The first week of September, at a school board meeting in Texas, a woman lobbied fiercely to get my one of my novels, Lawn Boy (2017), banned from libraries for content relating to my gay protagonist, and his gay life experiences. My protagonist, Mike, has a sexual experience at a youth group meeting at the age of …
You deserve all the love, romance readers! Independent bookstores around the country (and beyond!) celebrate romance books and romance readers with the third Bookstore Romance Day on Saturday, August 21, 2021. Visit participating stores to browse their romance selections. Register for virtual events on both Saturday and Sunday (just note: the site has East coast …
A sweeping coming of age story dominated by strong women and the men in their lives. As the favored grandchild of a wealthy Ugandan clan in the 1970s-1980s, Kirabo is obsessed with the mother she’s never known. Kirabo is surrounded by the intense, often overwhelming love of her aunt and grandmothers who will stop at …
A delightful expose’ of the famous Barbizon Hotel for Women in NY City, the place where ambitious young women could live safely and in style while beginning their careers. Famous residents included the Unsinkable Molly Brown, Grace Kelly, Joan Didion, Sylvia Plath, Barbara Chase-Riboud, and many others. The women arrived with high hopes and great …
Even as a diehard Le Guin fan, I was stunned by how much I loved this work of speculative fiction. As the main character visits fifteen alternate universes in order to entertain herself during an airport layover, Le Guin’s ability to breeze through an alternate “plane” or universe provides the magic of Changing Planes. The …
From a recent newsletter from Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island, WA: What experienced bookseller hasn’t heard this one: “I can’t remember the author or the title, but the cover is blue!” We rarely astonish our customers (or ourselves) by solving a mystery this difficult, but this week was our moment in the sun. The customer …
“You cannot drink poetry,” Diaz writes. In this second collection of her poems, she celebrates and longs for the physical body of a lover as well as the body of the earth—its water in particular. These are ecological, culturally rich, incredibly human poems, binding us to our planet with raw and intricate lyricism. –Carrie, Eagle …
Our American mythology is that this is a land of unlimited opportunity, and that hard work, resourcefulness, and perhaps a bit of luck, will bring unlimited rewards. And then we meet Elsa, the indomitable heroine of this truly American story, and we are completely disavowed of this quaint notion. As if the Great Depression were …
A bestseller in Europe, this elegant, thoughtful novel will restore your faith in humanity. In her small French village, Violette is the cemetery keeper who soothes the mourners and keeps their secrets. Abandoned by a missing husband, she builds a loyal surrogate family from others who work in the cemetery. When a stranger disturbs her …
Caste is an essential read, a lucid, no-holds-barred examination of race, our nation’s history, and the rigid caste system that has been such a destructive force to individuals, communities, and our democracy. Most people think of caste as a foreign system found in places like India. But Wilkerson, through her research, insight, and immersion, argues …
