June 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us – Ms. Magazine
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 indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, 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!
And here we are in June already. Happy summer! Happy Pride! Happy Soul Food Month! Happy National DJ Month!
However and whatever you celebrate, I do hope you allow yourself time to rest, relax and, of course, read! It’s important to soak in some Vitamin D, some waves, some fresh air or some stars in the night sky. It’s also National Camping Month, so get out there if that’s what you like!
During this time of ongoing struggle and nonstop fights against innumerable injustices, be sure to stop and breathe every so often. And remind your friends to as well.
This list includes 38 of my most anticipated books releasing this month. I know I am grateful for the work of the writers who gift us their remarkable thoughts, knowledge, ideas and worlds. They help me to forget about reality for a bit… or help me learn how to keep fighting it.
The Community: A Memoir
By N. Jamiyla Chisholm (@jamiylachisholm). Little A. 191 pages. Out June 1.
In this compelling debut memoir, journalist N. Jamiyla Chisholm relates the story of her childhood spent in a Muslim cult, the trauma caused and the relationship with her mother that would take years to heal.
The Peacekeeper: A Novel
By B.L. Blanchard (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) (@blblanchard). 47North. 317 pages. Out June 1.
On a continent that was never colonized, an Ojibwe man works to solve two murders and uncover secrets that will test his abilities, his strength and everything he once knew to be true.
Border Bodies: Racialized Sexuality, Sexual Capital, and Violence in the Nineteenth-Century Borderlands
By Bernadine Marie Hernández (@berna18). University of North Carolina Press. 244 pages. Out June 7.
This important, nuanced volume shines a light on the importance of Mexicana, Nuevomexicana, Californiana and Tejana women in the evolution of the U.S. (south)west.
Brown Neon
By Raquel Gutiérrez (@raquefella). Coffee House Press. 200 pages. Out June 7.
In their essential debut collection of essays, Gutiérrez examines class, queerness, aesthetics, citizenship and borders.
Buffalo Is the New Buffalo
By Chelsea Vowel (Métis) (@apihtawikosisan). Arsenal Pulp Press. 272 pages. Out June 7.
Doing speculative and science fiction through a Métis framework, Chelsea Vowel challenges, entertains and becomes the voice of Indigenous futurism.