There are good books, great books, and then the books you shove into everyone’s hands immediately. Raybearer is in that last category. It’s soooo good.

Milk Blood Heat is an absolutely fantastic short story collection, sharp and riveting. You should definitely read (or listen to) it.

The Gilded Ones is a fantastic debut fantasy novel. It’s got some tough subject matter, but it’s exciting and intriguing with a lush world and lovable characters.

The Queens' English is colorful and fun and very obviously crafted with so much love. It’s also packed with so much context, advocacy, history, and more. There is truly a delight on every page.

Given the editors and lineup of contributors, it comes as no surprise when Kink is exactly as good you expect it’s going to be.

Bride of the Sea is a beautiful debut about belonging, culture, and family; a vivid story following three unforgettable characters over the course of many years.

I am unsurprised to be blown away, but I’m extra floored that this was her first novel. The maturity in her prose is unparalleled.

The Light Brigade is an exciting, well-written smart puzzle of a sci-fi military thriller. That’s not my usual genre, but I really liked it!

A portrait of grief and examination of resilience, Sanctuary is a gorgeously written, vulnerable, insightful memoir of Rapp Black’s experience losing her son and having her second child.

The Office of Historical Corrections is a collection of absolutely masterful stories that buzz with life and echo with resonance.

This Mournable Body is a poignant finish to Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions books. It’s a searing look at colonialism with a narrator I feel I could reach out and touch.

A Sky Beyond the Storm is absolutely everything I hoped it would be and more. An incredible conclusion to what’s now solidified as an all-time favorite series.

Interior Chinatown is a creative, funny, moving, uniquely told story about race, immigration, and the roles that are cast for us — by others and ourselves.

The Listening Path is a six-week approach to getting in touch with the world, yourself, and the beyond. It wasn’t for me — it was too “woo-woo” as she herself puts it — but it might be for you.

How to Read Poetry Like a Professor is fun, helpful, and the perfect book to help you start to read poetry more deeply.

The Center of Everything is a beautiful family saga with an intriguing mystery (or two) thrown in. I enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it.

Nervous Conditions is a feminist postcolonial novel set in what’s now Zimbabwe. It reads like the classic it is, but with a sharp voice and unforgettable main character.

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is a moving story about tragedy and class in India. The plot moves slowly, but it sparkles with character and voice.