After a rigorous selection process and a vote by many readers, our community has selected Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, a best-selling memoir by comedian Trevor Noah as the 2023 Salem Reads book.

Trevor Noah, popular comedian and host of The Daily Show since 2015, began life with a criminal act - being born. Trevor is the child of a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, born in South Africa during the waning days of apartheid. Such a union was, at that time, punishable by five years in prison. In this memoir, Noah tells stories of his life as a spirited young boy and restless young man in a world of poverty, violence, and overt racism, eventually leading to his life-changing move to the United States. The book also has a young readers’ edition under the title It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime and a Spanish translation, Prohibido Nacer.

Born a Crime, It’s Trevor Noah, and Prohibido Nacer are available to read or listen to in preparation for Salem Reads in February 2023. Print, audiobook on CD, and Spanish copies are available to borrow from the library. In addition, the eBooks are available to download and enjoy on the cloudLibrary and Libby apps.

Salem Reads is a community-wide reading project that invites the people of Salem to come together in person or virtually through reading, discussion, and programs based on the themes of a common book. The Salem Public Library Foundation funds this effort to foster community and invite people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and viewpoints to come together to discuss compelling topics.