Welcome to our Reading List! Find new recommended reads here every month, find spotlights and recommendations for our book world friends, and shop with us!
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Celebrating so many good things this month!
National Autism Awareness Month
National Poetry Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
National Arab American Heritage Month
Corinne Duyvis- On the Edge of Gone
Young Adult Fiction
Corinne Duyvis is a co-founder of Disability in Kidlit and the creator of the #ownvoices hashtag.
"A thrilling, thought-provoking novel from one of young-adult literature's boldest new talents."- Bookshop.org
Naomi Shihab Nye- 19 Varieties of Gazelle
Poetry
Naomi Shihab Nye has been writing about being Arab-American, about Jerusalem, about the West Bank, about family all her life. These new and collected poems of the Middle East -- sixty in all -- appear together here for the first time."- Bookshop.org
Rajaa Alsanea- Girls of Riyadh
Adult Fiction
"These modern Saudi women literally and figuratively shed traditional garb as they search for love, fulfillment, and their place somewhere in between Western society and their Islamic home." -Bookshop.org
Riad Sattouf- The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984: A Graphic Memoir
Graphic Memoir
"Brimming with life and dark humor, The Arab of the Future reveals the truth and texture of one eccentric family in an absurd Middle East, and also introduces a master cartoonist in a work destined to stand alongside Maus and
Persepolis."- Bookshop.org
Jokha Alharthi- Celestial Bodies
Adult Fiction
This winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize and national bestseller is "an innovative reimagining of the family saga... Celestial Bodies is itself a treasure house: an intricately calibrated chaos of familial orbits and conjunctions, of the gravitational pull of secrets. -The New York Times Book Review
April Spotlight:
Recommendations from Arvin, co-owner of Townie Books.
Arvin Ramgoolam is the co-owner of Townie Books and Rumors Coffee and Tea House in Crested Butte, CO. He is the 2020 One Story Adina Talve-Goodman Fellow and has recent stories published in The Jellyfish Review and The Normal School. You can find him on Instagram: @towniebooks, Twitter: @ArvinRam1, and in his store ranting about pop culture and amazing short stories.
Thank you, Arvin, for all of your wonderful recommendations!
Dantiel W. Moniz- Milk Blood Heat
Short Stories
"Dantiel Moniz’s collection of stories, Milk Blood Heat, is told with unflinching observation that informs us how we live in our bodies. Strong and flawed characters are revealed in bold language that exposes the human condition. " -Arvin
Te-Ping Chen- Land of Big Numbers
Short Stories
"Te-Ping Ching’s Land of Big Numbers feels like a modern take on issues in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies. Pulsing with technology and information and the ominous presence of China’s government, each story captures the multinational existence of the 21st century through the sieve of love and relationships gone wrong." -Arvin
Deesha Philyaw- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
Short Stories
"The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw is at once guilty pleasure and literary perfection. Each story feels like a carefully crafted world that cares for the reader as much as the characters in these heart rending stories that leave us with a sense of humanity unique to the short story form." -Arvin
Alexander Chee- How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
Nonfiction
"How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is a wonderful introduction to the life and work of Alexander Chee. As an artist and activist, this book bolsters me and everyone I sell it to, to stick to what they are passionate about and keep going despite failure, obstruction, and sadness." -Arvin
Kazim Ali- Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water
Nonfiction
"Kazim Ali’s Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water is a wonderful meditation on place and belonging. Ali returns to the town of Jenpeg and finds himself at the crossroads of community, environmentalism, and the broken promises of the Canadian government. Ali captures the breadth of the story of a place as an outsider, rootless in the new world, and trying to make sense of the cost of progress.
A profound new rendering of the struggle by African-Americans for equality after the Civil War and the violent counter-revolution that resubjugated them, as seen through the prism of the war of images and ideas that have left an enduring racist stain on the American mind."
-Arvin
Craft in the Real World- Matthew Salesses
Nonfiction
"Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses is the long-needed assessment on the state of American letters. Diving deep into MFA programs across the country, Salesses deconstructs the white male centered writing programs that often leave writers of color alienated and dispirited. Salesses argues for a more diverse world of publishing and offers a path to better writing workshops and ultimately, better writing." -Arvin
Laila Lalami- Conditional Citizens
Nonfiction
"Conditional Citizens is an anchor for all Americans, both new and old. A new citizen of the United States myself, I appreciate every passage in Laila Lalami’s book as one of the millions of immigrants in the country that sometimes feel like conditional citizens, a part of the whole but not always accepted despite the lengths we go through to achieve citizenship. As Vonnegut put it, “Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center,” and Lalami has reported from the edges an America that we can still see hope in." -Arvin
Mateo Askaripour- Black Buck
Adult Fiction
"Black Buck is one of the year’s most laser sharp looks at race and corporate culture. When super-smart slacker Darren is pulled into New York’s fastest growing startup, he reimagines himself as Buck, “a black salesman on a mission” in an all white setting. Told from the perspective of the invented Buck, Askaripour’s prose hits in all the places you least expect it." -Arvin
Melissa Rivero- The Affairs of the Falcóns
Adult Fiction
"A wonderful novel about a family navigating the undocumented immigrant experience in New York City. A beautiful story that wraps the love for family with desire from the perspective of those furthest from the American dream." -Arvin
Charles Yu- Interior Chinatown
Adult Fiction
"Interior Chinatown is a metafictional masterpiece realized in script format. A necessary and sharp witted piece of fiction, Interior Chinatown combines our modern love for story and cinema with the prescient need to confront stereotypes and how we digest them through media." -Arvin
Grab a copy here »
LIZA'S HEALING
SELECTIONS
The Healing Reads List is a reading list that goes beyond anti-racism books. This list is all about healing and uplifting within and across communities. The books shared on this list have been sources of healing for us throughout this year. This is a rolling list so stay tuned for new healing reads being added!
George M. Johnson- All Boys Aren't Blue
YA Nonfiction
"An absolute necessity . . . the personal stories and the healing and reconciliation of self in this title are all undeniably honest and relatable--a reminder of our shared imperfection and humanity." -Booklist
Bernardine Evaristo- Girl, Woman, Other
Fiction
"Girl, Woman, Other, the intermingling stories of generations of black British women told in a gloriously rich and readable free verse, will surely be seen as a landmark in British fiction."
-The Guardian
Leslie Marmon Silko- Storyteller
Fiction and Poetry
"A source of healing, inspiration, and community." -Liza
Kiese Laymon- Heavy: An American Memoir
Nonfiction
"Reading this book gave me a new perspective on writing, love, forgiveness, and facing things that are difficult and uncomfortable to acknowledge. Kiese Laymon is a brilliant wordsmith." -Liza
Toi Derricotte- The Black Notebooks: An Interior Journey
Nonfiction
"This is an insightful, courageous, and vibrant book. Derricotte's words linger and touch your soul." -Liza
Key Ballah- Preparing My Daughter For Rain
Poetry
"There is so much forgiveness and freedom in this book."- Liza
Toni Morrison- The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations
Nonfiction
"Morrison is more than the standard bearer of American literature. She is our greatest singer. And this book is perhaps her most important song" -The New York Times
Ibi Zoboi- My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
Middle Grade
"Highlights the importance of imagination and learning to celebrate what it means to be different in a world that demands conformity."- Horn Book
Upile Chisala- Nectar
Poetry
These poems celebrate, encourage, and offer the reader a new perspective on hope and self-love.
Liza Michelle Bevams is a writer and multimedia artist exploring life in the Rocky Mountains. She is currently working on her first novel.
Black Imagination - Curated by Natasha Marin
Anthology
"(D)on't think for one minute that Black Imagination is easy. As you will read here, it is hard-earned and sometimes dangerous, but it's necessary, and radical, to claim and work towards. Listening to my people in this book gave me so much life, and I'm pretty sure, dear reader, you're in for the same."- from the Foreword by Steven Dunn
Yrsa Daley-Ward- bone
Poetry
Yrsa Daley-Ward's collection bone captures desire, vulnerability, and joy beautifully. This book is a place to find solace..
