ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque’s Public Library has announced its third Influencers Collection, providing book recommendations from community leaders. From books that changed their lives to books that they would read over and over again, influential community members have shared which pieces of literature they recommend to the Albuquerque public.

These book recommendations come from a unique perspective and will bring the reading interests of these influencers to the entire Albuquerque community. Beginning at the Main Library, these collections will travel to other library branches across Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, allowing guests to discover a variety of genres and learn more about their local community.

City of Albuquerque Public Library | Full press release here

Who Are the Influencers and What Do They Recommend?

  • Hakim Bellamy
    • Author and poet
      • Radical Dharma by Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, and Jasmine Syedullah
      • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
      • Go Ahead in the Rain by Hanif Abdurraqib
      • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
      • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
      • Will by Will Smith and Mark Manson
  • Seth N. Finch
    • Community pastoral leader
      • The Gift by Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky
      • Going Home by Thich Nhat Hanh
      • Low Anthropology by David Zahl
      • A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
      • Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
  • Val Day-Sanchez
    • Professor
      • Ace of Spades by Faridah
      • Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell
      • Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
      • Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
      • Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
      • Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
      • Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros
  • Kei Tsuzuki
    • Social entrepreneur
      • The Bluest Eye by Tony Morrison
      • The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
      • History of Love by Nicole Krauss
      • Sula by Toni Morrison
      • A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
      • The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
      • The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

To learn more about these influential community members, click here.