On Swift Horses
On Swift Horses is a beautiful slow burn with language that draws you in like music. I had to linger over every sentence, speak them in my mind as I read, and let them sink into my bones and heart.
Queen of the Conquered
First of all, give me alllllll the fantasy novels written by non-binary people of color about slaves revolting against colonizers using badass magic and decade-long revenge plots. YES MORE OF THIS PLEASE.
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know
Talking to Strangers is, without a doubt, Malcolm Gladwell at his finest. His skill at combining stories and examples with scientific study in order to keep you engaged and demonstrate complex psychological phenomena is unparalleled.
My Sister, the Serial Killer
My Sister, the Serial Killer is a fast-paced, cutting, impactful little novel that comes in and gets out fast, but not without leaving its mark. I was impressed with how Oyinkan created vivid characters and a compelling story in so few words.
The Witches Are Coming
The Witches Are Coming is straight-up feminist / liberal candy. She’s definitely going to be preaching to the choir — but members of that choir are going to eat. it. up.
How to Be an Antiracist
How to Be an Antiracist is a frank, straightforward, clarifying, no-holds-barred book about racism — more so than almost any other book like this I’ve read in the past.
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
Gretchen McCulloch is (as you would hope, with this subject matter) conversational, fun, and very in touch with internet trends and spaces. She brings relatable examples together with smart research to make clear what so-called “internet people” can naturally sense but not explain.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Where the Crawdads Sing was beautiful, heartbreaking, and entirely worth reading. Delia Owens writes prose that cuts to the quick, leaves you aching for her characters, and opens your eyes just a little bit more.
Survive and Resist: The Definitive Guide to Dystopian Politics
Survive and Resist offers an intriguing premise: to look at actual dystopian political theory through the lens of fiction, film, and television. Um, helloooooo, sign me up!
Nobody's Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls
This book was FANTASTIC. In fact, I liked it so much that after I finished my library’s audiobook copy, I bought a physical copy so I could loan it out to friends.
Red at the Bone
Wow. This book. What did we ever do to you, Jacqueline Woodson?? How can you be allowed to just swoop in there, break our hearts ten times in ten different ways, and then just leave?? So beautiful.
Lost Children Archive
Lost Children Archive was absolutely stunning. Melancholy, reflective, narrative, musical. The moments she brings to life are so creative and specific that it’s hard to believe she made them up.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
This novel is a masterpiece of modern history. I'm still processing it, healing the small wound in my chest that it left, hoping to internalize this sliver of connection to humanity. But I will try to find the words to review it for you.
There Will Be No Miracles Here
There Will Be No Miracles Here is an example of exactly why I love to read memoir. Actually, I really love to listen to memoir audiobooks (as I did with this one) — the author often reads the book themself. And this book is incredibly honest, raw, and thought-provoking.