2020 Texas Topaz Reading List Announced

The world of nonfiction is our world. Unlike fictional books which may transport us to imagined realms or take us far into the future, nonfiction books seek to bring clarity and share knowledge about the world we live in – its past, its present, its people and the struggles and triumphs they experience. In nonfiction, the historical becomes personal.

The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. (It is intended for recreational reading and is not designed to support a specific curriculum.)

The 85 books on this year’s list include a wide variety of worthy titles, from the timely Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed, by psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb, to the rich illustrations of Dreamers, where author and artist Yuyi Morales shares the story of how she and her infant son came to the United States. They Called Us Enemy, actor George Takei’s graphic memoir recounting his childhood in an internment camp during World War II, is emotional and personal; so is Hanif Abdurraqib’s  musical homage, Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest.

Librarians on the selection committee chose the titles from among hundreds of nominations.  You can find the new list here. Enjoy!