Monday Whatevers

February 6, 2022

Hello, Friend! 

It’s Monday, so… inspired by on one of my favorite bits of the Bible, let’s start every week off with a little bit of whatever’s good and noble in the world. Here are a few excellent and noteworthy things I’m seeing in the world right now. Some are beautiful, promising, and reassuring. Some are poignant, thought-provoking, and necessary. All of them add to a greater knowing of God’s presence in this world, within our humanity, and out in the great beyond. And, they all prove there’s an abundance of spectacular, breathtaking tangible and intangible cosmic matter between us. 

Please feel free to share in the comments whatever is good that you’re seeing in the world as well.  

Blessings,
Marcie 

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Throughout February, instead of a Monday Whatever, I’ll be sharing a “bliss list” celebrating Black culture and stories. This week, I’m sharing a bliss list of my favorite audible book listens that were written and narrated by Black narrators. The following are the ones that I feel have been the most true, honest, just, pure,  lovely, gracious, excellent and worthy of praise. 

PS: Each link includes a listening sample from audible.com but I think the same productions are available on other audiobook apps and platforms.  

Jack Garofalo, Harlem NYC (circa 1970)

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Letter to My Daughter
Written By Maya Angelou; Narrated by Maya Angelou

How the Word is Passed
Written by Clint Smith; Narrated by Clint Smith 

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America 
Written by Ibram X. Kendi; Narrated by Christopher Dontrell Piper 

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
Edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain; Narrated by Full Cast 

The Yellow House
Written by Sarah Broom; Narrated by Bahni Turpin 

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents 
Written by Isabel Wilkerson; Narrated by Robin Miles 

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration 
Written by Isabel Wilkerson; Narrated by Robin Miles 

The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism 
Written by Jemar Tisby; Narrated by Jemar Tisby and Justin Henry 

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know
Written by: Malcolm Gladwell; Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell 

Thick: And Other Essays
Written by Tressie McMillian Cottom; Narrated by Tressie McMillian Cottom 

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body 
Written by Roxane Gay; Narrated by Roxane Gay 

The Book of Delights: Essays 
Written by Ross Gay; Narrated by Ross Gay 

You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain 
Written by Phoebe Robinson; Narrated by Phoebe Robinson and John Hodgman 

You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism 
Written by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar; Narrated by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar 

The Underground Railroad 
Written by Colson Whitehead; Narrated by Bahni Turpin 

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Written by Michelle Alexander; Narrated by Karen Chilton 

Sing, Unburied, Sing
Written by Jesmyn Ward; Narrated by Rutina Wesley, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Chris Chalk 

Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community by Dr. Martin Luther King
Written by Dr. Martin Luther King; Narrated by J.D. Jackson 

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Written by: Bryan Stevenson; Narrated by: Bryan Stevenson

The Hate U Give
Written by Angie Thomas; Narrated by Bahni Turpin 

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Written by Trevor Noah; Narrated by Trevor Noah 

Ordinary Light: A Memoir 
Written by Tracy K. Smith; Narrated by Tracy K. Smith 

Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
Written by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.; Narrated by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

Beloved
Written by Toni Morrison; Narrated by Toni Morrison 

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
Written by Janet Mock; Narrated by Janet Mock

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May your week be filled with whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise.

Much Peace,
Marcie, BCWWF