Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack.
Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
And just like that, July is just about over. Of course, there was a lot that happened outside the world of books, but the world of publishing still had its moments. There was this old library that went up for sale, sneak peaks at Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, and some juicy indie bookstore stats. We even shared the books we thought were the best of the year so far.
As we close out the month, it’s a perfect time to look back on the best of the book club-friendly books this month has given us. There’s a look at queer life in modern Nigeria, a genre-blending look at two families in two timelines, and a variety of witchiness (courtesy of Black conjure women and Silvia Moreno-Garcia).
Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde
The author of Vagabonds! is back with an exploration of queer life in Nigeria today. It follows a rotating cast of dozens of queer people in Lagos as they navigate romantic, familial, friend, and sexual relationships. They find love even while dealing with bigotry. Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr!, says: “I can’t believe how alive Eloghosa Osunde’s Necessary Fiction is, how supersaturated and smart… Hustle, heart, privacy, sex, yearning so strong it buckles you—it’s all here. The ink practically hovers off the page.” —Danika Ellis
Archive of Unknown Universes: An Alternate History Timeline Saga Through Love, War, and Displacement in the Salvadoran Civil War by Ruben Reyes Jr.
Ruben Reyes Jr. is the author of the short story collection There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven. This is his debut novel about two families in two timelines—Cambridge in 2018 and Havana in 1978—of the Salvadoran civil war. This is a genre-blender exploring displacement and loss, but also belonging and love, and one that asks big questions about what could have been. —Vanessa Diaz
Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon
In the description of this book, it is being compared to Murderbot, Firefly, Thelma & Louise, Ex Machina, and This is How You Lose the Time War. Those are some big shoes, and I’m already sold! But if you need to know more, it’s a sapphic sci-fi adventure about a space treasure hunter named Wylla who finds a piece of tech that changes her life. It’s an AI mask, HAWK, and the consciousness of the woman who wore it is somehow still alive inside it. The truth behind how this could have happened sends Wylla and HAWK across the stars in search of answers. —Liberty Hardy
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest horror novel is a witchy tale exploring the story of women from three different areas who get caught up in witchcraft. Minerva is a graduate student, studying the history of horror. When she discovers that horror author Beatrice Tremblay’s most famous novel was inspired by a true story, Minerva becomes obsessed with finding out the truth behind the manuscript. Decades earlier, when Tremblay attended the same university as Minerva, a girl went missing under mysterious circumstances. —Emily Martin
The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic by Lindsey Stewart
Feminist philosopher Lindsey Stewart tells the story of the Black conjure woman in America, and it is a long one. Since the time of slavery, Black conjure women have used their skill and knowledge as Mammies, Voodoo Queens, and even Blues Women during Reconstruction. They intertwined ancestral magic with ingredients they could source locally in order to support themselves and their communities, often in secret. Their influence, though not talked about, is undeniable—it’s because of them that we have things like Vicks VapoRub, the 2023’s The Little Mermaid, and even American blue jeans.
Suggestion Section
Book Club Tings:
A printable list of book club-friendly questions
More To Read
Behind the Scenes of Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN
The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists
Goods for Cozy Fantasy Readers
**Below is a list of book club-friendly books out this week for All Access members**
Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack.
Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
An Oral History of Atlantis: Stories by Ed Park
These short stories shine a light on just how absurd real life is. A college student’s reality starts to blur after he plays a role in a friend’s movie; a man reckons with his life through the passwords he can’t seem to remember; and more.
Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
On the south side of Chicago, Savvy Summers is running a soul food café when the 75-year-old neighborhood f-boi drops dead, and suddenly her bestselling sweet potato pie is at the center of a homicide investigation.
A Twist of Fate by Se-Ah Jang, Translated by S. L. Park
Jae-young is a South Korean woman who boards a train to start her crappy life over after kinda sorta murdering her abusive boyfriend. On the train, she meets a young mother on the way to in-laws she’s never met. The young mother disappears after leaving a note on her infant son for the other woman to take him to a remote province. This offers Jae-young a chance at a new beginning, but both women have something to hide.
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