The book: Have You Been Long Enough at Table by Leslie Sainz
Alta Journal’s California Book Club
The book: The Practice of the Wild by Gary Snyder
Our reviewer says: "Essayist and Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Snyder offers nine sensitive and thoughtful essays blending his personal Buddhist beliefs, respect for wildlife and the land, and fascination with language and mythic tradition into a 'meditation on what it means to be human.'" Read more.
The book: TBA
The book: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
Barnes & Noble Book Club, PBS Books Readers Club, and Read with Jenna
The book: The Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Our reviewer says: "[A]n impressive family drama.... Khong reaches new heights with this fully-fledged outing." Read more.
The book: Black No More by George Schuyler
The book: Weird Black Girls by Elwin Cotman
Our reviewer says: "Cotmanutilizes magical conceits and pop culture references to probe America’s legacy of racism in this striking collection.... Cotman’s versatile talents are on full display." Read more.
The book: Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett
Our reviewer says: "Garrett remains remarkably sharp on matters of race, recasting such crime fiction tropes as police interrogations and tabloid frenzy through the eyes of a Black woman whose interactions with such forces are more fraught than her white counterparts’." Read more.
Good Morning America Book Club
The book: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Our reviewer says: "British Cambodian writer Bradley’s clever debut features time travel, romance, cloak-and-dagger plotting, and a critique of the British Empire.... It’s a sly and ingenious vehicle for commentary on the disruptions and displacements of modern life." Read more.
Jewish Book Council Book Club (fiction)
The book: On Her Own by Lihi Lapid, translated by Sandra Silverston
Jewish Book Council Book Club (nonfiction)
The book: Palestine 1936 by Oren Kessler
The book: Long Island by Colm Tóibín
Our reviewer says: "Tóibín is brilliant at tallying the weight of what goes unsaid between people, and at using quotidian situations to illuminate longing as a universal and often-inescapable aspect of the human condition. Tóibín’s mastery is on full display here." Read more.
The book: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Our reviewer says: "Sanderson's fondness for misleading the reader and his talent for feeding out revelations and action scenes at just the right pace will keep epic fantasy fans intrigued and hoping for redemptive future installments." Read more.
The book: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Our reviewer says: "McBride tells a vibrant tale of Chicken Hill, a working-class neighborhood of Jewish, Black, and European immigrant families in Pottstown, Pa., where the 1972 discovery of a human skeleton unearths events that took place several decades earlier.... This endlessly rich saga highlights the different ways in which people look out for one another." Read more.
The book: Swimming in Paris by Colombe Schneck, translated by Lauren Elkin and Natasha Lehrer
Our reviewer says: "French author Schneck’s beautiful English-language debut traces the development of her central character, also named Colombe, through childhood, adolescence, and mature womanhood.... [A] gorgeous meditation on the vagaries of being alive." Read more.
The book: Table for Two by Amor Towles
Our reviewer says: "Towles returns with an enchanting collection of stories about fateful encounters.... The noirish tale is rife with double crosses, exciting chases, surprising reversals, and the vivid historical atmosphere Towles is known for." Read more.
The book: Discourse on Colonialism by Aimé Césaire, translated by Joan Pinkham
The book: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Our reviewer says: "As the narrative vulnerably tackles difficult subjects such as intolerant religious institutions and living with mental illness, Yami’s sardonic voice adds levity and heart." Read more.
The book: How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Our reviewer says: "Screenwriter Kuang’s debut beautifully probes the lingering effects of grief and guilt while offering readers a glimpse behind the curtain of Hollywood glamour." Read more.
The book: Ella by Diane Richards
Our reviewer says: "Richards, a former background vocalist for Whitney Houston, debuts with an electrifying tale of Ella Fitzgerald in the years before she was discovered on 'Amateur Night' at the Apollo Theater in 1934." Read more.
The book: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
The book: Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung
Our reviewer says: "Chung chronicles in her stirring debut the trials and tribulations of a family’s abandoned women during the Chinese Revolution.... Readers will be moved by this humanizing account of a turbulent period in China’s history." Read more.
The book: Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang
Our reviewer says: "This resonant and textured debut traces the secret lives of gay men and their wives in 1980s China and their loneliness in contemporary New York City’s Chinatown.... Tang announces himself as a writer to watch with this unshakable novel." Read more.
