so important to go looking for the history that your school, your government, or your peers have left behind. Black people always have been, always are, and always will be an integral part of United States history, from its literary tradition to its very foundation. Denying this is monstrous, and sets a dangerous precedent for the national perception of our country. So, as with every post like this I make: go out and read books by Black authors, and educate yourself about Black history in February and every month!

Below are some links to Instagram, but they provide resources for Black History Month—and every month!

For my lists from previous years, click below:

NOTE: not all of these books strictly adhere to the genres that I placed them in; a lot of them are fairly genre-bending, especially in the two genre fiction categories. It just goes to show how much of a creative bunch these authors are—we’ve got a lot of authors here who break and bend the rules of fantasy and sci-fi. Also, just for new readers—the “YA” on the cover image is a bit of a misnomer, but once again, I’m too lazy to make a new graphic for it and there’s only so much space for my WordPress media.

Let’s begin, shall we?

THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH (2025 EDITION)

FANTASY:

Needy Little Things – Channelle Desamours | YA | magical realism, urban fantasy, mystery, disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Daughter of the Merciful Deep – Leslye Penelope | Adult | historical fiction | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Somadina – Akwaeke Emezi | YA | LGBTQ+, romance, epic fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Maid and the Crocodile – Jordan Ifueko* | YA | epic fantasy, disability, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Fate’s Bane – C.L. Clark | Adult | high fantasy, novella, romance, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms – N.K. Jemisin | Adult | high fantasy, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

*NOTE: this novel is set in the Raybearer universe, but is a companion novel that can be understood without reading the original duology.

SCIENCE FICTION:

The Ephemera Collector – Stacy Nathaniel Jackson | Adult | LGBTQ+, disability, dystopia | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sky Full of Elephants – Cebo Campbell | Adult | speculative fiction | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? – Temi Oh | YA | romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions – Nalo Hopkinson | Adult | anthologies/short stories, speculative fiction | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Library of Broken Worlds – Alaya Dawn Johnson | Adult | space fantasy, LGBTQ+, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

REALISTIC FICTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER:

All the Noise At once – DeAndra Davis | YA | disability, contemporary | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Afrotistic – Kala Allen Omeiza | YA | contemporary, disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
If We Were a Movie – Zakiya N. Jamal | YA | LGBTQ+, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
When No One Is Watching – Alyssa Cole | Adult | mystery, thriller, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Trees – Percival Everett | Adult | literary fiction, mystery, thriller | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

NONFICTION:

All About Love: New Visions – bell hooks | Adult | essays, feminism |⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism – Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar | Adult | memoir | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How to Be an Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi | Adult | politics | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts – Rebecca Hall | Adult | graphic novel, history |⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness – Austin Channing Brown | Adult | memoir |⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
A Black Women’s History of the United States – Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross | Adult | history |⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches – Audre Lorde | Adult | memoir, essays, feminism, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir Manifesto – George M. Johnson | YA | memoir, politics, LGBTQ+ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Inciting Joy: Essays – Ross Gay | Adult | essays, memoir | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of the books on this list, and if so, what did you think of them? What are some of your favorite books by Black authors that you’ve read recently? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

That’s it for this recommendations list! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Happy Friday, bibliophiles!

Man, time to do wrap-ups? Barely, but I have some time on my hands and there’s nothing I love more than organizing my reading stats into bulleted lists, so why not? (The only reason I’ve been able to make this many posts this week is because most of them were started several weeks prior, but I digress.)

The past few months have been strangely calm, if you set aside…well, everything that’s been going on lately. I don’t think I have to explain. I’ve been working really hard to try and be as levelheaded as I can in the face of all of these crises. Levelheaded and hopeful. Neither of these mean ignorant bliss to me—I’m continuing to speak up when I can, read what they don’t want us to read, and put my money into places that respect my existence. (wink wink, nudge nudge…hope everybody who was financially able participated in the economic boycott today! 😉) Miraculously, this semester has given me the space to work at practicing that—I’ve had a lot more free time (almost an alien concept after last semester), so I’ve been working at putting my energy into what counts, mainly being creative and feeding my soul. I finished the first draft of book 3 in the sci-fi trilogy I’ve been working at since I was 16 (!!!!!!!!!!). I’ve tried to take up knitting. (Unsuccessful so far, but I’m trying to keep at it), and I’ve tried to draw and read when I’ve got the time. That, and getting on the mining grind in Minecraft and being paralyzed as Severance consumes every waking thought I have. GOD, what a show. All this is to say that this isn’t a straight journey—I’m by no means a master at being levelheaded and balancing work with creativity, but I’m trying to learn from my mistakes. All you can do is try.

JANUARY READING WRAP-UP

I read 15 books in January! In the gap between winter break and the start of the spring semester, I read some fantastic books, from whimsical graphic novels to classic sci-fi hijinks.

2 – 2.75 stars:

The Marble Queen – Anna Kopp and Gabrielle Kari (⭐️⭐️)

3 – 3.75 stars:

Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow, #2) – Xiran Jay Zhao (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Blue, Beautiful World – Karen Lord (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Circumference of the World – Lavie Tidhar (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
How to Steal a Galaxy (Chaotic Orbits, #2) – Beth Revis (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Desert Echoes – Abdi Nazemian (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
The Cat Who Saved Books – Sōsuke Natsukawa (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas – Marie-Helene Bertino (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
American Hippo – Sarah Gailey (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
Hammajang Luck – Makana Yamamoto (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)

4 – 4.75 stars:

Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, #2) – Holly Jackson (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
¡Ay, Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico – Christine Suggs (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Dust – Alison Stine (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Tidesong – Wendy Xu (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Infinity Particle – Wendy Xu (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: The Infinity Particle – 4.5 stars

REVIEWS:

BONUS:

A Reading List for the Coming Four Years | Books for Rising, Resisting, and Keeping the Hope

SUNDAY SONGS:

FEBRUARY READING WRAP-UP

I read 13 books in February! This month was slightly slower (and shorter, obviously) than January, but I was able to read several books that I’ve been excited to get around to for months! As I usually do, I focused more on Black authors for Black History Month, and discovered some great books and authors as a result.

2 – 2.75 stars: