On November 14, we are kicking off our new Memoir Book Club at the Grand Street Branch! Many people’s first foray into memoirs is through celebrity memoirs. We’ll read a few of these, but we’ll also choose titles that expand the definition of “memoir” and show us what’s possible in the genre. Memoirs in essays, auto-fiction, and hybrid memoir, alongside traditional memoirs such as our first pick, How to Say Babylon by Safia Sinclair.
How to Say Babylon
by Safia Sinclair
Sinclair is a poet, and the world she builds for us—her world—is rich, evocative, and breathtakingly vivid. It’s one thing to tell a story of your life, and another to take the reader by the hand and show them. Her memoir traces her journey from childhood to young adulthood, as she grapples with an oppressive childhood at the hands of her militant father and fights to break free. She contextualizes her story and that of her father through the lens of patriarchy, colonialism, and the history of the Rastafari movement. In my estimation, the best memoirs are meaningfully universal in their incisive specificity, and this one is no exception. Readers may also be moved by the role poetry played in helping Sinclair shape, change, and save her own life. If you enjoyed memoirs like Educated by Tara Westover, Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey, Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward, or Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, consider checking out How to Say Babylon. Published in 2023, How to Say Babylon was considered a best book of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Goodreads, NPR, Barack Obama and more, and was a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick.
You can borrow How to Say Babylon from BCCLS in print, large print, eBook (from elibraryNJ and eBCCLS), and audiobook formats. Please reach out to grandstreet@hobokenlibrary.org if you have any questions or would like us to place a copy aside for you to pick up! Hope to see you on November 14th for the discussion.
Written by:
Ally Blumenfeld
Grand Street Branch Manager
Hoboken Library Staff Picks 