Each month, the Bustle Book Club asks an author to recommend a book they think everyone should read. In April, Well-Read Black Girl founder Glory Edim recommends Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter edited by Veronica Chambers. Follow along with the book club on Bustle and join the conversation on Goodreads.
There's a reason we call her Queen. Beyoncé is American royalty, the ultimate icon. She has sold more than 100 million records and won 22 Grammys. She has changed the game time after time — as part of Destiny's Child, as a solo artist, as one-half of one of the biggest musical partnerships of all time. She has changed the world, and she has changed individuals lives, and a new book Queen Bey, explores all of that. Compiled by Veronica Chambers, an editor at the New York Times and the driving force behind the 2018 essay collection The Meaning of Michelle, this book is a tribute, celebration, and examination of the one and only Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
This book comes recommended to you by Glory Edim, the founder of book-club-meets-online-community Well-Read Black Girl (seriously, follow her on Instagram right now if you need recommendations for incredible books by Black authors) and editor of the Well-Read Black Girl anthology.
Here's why she wants you to read it:
"It's no secret that I love Beyoncé. Her music has become the soundtrack of my life. From Single Ladies to Formation, her musical talent and immense cultural influence is undeniable. She deserves all the awards, along with a full-on book tribute. Veronica Chambers' latest anthology, Queen Bey, has given us just that: a literary tribute to my favorite musical icon; 19 incredible essays celebrating the memorizing power of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Queen Bey features a diverse range of voices, including Luvvie Ajayi, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Kid Fury. Each writer addresses a different aspects of the singer’s fame, glamour, and political savvy. Beyoncé is a “reflection of power and possibility,” Chambers writes, for Black women and for all those who feel marginalized by mainstream culture. Entertaining and provocative, this essay collection will please readers no matter their Beyoncé fan status level."
In the introduction to the book, editor Veronica Chambers explains why she wanted to publish this book. "Growing up as an Afro-Latina in America, in a country marked by constant reminders of race and racism, I have been asking and answering one question my whole life: what might a black girl be in this world?" she writes. "The incredible body of work that comprises the oeuvre of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter seems to me an answer to that question too. What might a Black girl be in this world? Everything — and more than you ever imagined."
Follow along with the book club on Bustle and join the conversation on Goodreads.
