Superb pandemic fiction, written by a guy who's apparently a lost kid of Stephen King's. Fiendish ending about which you'll feel strongly. Hard going in 'rona times, be advised. But I was glad I stuck with it.
All the protagonists are non-men, richly drawn and admirable ... and the writer is a guy! If you love New Orleans, especially the histories of the many cultures that have lived there for centuries, check out this book.
Loved the characters, the steampunk / Near East setting, the supernatural and gumshoe genres together ... everything!
Satisfying speculative fiction with an autistic, genderqueer protagonist of color: Trigger warnings for physical violence (justified by the themes of oppression and liberation).
Essential reading for anyone from the Western Hemisphere. The author takes a materialist approach to the history of Latin America, and that history has been one of almost nonstop plunder. If you want to begin to understand present-day Latin America, start with this book.
Nonfiction memoir with an unorthodox, spiraling structure. You will learn more about the cultures of the indigenous people the author visits and clearly loves. Things aren't great in Central America, and haven't been since the Spanish colonizers arrived. All the more reason to read the book.
A young woman, probably autistic, holds down a low-paying convenience store job with pride. Problems begin when she sees that her family and other people around her will inevitably insist on more from her. If you are on the spectrum yourself, the ending will probably satisfy you.
A coming-of-age and coming-out story and a ferociously smart, singular voice. Or: how to live an examined life if you're Different. Get the audiobook if you can... Branum reads it himself.
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty
African American history, anthropology, and food... written by a Black chef and scholar. Lengthy but worth it.
Donna Haraway writes manifestos for now. It's not quite clear how we'll get to some of the states of being she describes, but you'll come away from the book changed for the better. Listen to the audiobook if you can.
Tweedy, posh prof leads some students and their parents into a rural area of England for a couple weeks of Stone Age-style living. The protagonist, a teenage girl whose parents insisted she come along for the experience, soon discovers that modern humans aren't that far out of the cave. Nice coming-of-age feminist novel with a satisfying conclusion.