Real Life by Brandon Taylor is a “nice angsty book about a young man getting his PHD. It’s misty and heartbreaking watching this gay black kid finding meaning and himself.” Most of all, Jordan says, he “wishes [he] had the words to describe [Taylor’s] writing in the way his writing should be described. It’s the kind of book that made me think..Maybe I should leave fiction writing to the experts.”

“What better way to get out of the pandemic reading than to read Severance?” If you haven’t heard of the book yet, it essentially tracks a woman through New York City during a pandemic, very similar to the one we just went through. Jordan says, “I immediately connected with the main character, following another young person through something similar happening in the world. I bought it at the beginning of the pandemic and I knew what I was getting myself into, but, like maybe you should wait a bit.”

“The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-Ward is my next book,” Jordan says. “I thought she was a little known writer, and then I found out she was a writer for Beyonce’s movie Black Is King.” He says he “read this right around the time when [he] was working on [his] book,” and that it was so emotional, “it jolted [him] back into words and writing.” “It's an autobiography in her journey in pulling herself out of a really bad rut—the terrible, these swirling emotions could be her downfall. I am really into angsty shit about people destroying themselves.”

“The Americans by Robert Frank is considered by many to be the most seminal, post-distanced works of photography for America post-World War II.” At first, Jordan says, “there were a lot of white people reading it, getting this distanced, unromantic idea of Black America. All of the images are straightforward, unromantic— Frank almost looked at America like it was a zoo.” One of his favorite parts is that “Places in America like LA or NY that are super-photographed almost look like a scientific experiment through Frank’s lens.”

“I’m really fascinated by Saeed Jones’ professional story working for Buzzfeed, and then leaving and making this piece of work. The book details his story of dealing with all of these things falling apart as all of his family is falling apart. He writes so beautifully.” I’m a slow reader, especially for someone who writes books, but I absolutely blew through this.”