Glory Edim‘s Book Recommendations

Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.

Gather Me by Glory Edim

$28 at penguinrandomhouse.com

Glory Edim created Well-Read Black Girl (WRBG) that centers authors of color based on a t-shirt (her then-partner gave her one with those words, which sparked conversation whenever she wore it) and after a conversation with Tayari Jones in a taxi. What launched as a book club that hosted 10 guests in 2015 (when she was living in NYC) has grown into an Instagram account with more than 430,000 followers, a podcast (which has featured such guests as Anita Hill and Gabrielle Union), literary festivals, a partnership with Liveright that plans to publish debut fiction, and a youth enrichment program called Camp Joy. Edim has also publishedthree books including essay anthology Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, On Girlhood: 15 Stories From the Well-Read Black Girl Library and her latest, a memoir called Gather Me (Ballantine), the name of which comes from Toni Morrison’s Beloved.

The Northern Virginia-born and -raised, Washington, D.C.-based Edim traveled frequently to Nigeria, where her father had moved back, and where she went to preschool and kindergarten. She wrote an AP English paper on Maya Angelou and discovered more Black authors at Howard University, where she earned a degree in journalism (she had previously gone to Trinity College on a full ride). Edim has been in book clubs from Girl Scouts to college, where she had a zine and a Tumblr called “Black Girl Reader”; saw Michelle Obama on her Becoming tour with her mom and interviewed former president Barack Obama on his for A Promised Land. She is marketing director at Politics and Prose and has worked at Kickstarter (which she used to launch the first lit festival, in 2017), Webby Awards, New York Foundation of the Arts, and Lincoln Theatre. She has journals from when she was 8; grew up watching Levar Burton’s Reading Rainbow; prefers physical copies to e-books; is on the board for Baldwin For the Arts; and started multiple websites including Paper Collective on origami and read Salvation by bell hooks almost 50 times after a breakup.

Fan of: Beyonce and Blue Ivy, naps, Angel Reese, “Sleigh Ride” by TLC (her favorite R&B Christmas song.)

Likes: Madewell “library chic”; US Botanic Garden (especially its orchids); Erewhon market; spin, breakfast tacos, and berries; vision boards, tea, eucalyptus, and a good robe (“bathleisure”). Get wrapped up in her book recs below.

The book that:

…helped me through a breakup:

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks. After a devastating college breakup, her words were like emotional first aid—soothing, thought-provoking, and at that time of my life, way cheaper than therapy. Reading bell hooks was my first encounter with radical self-love.

.…has the best opening line:

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward. “The first weapon I ever held was my mother’s hand.”

…I’d give to a new graduate:

Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez is the perfect gift for a new graduate, because life after college isn’t all networking and Instagrammable brunches. Sánchez serves up the raw, messy, and laugh-out-loud moments of adulthood with the kind of honesty that reminds you it’s okay to not have it all figured out.

…I never returned to the library (mea culpa):

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I mean, it’s Maya Angelou. She is my literary foremother in every sense. This book is part of the literary canon for a reason!

…sealed a friendship:

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. My friend and I live by the [book’s] mantra “creative living beyond fear.” We often have deep talks about writing, spirituality, and inspiration. When we read Big Magic together it unlocked a new level of our evolving friendship. It didn’t just give us new ideas; it gave us a way to express our love for each another.

...makes me feel seen:

Red at the Bone. Jacqueline Woodson has a way of reaching deep into the untold stories of Black girlhood. It’s like reading my own reflection and realizing I’m not just visible—I’m vibrant.

...everyone should read:

Jazz. This is my favorite Toni Morrison book. I love the title and how the story explores the lives of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary emotional depth—love, betrayal, forgiveness, and the search for belonging.

…I’d like turned into a TV show:

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby. It’s like a hilarious, self-deprecating survival guide for awkward introverts everywhere! I can already see the episodes—Irby’s deadpan humor tackling the horrors of small talk and grocery shopping in sweatpants.

…kept me up way too late:

How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith. This incredible audiobook had me so engrossed in history. His writing is deeply captivating and lyrical. After reading I wanted to learn more about each location—from Gorée Island to the African Burial Ground National Monument.

…made me weep uncontrollably:

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. I’m a sucker for narratives that explore the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. Zauner’s grief is palpable on every page. I cried a lot.

…I recommend over and over again:

Inciting Joy by Ross Gay, because it’s a rare and profound exploration of the subtle and expansive power of joy. Gay brilliantly redefines joy, not as fleeting pleasure or happiness, but as something deeper—rooted in connection, vulnerability, and even grief.