In the past week, the longlists for the National Book Awards have been rolling in, including for young people’s literature, translated literature, poetry, and nonfiction. As if those weren’t enough to topple your TBR, we also have a ton of great books out this week. There’s a reflection on Indigenous literature and settler narratives, a mind-bending short story collection, a history of Black women fighting for human rights, a cozy sci-fi debut, a horror novel about a “blessed” family, and the companion novel to The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. You’re going to need to make room for another bookshelf or two.
Bad Indians Book Club: Reading at the Edge of a Thousand Worlds by Patty Krawec
The idea behind “Bad Indians Book Club” began as a reading list for a friend and grew into a book club, a podcast, and now, a book. In it, Anishinaabe writer Patty Krawec pushes back against the stories told about Indigenous peoples by white settlers. Krawec centers the the writing of Indigenous people who refuse to fit into dominant narratives. Woven throughout are short stories about Deer Woman, who is finding her place in the world. —Danika Ellis
Good and Evil and Other Stories by Samanta Schweblin
Here’s a must-read short story collection coming out this month. Samanta Schweblin, three-time Booker finalist and author of Fever Dream, is giving us six new short stories that are just the kind of wild, unnerving, mind-bending content you would expect from this author. These chilling stories blend magical realism and psychological horror to explore guilt, grief, family trauma, shattered relationships, and more. —Emily Martin
🎧 Listen to Liberty talk about this title on today’s episode of All The Books!
Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights by Keisha N. Blain
From Ida B. Wells to Marguerite Cartwright, Keisha N. Blain examines the lives of Black women in American history who have fought for human rights. These women understood that the fight for civil and human rights are intertwined. Their intersectional approach to their activism helped pave the way for the contemporary fight for freedom worldwide. —Kendra Winchester
Sunward by William Alexander
A cozy sci-fi debut? Yes, please! It’s about a planetary courier named Tova who mentors baby bots—so cute already—and her race across the solar system to escape an enemy of her family, with her latest charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, along for the ride. —Liberty Hardy
New Books
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Fiend by Alma Katsu
You might know Alma Katsu for her historical horror novels, but this time, the author has set her story in contemporary times. The Berisha family has always been told they are “blessed.” The wealthy family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and while their rivals suffer tragedies, nothing ever seems to touch the Berishas. But what happens with the blessing turns out to be a curse, and the family’s carefully structured system begins to fall apart? —Emily Martin
🎧 Listen to Emily talk about this title on today’s episode of All The Books!
The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes
This is a companion novel to The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School! Cesar has been doing the work recently. He’s slowly begun to come out to his family. He’s been going to therapy and taking his meds. He finally feels ready to try to reunite with Jamal, his ex-boyfriend. Their relationship ended when Cesar was desperately trying to stay in the closet. But despite his best efforts, Cesar begins to doubt himself, hearing that old Catholic guilt creep up. When a manic episode shakes his reputation, he has to make a choice: “is the mortifying vulnerability of being loved by the people he’s hurt the most a risk he’s willing to take?” —Danika Ellis
More New Releases Mentioned Today on All the Books! Podcast:
- 🎧 Listen to Emily talk about Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave by Ally Russell
- 🎧 Listen to Liberty talk about The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
- 🎧 Listen to Liberty talk about Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach
- 🎧 Listen to Emily talk about Who’s All Going (to Die)? by Lisa Springer
- 🎧 Listen to Liberty talk about The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser
- 🎧 Listen to Emily talk about Teenage Girls Can Be Demons by Hailey Piper
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases.
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