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May 2019 Reads for the Rest of Us

May 5, 2019 9 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Here's your May 2019 Reads for the Rest of Us.

Since I've begun a regular column over at Ms. Magazine, I've been posting the Reads for the Rest of Us that I am most excited about there. Reads for the Rest of Us here used to be everything I found being published by women that I could find. Over at Ms., I've shortened the list due to time and space limits. Well, you've told me that while you love the Ms. lists, you also miss my more comprehensive lists, so I have decided to reinstate them here!

They'll be a bit different from those I used to post as I won't be able to take as much time to describe them fully; I'll need to leave that to my Ms. column. Instead, I'll just compile a quick and dirty list of covers with links for you to browse! So here's May's list!

Let me know what you think in the comments below. What are you reading this month?

New Reads for the Rest of Us for April 2019

New Reads for the Rest of Us – April 2019

April 3, 2019 2 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Here are your New Reads for the Rest of Us for April 2019!

New Reads for the Rest of Us for January 2019

January 13, 2019 14 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Welcome to New Reads for the Rest of Us for January 2019!

Sorry this month’s is so late – I have had something in the works that I was focusing on and that I can now share:

Starting this month, I will be contributing a regular column to the Ms. Magazine blog! It will focus on the production, access, use, and preservation of knowledge by women and girls around the world. I will share women’s projects and initiatives that focus on information, literacy, indigenous knowledge, and more. And of course, I will share books and book reviews. If you like Reads for the Rest of Us, you’re gonna love this!

I think that these monthly lists will remain on my site but I am going to see how the Ms. column goes and adjust as necessary. Many (most?) of my book reviews will be on the Ms. blog but I would like to continue to update this site. We’ll see what I can do. Thanks for your continued support! But onto this month’s list…

With these monthly lists, I aim to amplify the books written by those who are historically underrepresented including, but not limited to: womxn, women of color, women from the Global South, women who are Black, Indigenous, dis/abled, queer, fat, immigrants, Muslim, sex-positive, and more. My lists meant to be intersectional, feminist, and trans-inclusive. I also want to highlight books by gender non-conforming people (who may or may not be described by the term “womxn”).

If you’d like to learn more about which books I focus on, see my Review Policy. These are just guidelines and I reserve the right to include (or not!) any books I see fit. I usually add to this list as I learn of others; if you have a suggestion, please share it in the comments below!

So here’s the New Reads for the Rest of Us for January 2019 list. There are so many great titles here, which will you read??

Daughters of 1968: Redefining French Feminism and the Women’s Liberation Movement by Lisa Greenwald (@Daughtersof1968)

January 1

Tags: History, feminism, France, women writers

University of Nebraska Press, 415 pages

“Finally! In her remarkable book on the history of French feminism after World War II, Lisa Greenwald restores overlooked feminist activists of the 1950s and 1960s to their rightful place. Embedding them in their changing historical context, Greenwald follows feminism through upheaval and fracture after 1968, exploring both the unresolved dilemmas and the profound changes feminists brought about.”–Sarah Fishman, associate dean for undergraduate studies, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Houston

Dear Jane by Marina Delvecchio (@Marinagraphy)

January 3

Tags: Greece, women writers, #OwnVoices, adoption, suicide, coming of age

Black Rose Writing, 172 pages

“Dear Jane is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful exploration of what it means to not only find the pieces of yourself, but to put them back together.”–Sara Lunsford, author of Sweet Hell on Fire

Progressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and Transpacific Exchange Shaped American Reform by Marilyn Lake

January 7

Tags: History, politics, Australia, women writers

Harvard University Press, 320 pages

“Progressive reform will never look the same again. Marilyn Lake definitively shows how turn-of-the-century Australian reformers helped shape American political culture and the great extent to which Australians and Americans shared a mindset steeped in settler colonialism. This book’s evidence of their ‘subjective affinities’ is transformative.”–Nancy F. Cott, Harvard University

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America by Ibi Zoboi (@ibizoboi)

January 8

Tags: #OwnVoices, YA, short stories, coming of age, women writers, Black women

Balzer + Bray, 407 pages

“A poignant collection of stunning short stories by Black, rock star authors.”–Booklist (starred review)

“A breath of fresh air…nuanced and necessary.”–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

An Indefinite Sentence: A Personal History of Outlawed Love and Sex by Siddharth Dube

January 8

Tags: India, LGBTQ, memoir, #OwnVoices, sex work

Atria, 384 pages

“An Indefinite Sentence bears witness to the long struggle against homophobia; it is also a vital, up to date record of gay rights and AIDS relief activism worldwide. Its rich perspective makes clear that anyone who still thinks criminalising sex work is an effective strategy to uphold human dignity needs to read this moving, impressive and necessary book.”–Preti Taneja, Desmond Elliot Prize winner for We That Are Young

Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden

January 8

Tags: YA, historical fiction, women writers, Black women

Bloomsbury YA, 272 pages

“Seeks to illuminate ‘an often-neglected aspect of black history: the black middle class and black aristocracy of the past.’ The rich descriptions of people and life in early America will fascinate readers as the book introduces them to this widely overlooked population in history.”–Booklist

It Was All a Dream: A New Generation Confronts the Broken Promise to Black America by Reniqua Allen

January 8

Tags: African American, class, women writers, #OwnVoices

Nation Books, 400 pages

“Reniqua Allen strikes a fine balance between the personal histories of ambitious Black millennials and the systems in place that threaten their mobility. With acute detail to their location, background, and motive, Allen’s sharp journalistic skills are center stage, crafting reportage, cultural commentary, and personal anecdotes into a thought-provoking book that will add to our discussions about race, capitalism, education, and self-actualization.”–Morgan Jerkins, author of This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America

McGlue: A Novella by Ottessa Moshfegh

January 8

Tags: Novella, women writers,

Penguin Group (USA), 160 pages

“… a splashy new edition … Moshfegh’s first book introduces the kind of character, in all his psychological wildness and vivid grotesquerie that her others are known for, and readers will be more than intrigued.”–Booklist

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin (@sschweblin)

January 8

Tags: Short stories, women writers, Argentina, fantasy

Riverhead Books, 240 pages

“Surreal, disturbing, and decidedly original.”–Library Journal, starred review

“Schweblin once again deploys a heavy dose of nightmare fuel in this frightening, addictive collection…canny, provocative, and profoundly unsettling.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy: A Reluctant Royals Novella by Alyssa Cole (@AlyssaColeLit)

January 8

Tags: Black women, LGBTQ, romance

Avon Impulse, 106 pages

“When Likotsi and Fabiola meet again on a stalled subway train months later, Fab asks for just one cup of tea. Likotsi, hoping to know why she was unceremoniously dumped, agrees. Tea and food soon leads to them exploring the city together, and their past, with Fab slowly revealing why she let Likotsi go, and both of them wondering if they can turn this second chance into a happily ever after.”–Description

Sugar Run: A Novel by Mesha Maren (@MeshaMaren)

January 8

Tags: Lesbian, women writers, debut, family

Algonquin Books, 321 pages

“Just plain grittily gorgeous . . . you will feel every word.”–Library Journal, starred review

“Maren’s impressive debut is replete with luminous prose that complements her cast of flawed characters.”–Publishers Weekly

Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom (@tressiemcphd)

January 8

Tags: Feminism, women writers, race, Black women

The New Press, 224 pages

“This book is essential for anyone who wants to think deeply about race, feminism, and culture.”–BookRiot

“To say this collection is transgressive, provocative, and brilliant is simply to tell you the truth. Thick is a necessary work and a reminder that Tressie McMillan Cottom is one of the finest public intellectuals writing today.”–Roxane Gay, author of Hunger and Bad Feminist

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris)

January 8

Tags: Memoir, #OwnVoices, women writers, politics, Black women

Penguin, 336 pages

“From one of America’s most inspiring political leaders, a book about the core truths that unite us, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them, in her own life and across the life of our country.”–Description

The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-Williams

January 8

Tags: Health, memoir, #OwnVoices

Random House, 304 pages

“Everything worth understanding and holding on to is in this book. . . . A miracle indeed.”–Kelly Corrigan, New York Times bestselling author of The Middle Place and Tell Me More

“A beautifully written, moving, and compassionate chronicle that deserves to be read and absorbed widely.”–Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies

Wanderer by Sarah Léon (Author), John Cullen (Translator)

January 8

Tags: LGBTQ, debut, translation, women writers

Other Press, 209 pages

“Léon perfectly measures out past and present to reach a satisfying and intimate crescendo.”–Booklist

“[A] staggering debut…Léon’s innovative blending of events across time and her delicate emotional precision make for a bewitching, immersive experience.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Water Cure: A Novel by Sophie Mackintosh (@fairfairisles)

January 8

Tags: Dystopian, coming of age, women writers, feminism

Doubleday, 243 pages

Longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize.

“A gripping, sinister fable!”–Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

“The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Virgin Suicides in this dystopic feminist revenge fantasy about three sisters on an isolated island, raised to fear men.”–Description

We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World by Malala Yousafzai

January 8

Tags: YA, biography, women writers, activism

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 224 pages

“Comprising the bulk of the book are urgent, articulate first-person stories from displaced or refugee young women whom Yousafzai has encountered in her travels, whose birthplaces include Colombia, Guatemala, Syria and Yemen. … The contributors’ strength, resilience, and hope in the face of trauma is astounding, and their stories’ underlying message about the heartbreaking loss of their former lives and homelands (and the resulting “tangle of emotions that comes with leaving behind everything you know”) is profoundly moving.”–Publishers Weekly

GLQ at Twenty-Five edited by Marcia Ochoa and Jennifer DeVere Brody

January 10

Tags: LGBTQ, women writers, #OwnVoices

Duke University Press Books, 182 pages

“The journal GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies is where queer theory has defined and transformed itself. On the occasion of the GLQ’s twenty-fifth anniversary, the editors, authors, and readers of the journal commemorate its impact on the field.”–Description

Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design by Bess Williamson (@besswww)

January 15

Tags: Disability, women writers, design, US history

NYU, 304 pages

“This illuminating and thoughtful overview of the evolution of accessible design in the U.S. between the end of WWII and the late 1990s is a strong introduction to the topic…Williamson skillfully connects design concepts to changing social narratives; this work should reward readers interested in either topic.”–Publishers Weekly

Adèle: A Novel by Leila Slimani

January 15

Tags: Family life, women writers, psychology, addiction, Paris

Penguin Books, 240 pages

“No man would have dared write what she did. It’s an extraordinary first novel.”–Alain Mabanckou, author of Black Moses

“Eminently relatable . . . Artful, edgy . . . An unflinching exploration of female self-sacrifice and the elusive nature of satisfaction.”–Kirkus Reviews

The Ashford Place by Jean Copeland (@jeaniecopes)

January 15

Tags: LGBTQ, romance

Bold Strokes Books, 260 pages

“Now with her plan for a short, uncomplicated stay in Danville foiled by the growing mystery and her undeniable feelings for Ally, Belle must decide whether to stick with her original plan for a clean getaway back to the Connecticut shore or to follow her heart’s lead.”–Description

A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris Hill (@damarishill )

January 15

Tags: Poetry, women writers, Black women, incarceration

Bloomsbury Publishing. 192 pages

“DaMaris B. Hill writes the poetry of the bound black woman across the ages in this haunting, powerful collection. What you will read here is not just poetry, though. This book offers an education. This book bears witness. This book is a reckoning.”–Roxane Gay

Emily’s Art and Soul by Joy Argento

Tags: LGBTQ, romance, women writers

Bold Strokes Books

“When Emily meets Andi Marino she thinks she’s found a new best friend, just the right kind of fun and caring person to keep her from spending every weekend alone. So when Emily discovers she’s a lesbian and wants to explore her feelings for women, Andi seems like the perfect social guide. Except Emily doesn’t know that Andi has been attracted to her from the start and is fast falling in love with her. Caught up in exploring her sexuality, will Emily see the only woman she needs is right in front of her?”–Description

The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay

January 15

Tags: Debut, women writers, literary fiction, India, #OwnVoices

Grove Press, 448 pages

“A ghastly secret lies at the heart of Madhuri Vijay’s stunning debut, The Far Field, and every chapter beckons us closer to discovering it….The Far Field chafes against the useless pity of outsiders and instead encourages a much more difficult solution: cross-cultural empathy.–Madeline Day, Paris Review

“Remarkable…an engrossing narrative… Vijay’s stunning debut novel expertly intertwines the personal and political to pick apart the history of Jammu and Kashmir.”–Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (@Roshani_Chokshi)

January 15

Tags: YA, historical, fantasy, women writers

Wednesday Books, 400 pages

“Chokshi delivers a thrilling, gritty new fantasy set in an alternate nineteenth century Paris… Chokshi shines as a master storyteller in her newest novel; the setting, world building, plot, and conflict are all staggering. However, the elements that perhaps shine the most are the history, riddles, mysteries, and science, woven together in a world brimming with power and magic.”–Booklist, Starred Review

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro (@danijshapiro)

January 15

Tags: Memoir, women writers, family, #OwnVoices

Knopf, 250 pages

A Washington Post, Vulture, Bustle, Real Simple, PopSugar, and LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2019 and an Apple Books Best of January 2019

“Fascinating… With thoughtful candor, [Shapiro] explores the ethical questions surrounding sperm donation, the consequences of DNA testing, and the emotional impact of having an uprooted religious and ethnic identity. This beautifully written, thought-provoking genealogical mystery will captivate readers from the very first pages.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Music City Dreamers by Robyn Nyx (@robyn_nyx)

January 15

Tags: LGBTQ, romance, women writers

Bold Strokes Books, 292 pages

When Heather and Louie “meet at the Bluebird Café, sparks fly. But Heather knows what being an out lesbian in Nashville would do to her career. Louie isn’t willing to be anything other than exactly who she is. Thrust together to work with Country royalty, they must figure out how to be Music City dreamers without losing themselves and, ultimately, each other.”–Description

My Life Among the Underdogs: A Memoir by Tia Torres

January 15

Tags: Memoir, women writers, essays, animals, #OwnVoices

William Morrow, 240 pages

“Torres does vital, admirable work, and fans of her show as well as animal lovers in general will enjoy these warm-hearted recollections.”–Booklist

Ordinary is Perfect by D. Jackson Leigh (@djacksonleigh)

January 15

Tags: LGBTQ, romance, women writers

Bold Strokes Books, 226 pages

“Atlanta marketing superstar Autumn Swan’s world is anything but simple. Constantly plugged in to what’s trending on social media, it’s her job to keep her clients ahead of the competition. When her favorite cousin dies suddenly, she finds herself the owner of a modest country home, guardian to a sullen, tomboyish ten-year-old, and neighbor to an intriguing woman who isn’t as ordinary as she appears.”–Description

Royal Court by Jenny Frame (@jennyframe91)

January 15

Tags: LGBTQ, romance

Bold Strokes Books, 290 pages

“When a threat to the Queen Consort emerges, Quincy and Holly clash over the best way to protect her. As the fiery passion they can’t deny begins to melt Quincy’s heart, Holly must decide how much of her own she is willing to risk.”–Description

Spiral of Silence: A Novel by Elvira Sánchez-Blake (Author), Lorena Terando (Translator)

January 15

Tags: Latinx, women writers, Colombia, historical fiction, #OwnVoices

Curbstone Books 2, 272 pages

“Sánchez Blake’s novel gives both a face and a voice to a segment of the population that has been largely overlooked and undervalued in not only official historical documentation but also . . . literary production . . . [it] represents a noteworthy step forward in the breaking of the silence that has long entrapped half the Colombian population.”–Michelle Sharp, Multiple Modernities: Carmen de Burgos, Author and Activist

Unmarriageable: A Novel by Soniah Kamal (@SoniahKamal)

January 15

Tags: LGBTQ, family, literary fiction, women writers, Pakistan, #OwnVoices

Ballantine, 352 pages

“A rollicking good ride . . . The opulent landscape of Pakistan’s moneyed (and unmoneyed) social elite is exactly the kind of modern update Pride and Prejudice needs. This is one of those books that is hard to put down.”–SJ Sindu, author of Marriage of a Thousand Lies

You Know You Want This: “Cat Person” and Other Stories by Kristen Roupenian (@KRoupenian)

January 15

Tags: #MeToo, #OwnVoices, women writers, short stories

Gallery/Scout Press, 240 pages

“If you think you know what this collection will be like, you’re wrong. These stories are sharp and perverse, dark and bizarre, unrelenting and utterly bananas. I love them so, so much.”–Carmen Maria Machado, National Book Award Finalist and author of Her Body and Other Parties

Virtuoso by Yelena Moskovich (@yelenamoskovich)

January 17

Tags: LGBTQ, Ukraine, #OwnVoices, Wisconsin, women writers, Prague, romance

Serpent’s Tail, 256 pages

“Written with the dramatic tension of Euripidean tragedy and the dreamlike quality of a David Lynch film, Virtuoso is an audacious, mesmerising novel of love in the post-communist diaspora.”–Description

Sourpuss: A Dark Comedy by Merricat Mulwray (@merricatmulwray)

January 20

Tags: Humor, debut, women writers

Haigh 38 Press, 277 pages

“In the style of a ’90s dark comedy flick, Merricat Mulwray’s debut brings an insightful and humorous perspective to the reckless behavior college students perpetually get away with. Mallory, herself a flawed heroine, is backed by a self-serving cast of athletes, party girls, townies, and fraternity brothers so hilariously dark that the book will leave you wondering if anyone ever gets what they deserve.”–Description

Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism: Voices from Across the Spectrum by Eva A. Mendes and Meredith R. Maroney

January 21

Tags: Gender, health, women writers

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 208 pages

“With expertise and deep empathy, Eva Mendes and Meredith Maroney amplify the diverse voices of people on the autism spectrum. In exploring sexual orientation and gender, alongside other aspects of personal identity, the authors demonstrate and model respect for the humanity of autistic adults and teens. An important and timely read!”–Hillary Hurst Bush, PhD, Staff Psychologist and Instructor, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

The Reflective Workbook for Partners of Transgender People: Your Transition as Your Partner Transitions by D.M. Maynard

January 21

Tags: Transgender, health, relationships

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 336 pages

“Providing support and guidance for partners of trans people, this workbook offers them a safe space to explore their own wants and needs. With advice on legal, financial and sexual matters, it is a must have for all trans partners.”–Description

Working with Trans Survivors of Sexual Violence: A Guide for Professionals by Sally Rymer and Valentina Cartei

January 21

Tags: Transgender, violence, women writers

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 184 pages

“This excellent book, based in extensive service provision experience and academic expertise, should be a touchstone for sexual violence organisations, scholars and anyone interested in understanding the challenges transgender survivors face. On highly politicised terrain, Rymer and Cartei have managed to create an accessible, evidence-based and practical text which will be appreciated by many.” Alison Phipps, Professor of Gender Studies, Sussex University

Careful What You Wish For by Jackie Calhoun

January 22

Tags: Wisconsin, LGBTQ, romance, #OwnVoices

Bella Books, 252 pages

“Determined to make it on her own, Chelsea picks herself up and starts to rebuild her life. She attempts to reconnect with her daughters, edits books for a lesbian press, and finds a part-time job. Along the way, she makes friends and falls in love. Will she manage to create a meaningful new life without losing those she loved and left? Does she get a second chance at happiness?”–Description

Everyday Economic Survival in Myanmar by Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung

January 22

Tags: Myanmar (Burma), women writers, #OwnVoices, politics, economy

University of Wisconsin Press, 320 pages

“Required reading for students and professionals interested in political economy, development, aid, society, and culture in Myanmar and Southeast Asia, and within and beyond the field of Asian studies. Original and exciting.”–Maitrii Aung-Thwin, National University of Singapore

“Particularly exciting is Thawnghmung’s attention to deference, noncompliance, accommodation, and participation in perpetuating the status quo.”–Ken MacLean, Clark University

Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution by Helen Zia

January 22

Tags: China, immigration, women writers, history, #OwnVoices

Ballantine Books, 528 pages

“Zia’s portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees and find less-than-welcoming circumstances on the other side. I read with a personal hunger to know the political and personal exigencies that led to those now-or-never decisions, for they mirror the story of my own mother, who also left on virtually the last boat out of Shanghai.”–Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club

Learning to See: A Novel of Dorothea Lange, the Woman Who Revealed the Real America by Elise Hooper

January 22

Tags: Historical fiction, creative biography, women writers, photography

William Morrow, 384 pages

“Historical fiction fans will gobble up Hooper’s novel and be left with the satisfied feeling that they have lived through much of the twentieth century with Dorothea Lange.”–Publishers Weekly

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land (@stepville)

January 22

Tags: Poverty, women writers, #OwnVoices, parenthood, work

Hachette Books, 288 pages

Forbes, Most Anticipated Books of the Year

“What this book does well is illuminate the struggles of poverty and single-motherhood, the unrelenting frustration of having no safety net, the ways in which our society is systemically designed to keep impoverished people mired in poverty, the indignity of poverty by way of unmovable bureaucracy, and people’s lousy attitudes toward poor people… Land’s prose is vivid and engaging… [A] tightly-focused, well-written memoir… an incredibly worthwhile read.”–Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist and Hunger: A Memoir

Rising Above by Genevieve Fortin (@kenefief)

January 22

Tags: LGBTQ, romance

Bella Books, 226 pages

“Ana and Melodie would gladly keep staying out of each other’s way, but Mother Nature has other plans. Trapped inside the inn when a strong storm surge hits the beach community, they’re forced to come together to face the terrifying event and its aftermath. Can they rise above their conflicting beliefs and let their attraction take the lead?”–Description

The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation by Jodie Patterson (@jodie_GeorgiaNY)

January 29

Tags: Trans, memoir, #OwnVoices, Black women, family, parenthood

Ballantine Books, 352 pages

“A courageous and poetic testimony on family and the self, and the learning and unlearning we must do for those we love. In her stunning and moving debut, Jodie Patterson offers us all a blueprint for what it means to be a champion for our children and encourage us to be bold enough to let our babies lead the way, especially when we don’t have answers. Required reading for every parent, and anyone who has ever been parented.”–Janet Mock, New York Times bestselling author of Redefining Realness and Surpassing Certainty

Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman by Miki Agrawal (@twinmiki)

January 29

Tags: Business, feminism, #OwnVoices, women writers

Hay House Inc., 296 pages

“Miki’s book Disrupt-Her is a one-of-a-kind manifesto that takes you by the hand, energetically pulls you away from societal preconceptions, and pushes you toward a life and world of possibility and abundance where you will shout, ‘YES!! I CAN DO ANYTHING!’ Miki lived through all the ups and downs of being a Disrupt-her and emerges with this book and perspective of life that is vulnerable, POWERFUL and contagious. She was born to write this book. Get it and it will change your life.”–Radha Agrawal, founder and CEO of Daybreaker.com and author of Belong

The Falconer: A Novel by Dana Czapnik (@danaczapnik)

January 29

Tags: Debut, women writers, coming of age, literary fiction

Atria Books, 288 pages

“Smart, tough, an extraordinary athlete, Lucy Adler teeters, zealous and baffled, on the cusp of womanhood. Dana Czapnik’s frank heroine has a voice, and a perspective, you won’t soon forget. The Falconer is an exhilarating debut.”–Claire Messud, author of The Burning Girl and The Woman Upstairs

House of Stone: A Novel by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma (@NovuyoRTshuma)

January 29

Tags: Politics, literary fiction, women writers, debut, Zimbabwe, #OwnVoices

W. W. Norton & Company, 400 pages

“Tshuma writes in an arresting and trenchant prose that shows a gifted artist at work.”–NoViolet Bulawayo, author of We Need New Names

“Novuyo Tshuma writes with an equal commitment to Joycean formal inventiveness and political conscience, and the result is absolutely thrilling.”–Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan (@Sabina_Writer)

January 29

Tags: LGBTQ, Islam, coming of age, YA, family, women writers, Bangladesh

Scholastic Inc., 336 pages

“With an up-close depiction of the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ community with Bengali culture, this hard-hitting and hopeful story is a must-purchase for any YA collection.”–School Library Journal, starred review

“This book will break your heart and then, chapter by chapter, piece it back together again. A much-needed addition to any YA shelf.”–Sandhya Menon, New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi

Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets by Feminista Jones (@FeministaJones)

January 29

Tags: Black women, feminism, #OwnVoices

Beacon Press , 224 pages

“Reclaiming Our Space is an invaluable contribution to long-overdue conversations about race, gender, and intersectionality in America. Feminista Jones combines empathy and wisdom with intellectual rigor and historical analysis to explain clearly and compellingly the central role that Black feminists play in the fight for democracy and social justice.”–Soraya Chemaly, director of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project and author of Rage Becomes Her

The Twenty-Ninth Year by Hala Alyan (@HalaNAlyan)

January 29

Tags: Poetry, women writers, LGBTQ, Middle East, #OwnVoices, Palestine

Mariner Books, 96 pages

“Mapping a year of change, Hala Alyan uses wit, metaphor, and powerful imagery in this collection of deeply intimate and truth-telling poems. Her words brave through gender, love, marriage, family, and displacement. They unsettle the hyphen between Palestinian and American. These stunning poems endure the unendurable, illuminating both the powerlessness of pain and the relentless courage of love. Listen for her lyrical heart: letters, prayers, and portraits. Listen for what overlooks and fires free.”–Aja Monet, author of My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter

We Shall See the Sky Sparkling by Susana Aikin (@Susana_Aikin)

January 29

Tags: Debut, women writers, historical fiction, Russia

Kensington, 416 pages

“Set in London and Russia at the turn of the century, Susana Aikin’s debut introduces a vibrant young woman determined to defy convention and shape an extraordinary future.”–Description

The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother’s Life in the Detroit Numbers by Bridgett M. Davis

January 29

Tags: Memoir, history, Black women, #OwnVoices, coming of age, Detroit

Little, Brown and Company, 320 pages

“Novelist Davis honors her mother in this lively and heartfelt memoir of growing up in the 1960s and ’70s Detroit…This charming tale of a strong and inspirational woman offers a tantalizing glimpse into the past, savoring the good without sugarcoating the bad.”–Publishers Weekly

So there’s the New Reads for the Rest of Us for January 2019 list – What are you reading this month??

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Best Reads (and Book Gifts) for the Rest of Us – 2018

December 9, 2018 7 Karla Strand Lists Reads for the Rest of Us

This year I set out to read only books by womxn and focused on #OwnVoices books by BIPOC, TGNC, LGBTQ, and international writers.

I’m on track to read 50 titles and have really enjoyed most of them. I even read a few by men (still #OwnVoices) that I would recommend (you can read those reviews here, here, and here).

In this post, I want to share with you my favorites, by womxn, just in time for gift-giving season! All of these would be great ideas to give to your friend or family member who enjoys reading #OwnVoices.

First, my favorite book of the year:

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

One of the first books I read this year, Freshwater blew my expectations away and set a high bar for my reading during the rest of 2018. Complex and unique, this coming of age story is set against a backdrop of Nigerian spirituality and tradition. With strong themes of gender, sex, relationships, identity, health, violence, and more, Akwaeke Emezi shares their journey and I am here for it.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Friends who enjoy literary fiction, creative memoirs, or symbolic and layered stories; queer or TGNC friends; those who like reading African writers and just magnificent writing.

And to round out the Top 5:

A Little in Love with Everyone by Genevieve Hudson

I adore this little book! I’ve read it three times already; it is my book girlfriend. It just really resonated with my own experiences in many ways and I dig Genevieve Hudson’s writing style. The book is genre-defying in that it is part history lesson, part memoir, part biography, part book review, part manifesta, and all homage to Alison Bechdel.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Writers, readers who enjoy memoir, creative friends, lesbian friends, fans of Alison Bechdel’s work.

Black Queer Hoe by Britteney Black Rose Kapri

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot

I didn’t write reviews of these books (yet?) but LOVED them. I am skeptical that I could write reviews that could do them justice. I was so ready for the (often very different) tones of these books. Juxtaposing them makes sense to me; I feel both – sometimes in the same day.

Gift Black Queer Hoe to readers who like poetry, readers who don’t like poetry, fans of spoken word, queer friends, your best girl friend from waaay back who is apologetically strong and takes no shit. Also consider pairing this with José Olivàrez’s Citizen Illegal, which is equally amazing.

Gift Heart Berries to friends who enjoy creative memoir, poetic writing, and deep or emotional books; those looking to hear Indigenous womxn’s voices; those who don’t mind books that make them cry.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

This is a beautifully written book; Ingrid Rojas Contreras is just a fantastic storyteller. Her characters are fully and meticulously developed and I felt invested in them, their lives, and their survival. It inspired me to learn more about Colombia, its past and present, especially regarding womxn’s roles and rights. An amazing debut based on the life the author.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Friends who enjoy historical fiction, creative memoirs, rich character and plot development, coming of age stories. Those looking for Latina/x voices and great writing will not be disappointed.

And the remainder of the Top 10:

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao

I read this book very early in the year and was excited by its brave girl lead characters. This alone is reason enough to read the book but I knew it was important to push myself past the initial awe at this story of strength and resiliency. When I did, I experienced an even deeper story of multidimensional characters navigating their lives and attempting to balance tradition with self-realization.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Those who like international stories, stories of resilience and friendship; friends with girl children; those who appreciate rich characters and holistic plots.

Suicide Club by Rachel Heng

Despite the premise of the book, I found this one fun! One of the strengths of Heng’s writing – and there are many – is her commitment to detail. Her ability to describe this near-future world is rivaled only by her presentation of it; while she is descriptive in her storytelling, Heng also trusts her reader to put the various pieces together.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Those who enjoy dystopian and speculative fiction and books that make you wonder what you would do in that situation; those who like family dramas, strong character development, and unique plots.

Unpologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers

I haven’t reviewed this one (yet?) but it is an amazing resource. Accessible and pragmatic, the book explains the Black Queer Feminist (BQF) framework and provides examples of it at work.

Gift to: Your activist friends and your academic friends; your friend who runs a local non-profit org doing imperative, yet largely invisible, work for amazing, yet largely invisible, people in the community; you funder friends (with a card stuck inside the cover of your friend who runs the non-profit).

Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

This is another one that I loved and didn’t review. Another one that I honestly got stuck trying to figure out how to do it justice. This book was not written for me and I am sure some of the nuances were lost. But it was one of the most important reads of the year for me. It deserves a second and third reading.

Gift to: Busy readers who dig powerful, witty short stories with meaning; those who enjoy really good writing; readers who like literary fiction with sharp corners.

Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists by Naomi Klein

While Naomi Klein’s book explores only one facet of the effects of Maria on Puerto Rico – disaster capitalists setting their sights on Puerto Rico in its vulnerable post-Maria state – it is an imperative issue to address. Only a brief (although necessary) introduction, the book offers a firm foundation to understanding disaster capitalism, the shock doctrine phenomenon, and how Puerto Rico was susceptible to more than just hurricane damage when Maria struck.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Anyone interested in Puerto Rico, the effects of colonialism, capitalism, and/or natural disasters, or the empowerment of local people to lead the efforts of rebuilding how they see fit.

Honorable mentions:

I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya

I hadn’t planned to read this one but when I received a copy from the publisher at a conference, I couldn’t help but race through this short but powerful work that feels like having a meaningful and candid conversation with a girlfriend.

Gift to: Queer or TGNC friends, accomplices who appreciate reading #OwnVoices books, friends who like reading memoirs, friends who want to understand more of the nuances of gender identity and non-comformity to established binary norms.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

This was the biggest surprise of the year for me. I knew it was going to be good but as one who doesn’t read reviews before I pick up a book, I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected turns, the complex lead characters, and the surprising plot twists.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Those who enjoy historical fiction, engaging or epic plots, full character development, and underdog stories; science-y, adventurous, or fantastical friends.

And last, but certainly not least:

When a Bulbul Sings by Hawaa Ayoub

I wouldn’t have known about this book if it wasn’t for the author herself reaching out to me and I am so glad she did! This is a case of self-publishing that succeeds. Based on Hawaa Ayoub’s own life experiences, this book is a brave retelling of a girl’s coming of age against a backdrop of forced child marriage in Yemen.

Read my review here!

Gift to: Friends who like creative memoirs, stories from international authors, tales of resilience and family drama; those who are passionate about gender equality and interested in understanding (or resisting) traditional gender roles; those who appreciate detailed character and setting development.

Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?

What were your favorite reads of 2018?

This post contains affiliate links; I write what I like.

New Reads for the Rest of Us for December 2018

November 30, 2018 15 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Welcome to New Reads for the Rest of Us for December 2018!

So here are the New Reads for the Rest of Us for December 2018. There are so many great titles here, which will you read??

Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics by Nazia Kazi (@NaziaKaziTweets)

December 1 (Kindle)

Tags: Islam, women writers

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 168 pages

Nazia Kazi’s Islamophobia, Race, and Global Politics is a devastating critique of the prevailing ways that Americans talk about Muslims, especially liberals who apparently mean well. Kazi makes her case elegantly and persuasively; her frustration is palpable and engaging. Anyone who thinks they have something worthwhile to say about Islamophobia in the United States should read this book first.–Arun Kundnani, New York University

Revolutionary Masculinity and Racial Inequality: Gendering War and Politics in Cuba by Bonnie A. Lucero

December 1

Tags: Masculinity, Cuba, politics, gender, war

University of New Mexico Press, 360 pages

“One of the most paradoxical aspects of Cuban history is the coexistence of national myths of racial harmony with lived experiences of racial inequality. Here a historian addresses this issue by examining the ways soldiers and politicians coded their discussions of race in ideas of masculinity during Cuba’s transition from colony to republic.”–Description

Tides of Revolution: Information, Insurgencies, and the Crisis of Colonial Rule in Venezuela by Cristina Soriano

December 1

Tags: Venezuela, women writers, colonialism, nonfiction

University of New Mexico Press, 336 pages

“This is a book about the links between politics and literacy, and about how radical ideas spread in a world without printing presses. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Spanish colonial governments tried to keep revolution out of their provinces.”–Description

Decolonizing Academia: Poverty, Oppression and Pain by Clelia O. Rodríguez

December 3

Tags: Education, women writers, colonialism

Fernwood Books Ltd, 150 pages

“Poetic, confrontational and radical, Decolonizing Academia speaks to those who have been taught to doubt themselves because of the politics of censorship, violence and silence that sustain the Ivory Tower. Clelia O. Rodríguez illustrates how academia is a racialized structure that erases the voices of people of colour, particularly women.”–Description

International Surrogacy as Disruptive Industry in Southeast Asia by Andrea Whittaker

December 3

Tags: SE Asia, health, reproductive freedom, women writers

Rutgers Univ Press, 244 pages

“An original, comprehensive, and eye-opening account of the unprecedented growth of commercial surrogacy in Southeast Asia. By focusing on the industry’s multiple stakeholders—particularly Thai surrogates who have gestated babies for Australian intended parents—Whittaker writes with ethnographic sensitivity and compassion, while at the same time critiquing the “disruptive industry” within which surrogacy takes place. A must-read for those interested in globalization, biotechnology, and reproductive justice.”–Marcia Inhorn author of Cosmopolitan Conceptions: IVF Sojourns in Global Dubai

At the End of the Century: The Stories of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

December 4

Tags: Short stories, women writers, family, historical fiction

Counterpoint, 448 pages

“A young German Jewish refugee in England in the 1940s, a resident of India for two dozen years, and a New Yorker from the mid-1970s until her death in 2013, Jhabvala triangulated her three adopted cultures in the 17 enthralling stories gathered in this sterling retrospective collection. . . . Jhabvala was a spellbinding short story writer of fluid empathy, exceptional cross-cultural insight, and abiding respect for unconventional love . . . This is a richly captivating, revelatory, and important collection.”–Booklist (starred review)

Feminist Accountability: Disrupting Violence and Transforming Power by Ann Russo

December 4

Tags: Feminism, women writers

NYU Press, 280 pages

“As a feminist organizer, I’ve been waiting for this collection of essays for years. How do we address and transform violence in non-punitive ways? Ann Russo offers a compelling analysis of how a praxis of accountability can guide us toward some answers to this question. As a scholar-activist, Russo’s insights are drawn from both theory and practice. She has tried on and tried out the ideas she espouses in community with others. The essays are beautifully written and accessible to all. Feminist Accountability is a must read for anyone interested in community accountability practices, anti-violence organizing and transformative justice.”–Mariame Kaba, Founder of Project NIA

I’m Gonna Make You Love Me by Tracey Richardson (@trich7117)

December 4

Tags: Lesbian, romance

Bella Books, 250 pages

“Ellie Kirkland is at loose ends―and not for the first time. Resistant to following the path her parents insist on, she’s been trying out careers like she’s trying on outfits at Banana Republic. Now that her dream of being a journalist is over, Ellie must begin again. And the woman who crushed that very dream is the very woman who just might hold the key to Ellie’s future.”–Description

Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra and Achy Obejas (Translator)

December 4

Tags: Cuba, women writers, thriller, Latinx

Melville House, 208 pages

“Arresting, an explosive portrait of loneliness and isolation. Thick with the atmosphere of… Havana on the cusp of the Cuban thaw, the novel reads like the world’s most poetic anxiety dream, vibrant and stifling. Demanding and unforgettable.”–Kirkus (starred)

Where There’s a Will by Virginia Hale

December 4

Tags: Lesbian, romance

Bella Books, 276 pages

“As their friendship blossoms, Beth’s unspoken desire to sell remains the single wedge keeping them apart. Will asking for what she needs cost Beth a chance at a life with Dylan? Perhaps the richest inheritance of all may be a second chance.”–Description

Graceful Woman Warrior: A Story of Mindfully Living In The Face Of Dying by Terri Luanna da Silva with Laurie O’Neil and Marisa Alegria da Silva

December 5

Tags: Health, death, women writers, memoir

“Diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer at 37, artist Terri Luanna da Silva’s example of living and dying with grace and integrity is an inspiration-not only for the dying, but for anyone aspiring to live with greater mindfulness and authenticity.”–Lauren Mackler, best-selling author of Solemate: Master the Art of Aloneness & Transform Your Life

Postfeminist War: Women in the Media-Military-Industrial Complex by Mary Douglas Vavrus

December 10

Tags: Military, feminism, women writers

Rutgers Univ Press, 256 pages

“That women are increasingly on the front lines of war since 9/11 may not surprise readers of this book, but the many ways that women are symbolically enlisted in the promotion and perpetuation of endless global conflict certainly will. This well-written and timely book is essential for students and scholars alike to understand the PR strategies employed to curry favor for war, even as the public sours on American militarism. Unveiling the constructions and contradictions of a kinder, gentler post-feminist war mythology offers all of us a pathway to become ethical witnesses to war narratives, in the hope of ending war and its inhumane consequences.”–Robin Andersen author of A Century of Media: A Century of War

Fire on the Water: Sailors, Slaves, and Insurrection in Early American Literature, 1789-1886 by Lenora Warren (@Lenora_DW)

December 14

Tags: History, literary criticism, women writers

Bucknell University Press, 170 pages

“The book’s topic is superb: the role of black sailors, particularly enslaved or emancipated black sailors, has been woefully understudied. In locating both revolutionary potential and abolitionist inspiration in the insurrectionary activity of black sailors, Warren provides a fresh, exciting new unit of analysis for scholars and students of American literary history. I cannot stress enough how vital and necessary the topic is, and how overlooked it has been.”–Hester Blum, Pennsylvania State University and President of the Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists)

Liberating Hollywood: Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema by Maya Montañez Smukler

December 14

Tags: Feminism, film, US history

Rutgers Univ Press, 275 pages

“A counterintuitive feminist history of the new Hollywood that convincingly challenges widely held assumptions about the boys’ club movie brat auteur renaissance. In Liberating Hollywood, Maya Montanez Smukler is remarkably attentive to the industrial as well as sociopolitical histories that made such a new women’s cinema and such a suddenly liberated Hollywood possible.”–Jon Lewis, author of Hard-Boiled Hollywood: Crime and Punishment in Postwar Los Angeles

Modern Spanish Women as Agents of Change: Essays in Honor of Maryellen Bieder edited by Jennifer Smith

December 14

Tags: Spain, history

Bucknell University Press, 248 pages

“This book is a beautiful tribute to Maryellen Bieder, an important and significant scholar of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Spanish narrative by women. The essays in this book—by scholars and writers of several different generations who are also highly esteemed in the same and other areas—expand and continue Bieder’s research to new horizons.”–Sandra J. Schumm author of Mother and Myth in Spanish Novels

African Immigrant Families in the United States: Transnational Lives and Schooling by Serah Shani

December 15

Tags: Africa, Ghana, immigration, women writers, education

Lexington Books, 186 pages

“This beautifully written book elucidates the educational trajectories of immigrant children as they confront rigid American systems of race and class, and it documents how parents rely on the ‘network village,’ a transnational network of fellow Ghanaians in New York and Ghana, to provide academic and other types of support and resources for their children. This superb ethnography will appeal to readers interested in immigration and education, anthropology of education, and African diaspora cultural studies.–Lesley Bartlett, University of Wisconsin

Afro-Asian Connections in Latin America and the Caribbean by Luisa Marcela Ossa, Debbie Lee-DiStefano

December 15

Tags: Latinx, Caribbean, Asia, Africa, essays

“The essays collected this book by Ossa and Lee-Distefano present a formidable addition to Latin American, African, and Asian studies—where the fields converge in vigorous and well-researched conversation with one another.”–Sheridan Wigginton, California Lutheran University

Brooklyn On My Mind: Black Visual Artists from the WPA to the Present by Myrah Brown Green

December 15

Tags: Art, women writers, New York, US history

Schiffer, 272 pages

“This new resource assembles 129 Black artists and their magnificent works, highlighting their important contributions to art worldwide. Beginning with the Brooklyn-based artists active during the Works Progress Administration years and continuing with artists approaching their prime today, the collection spans 80 years of art. From highly publicized artists to rising talent, each is tied to Brooklyn in their own way.”–Description

Crime and Violence in the Caribbean: Lessons from Jamaica by Sherill V. Morris-Francis, Camille A. Gibson, Lorna E. Grant

December 15

Tags: Caribbean, violence, women writers, essays

Lexington Books, 256 pages

“This book provides an excellent historical overview of crime and violence in the Caribbean. The contributors identify and present many of the forces that contribute to this phenomenon.”–Zelma Henriques, John Jay College

Gender and Environment in Science Fiction by Bridgitte Barclay, Christy Tidwell

December 15

Tags: Science fiction, gender, environment

“This book delivers shrewd analyses of a wonderful and quirky range of SF texts. Barclay and Tidwell situate the project brilliantly, and the collection as a whole will illuminate familiar texts anew and add unfamiliar stories to your high-priority reading and screening queues.”–Andrew Hageman, Luther College

Pan African Spaces: Essays on Black Transnationalism by Msia Kibona Clark (@kibona), Loy Azalia (@LoyAzalia), Phiwokuhle Mnyandu (@DrMnyandu)

December 15

Tags: Essays, women writers, #OwnVoices, Africa, African American

Lexington Books, 316 pages

“The essays [in this book] represent a wide spectrum of experiences and viewpoints central to the bicultural Africans/Black experience. The contributors offer poignant and grounded perspectives on the diverse ways race, ethnicity, and culture are experienced, debated, and represented. All of the chapters contribute more broadly to writings on dual identities, and the various ways bicultural Africans/Blacks navigate their identities and their places in African and Diaspora communities.”–Description

The Question of Class in Contemporary Latin American Cinema by María Mercedes Vázquez Vázquez

December 15

Tags: Latinx, women writers, film, class

Lexington Books, 222 pages

“This book offers a theoretically rich survey of directors and films that found international notoriety as well as those that have been little known outside Latin America. It examines the history, institutions, contexts, and practices that have reshaped Latin American cinema under neoliberalism, and it does so in an impressive, intellectually rigorous manner.”–Cacilda M. Rêgo, Utah State University

Twentieth Century Forcible Child Transfers: Probing the Boundaries of the Genocide Convention by Ruth Amir

December 15

Tags: Women writers, family

Lexington Books, 308 pages

“A well-researched report about the horror of ‘legal’ child abduction by the state, which deems itself the savior that will elevate the children of what it deems inferior cultures to it’s notion of ‘civilized’ heights. Slay their children, or rob them of their cultural heritage by removal, the end result is genocide!”–Daniel N. Paul, Mi’kmaw Elder

Women of the 2016 Election: Voices, Views, and Values edited by Jennifer Schenk Sacco

December 15

Tags: Politics, women writers, essays

Lexington Books, 246 pages

“This fascinating collection of essays provides a rich overview of women’s multiple and diverse contributions to U.S. presidential campaigns. The book’s focus on individual women with prominent roles in the 2016 election reflects an innovative approach that illustrates superbly the complicated and varied ways that gender is at play in contemporary electoral politics.”–Susan J. Carroll, co-author of A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on Why Their Presence Matters, Rutgers University

Women, Social Change, and Activism: Then and Now by Dawn Hutchinson, Lori Underwood

December 15

Tags: Activism, essays, women writers

Lexington Books, 110 pages

“Through the study of local and global activism, Women, Social Change and Activism: Then and Now engages scholars interested in the artistic, economic, educational, ethical, historical, literary, philosophical, political, psychological, religious, and social dimensions of women’s lives and resistance.”–Description

The Kingdom and the Republic: Sovereign Hawai’i and the Early United States by Noelani Arista (@Noeolali)

December 17

Tags: Hawaiʻi, politics, US history, women writers, Native American

University of Pennsylvania Press, 312 pages

“The Kingdom and the Republic challenges some of our most basic assumptions about native Hawaiʻi, the encounters between natives and foreigners, and the processes of colonization, upending our expectations of who, in Hawaiʻi, had law and governance, and who was encountering whom.”–Rebecca McLennan, University of California, Berkeley

One-Dimensional Queer by Roderick A. Ferguson

December 17

Tags: Queer, nonfiction, people of color

Polity, 200 pages

“One-Dimensional Queer is as clear an account as you could hope to encounter of how race and sexuality came to be understood as separate formations in US history. The resultant mainstreaming of LGBT cultures has been disastrous in terms of seeing our way out of the current crisis we inhabit. Offering solutions as well as critique, Ferguson’s book is destined to be a crucial part of any library of liberation.”–Jack Halberstam, Columbia University

29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz (@MelissadelaCruz)

December 18

Tags: Romance, women writers, humor

Inkyard Press, 400 pages

“A refreshingly modern love story, 29 Dates serves up a funny and heartfelt rom-com about finding love and figuring out life on your own terms.”–Maurene Goo, author of I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love by Heather Demetrios (@HDemetrios)

December 18

Tags: YA, essays, relationships

Henry Holt and Co., 256 pages

“Eighteen young adult novelists . . . respond to letters from real teenagers in this timeless and breathtakingly honest collection.”–Booklist, starred review

“A masterful combination of painful honesty, gentle encouragement, and irreverent humor.”–Kirkus Reviews

The Disasters by MK England (@GeektasticLib)

December 18

Tags: Queer, YA, sci fi, debut, #OwnVoices

Harper Teen, 368 pages

“Much to recommend: nonstop cinematic action, strong feminist messages, and great diversity of characters.”–ALA Booklist

“An action-packed, entertaining blend of space hijinks, humor, and romance.”–Kirkus Reviews

Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard (@wendydheard)

December 18

Tags: Debut, thriller, women writers

MIRA, 304 pages

“This dark, gritty thriller keeps the pages turning, making this a solid pick for readers who enjoy a trip through an unstable mind, such as in Caroline Kepnes’s You.”–Library Journal

Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal by Alexandra Natapoff (@ANatapoff)

December 31

Tags: Women writers, criminal justice

Basic Books, 352 pages

“This important book completely upends the criminal justice conversation. Natapoff documents dark truths about the misdemeanor process-how it forces the innocent to plead guilty, how it disregards basic legal rights, and how it inflicts deep injustice. Her insights inspire both outrage and innovation. Punishment Without Crime provides a terrific new understanding of a flawed criminal system, and it offers a much-needed path toward the fair and just criminal system America deserves. A necessary book for our times.”–Barry Scheck, cofounder of the Innocence Project

I’ll add more titles as I find them. What are you reading this month??

This post contains affiliate links.

New Reads for the Rest of Us for November 2018

October 29, 2018 29 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Welcome to New Reads for the Rest of Us for November 2018!

So here’s New Reads for the Rest of Us for November 2018. These lists are getting long; I may have to start dividing them up! There are so many great titles here, which will you read??

Girls on the Line by Jennie Liu (@starnesliu)

November 1

Tags: Historical fiction, pregnancy, women writers, China

Carolrhoda Lab, 232 pages

“A powerful view into the struggles faced by young women in a world that doesn’t value them–and where they must find strength within themselves and each other.”–Joanne O’Sullivan, author of Between Two Skies

Queering Kansas City Jazz: Gender, Performance, and the History of a Scene by Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone

Nov. 1

Tags: Music, queer, women writers, US history

University of Nebraska Press, 234 pages

“Queering Kansas City Jazz offers a new and exciting perspective on the jazz scene that accompanied the growth of Kansas City from frontier town to metropolitan city during the early twentieth century. It will potentially change the way in which we understand regional identity and recognize those who were pushed into the margins of our social histories.”—Tammy Kernodle, professor of musicology at Miami University and author of Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams

Black Love, Black Hate: Intimate Antagonisms in African American Literature by Felice D. Blake (@FeliceBlake)

November 2

Tags: Literature, literary criticism, women writers

Ohio State University Press, 156 pages

“Black Love, Black Hate is the first book to uncover the role of intimate antagonisms in the ongoing production of African American literature. Felice Blake teaches us how African American literature becomes a type of ‘town meeting that cannot meet anywhere else.’”–Margo Natalie Crawford, author of Black Post-Blackness: The Black Arts Movement and Twenty-First-Century Aesthetics

Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism by Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley

Nov. 6

Tags: Feminism, Black women, women writers

University of Texas Press, 216 pages

“You’ll come away from each chapter with a new appreciation of what Beyoncé has meant to women, particularly black women, across the country.”–The Current

“Sure to appeal to scholars and pop-culture enthusiasts alike, this provocative book works to blur the lines between straight and gay black feminism. . . Lively and intelligent reading.”–Kirkus Reviews

Beyond the Call: Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan by Eileen Rivers (@msdc14)

November 6

Tags: Afghanistan, military, women writers, biography, history

Da Capo Press, 275 pages

“[The] story of the fight for women’s rights in a country where the male power structure opposes them…Compelling. The author’s own military experience gives the book a perspective that is especially useful. A solid, fact-filled look at an underreported piece of the American military.”–Kirkus Reviews

Do You See Ice?: Inuit and Americans at Home and Away by Karen Routledge

November 6

Tags: Women writers, Canadian history, Canada, First Nations, Native Americans, Inuit

University of Chicago Press, 272 pages

The author intends to donate all royalties from this book to the Elders’ Room at the Angmarlik Center in Pangnirtung, Nunavut.

“Weaving together stories told by Inuit men and women with those set down by white men who chased whales, wealth, and adventure, Do You See Ice? lets us consider what it has meant to travel, to be lost, to be homesick, and finally, to be home.”–Ann Fabian, author of The Skull Collectors: Race, Science, and America’s Unburied Dead

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean (@emikojeanbooks)

November 6

Tags: YA, fantasy, romance, folklore

HMH Books for Young Readers, 384 pages

“With rich mythology and elegant atmosphere, Empress of All Seasons will latch onto your imagination and sweep you along for a magical and dangerous ride.”–Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times best-selling author of The Testing Trilogy

Girls on Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan (@girlinthelens)

November 6

Tags: YA, fantasy, LGBTQ

Jimmy Patterson, 400 pages

“Thrust into the beauty and horror of the Hidden Palace, will this Paper Girl survive? Ideal for those seeking diverse LGBTQ fantasy stories.”–Kirkus

Hide with Me by Sorboni Banerjee (@sorbonified)

November 6

Tags: YA, women writers, debut

Razorbill, 366 pages

“Suspenseful and gritty, Hide With Me is a beautifully written novel that captivates from the very first page.”–Robin Roe, author of A List of Cages

The Kinship of Secrets by Eugenia Kim (@Eugenia_Kim)

November 6

Tags: Korea, women writers, #OwnVoices, coming of age, family

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 304 pages

“I felt as though I had stepped into a graceful story of two countries, South Korea and America, and family ties that survive the challenges of history.”–Krys Lee, author of How I Became a North Korean

“What an extraordinary time to read this heartfelt novel about the bonds of family, set against the backdrop of the Korean War. Eugenia Kim is a masterful storyteller who makes her characters come to life as she spans decades, continents, and cultures.”–Jung Yun, author of Shelter

The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories by Yukiko Motoya and Asa Yoneda (Translator)

November 6

Tags: Japan, short stories, women writers

Soft Skull Press, 224 pages

The Millions Most Anticipated in the Second Half of 2018

“This inventive and chilling volume will have U.S. audiences craving more from Motoya.”–Library Journal

Monument: Poems New and Selected by Natasha Trethewey (@NTrethewey)

November 6

Tags: Black women, poetry, women writers

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 208 pages

“The poems are haunting reflections on a mother’s murder, the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, an early 20th-century prostitute in New Orleans, a regiment of black soldiers guarding Confederate POWs, mixed-race families and the black working class. The opening poem, a new one, titled ‘Imperatives for Carrying On in the Aftermath,’ ends with an emotional punch to the gut that sets the tone for what follows.”–Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Those Who Knew by Idra Novey (@IdraNovey)

November 6

Tags: Politics, literary, contemporary women, women writers

Viking, 256 pages

“Genius. That’s what I kept thinking as I read this novel that somehow combines an invented island, a political bookstore, fragments of a stage production, and a story that’s at once a damning critique of craven self-interest and a tale about our inescapable connectedness. Idra Novey has written an irreverent, magical, perfect puzzle of a book.”–Cristina Henriquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans

Black. Queer. Southern. Women.: An Oral History by E. Patrick Johnson

November 12

Tags: Queer, Black women, oral history, US history

University of North Carolina Press, 592 pages

“An amazing work that reflects Johnson’s passion, care for his subjects, sharp analytical skills, and standing in the field.”–Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Spelman College

Becoming by Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama)

November 13

Tags: Black women, women writers, politics, memoir, #OwnVoices

Crown, 400 pages

“An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States.”–Description

Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha) by Tasha Suri (@tashadrinkstea)

November 13

Tags: Fantasy, debut, women writers

Orbit, 496 pages

“A darkly intricate, devastating, and utterly original story about the ways we are bound by those we love.”–R. F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War

Fade Into You by Nikki Darling

November 13

Tags: Literary fiction, women writers, Latinx, debut

Feminist Press at CUNY, 224 pages

“A deeply personal mythology interwoven with the fibers of LA, simultaneously shaped by and shaping our city, Nikki Darling’s Fade Into You is a poetic portrait of a young girl’s life in the Angeleno multiverse.”–Alice Bag, author of Violence Girl

First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story by Huda Al-Marashi (@HudaAlMarashi)

November 13

Tags: Women writers, Iraq, memoir, #OwnVoices

Prometheus Books, 304 pages

“Told with exuberance and honesty, First Comes Marriage is a charming, delightful memoir of love and self-discovery. Huda Al-Marashi has written a smart, down-to-earth, and unforgettable modern-day love story that celebrates the enduring bonds of culture, faith, and family. A wonderful book.”–Jasmin Darznik, New York Times–bestselling author of Song of a Captive Bird

Insurrecto by Gina Apostol

November 13

Tags: War, family, women writers, Philippines

Soho Press, 336 pages

“Gina Apostol—a smart writer, a sharp critic, a keen intellectual—takes on the vexed relationship between the Philippines and the United States, pivoting on that relationship’s bloody origins. Insurrecto is meta-fictional, meta-cinematic, even meta-meta, plunging us into the vortex of memory, history, and war where we can feel what it means to be forgotten, and what it takes to be remembered.”–Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author The Sympathizer

All the Lives We Never Lived: A Novel by Anuradha Roy

November 20

Tags: India, women writers, family, literary

Atria, 288 pages

“[Roy] is a writer of great subtlety and intelligence, who understands that emotional power comes from the steady accretion of detail….[All the Lives We Never Lived] does not directly refer to #MeToo or the macho hyper-nationalism of today’s India. But in its portrayal of power structures, it is part of those very contemporary political conversations. It is also a beautifully written and compelling story of how families fall apart and of what remains in the aftermath.”–Kamila Shamsie, The Guardian

My review is coming soon!

Ask Me Again by E. J. Noyes (@zgrokit)

November 20

Tags: Lesbian, romance, military

Bella Books, 288 pages

“There’s no doubt that both Sabine and Rebecca want the same thing. But how do you help the most important person in your life when they don’t want to need your help?

Ask Me Again is the must-read sequel to the best-selling Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”–Description

Cameron’s Rules by Baxter Brown

November 20

Tags: Lesbian, romance

Bella Books, 266 pages

“When screenwriter Julie Carter accidentally spills hot coffee all over her, lawyer Cameron Kassen is convinced that her day can’t get any worse. But Cameron’s mood quickly improves when Julie starts to flirt with her. Only in town for a couple of days, they both lament that the flirtation can go nowhere.

Fiction mirrors reality and when Julie decides to add a surprise alternate ending to the story, Cameron is presented with a puzzle. Only by solving it will she be able to unlock the ending Julie intends just for her…but will it also unlock her heart?”–Description

Last Days of Theresienstadt by Eva Noack-Mosse with Skye Doney (Translator) and Biruté Ciplijauskaité (Translator)

November 20

Tags: History, memoir, Holocaust, women writers, nonfiction, #OwnVoices

“Includes the rare account of someone involved in the continuing administration of the camp after the war, facing the issues of epidemic and quarantine and coping with the inquiries from relatives seeking any word of their family members’ fates.”–Christopher Browning, author of Remembering Survival

Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue and Annelise Finegan Wasmoen (Translator)

November 20

Tags: Translation, women writers, China, literary fiction, #OwnVoices

Yale University Press, 288 pages

“Ambitious . . . masterful . . . Can Xue’s superb experimental novel is sure to keep readers hooked.”–Emily Park, Booklist

“Love in the New Millennium is, as always with Can Xue’s work, a marvel. She is one of the most innovative and important contemporary writers in China and, in my opinion, in world literature.”–Bradford Morrow, author of The Prague Sonata

My Sister, the Serial Killer: A Novel by Oyinkan Braithwaite (@OyinBraithwaite)

November 20

Tags: Nigeria, Black women, women writers, debut, humor, #OwnVoices

Doubleday, 240 pages

“Who is more dangerous? A femme fatale murderess or the quiet, plain woman who cleans up her messes? In My Sister, the Serial Killer, Oyinkan Braithwaite answers that question with an original and compelling debut. I never knew what was going to happen, but found myself pulling for both sisters, as I relished the creepiness and humor of this modern noir.”–Helen Ellis, New York Times bestselling author of American Housewife

My review coming soon!

Not Just a Tomboy: A Trans Masculine Memoir by Caspar Baldwin (@CasparBaldwin)

Nov. 21

Tags: Trans, memoir, #OwnVoices, queer

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 248 pages

“As someone who was called a tomboy growing up as well, it gives invaluable and often ignored insight into the life of a trans masculine person. Strong, powerful and a valuable resource about the importance of supporting trans youth, regardless of their gender expression.”–Fox Fisher, film maker, artist and campaigner

How Long ’til Black Future Month?: Stories by N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin)

November 27

Tags: Women writers, short stories, science fiction

Orbit, 416 pages

“The stories are wonderful. In worlds both invariably cruel and brilliantly imagined, heroism thrives in the margins.”–Nicky Drayden, author of The Prey of Gods

Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson (@andreagibson)

November 27

Tags: Poetry, lesbian, loss, romance

Button Poetry, 96 pages

“Andrea Gibson’s latest collection is a masterful showcase from the poet whose writing and performances have captured the hearts of millions. With artful and nuanced looks at gender, romance, loss, and family, Lord of the Butterflies is a new peak in Gibson’s career. Each emotion here is deft and delicate, resting inside of imagery heavy enough to sink the heart, while giving the body wings to soar.”–Description

What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape by Sohaila Abdulali (@SohailaAbdulali)

November 27

Tags: Violence, feminism, India, #OwnVoices, women writers

The New Press, 224 pages

“If the #MeToo campaign is to have any lasting impact . . . it will be because of books such as this.”–Preti Taneja, author of We That Are Young

“The right to our own bodies is the first step in any democracy, and by that measure, women in general—especially those of us also devalued by race, caste, or class—are still subject to an intimate dictatorship. Read the personal stories in What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape and see how far we have come—and have yet to go.”–Gloria Steinem

Settlin’: Stories of Madison’s Early African American Families by Muriel Simms

Nov. 28

Tags: Wisconsin, US history, women writers

Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 224 pages

“Only a fraction of what is known about Madison’s earliest African American settlers and the vibrant and cohesive communities they formed has been preserved in traditional sources. The rest is contained in the hearts and minds of their descendants. Seeing a pressing need to preserve these experiences, lifelong Madison resident Muriel Simms collected the stories of twenty-five African Americans whose families arrived, survived, and thrived here in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”–Description

Those are the New Reads for the Rest of Us for November 2018! What are you reading this month??

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October 2018 New Reads for the Rest of Us

September 23, 2018 20 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Welcome to the October 2018 New Reads for the Rest of Us!

So here’s the October 2018 New Reads for the Rest of Us list. These lists are getting long; I may have to start dividing them up! There are so many great titles here, which will you read??

Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption by Susan Devan Harness

October 1

Tags: Memoir, Native American (Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes), women writers, family, adoption, #OwnVoices

University of Nebraska Press, 352 pages

“One Salish-Kootenai woman’s journey, this memoir is a heart-wrenching story of finding family and herself, and of a particularly horrific time in Native history. It is a strong and well-told narrative of adoption, survival, resilience, and is truthfully revealed.”–Luana Ross (Bitterroot Salish), codirector of Native Voices Documentary Film at the University of Washington and author of Inventing the Savage

In Defense of Loose Translations: An Indian Life in an Academic World by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn

October 1

Tags: Women writers, memoir, Native American (Crow Creek Sioux), education, Indian studies

University of Nebraska Press, 232 pages

“As a Native intellectual and a Dakota intellectual, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn constructs indigeneity as well as her own life while deconstructing U.S. settler-colonialism. She is one of the world’s experts on the subject area, which gives the subjective text a solid foundation. The book is beautifully written, poetic, lyrical, a signature style. It is truly a brilliant work.”–Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, winner of the American Book Award

Painted Cities: Illustrated Street Art Around the World by Lorna Brown

October 1

Tags: Art, women writers

Head of Zeus, 128 pages

“Lorna has travelled around the world to produce this collection of illustrations of street art in urban landscapes. Visiting London, Bristol, Helsinki, Berlin, Cairo, Bethlehem, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Christchurch, Melbourne, Painted Cities demonstrates how the architecture shapes the unique street art in each city and tells the story of the painters and people who live there.”–Description

The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza (@criveragarza)

October 1

Tags: Women writers, folklore, Latinx

Dorothy, a publishing project; 128 pages

“Fiction. Latinx Studies. Women’s Studies. Translated from the Spanish by Suzanne Jill Levine and Aviva Kana. A fairy tale run amok, The Taiga Syndrome follows an unnamed female Ex-Detective as she searches for a couple who has fled to the far reaches of the earth.”–Description

Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience: My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings by Prudence Bushnell

October 1

Tags: Memoir, women writers, politics, Kenya, history

Potomac Books, 288 pages

“Prudence Bushnell’s name is not household familiar—but it should be. She was at the center of one of the most infamous terrorist attacks on American people and property in history. And she was a woman in the highest ranks of the State Department when such a thing was rare. She tells her story with integrity and intelligence—and gives lessons on leadership based on life experience.”–Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School

When a Bulbul Sings by Hawaa Ayoub (@HawaaAyoub)

October 1

Tags: Child marriage, #OwnVoices, women writers, Yemen

Hawaa Ayoub, 416 pages

“Hawaa Ayoub, author of When a Bulbul Sings, has experienced the traumas of forced child-marriage first hand. She hopes to raise awareness through writing about child-marriage.”–Author biography

My review of this title will be coming soon!

All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung (@nicole_soojung)

October 2

Tags: Adoption, Korea, family, women writers, memoir, #OwnVoices

Catapult, 240 pages

An Indies Introduce Pick
The Rumpus, What to Read When You’ve Made It Halfway Through 2018
The Millions, Most Anticipated in the Second Half of 2018

“In her memoir, All You Can Ever Know, Nicole Chung takes the qualities that make her writing sing―warmth, inquisitiveness, and deep personal investment in the words she types―and turns them inward. Her debut is an investigation into her past in which she aims to leave no stone―or emotion―unturned.”–Shondaland

The Best American Short Stories 2018 edited by Roxane Gay (@rgay)

October 2

Tags: Short stories, women writers

“The artful, profound, and sometimes funny stories Gay chose for the collection transport readers from a fraught family reunion to an immigration detention center, from a psychiatric hospital to a coed class sleepover in a natural history museum. We meet a rebellious summer camper, a Twitter addict, and an Appalachian preacher—all characters and circumstances that show us what we ‘need to know about the lives of others.'”–Description

(Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health by Kelly Jensen (@veronikellymars)

October 2

Tags: Health, women writers, YA, depression

Algonquin Young Readers, 240 pages

“Lively, compelling . . . the raw, informal approach to the subject matter will highly appeal to young people who crave understanding and validation . . . This highly readable and vital collection demonstrates the multiplicity of ways that mental health impacts individuals.”–Kirkus Reviews

A Dream Called Home: A Memoir by Reyna Grande (@reynagrande)

October 2

Tags: Memoir, women writers, immigration, Latinx, #OwnVoices

Atria, 336 pages

“Candid and emotionally complex, Grande’s book celebrates one woman’s tenacity in the face of hardship and heartbreak while offering hope to other immigrants as they ‘fight to remain’ and make their voices heard in a changing America. A heartfelt, inspiring, and relevant memoir.”–Kirkus Reviews

“Reyna Grande’s A Dream Called Home is a moving memoir about building a family, becoming a writer, and redefining America. Writers in need of inspiration should read this book.”–Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author of The Sympathizer

Feminists Don’t Wear Pink and Other Lies: Amazing Women on What the F-Word Means to Them by Scarlett Curtis (@scarcurtis)

October 2

Tags: Feminism, #OwnVoices, essays

Ballantine Books, 384 pages

“Brilliant, hysterical, truthful, and real, these essays illuminate the path for our future female leaders.”–Reese Witherspoon

“As a feminist who loves pink, I give this brilliant book of essays an enthusiastic ‘YES.’”–Mindy Kaling

The Feud of the Fan Dancers: Sex, Scandal, and the Showgirl by Leslie Zemeckis (@LeslieZemeckis)

October 2

Tags: Dance, history, feminism, women writers, biographies

Counterpoint, 336 pages

“Zemeckis has once again given us a fascinating history of entertainment, a bold story of two brave women and the origins of the fan dance. A page-turning time machine to another era. Don’t miss it.”–Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants

Footprints in the Dust: Nursing, Survival, Compassion, and Hope with Refugees Around the World by Roberta Gately

October 2

Tags: Women writers, globalization, politics, activism

Pegasus Books, 304 pages

“Roberta Gately calls herself nurse, a humanitarian aid worker, and a writer. To that list I would add hero. Her willingness to step outside herself, to see and feel the pain of others is as inspiring as it is admirable. Gately nimbly uses tools of a novelist to tell this story, and as a result, the people she writes about spring fully to life in our imaginations. Here is a book filled with compassion, wisdom and yes, grace. Read it and weep.”–Yona Zeldis McDonough, author of The House on Primrose Pond

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna L. Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry, and Minyon Moore

October 2

Tags: Nonfiction, politics, Black women, women writers, #OwnVoices

288 pages

“For Colored Girls is basically part history book and part biography but wholly significant. I’m so glad this book exists because the stories of these 4 women, who were instrumental in so many moments of history needed to be told. I’m honored that we can take a sip of their life tea in this way, because what they’ve done and been a part of are the watershed moments of this nation’s contemporary politics. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s super juicy. The transparency of The Colored Girls as they tell their stories, is admirable. Thank you for showing Black girls and women, that we too belong in the rooms we’re in.”–Luvvie Ajayi, New York Times-bestselling author of I’M JUDGING YOU: The Do-Better Manual

Freedom Is an Inside Job: Owning Our Darkness and Our Light to Heal Ourselves and the World by Zainab Salbi

October 2

Tags: Women writers, self help

Sounds True, 184 pages

“A true spiritual seeker must eventually search inside her own self. This Zainab Salbi does with great consistency and courage in Freedom Is an Inside Job. Sharing her discoveries with determination and resolve, she demonstrates what is possible for anyone who sincerely desires to be part of a new imagination for changing the world.”–Alice Walker,author of The Color Purple and The World Will Follow Joy

Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History by Sam Maggs (Author), Jenn Woodall (Illustrator)

October 2

Tags: History, women writers, feminism, friendship

Quirk Books, 273 pages

“An impressively researched and fascinating compendium of history’s greatest gal pals.”—Booklist

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister (@rtraister)

October 2

Tags: Feminism, politics, anger

Simon & Schuster, 320 pages

“Good and Mad is Rebecca Traister’s ode to women’s rage—an extensively researched history and analysis of its political power. It is a thoughtful, granular examination: Traister considers how perception (and tolerance) of women’s anger shifts based on which women hold it (*cough* white women *cough*) and who they direct it toward; she points to the ways in which women are shamed for or gaslit out of their righteous emotion. And she proves, vigorously, why it’s so important for women to own and harness their rage—how any successful revolution depends on it.”–BUZZFEED

History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don’t Want You to Know by Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams

October 2

Tags: Women writers, YA, biography

Feiwel & Friends, 144 pages

“Readers of all ages, across the globe and socioeconomic spectrum, can find an icon to look up to within these pages. Filled with strength, this collection is incredibly inspiring and will instill in teens a take-charge attitude and powerful mind-set.”–School Library Journal, Starred Review

In Deep: How I Survived Gangs, Heroin, and Prison to Become a Chicago Violence Interrupter by Angalia Bianca (@AngaliaBianca) with Linda Beckstrom

October 2

Tags: Violence, Illinois, addiction, #OwnVoices, women writers

“A riveting, raw, and brutally honest portrayal of a roller-coaster street life fueled by gang violence and drug addiction; a real page-turner that sucks you in from the get-go and takes you on an adventure you can only imagine in your wildest dreams. Awe-inspiring and nothing short of a miracle, Bianca is a force to be reckoned with and an unlikely heroine and role model. She has proved that nothing is impossible and it’s never too late.”–Vera Ramone King, author of Poisoned Heart

Microaggression Theory: Influence and Implications by Gina C. Torino et al.

October 2

Tags: Race, women writers, psychology, education

Wiley, 400 pages

“Microaggressions are brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership (e.g., race, gender, culture, religion, social class, sexual orientation, etc.). These daily, common manifestations of aggression leave many people feeling vulnerable, targeted, angry, and afraid. How has this become such a pervasive part of our social and political rhetoric, and what is the psychology behind it?”–Description

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden (@TillieWalden)

October 2

Tags: Graphic novels, women writers, queer, science fiction

First Second, 544 pages

“Phenomenal . . . Utterly mesmerizing . . . A remarkable, stunning comic.”–Booklist (starred review)

“Both gently romantic and heartbreaking, the story ultimately celebrates love and the importance of chosen family. An affirming love story.”–Kirkus

Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart by Alice Walker

October 2

Tags: Black women, poetry, women writers, #OwnVoices

Atria, 256 pages

“Presented in both English and Spanish, Alice Walker shares a timely collection of nearly seventy works of passionate and powerful poetry that bears witness to our troubled times, while also chronicling a life well-lived.”–Description

Things to Make and Break by May-Lan Tan (@amanlyant)

October 2

Tags: Thriller, short stories, contemporary women, women writers

Coffee House Press, 224 pages

“There’s plenty of darkness and a sprinkling of magic, and these strange, flinty, cigarette-stained narratives speed by, offering lots of surface tension and compelling deeper passions.”–The Guardian

Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space by Cristen Conger (@CristenConger) and Caroline Ervin (@TheCarolineErv)

October 2

Tags: Trans, feminism, women writers, gender

Ten Speed Press, 288 pages

“This book is truly special. Not only do the authors present the problems, but they also offer potential solutions and inspirational tools that are so crucial in driving the conversation forward. Their charming tone combined with the incisively detailed breakdown of all the ways in which the patriarchy affects women make Unladylike a must-read.”–Morgan Jerkins, author of This Will Be My Undoing

We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists edited by Melissa Falkowski and Eric Garner

October 2

Tags: Violence, education, women writers, #OwnVoices, Florida, journalism

Crown Books for Young Readers, 272 pages

“A journalistic look at the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and the fight for gun control–as told by the student reporters for the school’s newspaper and TV station.”–Description

The Wolf Queen: The Hope of Aferi (Book I) by Cerece Rennie Murphy (@CereceRMurphy)

October 4

Tags: Fantasy, folklore, romance, women writers

LionSky Publishing, 198 pages

“To fight for her future, she must first discover the magic of her past
Once great and powerful sorcerers, the Amasiti were hunted to the brink of extinction by the Hir and his followers. For four hundred years, their legacy faded from memory waiting for the hope of Aferi to be renewed…
In the Land of Yet
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest
A young woman lives alone.”–Description

The Broadcast 41: Women and the Anti-Communist Blacklist by Carol A. Stabile

October 9

Tags: Women writers, history, media

Goldsmiths Press, 320 pages

The Broadcast 41 is a must-read book for media scholars who want to understand the historical origins of entertainment media as a powerful reinforcer of sexism, racism and classism in American culture.–Caroline Heldman, Associate Professor of Politics, Occidental College

The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin edited by Lisa Yaszek

October 9

Tags: Science fiction, women writers, short stories

Library of America, 475 pages

“Make no mistake: The quality of the stories here is unassailable.”–Kirkus Reviews

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith (@CynLeitichSmith)

October 9

Tags: Native American, YA, romance, race, #OwnVoices, women writers

Candlewick Press, 304 pages

“New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school — and first love.”–Description

The Long Term: Resisting Life Sentences Working Toward Freedom edited by Alice Kim, Erica Meiners, Jill Petty, Audrey Petty, Beth E. Richie, and Sarah Ross

October 9

Tags: Essays, human rights, crime, incarceration

Haymarket, 250 pages

“The Long Term is a powerful collection of voices, curated and edited by a powerful line-up of veteran organizers and radical thinkers. The writers in this collection make a compelling and eloquent case against ‘the prison nation’ and give us a glimpse of the resistance and the alternatives that are already in the works.”–Barbara Ransby, historian, writer, activist and Distinguished Professor of African American Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and History at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism by Nadya Tolokonnikova (@tolokno)

October 9

Tags: #OwnVoices, women writers, activism

HarperOne, 256 pages

“With its stellar mix of personal experience and hard-won advice, Tolokonnikova’s guide is sure to fuel social movements for years to come.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Training School for Negro Girls by Camille Acker (@cam_acker)

October 9

Tags: Black women, contemporary women, women writers, short stories, Washington DC

The Feminist Press at CUNY, 248 pages

“Camille Acker navigates the lives of young African American girls and women in Washington, DC with humor, heart, and grace. I loved these stories.”–Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

“A devastating and subtle portrayal of what it is to be black and female in America: the ache, the rage, the sorrow, the unending will to rise.”–Shobha Rao, author of Girls Burn Brighter

White Dancing Elephants by Chaya Bhuvaneswar (@chayab77)

October 9

Tags: Debut, women writers, queer, short stories, women of color

“White Dancing Elephants is a searing and complex collection, wholly realized, each piece curled around its own beating heart. Tender and incisive, Chaya Bhuvaneswar is a surgeon on the page; unflinching in her aim, unwavering in her gaze, and absolutely devastating in her prose. This is an astonishing debut.”–Amelia Gray, author of Isadora

Nasty Women and Bad Hombres: Gender and Race in the 2016 Us Presidential Election edited by Christine A. Kray, Tamar W. Carroll, and Hinda Mandell

October 10

Tags: Politics, US history, feminism

University of Rochester Press, 336 pages

“Gender and racial politics were at the center of the 2016 US presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Contributors to the volume examine the ways that gender and racial hierarchies intersected and reinforced one another throughout the campaign season.”–Description

On My Way To Liberation by H. Melt (@HMeltChicago)

October 18 (ebook, paperback out now!)

Tags: Trans, poetry, queer, #OwnVoices

Haymarket Books, 28 pages

“How do you imagine trans liberation while living in a cis world? On My Way To Liberation follows a gender nonconforming body moving through the streets of Chicago. From the sex shop to the farmers market, the family dinner table to the bookstore, trans people are everywhere, though often erased. Writing towards a trans future, H. Melt envisions a world where trans people are respected, loved and celebrated every day.”–Description

The Lesbian South: Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement, and the Queer Literary Canon by Jaime Harker (@jaimeharker)

October 15

Tags: Lesbian, queer, US history, literary criticism, women writers, feminism

University of North Carolina Press, 241 pages

“In this essential study of southern literature, Jaime Harker uncovers the complex networks of affiliation, sometimes antagonistic and sometimes loving, that shaped southern lesbian feminism, and the rich literary archive that women in these networks produced. A must-have for any reader.”–Michael Bibler, Louisiana State University

Why Does Patriarchy Persist? by Carol Gilligan (@CarolGilligan1) and Naomi Snider

October 15

Tags: Gender, anthropology, women writers, nonfiction

Polity, 120 pages

“Taking on the long brewing battle between true democracy and the pervasive ‘ghost’ of patriarchy, this compact book exists in a category of its own. The voices of its authors are accessible, incisive and engaging – the perfect book to launch almost any conversation about our current socio-political times.”–Jill Gentile, author, Feminine Law: Freud, Free Speech, and the Voice of Desire

Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson (@dopequeenpheebs)

October 16

Tags: Humor, essays, Black women, women writers, #OwnVoices

Plume, 336 pages

“Phoebe Robinson brings her infectious charm and utterly delightful sense of humor to her second essay collection, Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay. From body image to contemporary feminism to our culture of overwork, Robinson offers deft cultural criticism and hilarious personal anecdotes that will make readers laugh, cringe, and cry. Everything may indeed be trash but writing like this reminds us that we’re gonna make it through all the terrible things with honesty, laughter, and faith.”–Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author

Gender: Your Guide: A Gender-Friendly Primer on What to Know, What to Say, and What to Do in the New Gender Culture by Lee Airton (@LeeAirton)

October 16

Tags: Gender, queer, trans, family

Adams Media, 240 pages

“An authentic and accessible guide to understanding—and engaging in—today’s gender conversation.”–Description

In Your Hands by Inês Pedrosa and Andrea Rosenberg (Translator)

October 16

Tags: Translation, women writers, Portugal, historical fiction, literary fiction, queer

AmazonCrossing, 205 pages

“In Your Hands is another work in the fine tradition of European literature. Told from a definite feminist perspective it focuses on the inner feelings of its principal characters, each a finely drawn and vital woman as they navigate the turbulent times of twentieth-century Portugal.”–Writers & Readers Magazine

Memoirs of a Born Free: Reflections on the New South Africa by a Member of the Post-apartheid Generation by Malaika Wa Azania

October 16

Tags: South Africa, memoir, race, women writers

Seven Stories Press, 240 pages

“By forcefully interrogating the problematic notion of the Rainbow Nation, and by daring to address the broken promise of an ANC in dire need of strong leadership, Memoirs of a Born Free is a must read—a book that reveals just how inadequate political freedom without socio-economic freedom truly is.”–Independent Online (South Africa)

My Love Story by Tina Turner

October 16

Tags: Music, Black women, women writers, #OwnVoices, memoirs

Atria Books, 272 pages

“Tina Turner—the long-reigning queen of rock & roll and living legend—sets the record straight about her illustrious career and complicated personal life in this eye-opening and compelling memoir.”–Description

Period Power by Nadya Okamoto

October 16

Tags: Health, YA, women writers

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 368 pages

“[T]ruly intersectional and…a useful guide for activists inspired by this work…A smart, honest, and comprehensive education on movement building and menstrual rights.”–Kirkus, starred review

“If you’re looking for a way to turn your anger about gender inequality into action, this book is a must read. You’ll learn a great deal about menstrual inequities and the intersectional impacts created because of our failure to address them. This is a how-to handbook on what you can do to change that.”–Former state Senator Wendy Davis

Riddance: Or: The Sybil Joines Vocational School for Ghost Speakers & Hearing-Mouth Children by Shelley Jackson

October 16

Tags: YA, coming of age, horror, women writers

Black Balloon Publishing, 512 pages

“Not only an incredible yarn but a delightfully strange, wondrously original, and dazzlingly immersive gothic love letter to storytelling.”–Booklist

She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy by Jill Soloway

October 16

Tags: Memoir, women writers, queer, trans, gender, entertainment, #OwnVoices

Crown Archetype, 256 pages

Read my review!

“Most writers hide in memoirs, sharing little real stories. With generous openhearted honesty, courage, and compassion, Soloway invites us to hear true stories. They share the difficult painful revelations, triumphs, and failures. Listening to them, readers laugh, cry, love, and most important, learn.”–bell hooks

Thursdays and Every Other Sunday Off: A Domestic Rap by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

October 16

Tags: Nonfiction, work, women writers, Black women, US history

Univ Of Minnesota Press, 176 pages

“Thursdays and Every Other Sunday Off is an exploration of the lives of African American domestic workers in cities throughout the United States during the mid-twentieth century. With dry wit and honesty, Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor relates the testimonies of maids, cooks, child care workers, and others as they discuss their relationships with their employers and their experiences on the job.”–Description

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (@TaherehMafi)

October 16

Tags: YA, Islam, racism, family, identity, women writers

HarperCollins, 320 pages

“Mafi tackles the life of an American Muslim teenager in the wake of 9/11 in this visceral, honest novel. Shirin’s captivating story opens a window onto a different narrative than the one typically dominating airwaves after 9/11. Rich characters, incisive writing, and a powerful story will thrill readers.”–Booklist (starred review)

What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde and Elizabeth Jane Clark Wessel (Translator)

October 16

Tags: Literary fiction, family, women writers, translation, Iran

Mariner Books , 208 pages

“I read this ferocious novel in one sitting, enthralled by the rage of its narrator. Nahid confronts her own suffering with dark humor and noisy honesty, while taking aim at a patriarchal tradition that expects her to be silent.”–Leni Zumas, author of Red Clocks

Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side by Eve L. Ewing (@eveewing)

October 22

Tags: Education, women writers, Chicago, US history, #OwnVoices

“…Ewing gives direct voice to those served by those schools often dismissed as failing. What she finds is that these schools are often among the last working institutions in neighborhoods which have been systematically stripped of everything else. Mixing history, sociology, and even memoir, Ghosts in the Schoolyard is an important addition to any conversation about the future of public schools and those they were designed to serve.”–Ta-Nehisi Coates

A Political Education: Black Politics and Education Reform in Chicago Since the 1960s by Elizabeth Todd-Breland (@EToddBreland)

October 22

Tags: Politics, Chicago, US history, women writers, education

University of North Carolina Press, 344 pages

“This is a brilliant and necessary expose of a collision that we all know too little about. Using Chicago as a case study, Elizabeth Todd-Breland shares the devastating collision between Black community-based education reformers and corporate education reformers since the 1960s. Black education organizing comes alive–and fights on and on against all odds–in this expertly framed and vividly told book.”–Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award winning author of Stamped from the Beginning

Kat’s Nine Lives by Laina Villeneuve

October 23

Tags: Lesbian, women writers, romance

Bella Books, 278 pages

“Wedding bells are ringing for Kat Morehart―just not her own. When the church she works for refuses to let a gay couple marry in the sanctuary, she aims to make it up to them by offering her home as the perfect venue. Caterer Wendy Archer enjoys the business Kat directs her way and their friendship even more. As they work together to create the perfect setting for the wedding, Kat and Wendy struggle to fight what simmers between them.”–Description

Lex Files by Celeste Castro

October 23

Tags: Lesbian, women writers, science fiction, romance

Bella Books, 304 pages

“What is terrorizing a nature preserve near a small town in rural Idaho? Half the town believes it’s the Lake Lowell Ghost and the rest are convinced it’s a diabolical beast. With no end in sight, they need help. Can two women work together when one faces east toward logic and the other faces west toward the realm of impossibility? In an age where science and facts rule, blind trust can be a lot to ask of anyone.”–Description

The Mental Load: A Feminist Comic by Emma

October 23

Tags: Graphic novel, feminism, women writers

“The Mental Load, a feminist comic by Emma, takes readers on a journey of awakening that is at once delightfully whimsical and frustratingly serious. The graphic stories take aim at the way women’s unpaid caregiving and labor is invisible, undervalued and expected at home, and how it shapes and limits their experiences and career trajectories at work. An eye-opening gem.”–Brigid Schulte, award-winning journalist, author of the New York Times bestselling Overwhelmed: Work, Love & Play when No One has the Time

Paper Gods: A Novel of Money, Race, and Politics by Goldie Taylor

October 23

Tags: Black women, women writers, politics, mystery

All Points Books, 336 pages

“A moving and unflinching portrait of a city and its many layers of power…Taylor has created a hero we see all too rarely: black, female, powerful.” —Tim Teeman, Senior Editor of The Daily Beast

Useful Phrases for Immigrants: Stories by May-Lee Chai (@mayleechai)

October 23

Tags: China, women writers, short stories, #OwnVoices

“With insight, compassion, and clarity, May-lee Chai vividly illustrates the reverberations of migration―both physical and psychological; between countries, cities, and generations; and within families and individuals. You won’t forget these characters.”–Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction

Family Trust: A Novel by Kathy Wang (@bykathywang)

October 30

Tags: Family, literary, women writers

William Morrow, 400 pages

“A wicked and witty send up of Asian-American Silicon Valley elite, a delightful debut that Jane Austen would have approved of.”–Micah Perks, author of What Becomes Us

“Astute…[Wang] brings levity and candor to the tricky terrain of family dynamics, aging, and excess [and] expertly considers the values of high-tech high society.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (@thebestjasmine)

October 30

Tags: Romance, women writers

Berkley, 336 pages

“There is so much to relate to and throughout the novel, there is a sharp feminist edge. Loved this one, and you will too.”–Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender (@kheryncasey)

October 30

Tags: YA, romance, queer, queer writers

Balzer + Bray, 304 pages

“As an unapologetic fan of a great rom-com, This is Kind of an Epic Love Story gave me all I was looking for, including the one thing that’s challenging to find—a beautiful LGBTQ love story. Kheryn’s novel is hopeful, romantic, and everything my gay heart needed!”–Angelo Surmelis, author of The Dangerous Art of Blending In

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim (@guidetoglo and @wellreadblkgirl)

October 30

Tags: Literary, essays, Black women, women writers

Ballantine Books, 224 pages

“A brilliant collection of essential American reading . . . smart, powerful, and complete.”–Min Jin Lee, author of the National Book Award finalist Pachinko

Hope you find something of interest on the October 2018 New Reads for the Rest of Us – What will you be reading this month?

This post includes affiliate links but I write what I like.

Review of YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN FAT

F*ck Your Fatphobia. A Review of Virgie Tovar’s YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN FAT.

August 26, 2018 20 Karla Strand Books Reviews

I was very excited to read Virgie Tovar’s You Have the Right to Remain Fat, so when it came up on Edelweiss, I was all over it.

Virgie Tovar is one of the leading authors, lecturers, and activists on fat discrimination and body image in the United States. In addition to founding BabeCamp, a month-long online camp for women “ready to break up with diet culture,” Tovar also contributes to serials such as Ravishly, BuzzFeed, and more. Her latest book, You Have the Right to Remain Fat, is the first of hers I have read.

The author, Virgie Tovar.

Overall, I really enjoyed this slim volume and read it in one afternoon. One of the strengths of this book is its accessibility. Tovar is very good at explaining some basic concepts for those who may be new to them, such as bootstrapping and gaslighting, and then builds information on these concepts as the book goes on.

And indeed, the book gets stronger and more impassioned as it goes on. Tovar intersperses information about fat discrimination and body image with her own personal experiences which really helps to illustrate the concepts.

Throughout the book, Tovar discusses topics such as body shame, fatphobia, and diet culture, which are the main culprits behind the lies we tell ourselves that as women, and especially as fat women, our bodies are somehow wrong.

But Tovar goes a step further and explains how these issues are actually,

merely symptoms of a larger cultural problem, not least our country’s history of unresolved racism, white supremacy, classism, and misogyny.

In no uncertain terms, Tovar argues that unrealistic existing beauty standards are built on this foundation and have been undermining women’s self-trust and control over their own lives.

Well, Tovar isn’t gonna take it anymore and neither should you. What really resonated with me was Tovar’s frustration with putting her life on hold because of her fatness, always feeling like she will really live only once she loses weight. She will wear a bikini when she loses weight or she will travel when she loses weight or will have more sex when she loses weight. This internalized inferiority is something most women experience so much, we don’t even realize it.

Rather than recognizing the multiplicity of feminine expression and feminine power (regardless of sex assignment at birth, ability, size, the presence or absence of modesty or money), women in pursuit of thinness become complicit in their own dehumanization and therefore become agents of misogyny.

At a certain point, Virgie Tovar decided to stop dieting and abiding by society’s arbitrarily constructed standards and just start living. Not later. NOW.

Something else I appreciated about this book was Tovar’s attention to the difference between the fat activist and body positivity movements. For instance, Tovar argues that fat activism has proud queer and political roots and is fighting to tear down the oppressive system of dangerous body ideals, while body positivity adherents wish to assimilate into this system, despite its racist, patriarchal, fatphobic undertones. While only an introduction, this section is just enough to inspire readers to examine these movements further.

Fatphobia affects us all and Virgie Tovar’s You Have the Right to Remain Fat is an accessible place for anyone to start learning how to fight against it. A determined call to action, this is a quick read that packs a punch. Pick it up if you are a womxn or love a womxn. Full stop.

You can find Virgie Tovar online at https://www.virgietovar.com/, on Instagram @virgietovar, and on Twitter @virgietovar.

Summary:

Title: You Have the Right to Remain Fat
Author: Virgie Tovar
Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY
Pages: 128 pages
Publication Date: August 14, 2018
Tags: Fat activism, feminism, Latinx, women writers
My Rating: Recommended

For further information:

Body Love: Fat Activist Virgie Tovar on How to Feel Better About Your Body TODAY by Katie Morell for Rebellious

Kirkus review

Overcoming Bikini Trauma: How one fat girl fell in love with the feeling of freedom on her skin (2018) by Virgie Tovar for Shondaland

These Instagrams by fat activists are changing how we think about dieting (2016) by Leanna Garfield for Business Insider

This Woman Wrote a Short but Sweet Love Note to Her Stomach (2017) by Jami Ganz

Why this Instagram influencer calls fat a feminist issue (2018) by Beth Greenfield for Yahoo!

Watch Virgie Tovar’s TEDx talk:

This post contains affiliate links. All reviews are honest and my own. Thanks to Virgie Tovar, Delphinium, and Edelweiss for a complimentary ARC! The quotes in this post refer to the uncorrected proof and may or may not reflect the final version of the book.

15 Must-Reads for the Rest of Us – 2018 – Part II

July 22, 2018 15 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Is it the middle of JULY already?? It’s hard to believe, but here we are.

I’ve read quite a bit this year, including 8 of 12 of the books on my Must-Reads for the Rest of Us Part I list. Well, the second half of the year is upon us and here is the Must Reads for the Rest of Us 2018, Part II!

On Part I, I stuck to fiction but on Part II, I had to make a few exceptions. There are some exciting new nonfiction titles coming out by the end of the year, to be sure.

I can’t include everything I am interested in on this list so, as usual, I prioritize debut books written by womxn, authors of color, Black women, queer and gender noncomforming authors, authors from the Global South, and other authors of historically marginalized populations. They are listed below by the month in which they will be released.

You’ll see some books left off of this list that you might think should be on it. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to or won’t read them, it just means that they are often written by white women and/or have gotten a lot of attention on other outlets and I wanted to focus on ones you may not have heard about yet by historically underrepresented populations. Think: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver, Open Me by Lisa Locascio, The Third Hotel by Laura Van Den Berg, Transcription by Kate Atkinson, and others. One could include Michelle Obama’s memoir in this but I don’t care, I cannot wait to read it and so added it to this list!

Which of the following will you read?

Before She Sleeps by Bina Shah (@BinaShah)

August 7

Tags: Dystopian, women writers, Pakistan, Muslim women

Delphinium, 256 pages

“A haunting dystopian thriller…Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale won’t want to miss this one.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Check out Bina Shah’s website, https://thefeministani.com/, which is full of amazing writing on Pakistan, feminism, and more.

You can read my review here!

Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Mass Incarceration, and the Movement for Black Lives by Donna Murch

August 14

Tags: Black Lives Matter, Black women, women writers, feminism, politics, race, incarceration

Haymarket Books, 200 pages

“Black Panther and Cuban exile, Assata Shakur, has inspired multiple generations of radical protest, including our contemporary Black Lives Matter movement. Drawing its title from one of America’s foremost revolutionaries this collection of thought-provoking essays by award-winning Panther scholar Donna Murch explores how social protest is challenging our current system of state violence and mass incarceration.

Assata Taught Me offers a fresh and much-needed historical perspective on the fifty years since the founding of the Black Panther Party, in which the world’s largest police state has emerged.”–Description

Severance by Ling Ma

August 14

Tags: Humor, women writers, debut

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 304 pages

“A biting indictment of late-stage capitalism and a chilling vision of what comes after . . . [Ma] knows her craft, and it shows. [Her protagonist] is a wonderful mix of vulnerability, wry humor, and steely strength…. Ma also offers lovely meditations on memory and the immigrant experience. Smart, funny, humane, and superbly well-written.”–Kirkus, starred review

“Embracing the genre but somehow transcending it, Ma creates a truly engrossing and believable anti-utopian world. Ma’s extraordinary debut marks a notable creative jump by playing on the apocalyptic fears many people share today.”–Booklist, starred review

Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-First Century by Barbara Ransby (@BarbaraRansby)

August 17

Tags: Women writers, nonfiction, Black women, Black Lives Matter, #OwnVoices

University of California Press, 240 pages

“I can imagine no more perfect example of the dedicated scholar/activist than Barbara Ransby. She now offers us an analysis of the Movement for Black Lives, and its historical continuities and ruptures, that reflects both her considerable skills as a historian and her rich experience as an activist. This book passionately urges us to adapt the radical and feminist versions of democracy that will move us forward.”–Angela Y. Davis, Distinguished Professor Emerita, History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers (@CharleneCac)

August 28

Tags: Queer, Black women, women writers, politics, race, #OwnVoices

Beacon Press, 184 pages

“Charlene Carruthers is a powerful organizer, radical thinker, paradigm-shifter, and one of the most influential political voices of her generation. Anyone seriously interested in the struggle for Black liberation in this country needs to listen carefully to what she has to say.”–Barbara Ransby, author of Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement and Making All Black Lives Matter

She Would Be King: A Novel by Wayétu Moore (@Wayetu)

September 11

Tags: Liberia, magical realism, women authors, historical fiction, debut

Graywolf, 312 pages

“In this vibrant story of the African diaspora, Moore, a talented storyteller and a daring writer, illuminates with radiant and exacting prose the tumultuous roots of a country inextricably bound to the United States. She Would Be King is a novel of profound depth set against a vast canvas and a transcendent debut from a major new author.”–Description

She Called Me Woman: Nigeria’s Queer Women Speak by Azeenarh Mohammed (@xeenarh), Chitra Nagarajan (@chitranagarajan), and Rafeeat Aliyu (@rafeeeeta)

September 12

Tags: Queer, Nigeria, Black women, women authors, trans, #OwnVoices

Cassava Republic Press, 340 pages

“This stirring and intimate collection brings together 25 captivating narratives to paint a vivid portrait of what it means to be a queer Nigerian woman. Covering an array of experiences – the joy and excitement of first love, the agony of lost love and betrayal, the sometimes-fraught relationship between sexuality and spirituality, addiction and suicide, childhood games and laughter – She Called Me Woman sheds light on how Nigerian queer women, despite their differences, attempt to build a life together in a climate of fear.”–Description

Washington Black: A novel by Esi Edugyan

September 18

Tags: Historical fiction, adventure, literary, women writers

Knopf, 352 pages

“Washington Black is nothing short of a masterpiece. Esi Edugyan has a rare talent for turning over little known stones of history and giving her reader a new lens on the world, a new way of understanding subject matter we arrogantly think we know everything about. This book is an epic adventure and a heartfelt tale about love and morality and their many contradictions. I loved it.”–Attica Locke, author of Bluebird, Bluebird

Read my review here!

A Rebel in Gaza: Behind the Lines of the Arab Spring, One Woman’s Story by Asmaa al-Ghoul and Selim Nassib with Mike Mitchell (Translator)

October 16

Tags: Palestine, Gaza, memoir, biography, #OwnVoices

DoppelHouse Press, 224 pages

“Asmaa al-Ghoul is a Palestinian journalist who grew up in the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza. Her book offers a rare view of a young woman coming into her own political and secular beliefs amidst the region’s relentless violence and under Israeli occupation…A Rebel in Gaza is Asmaa’s story as told to Franco-Lebanese writer Selim Nassib over the course of the “Arab Spring” through meetings, phone calls, Skype, and even texts during the siege of Gaza in 2014…”

Ghoul was given the prestigious Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation and is described by The New York Times as a woman ‘known for her defiant stance against the violations of civil rights in Gaza.'”–Description

My review of this title is forthcoming!

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim (ed.) (@guidetoglo)

October 30

Tags: Literary, essays, Black women, women writers, #OwnVoices

Ballantine Books, 224 pages

“An inspiring collection of essays by black women writers, curated by the founder of the popular book club Well-Read Black Girl, on the importance of recognizing ourselves in literature. Contributors include Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing), Lynn Nottage (Sweat), Jacqueline Woodson (Another Brooklyn), Gabourey Sidibe (This Is Just My Face), Morgan Jerkins (This Will Be My Undoing), Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), Rebecca Walker (Black, White and Jewish), and Barbara Smith (Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology).”–Description

Becoming by Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama)

November 13

Tags: Women writers, Black women, memoir, #OwnVoices

Crown, 400 pages

“In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.”–Description

All the Lives We Never Lived: A Novel by Anuradha Roy

November 20

Tags: India, women writers, family, literary, #OwnVoices

Atria, 288 pages

The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Dávila with Matthew Gleeson (Translator) and Audrey Harris (Translator)

November 20

Tags: Women writers, short stories, Mexico, literary, translation, #OwnVoices

New Directions, 144 pages

“Filled with nightmarish imagery (“Sometimes I saw hundreds of small eyes fastened to the dripping windowpanes”) and creeping dread, Dávila’s stories plunge into the nature of fear, proving its force no matter if its origin is physical or psychological, real or imagined.”–Publishers Weekly

“The work of Amparo Dávila is unique in Mexican literature. There is no one like her, no one with that introspection and complexity.”–Elena Poniatowska

My Sister, the Serial Killer: A Novel by Oyinkan Braithwaite

November 20

Tags: Nigeria, Black women, women writers, debut, humor, #OwnVoices

Doubleday, 240 pages

Read my review here!

Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra with Achy Obejas (Translator)

December 4

Tags: Cuba, women writers, thriller, Latinx

Melville House, 208 pages

“A novel about glamour, surveillance, and corruption in contemporary Cuba, from an internationally bestselling author–who has never before been translated into English.”–Description

My review of this title is forthcoming!

What is on your reading list for the rest of the year? Which books are you most excited about?

This post contains affiliate links.

New Books by Womxn – June 2018 Releases

May 30, 2018 0 Karla Strand Books Reads for the Rest of Us

Need a new book for June?

Here’s a roundup of the new books by women being released in June that I am most excited about, with a focus on womxn and gender non-conforming people from historically underrepresented and underserved communities.

If you are curious about which books I focus on, see my Review Policy. These are just guidelines and I reserve the right to include (or not!) any books I see fit.

I’ll probably add to this list as I learn of others; if you have a suggestion, please place it in the comments below!

Never Stop Walking: A Memoir of Finding Home Across the World by Christina Rickardsson

June 1

“Both candid and compelling, Rickardsson’s story is not only about a woman seeking to heal the fractures inherent in a transnational identity; it is also a moving meditation on poverty, injustice, and the meaning of family. A thought-provoking and humane memoir of survival and self-discovery.”–Kirkus Reviews

“A haunting story of balancing identities, Rickardsson’s debut is an unforgettable meditation on the weight of early childhood trauma and recovery.”–Booklist

My review coming soon!

The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists by Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein)

June 5

“We are in a fight for our lives. Hurricanes Irma and María unmasked the colonialism we face in Puerto Rico, and the inequality it fosters, creating a fierce humanitarian crisis. Now we must find a path forward to equality and sustainability, a path driven by communities, not investors. And this book explains, with careful and unbiased reporting, only the efforts of our community activists can answer the paramount question: What type of society do we want to become and who is Puerto Rico for?”–Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico

“Naomi Klein concisely reveals to us what Puerto Rico has faced, shock after shock, before Hurricane Maria and after it and also the voices of people who believe and build a future for Puerto Rico from the strength of their communities.”–Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, feminist, human rights activist, former president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association

My review coming soon!

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd (@pengshepherd)

June 5

“Sheperd’s debut is graceful and riveting, slowly peeling back layers of an intricately constructed and unsettling alternate future.”–Publishers Weekly

Read my review!

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) by Zoraida Cordova (@zlikeinzorro)

June 5

“An exciting read with a wonderful Latinx feel woven throughout.”–Kirkus

“The book is at its best examining the relationship between Lula and her sisters as brujas, but also as teens, who have the same yearnings and petty arguments as any girls. For readers coming for the ghouls, there are plenty of those, too.”–Booklist

Feminist Freedom Warriors: Genealogies, Justice, Politics, and Hope by Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Linda Carty (eds.)

http://feministfreedomwarriors.org/

June 5

“Feminist Freedom Warriors is a provocation and an inspiration. The political and intellectual life stories of an amazing cohort of radical feminist takes us through five decades of dynamic history and spans the globe.Their stories, ideas, fortitude and courage provide a powerful guide to the freedom-making work of the mid 20th through the early 21st centuries. The book is yet another gift of insight and critical feminist praxis from Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Linda Carty, sister-scholars and collaborators whose own collective passion and commitments are also in every page of this collection.”–Barbara Ransby, author, historian, activist

My review coming soon!

In the Distance With You by Carla Guelfenbein (@carlaguelfenbei) and John Cullen (translator)

June 5

“[A] moving page-turner. Suspense, emotions, and magic course throughout this beautifully narrated book. Highly recommended for fans of Latin American literature and general literary mysteries.”–Library Journal (starred review)

“The subject of this profound and intricate novel is the irreducible mystery at the core of every person, the buried lines of history and desire that render us inscrutable even to ourselves. Carla Guelfenbein is an important and powerful writer, and this translation is a gift to English-language readers.”–Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (@HHoangWrites)

June 5

“Hoang knocks it out of the park with this stellar debut about an autistic woman who takes a methodical approach to learning about sex and accidentally gets a lesson in love…Hoang gives [Stella] tremendous depth as a character, never reducing her to a walking diagnosis. The diverse cast and exceptional writing take this romance to the next level, and readers who see themselves in Stella will be ecstatic.”–Publisher’s Weekly (starred)

“An unexpectedly sweet romance that left me with a huge smile on my face. I dare you not to fall in love with these two characters and their story. Helen Hoang’s debut is quite simply delightful!”–Nalini Singh, New York Times bestselling author

A Little Piece of Light by Donna Hylton (@DonnaHylton)

June 5

“Donna Hylton’s painful yet liberating memoir will certainly be transformative for many who read her words. As a survivor of sexual abuse and violence–inside and outside prison–she tells the whole truth of her experience, including her deep regret for the moments that she’s harmed others and her passionate commitment to co-creating a justice system that acknowledges the little piece of light that shines within us no matter who we are, what we’ve done, or what has been done to us.”–Michelle Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow

“Intimate and disturbing, the book reveals the ways women are silenced and victimized in society, and it also tells the inspiring story of how one woman survived a prison nightmare to go on to help other incarcerated women ‘speak out about the violence in their lives.’ A wrenching memoir of overcoming seemingly insurmountable abuse and finding fulfillment.”–Kirkus Reviews

Tonight I’m Someone Else by Chelsea Hodson (@ChelseaHodson)

June 5

“Reading Hodson’s work feels risky; it’s breathtaking, both in its inherent exhilaration and also, often, because it’s funny. . .But it also makes you feel connected to things, as if you are forging new relationships to the things and people in the world around you, uncovering new understandings about permanence, about intuition, about love and sex and lies and secrets and truth, about life.”–Kristin Iversen, NYLON

“Her essays are a specialized artform where poetry meets philosophy. They reflect on the gruesome side of being a woman in the excellent tradition of Joan Didion and Sylvia Plath. I highly recommend Chelsea Hodson’s book to all readers.”–Atticus Lish, author of Preparation for the Next Life

My Solo Exchange Diary Vol. 1: The Sequel to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi

June 5

“The sequel to the viral sensation My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness!

Struggling with the idea of living alone and adjusting to the effects of her previous book’s success, this follow-up to the award-winning autobiographical comic continues the author’s quest for self-acceptance and love.”–Amazon

Sick: A Memoir by Porochista Khakpour (@PKhakpour)

June 5

Boston Globe’s 25 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018

Buzzfeed’s 33 Most Exciting New Books

Bustle’s 28 Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2018 list

Nylon’s 50 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018

Electric Literature’s 46 Books to Read By Women of Color in 2018

The Terrible: A Storyteller’s Memoir by Yrsa Daley-Ward (@YrsaDaleyWard)

June 5

One of Elle’s 30 Best Books to Read This Summer

“A powerful, unconventionally structured memoir recounting harrowing coming-of-age ordeals . . . Daley-Ward resists classification in this profound mix of poetry and prose. . . . [She] has quite a ferociously moving story to tell.”–Kirkus (starred)

“Yrsa Daley-Ward is laying her pain bare and turning it into uplifting, unconventional poetry. . . . If readers thought she bared her soul through bone, her memoir The Terrible will be another lesson in how to fearlessly turn the pain of her past into uplifting prose.” —PopSugar

Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity by Arlene Stein

June 5

“If you’ve been trying to make sense of how gender today seems to have slipped the chains that bind it to our bodies in familiar ways, Unbound is a book for you. It’s a sympathetic account by non-transgender sociologist Arlene Stein, aimed at a primarily non-transgender audience, of four people assigned female at birth who surgically masculinize their chests. Stein helps her readers understand that they, too, no longer need be bound by conventional expectations of the meaning of our flesh.” –Susan Stryker, founding co-editor, TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly

“Stein tracks the rapid evolution of gender identity in this provocative group portrait of trans men . . . Her book succeeds in documenting what it means to be trans today.”–Publisher’s Weekly

Fugitive Life: The Queer Politics of the Prison State by Stephen Dillon

June 8

“In Fugitive Life, fugitive women of color emerge as feminist thinkers who expose the inherent carcerality of neoliberalism. This groundbreaking intervention in carceral studies, gender studies, American studies, and literary studies offers deep interrogations of queerness and temporality and an extraordinary model for analyzing the dialectics of freedom and repression. Stephen Dillon provides a dramatic contribution that will reshape urgent debates regarding carceral crisis, influencing future scholarship and activism.”–Sarah Haley, author of No Mercy Here: Gender, Punishment, and the Making of Jim Crow Modernity

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

June 12

An Indie Next Pick
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2018 by Elle
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2018 by Electric Literature
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2018 by April Magazine

“Murata’s strange and quirky novel was a runaway hit in Japan, and Ginny Tapley Takemori’s English translation introduces it to a new group of readers―a slim, entrancing read that can be consumed in one sitting.”–Passport

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza (@fatimafmirza)

June 12

“Extraordinary in its depth and diligence… Mirza adeptly revisits painful dilemmas from each narrator’s perspective, revealing jolting secrets. Each complex, surprising character struggles with faith, responsibility, racism, fear, longing, and jealousy, while Mirza conveys with graceful specificity the rhythms of Muslim life, from prayer to wearing hijab, gender etiquette, food, holidays, and values, all of which illuminate universal quandaries about family, self, culture, beliefs, and generational change.”–Booklist

“A California-based Indian Muslim family celebrates the wedding of daughter Hadia, marrying for love. Present is her estranged brother Amar, who hasn’t easily mnaged the rough road between youth and adulthood, Old World tradition and America, and the novel effectively unfolds family tensions and Amar’s swirling personal anguish.”–Library Journal

Who is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht (@RosalieKnecht)

June 12

“A buzzing, smoky, gin-soaked charmer.”–Library Journal, ALA Hot Picks

“When we first meet Vera Kelly, she’s a troubled 1950s teenager who’s overdosed on Equanil. Next she’s in explosive 1960s Buenos Aires after being recruited by the CIA (“I could be charming if I wanted to. There were basic tricks”). Her past and present are told in alternating chapters, with all the edgy fun of classic noir but in an original voice that’s fresh, brisk, and snappy. Hugely buzzing.”–Library Journal, Most Anticipated Books of Spring/Summer

These Bones Will Rise Again by Panashe Chigumadzi (@PanasheChig)

June 14

“A leading writer of Zimbabwe’s ‘born-free’ generation reflects on the November 2017 ousting of Robert Mugabe, radically reframing the history of Zimbabwe to include the perspectives of workers, women and urban movements.”–Description

“Chigumadzi successfully nests the intimate charge of her poignant personal story in the sweeping historical account and mythology of Zimbabwe.”–Brian Chikwava, author of Harare North

“Chigumadzi’s exploration of personal, family and national history reincarnates in stark, vivid images, many of those interred in the shadows of her country’s ‘Big Men’.”–Tsitsi Dangarembga, author of Nervous Conditions

Hybrid Child by Mariko Ohara and Jodie Beck (translator)

June 15

“With the familiar strangeness of a fairy tale, Ohara’s novel traverses the mysterious distance between body and mind, between the mechanics of life and the ghost in the machine, between the infinitesimal and infinity. The child as mother, the mother as monster, the monster as hero: this shape-shifting story of nourishment, nurture, and parturition is a rare feminist work of speculative fiction and received the prestigious Seiun (Nebula) Award in 1991. Hybrid Childis the first English translation of a major work of science fiction by a female Japanese author.”–publisher description

I just finished this book and wow. My review will be coming soon!

Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li (@ZillianZi)

June 19

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2018 by The Millions and Cosmopolitan

“[Number One Chinese Restaurant] is a lot of things . . . a multigenerational immigration story, an insider look at the often grueling life of the career server or line cook, a romance, a coming-of-age (at any age). Most significantly, it is a joy to read―I couldn’t get enough.”–Buzzfeed, “30 Summer Books to Get Excited About”

“Li vividly depicts the lives of her characters and gives the narrative a few satisfying turns, resulting in a memorable debut.” —Publishers Weekly

Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over by Nell Painter

June 19

A Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick: 1 of 34 Titles to Wave a Flag About

“Old in Art School is a glorious achievement―bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it’s about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level―this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings.”–Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

“This is a courageous, intellectually stimulating, and wholly entertaining story of one woman reconciling two worlds and being open to the possibilities and changes life offers.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us by CN Lester (@cnlester)

June 19

“[A] winning collection of essays…offers perspective and clarity on issues that, time and again, are stumbling blocks to trans acceptance and celebration of human gender diversity.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The book to give your cis friends.”–Stephanie Burt

What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha

June 19

Tags: Health, environment, Michigan

One World, 384 pages

“The Iraqi American pediatrician who helped expose the Flint water crisis lays bare the bureaucratic bunk and flat-out injustice at the heart of the environmental disgrace—revealing, with the gripping intrigue of a Grisham thriller, ‘the story of a government poisoning its own citizens, and then lying about it.’”–O: The Oprah Magazine

“Flint is a public health disaster. But it was Dr. Mona, this caring, tough pediatrician turned detective, who cracked the case.”–Rachel Maddow

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri (@CamillePerri)

June 19

“Katie and Cassidy are a joy to behold: two whip-smart women grappling with desire and questioning their deeply held notions of love and intimacy. Perri’s book is a real gift—tender, sexy as hell and laugh out loud funny.”–Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest

“Fun and fulfilling…[with] honest conversations about female identity and sexuality included throughout. A romance with a big heart and refreshing perspective.”–Kirkus Reviews

My review coming soon!

Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora by Jessica Nydia Pabon-Colon (@justjess_PhD)

June 22

“The graffiti grrlz featured here know how to throw up fresh ways of re-imagining feminism, urban belonging, and world-making practices. Through bright ethnographic accounts of graffiti’s gendered politics and global reach, Pabón-Colón takes down assumed notions of hip-hop culture by passing the mic to a new generation of feminist graffiti artists engaged in writing and speaking on their own terms.”–Juana María Rodríguez, Author of Sexual Futures, Queer Gestures, and Other Latina Longings

“Vibrant, complex, and totally engaging, Graffiti Grrlz recovers women’s presence in graffiti subcultures around the globe. In this ambitious and passionate book, Jessica Pabón-Colón amplifies the resistant and creative practices of women graffiti artists and masterfully highlights their important contributions to contemporary feminism. In doing so, she transforms and expands our ideas about the meaning of graffiti and of feminist political action.”–Jessica Taft, Author of Rebel Girls: Youth Activism and Social Change Across the Americas

Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin (@alicebolin)

June 26

“Everything I want in an essay collection: provocative lines of inquiry, macabre humor, blistering intelligence. I love this book. I want to take it into the middle of a crowded room and hold it up and scream until someone tackles me the ground; even then, I’d probably keep screaming.”–Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties

“Bracing and blazingly smart, Alice Bolin’s Dead Girls could hardly be more needed or more timely. A critical contribution to the cultural discussion of gender and genre, Los Angeles and noir, the unbearable persistence of the male gaze and the furtive potency of female rage.”–Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of You Will Know Me

Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America by Alissa Quart (@lisquart)

June 26

“Vital to understanding American life today.”–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Profound, a sweeping, blistering portrait of hard-working people from all walks of life. It’s a rousing wakeup call that also points the way forward to a more equitable, expansive future.”–Astra Taylor, author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh (@ElloEllenOh) and Elsie Chapman (@elsiechapman) (eds.)

June 26

“A collection of Asian myths and legends in which beloved stories of spirits, magic, family, love, and heartbreak are combined with elements from modern teens’ lives….With such a variety of emotion and experiences to explore, nearly any teen can find something to relate to…An incredible anthology that will keep readers on the edges of their seats, wanting more.”–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“All of these stories achieve emotional depth and connection while showcasing each storyteller’s unique literary voice.”–The Horn Book

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

June 26

“As a woman of color, I find hope in this book because of its potential to disrupt the patterns and relationships that have emerged out of long-standing colonial principles and beliefs. White Fragility is an essential tool toward authentic dialogue and action. May it be so!”–Shakti Butler, president of World Trust and director of Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible

“A rare and incisive examination of the system of white body supremacy that binds us all as Americans. . . . With authenticity and clarity, she provides the antidote to white fragility and a road map for developing white racial stamina and humility. White Fragility loosens the bonds of white supremacy and binds us back together as human beings.”–Resmaa Menakem, author of My Grandmother’s Hands

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