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CURRENT & previous selections

AMERIE’S NEW SELECTION •

FEBRUARY 2024

DEARBORN by Ghassan Zeineddine Loves and losses, triumphs and regrets—Ghassan Zeineddine explores these and more in his short story collection about the inner lives of the Arab American residents of Dearborn, Michigan, AKA the Arab American Capitol of the United States. At times tender, sad, wistful, and hilarious, there always exists a sense of endearment throughout the collection, whether from myself or between the characters, themselves. There is struggle and tension, yes, but there is perpetual love as Dearborn’s Arab American citizens navigate family, marriage, sexuality, and nostalgia—not to mention ICE and the IRS. Zeineddine’s deft characterization and sense of place left me feeling as if at any moment I could put the book down, jump on a plane, and meet in real life my new Dearbornean friends.

 
 

DECEMBER 2023 SELECTION

COBALT RED by Siddharth Kara What is a life worth? In ages past, humans could pretend their luxuries simply appeared, but our current age makes it nearly impossible to ignore the harsh realities that make our way of life possible. And so it is impossible to remain ignorant to that which powers our lives. In Cobalt Red, Siddharth Kara provides an intense account of cobalt mining in the Congo, where three-fourths of the world’s cobalt is hand-mined in dangerous and toxic conditions by thousands of men, women, and children for one or two dollars a day. Kara also dissects the cobalt supply chain that provides for the world while devastating so many Congolese. We cannot ignore what is happening in the DRC, and though it has certainly gone on for too long, perhaps now that Siddharth Kara’s exposé has laid bare the truth for the world to see, there can be change, whereby the people of the Congo, who have suffered immensely throughout history, will finally be able to move forward with the hope and self-determination they deserve.

NOVEMBER 2023 SELECTION

ONE HUNDRED DAYS by Alice Pung In One Hundred Days, Alice Pung delivers an epistolary novel that is full of anxiety and claustrophobia, and heaping with humor and poignancy. Sixteen-year-old Karuna’s pregnancy leads her through a journey of examination as she explores her relationship with herself, her mother, and her unborn child. In this page-turner, which is a long letter to her baby, Karuna explains how everything came to pass, including her mother’s determination to raise the baby as her own, with Karuna as the baby’s sister. With an immense love, Karuna recounts both caring and harrowing interactions with her parents as she wonders what kind of mother she will become. Can she be enough for her child? How does she manage her loving relationship with her mother when her mother is so set upon controlling her? These questions continue right through the story’s climax, during which Karuna and her mother’s dynamic is at its most stressed. Through laughter and tears, I came away loving both women, and full of hope for the future of their new family.

OCTOBER 2023 SELECTION

THE IMMORTAL KING RAO by Vauhini Vara In this alternate universe, a global, corporate-run government fused with an ever-present tech company runs the world, in which everyone is a Shareholder unless they opt out and live out their lives on the fringe. Athena, the sole child of King Rao, the most powerful man in the world, decides to risk everything by sharing her father’s life story, to which she has sole access after he transfers his memories to her mind. Can her father’s invention, after having consolidated power, provide power and freedom to the people? And as we experience increasingly dubious intersections of tech, government, banking, and surveillance, could this be similar to our own trajectory into what is to come? In The Immortal King Rao, Vauhini Vara explores this and more in her masterful blending of fact and fiction, wonder and doom, in a story that looks to our past, our present, and our potential future.

SEPTEMBER 2023 SELECTION

TERRACE STORY by Hilary Leichter How do the spaces between us contract and expand? How relentless is the human heart, and if love transcends time and dimension, can it be yet fully recovered? Hilary Leichter explores love, belonging, loss, and the elasticity of time and space in a story that left me breathless.

AUGUST 2023 SELECTION

I WILL GREET THE SUN AGAIN by Khashayar J. Khabushani In Khashayar J. Khabushani’s gut-punch of a novel, we follow K’s coming-of-age in Los Angeles, during which he explores what it means to become a young man while also figuring where he belongs within his own family. But his is not a simple life. We reel as he and his brothers are whisked to an unknown land, and we wince as we see him receive both love and abuse from someone who should be most trusted. We bear witness to K’s realization that to so many around him he is, at best, a hyphenate: an Iranian-American, when all he wants is to be a boy from L.A.; at worst, he’s viewed an untrustworthy outsider. Further destabilizing is K’s attempts to grapple with friendship, a burgeoning romance, and his sexuality. There is so much here, but we’re witnessing a coming-of-age, after all, so of course there is, and Khabushani spins all the joys and pains of adolescence with several strokes of middle-aged regret into an unforgettable novel.

JULY 2023 SELECTION

OF BOYS AND MEN by Richard V. Reeves The modern male is struggling. It matters, and we must do something about it. In Of Boys and Men, Richard V. Reeves explores the issues so many males face in silence. His research has led to surprising revelations regarding men and health, the social sphere, education, and the age-old nature-versus-nurture debate. He pushes back on ideas that have been widely accepted with little examination, such as “toxic masculinity,” and puts into words what so many have observed, which is that boys and men are ignored as society and its social constructs continue to evolve. What is going on with our boys, with our men? Without political partisanship, Reeves brings this question to the fore of modern discourse, and in doing so, does a service to us all.

JUNE 2023 SELECTION

INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Törzs What do we owe our families? What do we owe ourselves? What do we do if these are diametrically opposed? Emma Törzs crafts an exciting, immersive story with Ink Blood Sister Scribe, which explores family, legacy, estrangement, and forgiveness within the context of magical books, money, glamour, and—if there aren’t enough fascinating elements—the Antarctic. Though dark in its themes, there is a coziness in the story’s execution that made me relish my time within its pages.

APRIL 2023 SELECTION

IF I SURVIVE YOU by Jonathan Escoffery “What are you?” It’s a question Trelawny, the son of Jamaican immigrants, is asked and asks himself throughout If I Survive You. Growing up, Trelawny tries on various identities, all the while offering wry commentary on his uncomfortable situation and the circumstances of those around him. We also see the world through the eyes of his brother, his parents, and his cousin, and through these at times disparate viewpoints, perhaps we come closer to answering Trelawny’s question. Or maybe we leave with more questions regarding who and what any of us are in a world that so desperately demands categorization.

MARCH 2023 SELECTION

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SKIN by Lakiesha Carr In this love letter to women, Lakiesha Carr drops us into the lives of a multigenerational group of unforgettable women. We experience their tumultuous relationships—with themselves, with their own bodies, with their motherhood, with their romantic partners, with each other—as they navigate loneliness, depression, and even one remarkable ability. Part of the book’s pleasure is discovering how the women are connected via three achingly poignant, interconnected stories, connections which are not at all typical, but unexpected and true-to-life.

FEBRUARY 2023 SELECTION

THE HARD ROAD OUT by Jihyun Park and Seh-Lynn Chai The Hard Road Out is a harrowing read but also a hopeful one. From Jihyun Park’s recounting of her terrifying days in North Korea and her time as a trafficked human being in China, to Seh-Lynn’s exploration of her relationship to North Korea as a South Korean woman, this collaborative work is certainly momentous. It is not, however, solely important due to its first-hand accounting of life in North Korea, but rather to the idea Park and Chai pose: that the road to reunification rests not ultimately with the governments of North and South Korea, but in the hearts of the two nations’ peoples, and that perhaps therein lie the first steps.

JANUARY 2023 SELECTION

AGE OF VICE by Deepti Kapoor Through the lives of three disparate characters—each of whom yearns to carve out a place in a cruel, beautiful world—Deepti Kapoor weaves a sweeping, high-octane literary tale. From the streets of New Delhi to the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Kapoor explores family, desire, power, corruption, revenge, and idealism. Age of Vice is as sobering as it is addictive.

NOVEMBER 2022 SELECTION

WOMAN, EATING by Claire Kohda Claire Kohda contemplates sustenance for both body and soul in the intriguing Woman, Eating. Using vampirism as well as biracial heritage as context, we follow Lydia, a young performance artist, as she attempts to find her place in a world both lonely and inviting, warm yet hostile, and most of all, just out of reach. I sank into this hypnotic story and couldn't turn away until I reached its dark, glorious conclusion.

OCTOBER 2022 SELECTION

THE ATTIC CHILD by Lola Jaye One of the most devastating genocides in human history is highlighted in Lola Jaye's The Attic Child, in which a young boy is taken from his Congolese home and thrust into a European world which, at worst, hates him, and at best, sees him as a living curiosity. Through sheer force of will, Dikembe/Celestine not only survives, but finds a way to love and thrive despite all that is set against him. As his story intersects with the parallel story of a young woman desperate to make sense of her own trauma, the reader explores universal truths of love, narrative, and survival. My heart bled as I bore witness to Dikembe's coming of age, and it nearly burst when he reached his ultimate triumph. Lola Jaye has surpassed her goal to "give a lion a voice," resulting in a world, a shared history, and a truth that is laid painfully bare.

SEPTEMBER 2022 SELECTION

WHAT WE FED TO THE MANTICORE by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri Talia Lakshmi Kolluri explores connection, the notion of tamer vs tamed, and the power and fragility of life in this empathetic collection of short stories. Each told from a different animal’s perspective, her renderings are quiet and profound, and contain so much beauty against the violence of life and circumstance. What We Fed to the Manticore is unforgettable.

AUGUST 2022 SELECTION

THE MANY DAUGHTERS OF AFONG MOY by Jamie Ford In The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, Jamie Ford takes us through two hundred years-worth of the descendants of the woman known as the first Chinese person to come to the United States. In a swiftly changing world, Afong’s many female descendants grapple with personal issues, hardships due to climate change, war, and social norms, and generational family trauma that haunts them in a very real way. Exploring epigenetics, trauma, perilous relationships, and the fantastic, this speculative-literary blend had me from the first page—literally the author’s note at the beginning of the book!

JULY 2022 SELECTION

TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW BY Gabrielle Zevin What happens when love, art, and ambition collide? Betrayals, soaring successes, and possibly redemption. In Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, three best friends create one of the most popular video games ever, only to find themselves at the treacherous intersection of art and commerce, where they are tested in the realms of their friendship, their creativity, and their very identities. Gabrielle Zevin weaves a gorgeous, unforgettable story.

MAY 2022 SELECTION

TRUST BY HERNAN DIAZ How does money and power shape narrative, and can any narrative, even one's own, belong to a sole person? Secrets abound in Hernan Diaz's Trust, as well as intersections of class, gender, power, and family. To pull back the layers of Benjamin and Helen Rask's glamorously dark story is to challenge the notion that truth is static and beyond purchase.

APRIL 2022 SELECTION

UNLIKELY ANIMALS BY ANNIE HARTNETT With biting prose, humor, and an unexpected narrator, Annie Hartnett's Unlikely Animals explores what we owe our family, our friends, and ourselves. Emma Starling is endearing and familiar, even as her life escapes familiar terrain. What is it to return home the embodiment of squandered potential? Who deserves to be seen? Forgotten? Is it so horrible an idea to purchase a domesticated fox? (Yes, very.) With a multitude of plot elements that manage to fit together perfectly, this hug-worthy book enraptured me from the first page.

MARCH 2022 SELECTION

THE WHITE GIRL BY TONY BIRCH Tony Birch weaves a heartbreaking yet hopeful story of an aboriginal woman who refuses to let the government destroy the little family she has left. Bitingly humorous, grandmother Odette Brown is a force, but not so armored that a reader cannot glimpse the most vulnerable parts of herself. I worried for Odette and her granddaughter, Sissy, unsure if the next page might cause my heart to ache or warm. At times fairytale-esque in its presentations of good and evil, of love and hate, I found myself flying through the story until I reached its satisfying conclusion.

FEBRUARY 2022 SELECTION

PURE COLOUR BY SHEILA HETI In Sheila Heti's Pure Colour, life, death, love, art, and all of creation exist as God's first draft...which God is on the verge of revising. Mari loses her father, and as she grieves, discovers his consciousness has entered her body, and it isn't very long before both their consciousnesses find their way into a leaf, where so much observation takes place. If we are God's first-draft creations, then we are, in fact, rough works of art. What does this mean in relation to our joys, our pains, and the art we, in turn, create...and what's the point of all this writing and rewriting? In search of answers, Pure Colour unfurls in a series of quiet and most poignant contemplations.

JANUARY 2022 SELECTION

THIS BOY WE MADE BY TAYLOR HARRIS Taylor Harris' memoir explores motherhood, the intersections of healthcare and Black parenthood in particular, and the anxiety-ridden process of questioning the burdens we may inadvertently place upon our children, whether through nurture or nature. With strength, vulnerablity, and no small dose of candor, Harris takes us through her faith-filled journey, which felt both familiar and new as I held my breath during every potential reveal, praying and hoping for little Tophs and the people I came to know through this heartfelt portrait of a family.

NOVEMBER 2021 SELECTION

CROSSROADS BY JONATHAN FRANZEN What does it mean to be a family? Do we owe our family and our community more than we owe ourselves? How can we maintain faith once we find it, and to what lengths will we go in order to hold on to the ones we love? Jonathan Franzen explores this and more in his brilliant new novel, Crossroads. Funny, rich in character, and both generous and eviscerating in its portrayal of the Hildebrandts, I relished each and every page.

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OCTOBER 2021 SELECTION

THE PAST IS RED BY CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE Catherynne M. Valente’s storytelling is masterful in this unique post-apocalyptic tale. The Past is Red shines with original world-building that is both unexpected and delightful, as well as a character as prickly as she is lovable. I adored Tetley and her gumption, her big-heartedness, and most of all her unabashed, clear-eyed brand of hope. You likely haven’t read anything quite like this.

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SEPTEMBER 2021 SELECTION

NIGHTBITCH BY RACHEL YODER What does a woman do when she suspects that, two years into an all-encompassing motherhood, she is turning into a dog? In Rachel Yoder's Nightbitch, an ambitious artist-turned-stay-at-home-mom finds herself leaning into the shift to gain some much-needed perspective. Is motherhood about giving things up or taking everything on? This isn’t social-media mommyhood; it’s lopsided ponytails and days-old loungewear and an immense number of spot-on insights regarding motherhood moments that cause joy, fear, anger, and desperation in unpredictable measures. Nearly half of my book is dog-eared, which is why it no longer closes all the way, which also means it’s always partly open for me to re-read a few she-nailed-it passages. I’m good with that.

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AUGUST 2021 SELECTION

THE PARTED EARTH BY ANJALI ENJETI The Parted Earth is as beautiful a story as it is painful, with characters so intimately drawn they could be your family members, your friends, your neighbors. With unflinching honesty and great empathy—as well as a series of perfectly-timed reveals—Anjali Enjeti weaves an unforgettable saga of love and heartbreak, hope and redemption. This book is a treasure.

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JULY 2021 SELECTION

THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINE BY ILAN PAPPE In The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe lays out in intricate detail how the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land was not a side effect of, but a pre-planned essential step for, the creation of the state of Israel. This series of massacres and expulsions—The Nakba—is commemorated by the Palestinian people as a catastrophe both past and present, but it has never been acknowledged by Israel, even as the Nakba—and the right of millions of Palestinians to return to their homeland—is at the crux of any chance for peace. In brilliant fashion, Professor Pappe revisits what happened in the early 20th century so that we might understand what is happening now, and finally, hopefully, move toward a long-awaited peace.

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JUNE 2021 SELECTION

RING SHOUT BY P. DJÈLÍ CLARK In P. Djèlí Clark's alternate version of our real world, hate incarnate threatens all of humanity as Ku Kluxes literally worm their ways into the bodies of Klansmen. But Clark goes another step further, illustrating how hate borne of vengeance can be as destructive as hate borne of fear and resentment. With a great dose of humor and deft strokes of lightheartedness, Clark creates a story that is harsh yet warm, fantastical yet unabashedly true.

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MAY 2021 SELECTION

THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE BY NANCY JOOYOUN KIM At this heart-wrenching story’s core is a taut mother-daughter relationship that is further complicated by misunderstandings both generational and cultural. There is plenty of depth here, but by deftly layering family secrets, heartbreak, and the general fear of being unable to make a place for oneself in the world, Nancy Jooyoun Kim creates an unforgettable story.

Amerie Amerie's Book Club Who is Maud Dixon? Alexandra Andrews

APRIL 2021 SELECTION

WHO IS MAUD DIXON? BY ALEXANDRA ANDREWS In this page-turner, Alexandra Andrews weaves power, ambition, classism, and the menacing potential that lurks in perhaps every human being. Florence Darrow is desperate and deplorable and I was with her every step of her journey. Through various characters Andrews paints a portrait of humanity--at turns pitiful, contemptible, and full of familial love, however distorted--that is as frightening as it is riveting.

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MARCH 2021 SELECTION

INFINITE COUNTRY BY PATRICIA ENGEL To read this story is to become entrenched in the love, fears, and desperations of Talia, Elena, Mauro, and their family. Patricia Engel explores their plight so thoroughly, I didn’t have to wonder over the whys and hows so much as I felt them. No matter where you stand regarding immigration, Engel reminds us that behind the statistics, the papers, and the stamps, there are actual people and families who breathe, bleed, and fight to survive.

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FEBRUARY 2021 SELECTION

NO HEAVEN FOR GOOD BOYS BY KEISHA BUSH In No Heaven for Good Boys, Keisha Bush examines family, tradition, modernity, abuse, and survival. I fell in love with six-year-old Ibrahimah and his cousin Étienne, who felt not like characters, but flesh-and-blood children; I was with them every step of their harrowing journey, and they remain with me. I couldn’t read another book for days after finishing. This story is heartbreaking. But also Bush has a way of softening the blows with much-needed magical realism, granting just enough respite to keep one going. Over a hundred thousand real-life boys are Talibé, and it is Keisha Bush’s thoughtful characterization of their lives that gives this story its beating heart.

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JANUARY 2021 SELECTION

PARABLE OF THE SOWER BY OCTAVIA E. BUTLER In PARABLE OF THE SOWER, Octavia E. Butler looks both forward and backward, and she does not flinch from humanity’s atrocities. The story not only reflects life in broadstrokes—climate change, power, feminism, racism—but also in intimate detail as we follow wise and rarely-gifted fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina on her journey toward safety, discovery, and a new belief system. My heart ached for her and her loved ones as it ached for all of us, because somehow, after thousands of years, we still commit such horrors against each other. Is the story hopeful? Pessimistic? Both. Neither. But I reckon that, upon rereading at different points in life, the answer shall differ each time.

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DECEMBER 2020 SELECTION

MEMORIAL BY BRYAN WASHINGTON Benson and Mike are breaking up...slowly. Or are they? In Bryan Washington's MEMORIAL, we witness the quiet implosion of what seems, on its surface, a cool-enough relationship. But that's just it--should one remain in a relationship that simply coasts along? And on that note, maybe the relationship isn't coasting at all, but is instead weighted by the obfuscations of both men in their attempts to hide major familial heartache. In scenes full of raw energy, earnestness, and food--yes, lots and lots of glorious food--Bryan Washington explores the bridges we burn, protect, and attempt to rebuild.

AMERIE'S BOOK CLUB NOVEMEBER 2020 SELECTION LUSTER BY Raven Leilani

NOVEMBER 2020 SELECTION

LUSTER BY RAVEN LEILANI Edie is the friend you want to shake, you want to tell your secrets, you want to make soup for. While navigating life in a city that never stops to take a breath, she makes one bad decision after another, yet even as I wondered how she could walk into such obviously volatile situations, I wanted to protect her. Raven Leilani tackles race, class, sexism, and the complicated ties that bind us—but with punchy prose and laugh-out-loud dark humor that make such weighty topics easier to bear.

Amerie's Book Club October selection Red Pill by Hari Kunzru

OCTOBER 2020 SELECTION

RED PILL BY HARI KUNZRU What does one get when one throws together a mid-life crisis, creative stagnation, and a world tilting to the alt-right? In RED PILL, Hari Kunzru creates a spiral of tension and anxiety upon which the narrator—and maybe the entire world—descends. And that is one of the most unsettling things about this fascinating story: that the lines between madness, paranoia, and extreme clarity might be so frighteningly thin.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 SELECTION

TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM BY YAA GYASI Yaa Gyasi explores grief, addiction, and the African immigrant experience—all at the intersection of science and religion. As Gifty, a PhD candidate in neuroscience, endeavors to discover The Why to her brother Nana’s overdose, she also finds peace and grace in her very unscientific spiritual journey. She is as perceptive and earnest and persistent as her brother is golden and talented and good. I thought knowing the tragic turn of their family would keep my heart at a safe distance, but I grew to love these siblings and this family and was, nonetheless, left crushed. Yet in the end, I exhaled with a slight smile, feeling for Gifty a spark of optimism despite my sadness. Gyasi's prose is gripping and true; what a beautiful reading experience.

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AUGUST 2020 SELECTION

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS BY STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES Stephen Graham Jones holds back neither gruesome horror nor searing social commentary in THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS. Jones is unflinching in his exploration of vengeance and justice, the realities of living and growing up Native today, as well as community and where tradition fits into the modern world. At turns poignant and difficult to digest, I found the story brimming with despair, anger, and, despite everything, hope.

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JULY 2020 SELECTION

YOU EXIST TOO MUCH BY ZAINA ARAFAT Zaina Arafat takes us on the immersive journey of one Palestinian-American queer girl's search for love, identity, and ultimately, her mother's approval. I watched with anxiety as this imperfect--at times self-sabotaging--main character fought through her "love addiction." I rooted for her and hurt for her as she tried to find her way through one bad decision after another. The main character, whose name is never revealed, stayed with me long after I closed the book, as did her hope for yet another shot at love.

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JUNE 2020 SELECTION

MY VANISHING COUNTRY BY BAKARI SELLERS In his unapologetically emotional memoir, CNN analyst Bakari Sellers shares what it is to grow up "Black, country, and proud." From the tragic event that helped to shape his life though it occurred before his birth, to his rise in politics while pursuing his education, to his dedication to not allowing those in his rural South Carolina community to be forgotten, to his personal experiences with anxiety, Bakari Sellers' story left me amazed while also leaving me to wonder just how he managed to fit so much life into such a short time. His optimism, faith, and dedication to making the world a better place is not only inspiring, but is proof of the resilience and compassion of the human heart. Order the hardcover or buy the ebook version of My Vanishing Country and join me and author Bakari Sellers on the IGlive chat on June 30th!

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MAY 2020 SELECTION

DEACON KING KONG BY JAMES MCBRIDE James McBride tackles trauma, the Black migration, community, racism (of both Southern and Northern variety), and the perils of Growing Up While Black with subtlety and humor. In his deft hands, the exploration of such themes within a premise in which a perpetually drunk deacon shoots a teen drug dealer is not depressing or gratuitous, but intimate, funny, and full of hope. Order the hardcover or buy the ebook version of Deacon King Kong and join me and author James McBride on the IGlive chat on May 28th. And most importantly, stay safe!

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APRIL 2020 SELECTION

NOTHING TO SEE HERE BY KEVIN WILSON An outrageous yet grounded read that had me laughing out loud and tearing up in the same paragraph, Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here explores parenthood and found family, while also addressing the very frightening phenomena of spontaneous combustion, of which, like the author, I grew up scared to death. In the main character, Lillian, I found one of the most lovable cynics I’ve ever met, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, unless I was stopping to read passages back to myself aloud, because they were just that good. Order the hardcover or buy the ebook version of Nothing to See Here and join me and Kevin Wilson on the IGlive chat at the end of the month. And most importantly, stay safe (and home)!

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MARCH 2020 SELECTION

NEW WAVES BY KEVIN NGUYEN A poignant meditation on race, class, and grief as they intersect with technology, New Waves had me questioning who we are, who we think we are, and what we leave behind. How do we grieve someone whose online footprint looms large? And really, can any of us live up to the terrifying hyper-optimism of tech culture (and this is coming from an extreme optimist)? Pick up New Waves by Kevin Nguyen and join us on the IGlive chat at the end of the month, where we'll talk all things life, art, love, and grief in the time of technology!

FEBRUARY 2020 SELECTION

LITTLE GODS BY MENG JIN Quantum physics meets motherhood, love, and identity in this haunting portrayal of a daughter’s desperation to be seen and a mother’s desperation to disappear. @mengjinwrites creates characters who are at once vulnerable, caring, self-absorbed, and despicable, and through it all, utterly real. I rooted for them just as I was repelled by them; always, though, Ms. Jin put me so firmly in their heads, I couldn’t help but feel empathetic, even as I cringed. Pick up Little Gods and join me and @mengjinwrites at the end of the month as we talk it out during the IGlive chat!

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JANUARY 2020 SELECTION

THE BOOK OF LOST SAINTS BY DANIEL JOSE OLDER This family saga and modern ghost story takes place during the Cuban revolution and in present day NYC/NJ. It is striking in its honest and brutal depiction of violence, but reveals equal, if not more, passion for depicting resilience and hope. At times funny and at times somber, I couldn't stop turning the pages, waiting to learn more about Marisol and Ramón's intertwined past and present. Pick up this family saga/mystery ghost story and join me AND Daniel Jose Older @danieljose1 at the end of the month for the IGlive chat!

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DECEMBER 2019 SELECTION

THE TESTAMENTS BY MARGARET ATWOOD Ultimately, I found this novel to be about power and hope in the face of inhumanity, and while exploring this theme, I discovered one of my favorite characters in a very long time! I still have lots of questions about this world, though, and I'd say that a good 50% of my thoughts about the novel have to do what ISN'T there. But you'll have to pick up the book and join me at the end of the month to get into it!

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NOVEMBER 2019

INAUGURAL SELECTION

THE WATER DANCER BY TA-NEHISI COATES I've made no secret how much I love and appreciate @tanehisipcoates' nonfiction works. They are powerful and important and unflinchingly honest. In his debut novel, The Water Dancer, Coates pulls together that which made his nonfiction so eye-opening, and weaves a narrative that pulled me into a world both beautiful and terrifying, leaving me to ponder what I might have done, what my ancestors most certainly endured. More than an enslavement narrative, Coates exposes the psychological self-deception of those in power to simply maintain the structure of slavery, itself, while making human those who have become no more than statistics or faceless names in history; no easy feat, but he accomplishes it with aplomb.

 

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