Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
The aims of these lists are threefold:
- I want to do my part in the disruption of what has been the acceptable “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male;
- I want to amplify amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, LGBIA+, TGNC, queer, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities—you know, the rest of us; and
- I want to challenge and encourage you all to buy, borrow and read them!
Happy New Year! Here is your list of 25 new books you should check out this month. It’s late so let’s get right to it.
I hope you can find some nuggets of reading joy here and that they set your new year up right!
Bibliolepsy
By Gina Apostol (@GinaApostol). Soho Press. 216 pages. Out now.
Winner of the Phillippine National Book Award and now available for the first time in the US, Bibliolepsy is an original and surprising take on the revolution of love and books that threatened to take down the Marcos dictatorship.
Brown Girls: A Novel
By Daphne Palasi Andreades (@DaphnePalasiA). Random House. 224 pages. Out now.
Andreades is especially adept at exploring the importance of friendship, freedom, balance and risk to young women of color blazing their own—and collective—trails. This is a book, and writer, whose time has come.
The Chosen One: A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey
By Echo Brown (@helloechobrown). Christy Ottaviano Books. 336 pages. Out now.
In this magical realist memoir, Echo Brown tells her story of being a first-generation college attendee and dealing with mental illness, belonging, identity and friendship. Many readers will find familiarity—and comfort—in this one.
Fiona and Jane
By Jean Chen Ho (@jeanho). Viking. 288 pages. Out now.
Refreshing and intimate, this debut collection of stories features the underrepresented voices of Taiwanese American best friends, Fiona and Jane, and the evolution of their lives and relationship over 20 years.
Honor
By Thrity Umrigar (@ThrityUmrigar). Algonquin Books. 336 pages. Out now.
In her latest novel, Thrity Umrigar challenges traditions, perceptions and ideals of love in a modern India that still holds fast to ancient systems.