Books and novels are a great way to keep the mind active and provide inspiration in these uncertain times.

While quarantining and practicing social distancing, here are five books that inspire, motivate, and should uplift you while living in the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Minority Leader: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams is one of America’s rising Democratic stars, and in her latest book Minority Leader: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change, she details how to be an effective leader.

This book is particularly tailored to people of colour, women and the LGBTQ community. The author describing how the discrimination these minority groups they face, hinders them from taking on leadership positions. She also provides tactics to overcome those biases so that you can hone your skills, and find your real ambitions.

Bad Feminist Essays by Roxanne Gay

Roxanne Gay is well known in many feminist circles due to her essays critiquing the current state of feminism. Her book Bad Feminist is a collection of essays written by her that commentates on pop culture’s effect on 21st-century feminism.

Through these essays, Roxanne Gay reflects and dismantles the ingrained prejudices she has about women, and strikes up the conversation within us to reexamine how we politically move through life.

Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith

Known for her critically acclaimed novel White Teeth, Zadie Smith’s most recent book Feel Free: Essays is about the simple things in life. Being home, going to the beach, and just finding joy in everyday life.

The novel also speaks about inclusion and unity, something everyone should consider practicing in the current socio-political climate.

Everyday People: The Color of Life by Jennifer Baker

The anthology Everday People: The Color of Life has republished and new stories from an array of ethnic groups. This book is a celebration of writing and expression, and the moments which influence us to become better people, or to evolve into the people we are today.

The fourteen short stories by fourteen different writers offer a wide range of style, voice, and perspectives on many various issues pretaining the human condition.

I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings

A classic novel written by the one and only Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings is Maya Angelou’s autobiography as a youth in the south, St. Louis, and later on in San Francisco.

The novel entails Ms. Angelou healing from trauma and overcoming racism. A truly great novel to motivate anyone to step into their authenticity.