As always, we encourage you to do whatever you can to support your local bookstore, including purchasing audiobooks from our sponsor Libro.fm. Stay safe, get vaccinated, and keep reading!—Daniel Ford
It seems like every step forward—such as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Voting Rights Act of 1964, and a host of other laws aimed at giving blacks and other minorities more freedom in this country—is severely undercut by subsequent state action, including poll taxes and literacy tests, disarming black citizens and soldiers, and today’s stand your ground laws and castle doctrine. In The Second, Carol Anderson, author of White Rage and One Person, No Vote, argues that the Second Amendment really is anti-black at its core and not simply the right to bear arms. Essential reading for these times.
Mostly Dead Things was one of our favorite debuts from the past couple years and Kristen Arnett did not disappoint with her sophomore novel With Teeth. Sammie Lucas is one of those characters that you know you’re going to remember and wish you had written.
Andrea Bartz does not waste any time in We Were Never Here. Instead of wondering when a dead body is going to drop, the reader has to deal with “here are some dead bodies” right away. It creates a different kind of tension that carries you throughout the narrative. The two female friends we meet in this book would have plenty to chat about with some of Megan Abbott’s characters. They're a lot of fun to spend time with, even when you're sighing, "Girl, you in trouble."
All signs point to this book lighting our hair on fire. Matt Bell’s Appleseed just might be the generation-defining novel readers need to pick up right now.
The Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown is one of our favorite journalists and this book based on her work uncovering Jeffrey Epstein's crimes is high on our #TBR pile.
Word to the wise, if you think you have enough bourbon, scotch, or whiskey to get through what S.A. Cosby puts you through in Razorblade Tears, you don't. Stock up. This novel rips your heart clean out and then melts your face for good measure. Cosby is one of the best in the business.
You're going to want to share a glass of wine with all of the characters you meet in Katie Crouch's Embassy Wife. The book is ton of fun to read, but it'll also make you think about myriad issues in and outside this country.
We canceled sleep after we saw Stephen Graham Jones' blurb, which includes "pray for morning" and "it doesn't matter."
We're thrilled Hermione Hoby has new fiction in the world! We're bound to love any novel set in New York City. Hoby's opening chapter enraptured us immediately.
Oh, yes, perhaps you've heard Beau Johnson has a new book out. He's a constant supporter of authors on social media, so we're happy to include him on this list. A flaming, screaming head on the cover and an epigraph featuring The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie didn't hurt either.
Leah Johnson earned permanent placement in future #bookradars after her debut You Should See Me in a Crown. She may have penned our favorite opening line of the year as well: "My best friend has always been the first person I run to when it's time to blow up my life."
With voting rights in peril, John Lewis' words are more necessary than ever. Get involved at the local level and learn how you can help fight voter suppression laws. Any time you need inspiration, read a few lines from Lewis. He walked the walk.
As an emo kid living through middle school in the 1990s, I had more than a few Richard Marx songs on my favorite songs mix tapes. We’re going to need to get him on Pop Literacy to tell us even more stories.—Daniel Ford
We don't know how we missed this book in June, but we're fixing that in a hurry.
Keep writing. These moments are out there for you.
When you find out the impossible has come true. pic.twitter.com/v6sqz2j3Ls
— TJ Newman (@T_J_Newman) July 22, 2021
We were grabbed by Island Queens's cover while we were walking around our local indie and were transfixed by the opening line: "Never knew a moment made better standing still." Good advice. Get to your nearest independently-owned bookstore ASAP and start reading.
When Vanessa Lillie and S.A. Cosby tell us to read a book, we listen.
A wonderful novel that was recently longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. Beautiful written prose about a few broken characters pushing against the world around them.
In author and actress Meg Tilly's latest novel, The Runaway Heiress, a woman escaping her violent path crosses paths with a playboy director whose prickly exterior hides a more empathetic and charming soul. Obviously, romance and thrills ensue.
We are bound by law to promote and enjoy any book that is "bursting with vulgarity."
Author's Corner
Laura Lippman, author of Dream Girl, joined us recently and she offered a trio of novels you should pick up. As always, we encourage you to do whatever you can to support your local bookstore, including purchasing audiobooks from our sponsor Libro.fm. Stay safe, get vaccinated, and keep reading!
The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
