Hello Dear Readers! Welcome to my new column for paid subscribers: Book Nook! This first edition is free to all. If you want to be sure to get the next installment for August, please upgrade to paid!
The books I list here are coming out THIS month. I have not read them all, so this isn’t a review; just a listing with info about each book. Let me know which ones you’re excited for in the comments!
Books Of Note, July 2024
Nonfiction
Chicago Latina Trailblazers: Testimonios of Political Activism - Edited by Rita D. Hernández, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Elena R. Gutiérrez
“Mexican American and Puerto Rican women have long taken up the challenge to improve the lives of Chicagoans in the city’s Latino/a/x communities. Rita D. Hernández, Leticia Villarreal Sosa, and Elena R. Gutiérrez present testimonies by Latina leaders who blazed new trails and shaped Latina Chicago history from the 1960s through today.”
Die Hot with a Vengeance: Essays on Vanity - Sable Yong
“Journalist and former Allure editor Sable Yong debuts with a sharp-toothed and hilarious essay collection about beauty and vanity, examining their stigmatization in the cultural zeitgeist, and how to shift the focus to use both for powerful tools for self-exploration, interpersonal connection, and cultural change.”
Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl - Hyeseung Song
“Unflinching and lyrical, Docile is one woman’s story of subverting the model minority myth, contending with mental illness, and finding her self-worth by looking within.”
The Lucky Ones: A Memoir - Zara Chowdhary
“The Lucky Ones traces the past of a multigenerational Muslim family to India’s brave but bloody origins, a segregated city’s ancient past, and the lingering hurt causing bloodshed on the streets. Symphonic interludes offer glimpses into the precious, ordinary lives of Muslims, all locked together in a crumbling apartment building in the city’s old quarters, with their ability to forgive and find laughter, to offer grace even as the world outside, and their place in it, falls apart.”
Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist - Jasmin Graham
“The uplifting story of a young Black scientist’s challenging journey to flourish outside the traditional confines of academia, inspired by her innate connection to nature’s most misunderstood animal—the shark.”
What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
“Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create.”
Fiction
Age 16 - Rosena Fung
“A powerful coming-of-age graphic novel about how mothers and daughters pass down—and rebel against—standards of size, gender, race, beauty, and worth.”
Catalina: A Novel - Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
“A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college, forced to navigate an opaque past, an uncertain future, tragedies on two continents, and the tantalizing possibilities of love and freedom.”
The Coin: A Novel - Yasmin Zaher
“A bold and unabashed novel about a young Palestinian woman’s unraveling as she teaches at a New York City middle school, gets caught up in a scheme reselling Birkin bags, and strives to gain control over her body and mind.”
Masquerade - O.O. Sangoyomi
“Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.”
Midnight Rooms: A Novel - Donyae Coles
“Set in a foreboding Gothic mansion and infused with the heightened paranoia and creeping horror of novels like Catherine House and Crimson Peak, a spine-chilling debut historical thriller from a fresh voice in the genre that will leave you questioning who, or what, you can trust… including your own sanity.”
Pearl: A Novel - Siân Hughes
“As time passes, Marianne finds it difficult to adjust, fixated on her mother’s disappearance and the secrets she’s sure her father is keeping from her. Yet, in one of her mother’s dusty old books, she discovers a medieval poem called Pearl, and, trusting in the promise of its consolation, it seems as if her life begins to parallel the poem’s course.”