海角大神

Discover your next favorite book, whether you鈥檙e in the mood for insightful short stories about the immigrant experience, a startling聽 fantasy novel about survival, or a deep exploration of a little-known aspect of Native American history.聽

1.听贬辞谤蝉别听by Geraldine Brooks

鈥淗orse鈥� is not just about a racehorse but about race. This heart-pounding novel about a famous antebellum champion thoroughbred named Lexington and his talented, enslaved trainer circles two tracks, one historical, one contemporary, to highlight the ongoing scourge of racism in America.

2.聽A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times聽by Meron Hadero

Displacement haunts Meron Hadero鈥檚 superb debut short story collection. Hadero gorgeously illuminates quotidian moments to create unforgettable characters: a refugee learning English, a preteen confronting racism, and two friends whose lives can be tracked through the pages of 鈥淭he Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook.鈥澛�

3.聽Last Summer on State Street聽by Toya Wolfe

Fe Fe Stevens鈥� Chicago neighborhood is under attack. As the housing authority tears down the high-rises the sixth grader and her friends call home, other threats edge closer 鈥� gang violence, drugs, hostile police. 鈥淜now what you want to do, so no one else ends up deciding,鈥� urges a neighbor. Resilient and open-hearted, Fe Fe finds her way in Toya Wolfe鈥檚 moving debut.

4.聽Iona Iverson鈥檚 Rules for Commuting聽by Clare Pooley

鈥淣ever talk to strangers on the train.鈥� It鈥檚 one of Iona Iverson鈥檚 鈥渞ules for commuting鈥� 鈥� advice she promptly ignores in Clare Pooley鈥檚 buoyant novel. Flamboyant former 鈥淚t Girl鈥� Iona, overlooked and belittled at her London-based magazine job, gets drawn into an incident on the 8:05 to Waterloo. As the commuters begin to interact, community forms and stereotypes slide away.

5.聽The Wall聽by Marlen Haushofer聽

First published in 1962, 鈥淭he Wall鈥� offers a gripping survival story well tuned to today. A 40-something woman visiting a hunting lodge in the forest discovers she鈥檚 cut off from the world by an invisible, impenetrable wall. As she scrambles to secure food and fuel, her only companions 鈥� a dog, a cow, and a cat 鈥� teach and sustain her in this remarkable tale of perseverance.

6.聽The Candid Life of Meena Dave聽by Namrata Patel

When Meena, a photographer, inherits an apartment in Boston, her solitary life is upended. Cryptic notes, friendly Indian 鈥渁unties,鈥� and a handsome neighbor all inspire her to search for answers to secrets from her past. This charming story wraps history and culture in a message of lives renewed.

7.聽The Angel of Rome聽by Jess Walter

Reading Jess Walter鈥檚 second collection of short stories, one is shepherded through sometimes gritty terrain, but with the constant assurance of finding light and unexpected laughs. He mines gold from the profound perspectives of his unique characters.聽

8.聽A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman聽by Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Lindy Elkins-Tanton, a planetary scientist, tells how she overcame obstacles to lead the NASA mission that will send a rocket to explore the massive asteroid Psyche. Her beautiful and inspiring memoir illuminates the challenges faced by women in science.

9.聽Meet Me by the Fountain聽by Alexandra Lange

Architecture critic Alexandra Lange鈥檚 fascinating cultural history explores the shopping mall, beginning with its birth in postwar America. She captures the mall鈥檚 role in providing freedom to some while excluding others, and offers ideas for how to re-imagine the empty shopping centers that now dot the suburban landscape.

10.聽We Refuse To Forget聽by Caleb Gayle

Caleb Gayle鈥檚 eye-opening account centers on Black members of the Creek tribe, who were long considered fully Creek but whose tribal membership was revoked in 1979. In tracing their history up to current legal efforts by descendants to be reinstated in the tribe, Gayle complicates our easy assumptions about American identity.