Leila Mottley Book Recommendations & Book Mentions

Leila Mottley

Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo by Ntozake Shange inspired me to want to write novels because she approached it with a poet's flare while telling this weaving story of art and black girlhood that made me feel like I could write fiction outside of the boundaries of "canonical" literature.

Leila Mottley

One of my favorite Bay Area poets is Chinaka Hodge, who wrote Dated Emcees and she reps Oakland with the kind of love I do, as well as being such a musical and rhythmic poet.

Leila Mottley

I also spent a good portion of this year revisiting the classics, and really loved reading “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin and returning to read “The Street” by Ann Petry for the second time. Both are intricate contemplations on relationships, place, and love in all its forms.

Leila Mottley

Julie Otsuka’s “The Swimmers” stuck with me long after I finished it, and I recommend reading it without reading any summary of it beforehand. I really admire the way Ms. Otsuka plays with structure and deftly wields an assortment of points of view.

Leila Mottley

Very honored that NIGHTCRAWLING is nominated for the 2023 PEN/Hemingway prize for debut novel from @PENamerica alongside @jessaminechan @SequoiaN @OscarHokeah and the rest of this wonderful group 🧡🧡https://t.co/x13MRfZ38p https://t.co/cBiC3z9bZ7

Leila Mottley

I was engrossed by this story, and it was a perfect thing to fall into on planes, trains, and hotel rooms. Jones is incredibly talented at telling a story through multiple voices and points of view and making each perspective unique.

Leila Mottley

My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson as a collection is a vivid, meticulously rendered collage of stories I’m in complete awe of...It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before and deserves to be dissected again and again.

Leila Mottley

Every time I read this book, I catch new references, images, and lines that remind me again and again that writing a brilliant book is about constructing layers, and nobody does that better than Toni Morrison.

Leila Mottley

march reads!!! spring is here in oakland and i couldn’t be happier ☀️🌱 p.s. this is your sign to preorder NERUDA ON THE PARK by my friend @cleyvisnatera, out may 17❣️ https://t.co/wRgSIUIisa

Leila Mottley

This book should be grouped with Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Toni Morrison’s Jazz as masterpieces by and about Black women. It’s a classic and should be regarded as such.