Amanda Litman
On maternity leave! || Co-founder: @runforsomething & @rfscivics || Writer: https://t.co/SytqbiLv3J || (She/her.)
90+ Book Recommendations by Amanda Litman
The Ones We've Been Waiting For
Charlotte Alter
There are now 26 millennials in congress - a fivefold increase gained in the last midterms. They're governing over Midwestern cities and college towns, sitting on city councils and running for state legislatures. Some of them have been in office for a few years; one of them is running for president. In The Ones We've been Waiting For, TIME correspondent Charlotte Alter defines the class of young leaders who are remaking the nation, and what America will look like when they're in charge.@CharlotteAlter I’ll link it so you don’t have to. 🤝 https://t.co/qaQ5pJWlaL
The Heart Principle
Helen Hoang
USA Today bestselling author Helen Hoang returns with a witty and sizzling new romance that shows how wrong you can be about someone...and how right they can be for you. To most people, Quan Diep is nothing but a surly-looking, underachieving playboy. The problem is he's not any of those things. And now that he's the CEO of an up-and-coming retail business, he's suddenly a "catch," and the rich girls who never used to pay any attention to him are looking at him in a new way--especially Camilla, the girl who brushed him off many years ago. Anna Sun dislikes Quan Diep almost as much as germy bathroom door handles. Or so she tells herself. She will never admit that she has a secret crush on him, especially because he only has eyes for her charismatic and newly engaged younger sister Camilla. Over the years, Anna has worked hard to overcome her OCD, but she'll still need to find a way to bury her anxieties and seduce Quan so he doesn't ruin her sister's engagement, and with it, a crucial real estate development deal. Slowly, Anna breaks down Quan's dangerous and careless exterior while peeling off her own tough, protective shell. But when Quan discovers Anna's true intentions, he's forced to confront his own hurtful past and learn to forgive, while Anna must face her greatest challenge: truly opening herself up to love.As an aside, I'm not really nervous doing press anymore but knowing I had to be ready to rec 3 books at the end of this one made me so stressed!! I went with The Heart Principle by @HHoangWrites, Olga Dies Dreaming by @XochitltheG & Let's Get Physical by @DFriedmanWrites.
Olga Dies Dreaming
Xochitl Gonzalez
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Olga, the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers, must confront the effects of long-held family secrets when she falls in love with Matteo, while other family members must weather their own storms.As an aside, I'm not really nervous doing press anymore but knowing I had to be ready to rec 3 books at the end of this one made me so stressed!! I went with The Heart Principle by @HHoangWrites, Olga Dies Dreaming by @XochitltheG & Let's Get Physical by @DFriedmanWrites.
Let's Get Physical
Danielle Friedman
A captivating blend of reportage and personal narrative that explores the untold history of women’s exercise culture--from jogging and Jazzercise to Jane Fonda--and how women have parlayed physical strength into other forms of power. For American women today, working out is as accepted as it is expected, fueling a multibillion-dollar fitness industrial complex. But it wasn’t always this way. For much of the twentieth century, sweating was considered unladylike and girls grew up believing physical exertion would cause their uterus to literally fall out. It was only in the sixties that, thanks to a few forward-thinking fitness pioneers, women began to move en masse. In Let's Get Physical, journalist Danielle Friedman reveals the fascinating hidden history of contemporary women’s fitness culture, chronicling in vivid, cinematic prose how exercise evolved from a beauty tool pitched almost exclusively as a way to “reduce” into one millions have harnessed as a path to mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Let’s Get Physical reclaims these forgotten origin stories—and shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who led the way. Each chapter uncovers the birth of a fitness movement that laid the foundation for working out today: the radical post-war pitch for women to break a sweat in their living rooms, the invention of barre in the “Swinging Sixties,” the promise of jogging as liberation in the seventies, the meteoric rise of aerobics and weight-training in the eighties, the explosion of yoga in the nineties, and the ongoing push for a more socially inclusive fitness culture—one that celebrates every body. Ultimately, it tells the story of how women discovered the joy of physical strength and competence—and how, by moving together to transform fitness from a privilege into a right, we can create a more powerful sisterhood.As an aside, I'm not really nervous doing press anymore but knowing I had to be ready to rec 3 books at the end of this one made me so stressed!! I went with The Heart Principle by @HHoangWrites, Olga Dies Dreaming by @XochitltheG & Let's Get Physical by @DFriedmanWrites.
Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe
I’m in the middle of @praddenkeefe’s absolutely phenomenal book on the Sackler family & this one sentence anecdote about a robocall on 9/11 stopped me in my tracks. What a monstrous enterprise. https://t.co/pzj6QSBuh1
Work Won't Love You Back
Sarah Jaffe
A deeply-reported examination of why "doing what you love" is a recipe for exploitation, creating a new tyranny of work in which we cheerily acquiesce to doing jobs that take over our lives. You're told that if you "do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Whether it's working for "exposure" and "experience," or enduring poor treatment in the name of "being part of the family," all employees are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do what we love. In Work Won't Love You Back, Sarah Jaffe, a preeminent voice on labor, inequality, and social movements, examines this "labor of love" myth -- the idea that certain work is not really work, and therefore should be done out of passion instead of pay. Told through the lives and experiences of workers in various industries -- from the unpaid intern, to the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit worker and even the professional athlete -- Jaffe reveals how all of us have been tricked into buying into a new tyranny of work. As Jaffe argues, understanding the trap of the labor of love will empower us to work less and demand what our work is worth. And once freed from those binds, we can finally figure out what actually gives us joy, pleasure, and satisfaction.The whole book is good but woof the chapter about non-profit labor in @sarahljaffe’s new book should be mandatory reading for every activist/political staffer who’s feeling burnt out. 👀 https://t.co/u9iHBO0A6n
Run to Win
Stephanie Schriock
From the president of Emily's List, a playbook for women changing the world in politics, business, or any arena For the past thirty-five years Emily's List has helped the campaigns of thousands of pro-choice Democratic women, but the hardest part has always been convincing more women to run. Then Donald Trump was elected, and something shifted into place. American women who were furious and frustrated were looking for a way to channel their outrage into action, united in proclaiming, "If that guy can get elected, why not me?" The day after the 2016 election, dozens of women searched out an old sign-up link buried on the Emily's List website. By Thanksgiving, those dozens had grown to a few thousand. And that was only the beginning. By the end of 2018, there were nearly fifty thousand women signed up to run for office, with scores more signing up each day. Run to Win is for all women who are looking to lead. Organized around the steps that Emily's List coaches its candidates through (from deciding to run through celebrating victory), this book is full of essential lessons for any woman trying to succeed in a male-dominated field. Their arena is politics but their message is universal. And Stephanie Schriock is the most qualified person to share these lessons. Not only is she a powerful figure in politics but she's also a woman who commands respect for her astounding success as president of Emily's List and a longtime Democratic operative. Her message is uplifting and actionable, her voice is that of your best girlfriend walking you through what you need to consider as you make your plan, and her experience coaching the biggest female candidates in recent elections (including all of the female 2020 Democratic presidential candidates) makes her the de facto authority on the strategies women can employ to run, fight, and win, whatever their field or goal.Great news: @Schriock1 & @creynoldsnc’s fantastic new book is out today. Every woman looking to run for office (or run a business, or run anything else) should pick it up. https://t.co/iDW1VCGL47 https://t.co/AP86UVjqfU
Unrigged
David Daley
If you need a hopeful read about the future of democracy, @davedaley3's *fantastic* book, "Unrigged," is out in paperback. If you missed it when it came out in March (which was somehow 10 months ago!?!? and also is still happening?) get this book now. https://t.co/BuhFsSbkhL
Herding Donkeys
Ari Berman
I’m reading @AriBerman’s great book, “Herding Donkeys,” because I was a bit too young to follow the ins-and-outs of this stuff at the time. Two immediate observations: (1) @GovHowardDean got it. (2) We are fighting the same fights we had 15+ years ago. There are no new ideas. https://t.co/h5BbiVjumR
Dark Money
Jane Mayer
Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? --Publisher.B/c decades ago GOP $$ realized it was good for biz to win - they treat politics as a business investment. D’s give b/c it’s good for humanity, but that generally requires either inspiration or fear. Book recs: Dark Money by Jane Mayer & All Politics Is Local by Meaghan Winter. https://t.co/vF0aBHseEP
All Politics Is Local
Meaghan Winter
Why Democrats have largely ceded control of local and state governments to the GOP--and why that is turning out to be a huge problem for democracy After the 2016 election, the Republican Party seized control not just of the White House and Congress but of many state governments. To be precise, the GOP seized control of both legislative chambers in 32 states and governor offices in 33 states-a majority the party hadn't held since 1928. What happened? In In the Red, journalist Meaghan Winter argues that over the last couple decades, the Democratic Party has made a very risky strategic choice to abandon state and local races in order to win federal races, while the GOP poured money into winning state governor seats and state congresses. For Republicans, it paid off. For Democrats--and the American public--the fallout has been catastrophic. Abortion access is more restricted than it has been in decades; gun control legislation has become even harder to pass; and ID laws are undermining voting rights. In states across the country, activists on the ground are fighting massive Republican power alone, liberal and progressive candidates are running campaigns with no support, and American citizens are suffering. If the Democratic Party establishment changes its strategy--and soon--there is hope. Meaghan Winter's book reminds us of the importance of robust local politics and the role that states can play in checking presidential power.B/c decades ago GOP $$ realized it was good for biz to win - they treat politics as a business investment. D’s give b/c it’s good for humanity, but that generally requires either inspiration or fear. Book recs: Dark Money by Jane Mayer & All Politics Is Local by Meaghan Winter. https://t.co/vF0aBHseEP
The Purpose of Power
Alicia Garza
The essential guide to organizing the social movements that will transform our communities in the twenty-first century, from one of the founders of Black Lives Matter In 2014, Alicia Garza penned a letter via Facebook. It was a love letter of just five short sentences, written in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, for the murder of Trayvon Martin, Garza wrote: Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter. Black lives matter. It was a moment that created a movement--a call to action, an invitation, a declaration. Coupled with the speed and networking capacities of social media, #blacklivesmatter was the hashtag heard round the world. Why? Because it captured the hearts and minds of millions. A deceptively simple, lovingly complex statement that spoke to the tension between the promise of America and her current realities, calling out precisely where America has fallen short: black lives mattering. And that tension, verbalized--viralized--is this generation of protestors' mobilizing call. And mobilize they did. Today, Black Lives Matter has over forty chapters in four countries. In 2015 alone, BLM helped pass fifty new laws in twenty-six states across America concerning criminal justice reform. But hashtags don't make movements, people do. Black organizing has always offered important lessons for how to rise and resist, from the underground railroad, to the civil rights era, to today. This is the story behind the most successful social movement of our generation, told by one of the founders and central members. Drawing from a twenty-four-year legacy of organizing, Garza shares her lessons and experiences, heartbreaks and successes--the sole authority of her activism. This book is for everyone who is curious or skeptical about Black Lives Matter, either as an idea or as a social movement; for folks who are dismayed by the state of this country and looking for a way forward; and for people who believe in a world that values us all. Most of all, this is a book for the person who wants to know what history can tell us about what is possible for our collective future.In between volunteer shifts and bugging your friends to vote (or to keep you occupied from 1-3am when sleep is out of the question), I have some book recommendations! https://t.co/NloM0UWcUX
Simmer Down
Sarah Smith
In this finger-licking good rom-com, two is the perfect number of cooks in the kitchen. Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn't be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn't expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten--or the competition to be so smoking hot. But Tiva's Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn't care how delectable the British food truck owner is--he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He's stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks. The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum...a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?In between volunteer shifts and bugging your friends to vote (or to keep you occupied from 1-3am when sleep is out of the question), I have some book recommendations! https://t.co/NloM0UWcUX
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V. E. Schwab
In the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s genre-defying tour de force. A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget. France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.In between volunteer shifts and bugging your friends to vote (or to keep you occupied from 1-3am when sleep is out of the question), I have some book recommendations! https://t.co/NloM0UWcUX
Billion Dollar Loser
Reeves Wiedeman
This inside story of the rise and fall of WeWork reveals how the excesses of its founder shaped a corporate culture unlike any other. Christened a potential savior of Silicon Valley's startup culture, Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork, his office share company disrupting the commercial real estate market, public, cash out on the company's 47 billion dollar valuation, and break the string of major startups unable to deliver to shareholders. But as employees knew, and investors soon found out, WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor, that in fact it was a transformational technology company. Veteran journalist Reeves Weideman dives deep into WeWork and it CEO's astronomical rise, from the marijuana and tequila-filled board rooms to cult-like company summer camps and consciousness-raising with Anthony Kiedis. Billion Dollar Loser is a character-driven business narrative that captures, through the fascinating psyche of a billionaire founder and his wife and co-founder, the slippery state of global capitalism.In between volunteer shifts and bugging your friends to vote (or to keep you occupied from 1-3am when sleep is out of the question), I have some book recommendations! https://t.co/NloM0UWcUX
Can't Even
Anne Helen Petersen
An incendiary examination of burnout in millennials--the cultural shifts that got us here, the pressures that sustain it, and the need for drastic change Do you feel like your life is an endless to-do list? Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram because you're too exhausted to pick up a book? Are you mired in debt, or feel like you work all the time, or feel pressure to take whatever gives you joy and turn it into a monetizable hustle? Welcome to burnout culture. While burnout may seem like the default setting for the modern era, in Can't Even, BuzzFeed culture writer and former academic Anne Helen Petersen argues that burnout is a definitional condition for the millennial generation, born out of distrust in the institutions that have failed us, the unrealistic expectations of the modern workplace, and a sharp uptick in anxiety and hopelessness exacerbated by the constant pressure to "perform" our lives online. The genesis for the book is Petersen's viral BuzzFeed article on the topic, which has amassed over eight million reads since its publication in January 2019. Can't Even goes beyond the original article, as Petersen examines how millennials have arrived at this point of burnout (think: unchecked capitalism and changing labor laws) and examines the phenomenon through a variety of lenses--including how burnout affects the way we work, parent, and socialize--describing its resonance in alarming familiarity. Utilizing a combination of sociohistorical framework, original interviews, and detailed analysis, Can't Even offers a galvanizing, intimate, and ultimately redemptive look at the lives of this much-maligned generation, and will be required reading for both millennials and the parents and employers trying to understand them.Unsurprisingly, @annehelen’s book has throughly fucked me up in a good way. Any person who’s ever (intentionally or not) competed in a stay-at-work Olympics or felt self-satisfied & also terrible for being ~so busy~ needs to read it. https://t.co/GoISJ47oXb
The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
Elissa R Sloan
In vein of Daisy Jones & The Six and Everything I Never Told You, this debut novel probes the dark side of fame after a former pop star ends her own life. Cassidy Holmes isn't just a celebrity. She is "Sassy Gloss," the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Before Britney stunned everyone with "Toxic," before Christina went dirrty, Gloss was the pop act that everyone idolized. Fans couldn't get enough of them, their music, and the drama that followed them like moths to a flame--until the group's sudden implosion in 2002. And at the center of it all was Sassy Cassy, the Texan with a signature smirk that had everyone falling for her. But now she's dead. Suicide. The world is reeling from this unexpected news, but no one is more shocked than the three remaining bandmates. Fifteen years ago, Rose, Merry, and Yumi had been the closest to Cassidy, and this loss is hitting them hard. Before the group split, they each had a special bond with Cassidy--truths they told, secrets they shared. After years apart, each is wondering: what could they have done? Told in multiple perspectives--including Cassidy herself--and different timelines, this is a behind-the-scenes look into the rise and fall of a pop icon, and a penetrating examination of the dark side of celebrity and the industry that profits from it.Book recs for the weekend: Two books I could actually finish this week, given how fried my attention span is. https://t.co/3vIEKMFZo1
The Roommate
Rosie Danan
Clara Wheaton is suffering the plight of the average millennial woman. She's overeducated, underemployed, and single. When her childhood crush invites her to move into his spare bedroom, the offer sounds irresistible but unfortunately, it's too good to be true. After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with charming, handsome stranger Josh. He seems to perfect for her liking, until she googles him, and the internet reveals his profession. Will living with him turn into a scandal? Or will pooling their resources help them - and others - get lucky for a change.Book recs for the weekend: Two books I could actually finish this week, given how fried my attention span is. https://t.co/3vIEKMFZo1
Caste
Isabel Wilkerson
The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions. "[Caste] should be at the top of every American's reading list."--Chicago Tribune "As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not." In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people--including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball's Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others--she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.If you need reading recs for the long weekend, a few suggestions for books about America. https://t.co/KfC0zZTyuk https://t.co/GcM5BNcmI0
American Royals
Katharine McGee
In an alternate America, princesses Beatrice and Samantha Washington and the two girls wooing their brother, Prince Jefferson, become embroiled in high drama in the most glorious court in the world.If you need reading recs for the long weekend, a few suggestions for books about America. https://t.co/KfC0zZTyuk https://t.co/GcM5BNcmI0
American Royals II
Katharine McGee
In an alternate America, tensions are high as Beatrice prepares to become the country's first queen, while Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson struggle to decide what their futures might hold.If you need reading recs for the long weekend, a few suggestions for books about America. https://t.co/KfC0zZTyuk https://t.co/GcM5BNcmI0
Crooked Hallelujah
Kelli Jo Ford
The remarkable debut from Plimpton Prize Winner Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah follows four generations of Cherokee women across four decadesIf you need reading recs for the long weekend, a few suggestions for books about America. https://t.co/KfC0zZTyuk https://t.co/GcM5BNcmI0
The Undocumented Americans
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
A BARACK OBAMA FAVOURITE BOOK OF 2020 A New York Times best book of 2020 One of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard reveals the hidden lives of her fellow undocumented Americans. Right after the election of 2016, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio realized the story she'd tried to steer clear of was the only one she wanted to tell. So she wrote her immigration lawyer's phone number on her hand and embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants - and to find the hidden key to her own. In her incandescent, relentlessly probing voice, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio combines sensitive reporting and powerful personal narratives to bring to light remarkable stories of resilience, madness, and death. She finds the singular, effervescent characters across the nation often reduced in the media to political pawns or nameless laborers. The stories she tells are not deferential or naively inspirational but show the love, magic, heartbreak, insanity, and vulgarity that infuse the day-to-day lives of her subjects. And through it all we see the author grappling with the biggest questions of love, duty, family, and survival. Shortlisted for a National Book Award, a National Book Critics' Circle Award and an L.A. Times Book PrizeIf you need reading recs for the long weekend, a few suggestions for books about America. https://t.co/KfC0zZTyuk https://t.co/GcM5BNcmI0
Clap When You Land
Elizabeth Acevedo
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people... In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance -- and Papi's secrets -- the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they've lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.@lauraolin Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is a quick novel in verse that you will love/will make you cry. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier is a short fast read & very darkly funny. A Burning by Megha Majumdar is both short and one of the best books of 2020.
Pizza Girl
Jean Kyoung Frazier
In the tradition of audacious and wryly funny novels like The Idiot and Convenience Store Woman comes the wildly original coming-of-age story of a pregnant pizza delivery girl who becomes obsessed with one of her customers. Eighteen years old, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl in suburban Los Angeles, our charmingly dysfunctional heroine is deeply lost and in complete denial about it all. She's grieving the death of her father (whom she has more in common with than she'd like to admit), avoiding her supportive mom and loving boyfriend, and flagrantly ignoring her future. Her world is further upended when she becomes obsessed with Jenny, a stay-at-home mother new to the neighborhood, who comes to depend on weekly deliveries of pickled-covered pizzas for her son's happiness. As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other toward middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur in strange, complicated, and ultimately heartbreaking ways. Bold, tender, propulsive, and unexpected in countless ways, Jean Kyoung Frazier's Pizza Girl is a moving and funny portrait of a flawed, unforgettable young woman as she tries to find her place in the world.@lauraolin Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is a quick novel in verse that you will love/will make you cry. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier is a short fast read & very darkly funny. A Burning by Megha Majumdar is both short and one of the best books of 2020.
A Burning
Megha Majumdar
"After a fiery attack on a train leaves 104 people dead, the fates of three people become inextricably entangled. Jivan, a bright, striving woman from the slums looking for a way out of poverty, is wrongly accused of planning the attack because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir, a slippery gym teacher from Jivan's former high school, has hitched his aspirations to a rising right wing party, and his own ascent becomes increasingly linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely, a spirited, impoverished, relentlessly optimistic hjira, who harbors dreams of becoming a Bollywood star, can provide the alibi that would set Jivan free--but her appearance in court will have unexpected consequences that will change the course of all of their lives. A novel about fate, power, opportunity, and class; about innocence and guilt, betrayal and love, and the corrosive media cycle that manufactures falsehoods masquerading as truths--A Burning is a debut novel of exceptional power and urgency, haunting and beautiful, brutal, vibrant, impossible to forget"--@lauraolin Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is a quick novel in verse that you will love/will make you cry. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier is a short fast read & very darkly funny. A Burning by Megha Majumdar is both short and one of the best books of 2020.
Why Fish Don't Exist
Lulu Miller
Nineteenth-century scientist David Starr Jordan built one of the most important fish specimen collections ever seen, until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake shattered his life's work.@teddygoff The real answer is the entire Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn but since I don’t think I can convince you to try regency romance novels 👀... Read any book by Mary HK Choi or Samantha Irby, and consider Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller.
Represent
June Diane Raphael
“Over the last few years we’ve seen a remarkable surge of women running for office, and even better, winning. Running takes courage, passion, and commitment, but it also takes books like this. June and Kate have created a wonderful resource for women as they think about taking the leap.”—Hillary Rodham Clinton Turn “can I do this?” into “yes, I can!” Join the growing wave of women leaders with Represent, an energetic, interactive, and inspiring step-by-step guide showing how to run for the approximately 500,000 elected offices in the US. Written with humor and honesty by writer, comedian, actress, and activist June Diane Raphael and Kate Black, former chief of staff at EMILY’s list, Represent is structured around a 21-point document called “I’m Running for Office: The Checklist.” Doubling as a workbook, Represent covers it all, from the nuts and bolts of where to run, fundraising, and filing deadlines, to issues like balancing family and campaigning, managing social media and how running for office can work in your real life. With infographics, profiles of women politicians, and wisdom and advice from women in office, this is a must-own for any woman thinking of joining the pink wave.@gaby__goldstein @KathTX @AmandaRenteria I’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest my book! A thorough guide on how to campaign and/or get involved in politics: https://t.co/CQDzDpYQJw This one by @KateBlackDC & @msjunediane is also great: https://t.co/vBrsCDS94e
Run for Something
Amanda Litman
From the email marketing director of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the co-founder of Run for Something comes an essential and inspiring guide that encourages and educates young progressives to run for local office, complete with contributions from elected officials and political operatives. You’ve been depressed since the night of November 8, 2016. You wore black to work the next morning. You berated yourself for your complacency during the Obama years. You ranted on Twitter. You deleted Twitter. You sent emails to your friends saying, “How can we get more involved?” You listened to Pod Save America. You knitted a pussyhat. You showed up to the Women’s March on Washington. You protested Donald Trump’s executive orders. You called your congressman. You called other people’s congressmen. You set up monthly donations to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. You reactivated Twitter (begrudgingly). Here’s what you do next: Run for something. To be specific: Run for local office and become the change you want to see in the world. Forget about Congress. Forget about the Senate. Focus on the offices that get the real sh*t done: state legislatures, city councils, school boards, and mayors. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a white man over sixty with an Ivy League law degree. (In fact, it’s better if you’re not!) It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the first thing about running for office, or never even imagined you would. That’s what this book is for. Amanda Litman, experienced in hard-fought state and national election campaigns, is here to give you guidance as well as wisdom and insight from elected officials and political operatives she interviewed for this book. There are half a million elected officials in the United States. Why can’t you be one of them?@gaby__goldstein @KathTX @AmandaRenteria I’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest my book! A thorough guide on how to campaign and/or get involved in politics: https://t.co/CQDzDpYQJw This one by @KateBlackDC & @msjunediane is also great: https://t.co/vBrsCDS94e
The Influence of Soros
Emily Tamkin
"The George Soros conspiracy is a frequent right-wing talking point: he pays protesters and influences elections. But the left isn't standing up to defend the billionaire who supports leftist causes. Reporter Emily Tamkin explores the genesis of Soros's influence and the truth of the conspiracies that surround him"--Also: I read @emilyctamkin's new book on Soros over the weekend -- if you're interested in the tension inherent to very wealthy people funding social justice work (and/or the ways anti-Semitism shapes debate around Soros specifically), it's worth reading. https://t.co/XtkKSYDQWT
One to Watch
Kate Stayman-London
"Bea Schumacher is a leading fashion blogger, known for her warm, honest body-positive message. But after an unexpected heartbreak, Bea's confidence is shaken and she feels hopelessly alone. In the midst of her sadness (and some drunken internet rantings), she receives a surprising proposition: Would Bea like to be the first plus-size woman to star in the next season of reality dating competition sensation Main Squeeze? Against her better judgment, she accepts. The producers promise it will be the most diverse cast yet and a great opportunity to expand her brand. And while she knows she'll never find love, she might find distraction from her broken heart and inspire other plus-sized women to believe that they have a right to the spotlight too. But as the cameras roll, she is forced to face down judgement, ridicule, and expectations amidst over-the-top dates and international travel with a line-up of men who feel like fantasies (a sexy French chef, a sardonic professor, a playful younger man) as she ultimately discovers the truth behind the fairytale, and the reality of falling in love. In this witty, heartfelt debut, Kate Stayman-London shines a light on how the complex standards of female beauty affect how we define ourselves and who deserves to be seen...and loved"--Kate’s book will make you feel good, even now, when everything is so fucking terrible. It’s worth every penny.
An Untamed State
Roxane Gay
Her perfect life is shattered when Mireille is kidnapped by armed men in front of her father's estate in Haiti and she must endure the horrors and torments of her captors while her father inexplicably resists paying for her ransom."An Untamed State" by Roxane Gay - maybe my favorite thing she's ever written -- about Mireille, a Haitian woman who gets kidnapped. I held my breath the entire book. https://t.co/NzujOE2KH9
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Talia Hibbert
Talia Hibbert, one of contemporary romance’s brightest new stars, delivers a witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who’s tired of being “boring” and recruits her mysterious, sexy neighbor to help her get a life—perfect for fans of Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang. Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s determined to spice up her life and finally fit in with her glamorous family. Her “Get a Life” list has six directives, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her family’s mansion. The next items? Enjoy a drunken night out. Ride a motorcycle. Go camping. Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex. Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage. And... do something bad. But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job. Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit. But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…"Get a Life, Chloe Brown" by Talia Hibbert - After a near-death experience, Chloe is a chronically ill woman trying to knock things off her bucket list -- which involves a ~steamy~ romance with her handyman. This book is very spicy and very fun. https://t.co/blPd6OFV0V
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.
Samantha Irby
With heartfelt candor and her usual side-splitting bite, humorist, essayist, and blogger at bitchesgottaeat.com Samantha Irby captures powerful emotional truths while chronicling the disaster that has been her life. An ill-fated pilgrimage and romantic vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes, awkward sexual encounters, a Bachelorette application gone awry, and more-- sometimes you just have to laugh, even when your life is a dumpster fire.You literally can't go wrong with any of the three books of essays by Samantha Irby. Funny, beautiful, lots of pooping but also loving tenderness & vulnerability. https://t.co/KTGych01yX
Meaty
Samantha Irby
You literally can't go wrong with any of the three books of essays by Samantha Irby. Funny, beautiful, lots of pooping but also loving tenderness & vulnerability. https://t.co/KTGych01yX
Wow, No Thank You.
Samantha Irby
"'Country crock' first published, in different form, in Nasty women: feminism, resistance, and revolution in Trump's America (Macmillan Publishing Group, 2017), and 'Hysterical!' first published, in slightly different form, in Gay Mag on April 10, 2018"--Title page verso.You literally can't go wrong with any of the three books of essays by Samantha Irby. Funny, beautiful, lots of pooping but also loving tenderness & vulnerability. https://t.co/KTGych01yX
Patsy
Nicole Dennis-Benn
When Patsy gets her long-coveted visa to America, it comes after years of yearning to leave Pennyfield, the beautiful but impoverished Jamaican town where she was raised. More than anything, Patsy wishes to be reunited with her oldest friend, Cicely, whose letters arrive from New York steeped in the promise of a happier life and the possible rekindling of their young love. But Patsy's plans don't include her overzealous, evangelical mother--or even her five-year-old daughter, Tru.Beating with the pulse of a long-witheld confession, Patsy gives voice to a woman who looks to America for the opportunity to choose herself first--not to give a better life to her family back home. Patsy leaves Tru behind in a defiant act of self-preservation, hoping for a new start where she can be, and love, whomever she wants. But when Patsy arrives in Brooklyn, America is not as Cicely's treasured letters described; to survive as an undocumented immigrant, she is forced to work as a bathroom attendant and nanny. Meanwhile, Tru builds a faltering relationship with her father back in Jamaica, grappling with her own questions of identity and sexuality, and trying desperately to empathize with her mother's decision.Expertly evoking the jittery streets of New York and the languid rhythms of Jamaica, Patsy weaves between the lives of Patsy and Tru in vignettes spanning more than a decade as mother and daughter ultimately find a way back to one another.As with her masterful debut, Here Comes the Sun, Nicole Dennis-Benn once again charts the geography of a hidden world--that of a paradise lost, swirling with the echoes of lilting patois, in which one woman fights to discover her sense of self in a world that tries to define her. Passionate, moving, and fiercely urgent, Patsy is a prismatic depiction of immigration and womanhood, and the lasting threads of love stretching across years and oceans.One of the "Most Anticipated Books of the Summer": Entertainment Weekly * Vogue * Time * Washington Post * Buzzfeed * Vulture * O, the Oprah Magazine * Vanity Fair * Elle * Real Simple * NYLON * New York Post * Newsday * Southern Living"Patsy" by Nicole Dennis-Benn - Patsy, a young single mother in Jamaica, leaves her daughter for a better life in NY -- then gets caught up figuring out who she is as a woman, a mother, and an immigrant. So much beautiful Jamaican patois in this book! https://t.co/UnOLiiEhy1
Candice Carty-Williams
Robin Morgan-Bentley
@_clarkekent Some good ones: Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Bern Real Life - Brandon Taylor American Spy - Lauren Wilkinson The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai Basically any romance by Alyssa Cole, Talia Hibbert, or Jasmine Guillory; any book of essays by Samantha Irby
Real Life
Brandon Taylor
"A novel of rare emotional power that excavates the social intricacies of a late-summer weekend -- and a lifetime of buried pain. Almost everything about Wallace, an introverted African-American transplant from Alabama, is at odds with the lakeside Midwestern university town where he is working toward a biochem degree. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends -- some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with a young straight man, conspire to fracture his defenses, while revealing hidden currents of resentment and desire that threaten the equilibrium of their community"--@_clarkekent Some good ones: Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Bern Real Life - Brandon Taylor American Spy - Lauren Wilkinson The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai Basically any romance by Alyssa Cole, Talia Hibbert, or Jasmine Guillory; any book of essays by Samantha Irby
American Spy
Lauren Wilkinson
"It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War, and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant, but she's also a young black woman working in an old boys' club. Her career has stalled out, she's overlooked for every high-profile squad, and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. So when she's given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention, she says yes. Yes, even though she secretly admires the work Sankara is doing for his country. Yes, even though she is still grieving the mysterious death of her sister, whose example led Marie to this career path in the first place. Yes, even though a furious part of her suspects she's being offered the job because of her appearance and not her talent. In the year that follows, Marie will observe Sankara, seduce him, and ultimately have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, a sister, and a good American. "--Provided by publisher.@_clarkekent Some good ones: Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Bern Real Life - Brandon Taylor American Spy - Lauren Wilkinson The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai Basically any romance by Alyssa Cole, Talia Hibbert, or Jasmine Guillory; any book of essays by Samantha Irby
The Right Swipe
Alisha Rai
Alisha Rai returns with the first book in her sizzling new Modern Love series, in which two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom. Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules: - Nude pics are by invitation only - If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice - Protect your heart Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears. Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…@_clarkekent Some good ones: Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Bern Real Life - Brandon Taylor American Spy - Lauren Wilkinson The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai Basically any romance by Alyssa Cole, Talia Hibbert, or Jasmine Guillory; any book of essays by Samantha Irby
Our Time Is Now
Stacey Abrams
"This is a narrative that describes the urgency that compels me and millions more to push for a different American story than the one being told today. It's a story that is one part danger, one part action, and all true. It's a story about how and why we fight for our democracy and win." Celebrated national leader and bestselling author Stacey Abrams offers a blueprint to end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country. A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. Abrams would have been the first African American woman governor, but experienced these effects firsthand, despite running the most innovative race in modern politics as the Democratic nominee in Georgia. Abrams didn’t win, but she has not conceded. The book compellingly argues for the importance of robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census, and a return to moral international leadership. Our Time Is Now draws on extensive research from national organizations and renowned scholars, as well as anecdotes from her life and others’ who have fought throughout our country’s history for the power to be heard. The stakes could not be higher. Here are concrete solutions and inspiration to stand up for who we are—now.Apropos of everything, @staceyabrams’ new book on voter suppression came out yesterday — it’s very good & absolutely urgent reading for this moment. https://t.co/hMN7rREfb7
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me
Bess Kalb
This is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf.Book in the wild!! Thanks for buying, especially from a local bookstore. (And as an aside, I loved Bess Kalb’s memoir - warning, you’ll cry.) https://t.co/Bx9AKeCH5h
Missed Translations
Sopan Deb
A bittersweet and humorous memoir of family--of the silence and ignorance that separate us, and the blood and stories that connect us--from an award-winning New York Times writer and comedian. Approaching his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb had found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and a practicing comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only served to mask the insecurities borne from his family history. Sure, Deb knew the facts: his parents, both Indian, separately immigrated to North America in the 1960s and 1970s. They were brought together in a volatile and ultimately doomed arranged marriage and raised a family in suburban New Jersey before his father returned to India alone. But Deb had never learned who his parents were as individuals--their ages, how many siblings they had, what they were like as children, what their favorite movies were. Theirs was an ostensibly nuclear family without any of the familial bonds. Coming of age in a mostly white suburban town, Deb's alienation led him to seek separation from his family and his culture, longing for the tight-knit home environment of his white friends. His desire wasn't rooted in racism or oppression; it was born of envy and desire--for white moms who made after-school snacks and asked his friends about the girls they liked and the teachers they didn't. Deb yearned for the same. Deb's experiences as one of the few minorities covering the Trump campaign, and subsequently as a stand up comedian, propelled him on a dramatic journey to India to see his father--the first step in a life altering journey to bridge the emotional distance separating him from those whose DNA he shared. Deb had to learn to connect with this man he recognized yet did not know--and eventually breach the silence separating him from his mother. As it beautifully and poignantly chronicles Deb's odyssey, Missed Translations raises questions essential to us all: Is it ever too late to pick up the pieces and offer forgiveness? How do we build bridges where there was nothing before--and what happens to us, to our past and our future, if we don't?Two newish books that won’t get enough attention b/c of ~everything~ but that you should pick up if you need A+ easy to read non-fiction: Missed Translations by @SopanDeb https://t.co/jvwfHftlvk Why Fish Don’t Exist by @lmillernpr https://t.co/gVds3anTL6 https://t.co/CJNGa5KfNI
Why Fish Don't Exist
Lulu Miller
Nineteenth-century scientist David Starr Jordan built one of the most important fish specimen collections ever seen, until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake shattered his life's work.Two newish books that won’t get enough attention b/c of ~everything~ but that you should pick up if you need A+ easy to read non-fiction: Missed Translations by @SopanDeb https://t.co/jvwfHftlvk Why Fish Don’t Exist by @lmillernpr https://t.co/gVds3anTL6 https://t.co/CJNGa5KfNI
Days of Distraction
Alexandra Chang
A wry, tender portrait of a young woman--finally free to decide her own path, but unsure if she knows herself well enough to choose wisely--from a captivating new literary voice The plan is to leave. As for how, when, to where, and even why--she doesn't know yet. So begins a journey for the twenty-four-year-old narrator of Days of Distraction. As a staff writer at a prestigious tech publication, she reports on the achievements of smug Silicon Valley billionaires and start-up bros while her own request for a raise gets bumped from manager to manager. And when her longtime boyfriend, J, decides to move to a quiet upstate New York town for grad school, she sees an excuse to cut and run. Moving is supposed to be a grand gesture of her commitment to J and a way to reshape her sense of self. But in the process, she finds herself facing misgivings about her role in an interracial relationship. Captivated by the stories of her ancestors and other Asian Americans in history, she must confront a question at the core of her identity: What does it mean to exist in a society that does not notice or understand you? Equal parts tender and humorous, and told in spare but powerful prose, Days of Distraction is an offbeat coming-of-adulthood tale, a touching family story, and a razor-sharp appraisal of our times.@JillFilipovic Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang - debut book, came out a few weeks ago, very very good.
Democracy in One Book or Less
David Litt
Bill Bryson meets Thomas Frank in the true story of how power-hungry politicians broke American democracy -- and why fixing it is easier than you think --from the New York Times bestselling author of Thanks, Obama Here's something true for almost every American. The democracy you live in today is different - completely different - than the democracy you were born into. Since 1980, the number of Americans legally barred from voting has more than doubled. Since the 1990s, your odds of living in a competitive Congressional district have fallen by more than half. In the twenty-first century alone, the amount of money spent on Washington lobbying has increased by more than 100 percent. Meanwhile, new rules in Congress make passing new bills nearly impossible, no matter how popular or bipartisan they are. No wonder it feels like our representatives have stopped representing us. Thanks to changes you never agreed to, and that you probably don't even know about, your slice of power - your say in how your country is run - is smaller than it's ever been. How did this happen? And how can we fix it before it's too late? That's what former Obama speechwriter David Litt set out to answer. Millions of Americans now recognize that our democracy is in trouble, and that the trouble goes beyond Trump. But too often, we're looking in the wrong places for solutions. Voter suppression is real, but Voter ID laws aren't tipping elections. Getting rid of bizarrely shaped districts won't end gerrymandering. In fact, it would make gerrymandering worse. Calling for a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United is a nice gesture. But in the real world, it's the least effective type of campaign finance reform. If We, the People, want to save our republic, we need to start by understanding it. Poking into forgotten corners of history, Litt tells the true story of how the world's greatest experiment in democracy went awry. Translating political science into plain English, he explains how our system of government really works. Searching for solutions, he speaks to experts, office-holders, and activists nationwide. He also tries to crash a party at Mitch McConnell's former frat house. It goes poorly. But Democracy (in One Book or Less) is more than just an engaging narrative. Litt provides a to-do list of meaningful, practical changes - a blueprint for restoring the balance of power in America before it's too late.This book is great; giving proceeds to @runforsomething is also great. Order it now! https://t.co/AoxNPxy7nP
New Waves
Kevin Nguyen
"Lucas and Margo are fed up. Margo is a brilliant programmer tired of being talked over as the company's sole black employee, and while Lucas is one of many Asians at the firm, he's nearly invisible as a low-paid customer service rep. Together, they decide to steal their tech start-up's user database in an attempt at revenge. The heist takes a sudden turn when Margo dies in a car accident, and Lucas is left reeling, wondering what to do with their secret--and wondering whether her death really was an accident. When Lucas hacks into Margo's computer looking for answers, he is drawn into her secret online life and realizes just how little he knew about his best friend. With a fresh voice, biting humor, and piercing observations about human nature, Kevin Nguyen brings an insider's knowledge of the tech industry to this imaginative novel. A pitch-perfect exploration of race and start-up culture, secrecy and surveillance, social media and friendship, New Waves asks: How well do we really know each other? And how do we form true intimacy and connection in a tech-obsessed world?"--@MattZeitlin @runforsomething Book questions also permitted. A few good ones you might like... - New Waves - @knguyen - Writers & Lovers - @lilykingbooks (the end is 100% worth it, v cathartic) - Followers - @meganangelo
Writers & Lovers
Lily King
An extraordinary new novel of art, love, and ambition from Lily King, the New York Times bestselling author of Euphoria Following the breakout success of her critically acclaimed and award-winning novel Euphoria, Lily King returns with an unforgettable portrait of an artist as a young woman. Blindsided by her mother's sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she's been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey's fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink. Writers & Lovers follows Casey--a smart and achingly vulnerable protagonist--in the last days of a long youth, a time when every element of her life comes to a crisis. Written with King's trademark humor, heart, and intelligence, Writers & Lovers is a transfixing novel that explores the terrifying and exhilarating leap between the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.@MattZeitlin @runforsomething Book questions also permitted. A few good ones you might like... - New Waves - @knguyen - Writers & Lovers - @lilykingbooks (the end is 100% worth it, v cathartic) - Followers - @meganangelo
Unrigged
David Daley
Following Ratf**ked, his "extraordinary timely and undeniably important" (New York Times Book Review) exposé of how a small cadre of Republican operatives rigged American elections, David Daley emerged as one of the nation's leading authorities on gerrymandering. In Unrigged, he charts a vibrant political movement that is rising in the wake of his and other reporters' revelations. With his trademark journalistic rigor and narrative flair, Daley reports on Pennsylvania's dramatic defeat of a gerrymander using the research of ingenious mathematicians and the Michigan millennial who launched a statewide redistricting revolution with a Facebook post. He tells the stories of activist groups that paved the way for 2018's historic blue wave and won crucial battles for voting rights in Florida, Maine, Utah, and nationwide. In an age of polarization, Unrigged offers a vivid portrait of a nation transformed by a new civic awakening, and provides a blueprint for what must be done to keep American democracy afloat.A win-win if you need an optimistic book to read during these hard times AND you want to support @runforsomething. https://t.co/QCG0mOAV81
Why We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
America’s political system isn’t broken. The truth is scarier: it’s working exactly as designed. In this book, journalist Ezra Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us—and how we are polarizing it—with disastrous results. “The American political system—which includes everyone from voters to journalists to the president—is full of rational actors making rational decisions given the incentives they face,” writes political analyst Ezra Klein. “We are a collection of functional parts whose efforts combine into a dysfunctional whole.” In Why We’re Polarized, Klein reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Over the past fifty years in America, our partisan identities have merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities. These merged identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together. Klein shows how and why American politics polarized around identity in the twentieth century, and what that polarization did to the way we see the world and one another. And he traces the feedback loops between polarized political identities and polarized political institutions that are driving our system toward crisis. This is a revelatory book that will change how you look at politics, and perhaps at yourself.Finished @ezraklein’s great book this morning. My favorite conclusion: One way to mitigate polarization (and generally feel better about this process) is to try & root your political identity in local politics. It’s hard! It’s worth it. https://t.co/f7wIw9dpqZ
Unrigged
David Daley
Following Ratf**ked, his "extraordinary timely and undeniably important" (New York Times Book Review) exposé of how a small cadre of Republican operatives rigged American elections, David Daley emerged as one of the nation's leading authorities on gerrymandering. In Unrigged, he charts a vibrant political movement that is rising in the wake of his and other reporters' revelations. With his trademark journalistic rigor and narrative flair, Daley reports on Pennsylvania's dramatic defeat of a gerrymander using the research of ingenious mathematicians and the Michigan millennial who launched a statewide redistricting revolution with a Facebook post. He tells the stories of activist groups that paved the way for 2018's historic blue wave and won crucial battles for voting rights in Florida, Maine, Utah, and nationwide. In an age of polarization, Unrigged offers a vivid portrait of a nation transformed by a new civic awakening, and provides a blueprint for what must be done to keep American democracy afloat.If you’re looking for an uplifting read about how real people are doing the hard work of fixing democracy one knocked door at a time, pre-order @davedaley3’s new book — shown here w/ Sadie, who, despite her face, enjoys hanging out while I read. https://t.co/7vCVU7syuz https://t.co/Z6fdjE8HNz
The Ones We've Been Waiting For
Charlotte Alter
There are now 26 millennials in congress - a fivefold increase gained in the last midterms. They're governing over Midwestern cities and college towns, sitting on city councils and running for state legislatures. Some of them have been in office for a few years; one of them is running for president. In The Ones We've been Waiting For, TIME correspondent Charlotte Alter defines the class of young leaders who are remaking the nation, and what America will look like when they're in charge.If you follow me, you probably love uplifting stories about young people running for office & leading. Good news: @CharlotteAlter’s amazing book is chock full of all that (+more!) and it’s available today. Get your copy. https://t.co/xgkRnNHhKt
Un-Trumping America
Dan Pfeiffer
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Yes We (Still) Canand cohost of Pod Save America, a sharp political playbook for how Democrats can take on Trump, McConnell, Fox News, and the rest of the right-wing circus dominating American politics. There is nothing more important than beating Donald Trump in 2020, but defeating Trump is just the start of this timely book. Un-Trumping America offers readers three critical insights: first, Trump is not an aberration, but rather the logical extension of the modern Republican Party; second, how Democrats can defeat Trump in 2020; and third, preventing the likes of Trump from ever happening again with a plan to fix democracy. While the catalog of the president's crimes is long and growing, undoing Trumpism -- the political platform of racism, authoritarianism, and plutocracy that gave rise to Trump and defines the Republican Party -- is a long and continuing fight. Through a craven, cynical strategy engineered by Mitch McConnell, funded by the Kochs, and fueled by Fox News propaganda, Republicans have rigged American politics to drown out the voices of the people in favor of the powerful. Without an aggressive response that recognizes who the Republicans are and what they have done, American democracy as we know it won't survive this moment and a conservative, shrinking, mostly white minority will govern the country for decades. Un-Trumping America dismantles toxic Trumpism and offers a way forward. Dan Pfeiffer worked for nearly twenty years at the center of Democratic politics, from the campaign trail to Capitol Hill to Barack Obama's White House. But it was Trump's victory and Republicans' incessant aiding and abetting of Trumpism that has radicalized his thinking. Here, Pfeiffer urges Democrats to embrace bold solutions -- from fixing the courts to abolishing the electoral college to eliminating the filibuster -- in order to make America more democratic (and Democratic). Un-Trumping America is a powerful call for Democrats and progressives to get smarter, tougher, and more aggressive without becoming a paler shade of orange.Out today, @danpfeiffer's new book is worth reading -- both b/c he encourages you to support @runforsomething many times over & b/c he accurately & clearly explains how we got into this mess (spoiler: It's not just about Trump!) & how we get out of it. https://t.co/8wFF1ORxiM
Run for Something
Amanda Litman
Although I rarely talk about it (sorry @ArieleStewart!!) the book is available and you should buy it, read it, run for office, then apply for our endorsement! https://t.co/DvIgZ7qPq0
They Said This Day Would Never Come
Chris Liddell-Westefeld
Read @ChrisWestefeld’s beautiful oral history of the 2008 Obama campaign in Iowa for a story on how when young people get involved and take charge, politics gets less slimy. https://t.co/zXy08kz6po
One to Watch
Kate Stayman-London
"Bea Schumacher is a leading fashion blogger, known for her warm, honest body-positive message. But after an unexpected heartbreak, Bea's confidence is shaken and she feels hopelessly alone. In the midst of her sadness (and some drunken internet rantings), she receives a surprising proposition: Would Bea like to be the first plus-size woman to star in the next season of reality dating competition sensation Main Squeeze? Against her better judgment, she accepts. The producers promise it will be the most diverse cast yet and a great opportunity to expand her brand. And while she knows she'll never find love, she might find distraction from her broken heart and inspire other plus-sized women to believe that they have a right to the spotlight too. But as the cameras roll, she is forced to face down judgement, ridicule, and expectations amidst over-the-top dates and international travel with a line-up of men who feel like fantasies (a sexy French chef, a sardonic professor, a playful younger man) as she ultimately discovers the truth behind the fairytale, and the reality of falling in love. In this witty, heartfelt debut, Kate Stayman-London shines a light on how the complex standards of female beauty affect how we define ourselves and who deserves to be seen...and loved"--Kate's book is a funny, heartwarming, and (obviously) incredibly well-written romance about a plus-size fashion blogger who finds herself looking for love on a Bachelorette-esque reality show. It's GREAT. I've already pre-ordered two copies. Get yours ASAP!! https://t.co/al3C2lFD1J
Once More We Saw Stars
Jayson Greene
"A gripping and beautiful book about the power of love in the face of unimaginable loss." --Cheryl Strayed For readers of The Bright Hour and When Breath Becomes Air, a moving, transcendent memoir of loss and a stunning exploration of marriage in the wake of unimaginable grief. As the book opens: two-year-old Greta Greene is sitting with her grandmother on a park bench on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. A brick crumbles from a windowsill overhead, striking her unconscious, and she is immediately rushed to the hospital. But although it begins with this event and with the anguish Jayson and his wife, Stacy, confront in the wake of their daughter's trauma and the hours leading up to her death, Once More We Saw Stars quickly becomes a narrative that is as much about hope and healing as it is about grief and loss. Jayson recognizes, even in the midst of his ordeal, that there will be a life for him beyond it--that if only he can continue moving forward, from one moment to the next, he will survive what seems unsurvivable. With raw honesty, deep emotion, and exquisite tenderness, he captures both the fragility of life and absoluteness of death, and most important of all, the unconquerable power of love. This is an unforgettable memoir of courage and transformation--and a book that will change the way you look at the world.@Jayson_Greene Your book was so beautiful - thank you for writing it.
Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid
@annapitoniak @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo And finally, more great fiction. @tjenkinsreid @jkbphillips @acruzwriter & Susan Choi. All such stars. https://t.co/8MI4ydm7UI
Dominicana
Angie Cruz
“I have been eagerly waiting for a new book from Angie Cruz. So glad the time has come.” —Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother I’m Dying and Breath, Eyes, Memory “Gorgeous writing, gorgeous story.” —Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street “An essential read for our times.” —Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay. As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.@annapitoniak @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo And finally, more great fiction. @tjenkinsreid @jkbphillips @acruzwriter & Susan Choi. All such stars. https://t.co/8MI4ydm7UI
Disappearing Earth
Julia Phillips
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST One August afternoon, two sisters--Sophia, eight, and Alyona, eleven--go missing from a beach on the far-flung Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia. Taking us through the year that follows, Disappearing Earth enters the lives of women and girls in this tightly knit community who are connected by the crime: a witness, a neighbor, a detective, a mother. We are transported to vistas of rugged beauty--open expanses of tundra, soaring volcanoes, dense forests, the glassy seas that border Japan and Alaska--and into a region as complex as it is alluring, where social and ethnic tensions have long simmered, and where outsiders are often the first to be accused. In a story as propulsive as it is emotionally engaging, Julia Phillips's powerful novel brings us to a new understanding of the intricate bonds of family and community, in a Russia unlike any we have seen before.@annapitoniak @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo And finally, more great fiction. @tjenkinsreid @jkbphillips @acruzwriter & Susan Choi. All such stars. https://t.co/8MI4ydm7UI
Trust Exercise
Susan Choi
WINNER OF THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Electrifying” (People) • “Masterly” (The Guardian) • “Dramatic and memorable” (The New Yorker) • “Magic” (TIME) • “Ingenious” (The Financial Times) • "A gonzo literary performance” (Entertainment Weekly) • “Rare and splendid” (The Boston Globe) • “Remarkable” (USA Today) • “Delicious” (The New York Times) • “Book groups, meet your next selection" (NPR) In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed—or untoyed with—by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls—until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside-down. What the reader believes to have happened to David and Sarah and their friends is not entirely true—though it’s not false, either. It takes until the book’s stunning coda for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place—revealing truths that will resonate long after the final sentence. As captivating and tender as it is surprising, Susan Choi's Trust Exercise will incite heated conversations about fiction and truth, and about friendships and loyalties, and will leave readers with wiser understandings of the true capacities of adolescents and of the powers and responsibilities of adults.@annapitoniak @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo And finally, more great fiction. @tjenkinsreid @jkbphillips @acruzwriter & Susan Choi. All such stars. https://t.co/8MI4ydm7UI
Ninth House (Alex Stern)
Leigh Bardugo
The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.@annapitoniak Three sci-fi/fantasy books that I loved. @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo & Blake Choi https://t.co/6TIGRs3hX8
Recursion
Blake Crouch
'Recursion takes mind-twisting premises and embeds them in a deeply emotional story about time and loss and grief and most of all, the glory of the human heart' - Gregg Hurwitz, international bestselling author of Orphan X A breathtaking exploration of memory and what it means to be human, Recursion is the follow-up novel to the smash-hit thriller, Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch. At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shockwave, unleashed by a stunning discovery – and what’s in jeopardy is not just our minds. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth – and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back. Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy – before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos. 'A fantastic read' Andy Weir, Number one New York Times bestselling author of The Martian@annapitoniak Three sci-fi/fantasy books that I loved. @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo & Blake Choi https://t.co/6TIGRs3hX8
Semiosis
Sue Burke
@annapitoniak Three sci-fi/fantasy books that I loved. @SueBurkeSpain @LBardugo & Blake Choi https://t.co/6TIGRs3hX8
How We Fight for Our Lives
Saeed Jones
WINNER OF THE 2019 KIRKUS PRIZE IN NONFICTION WINNER OF THE 2020 STONEWALL BOOK AWARD-ISRAEL FISHMAN NONFICTION AWARD ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2019 One of the best books of the year as selected by The Washington Post; NPR; Time; The New Yorker; O, The Oprah Magazine; Harper’s Bazaar; Elle; Kirkus Reviews; Publishers Weekly; BuzzFeed; Goodreads; School Library Journal; and many more. “A moving, bracingly honest memoir that reads like fevered poetry.” —The New York Times Book Review “Jones’s voice and sensibility are so distinct that he turns one of the oldest of literary genres inside out and upside down.” —NPR’S Fresh Air “People don’t just happen,” writes Saeed Jones. “We sacrifice former versions of ourselves. We sacrifice the people who dared to raise us. The ‘I’ it seems doesn’t exist until we are able to say, ‘I am no longer yours.’” Haunted and haunting, How We Fight for Our Lives is a stunning coming-of-age memoir. Jones tells the story of a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Through a series of vignettes that chart a course across the American landscape, Jones draws readers into his boyhood and adolescence—into tumultuous relationships with his family, into passing flings with lovers, friends, and strangers. Each piece builds into a larger examination of race and queerness, power and vulnerability, love and grief: a portrait of what we all do for one another—and to one another—as we fight to become ourselves. An award-winning poet, Jones has developed a style that’s as beautiful as it is powerful—a voice that’s by turns a river, a blues, and a nightscape set ablaze. How We Fight for Our Lives is a one-of-a-kind memoir and a book that cements Saeed Jones as an essential writer for our time.I read SO many good memoirs this year. @ruthreichl @alexanderchee @LisaBrennanJobs @theferocity https://t.co/41ofcEnbMC
Save Me the Plums
Ruth Reichl
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Trailblazing food writer and beloved restaurant critic Ruth Reichl took the job (and the risk) of a lifetime when she entered the high-stakes world of magazine publishing. Now, for the first time, she chronicles her groundbreaking tenure as editor in chief of Gourmet. "A must for any food lover . . . Reichl is a warm, intimate writer. She peels back the curtain to a glamorous time of magazine-making. You'll tear through this memoir."--Refinery29 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Real Simple * Good Housekeeping * Town & Country When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America's oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a writer, not a manager, and had no inclination to be anyone's boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. How could she say no? This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat. Readers will meet legendary chefs like David Chang and Eric Ripert, idiosyncratic writers like David Foster Wallace, and a colorful group of editors and art directors who, under Reichl's leadership, transformed stately Gourmet into a cutting-edge publication. This was the golden age of print media--the last spendthrift gasp before the Internet turned the magazine world upside down. Complete with recipes, Save Me the Plums is a personal journey of a woman coming to terms with being in charge and making a mark, following a passion and holding on to her dreams--even when she ends up in a place she never expected to be. Praise for Save Me the Plums "Poignant and hilarious . . . simply delicious . . . Each serving of magazine folklore is worth savoring. In fact, Reichl's story is juicier than a Peter Luger porterhouse. Dig in."--The New York Times Book Review "In this smart, touching, and dishy memoir . . . Ruth Reichl recalls her years at the helm of Gourmet magazine with clear eyes, a sense of humor, and some very appealing recipes."--Town & Country "If you haven't picked up food writing queen Ruth Reichl's new book, Save Me the Plums, I highly recommend you fix that problem. . . . Reichl is in top form and ready to dish, with every chapter seeming like a dedicated behind-the-scenes documentary on its own."--Soleil Ho, San Francisco ChronicleI read SO many good memoirs this year. @ruthreichl @alexanderchee @LisaBrennanJobs @theferocity https://t.co/41ofcEnbMC
Small Fry
Lisa Brennan-Jobs
I read SO many good memoirs this year. @ruthreichl @alexanderchee @LisaBrennanJobs @theferocity https://t.co/41ofcEnbMC
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
Alexander Chee
I read SO many good memoirs this year. @ruthreichl @alexanderchee @LisaBrennanJobs @theferocity https://t.co/41ofcEnbMC
Know My Name
Chanel Miller
To really fuck yourself up, follow it with my favorite memoir of the year and the book that's stuck with me the longest. https://t.co/1PIl8y5t5m
Drive-Thru Dreams
Adam Chandler
@geneweingarten @MonicaHesse @LisaTaddeo @stepville Three books which each tell a slightly different and occasionally fucked up story about how capitalism is probably going to ruin us all, by @MikeIsaac @AdamChandler and David Wallace Wells https://t.co/OHuRjxWRrJ
The Uninhabitable Earth
David Wallace-Wells
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical prose about our pending Armageddon."--Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon With a new afterword It is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible--food shortages, refugee emergencies, climate wars and economic devastation. An "epoch-defining book" (The Guardian) and "this generation's Silent Spring" (The Washington Post), The Uninhabitable Earth is both a travelogue of the near future and a meditation on how that future will look to those living through it--the ways that warming promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and nature in the modern world, the sustainability of capitalism and the trajectory of human progress. The Uninhabitable Earth is also an impassioned call to action. For just as the world was brought to the brink of catastrophe within the span of a lifetime, the responsibility to avoid it now belongs to a single generation--today's. Praise for The Uninhabitable Earth "The Uninhabitable Earth is the most terrifying book I have ever read. Its subject is climate change, and its method is scientific, but its mode is Old Testament. The book is a meticulously documented, white-knuckled tour through the cascading catastrophes that will soon engulf our warming planet."--Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times "Riveting. . . . Some readers will find Mr. Wallace-Wells's outline of possible futures alarmist. He is indeed alarmed. You should be, too."--The Economist "Potent and evocative. . . . Wallace-Wells has resolved to offer something other than the standard narrative of climate change. . . . He avoids the 'eerily banal language of climatology' in favor of lush, rolling prose."--Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times "The book has potential to be this generation's Silent Spring."--The Washington Post "The Uninhabitable Earth, which has become a best seller, taps into the underlying emotion of the day: fear. . . . I encourage people to read this book."--Alan Weisman, The New York Review of Books@geneweingarten @MonicaHesse @LisaTaddeo @stepville Three books which each tell a slightly different and occasionally fucked up story about how capitalism is probably going to ruin us all, by @MikeIsaac @AdamChandler and David Wallace Wells https://t.co/OHuRjxWRrJ
Super Pumped
Mike Isaac
Isaac delivers a gripping account of Uber's rapid rise, its pitched battles with taxi unions and drivers, the company's toxic internal culture, and the bare-knuckle tactics it devised to overcome obstacles in its quest for dominance.@geneweingarten @MonicaHesse @LisaTaddeo @stepville Three books which each tell a slightly different and occasionally fucked up story about how capitalism is probably going to ruin us all, by @MikeIsaac @AdamChandler and David Wallace Wells https://t.co/OHuRjxWRrJ
Just Mercy
Bryan Stevenson
Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Best Nonfiction@geneweingarten @MonicaHesse @LisaTaddeo Three slightly older non-fiction books I was late to read but am SO glad I picked up - by @stepville, Matthew Desmond, and Bryan Stevenson https://t.co/7J9hkxubyj
Maid
Stephanie Land
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich. At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employees who called her lucky for receiving assistance while she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor. Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients' lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path. Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the "servant" worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not her alone. It is an inspiring testament to the strength, determination, and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.@geneweingarten @MonicaHesse @LisaTaddeo Three slightly older non-fiction books I was late to read but am SO glad I picked up - by @stepville, Matthew Desmond, and Bryan Stevenson https://t.co/7J9hkxubyj
Evicted
Matthew Desmond
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | KIRKUS PRIZE FOR NONFICTION FINALIST | LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH AWARD FOR NONFICTION | NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by The New York Times Book Review * The Boston Globe * The Washington Post * NPR * Entertainment Weekly * The New Yorker * Bloomberg * Esquire * San Francisco Chronicle * Milwaukee Journal Sentinel * St. Louis Post-Dispatch * Politico * Bookpage * Kirkus Reviews * Amazon * Barnes and Noble Review * Apple * Library Journal * Chicago Public Library * Publishers Weekly * Booklist * Shelf Awareness From Harvard sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond, a landmark work of scholarship and reportage that will forever change the way we look at poverty in America In this brilliant, heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind. The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, "Love don't pay the bills." She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas. Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In vivid, intimate prose, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America's vast inequality--and to people's determination and intelligence in the face of hardship. Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, this masterful book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible. - New York Times Book Review, 100 Notable Books of 2016 - Los Angeles Times, The 10 Most Important Books of 2016 - Washington Post, Top 10 Title for 2016@geneweingarten @MonicaHesse @LisaTaddeo Three slightly older non-fiction books I was late to read but am SO glad I picked up - by @stepville, Matthew Desmond, and Bryan Stevenson https://t.co/7J9hkxubyj
These Truths
Jill Lepore
The challenge of retelling five hundred years of American history in a single volume has been so daunting that hardly any historian has attempted it in decades. When Jill Lepore's New York Times best-selling These Truths appeared in 2018, critics quickly hailed it as a classic--appealing not only to academics, but to thousands of astonished general readers. Picking up the book out of a feeling of civic duty, they opened its pages to discover a different kind of writing, and what the Washington Post called "an honest reckoning with America's past"--a story filled with women and men and people of every color and religion, one that wrestles with the state of American politics, the legacy of slavery, the persistence of inequality, and the nature of technological change. With These Truths, Harvard historian and New Yorker writer Jill Lepore has produced a book that will shape our view of American history for decades to come.First, four non-fiction books I couldn't put down, by @geneweingarten, @MonicaHesse, @LisaTaddeo and Jill Lepore https://t.co/kCwnsNcaEr
American Fire
Monica Hesse
ANew York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year "A brisk, captivating and expertly crafted reconstruction of a community living through a time of fear. . . . Masterful."--Washington PostFirst, four non-fiction books I couldn't put down, by @geneweingarten, @MonicaHesse, @LisaTaddeo and Jill Lepore https://t.co/kCwnsNcaEr
One Day
Gene Weingarten
A journalist pulls a random day in history from a hat to see if he can make a worthwhile news story from what happened. The result is One Day, a deeply illuminating and affecting exploration of the quiet dramas and human interaction that make a seemingly insignificant day - December 28th, 1986 - into an important, poignant part of American history.First, four non-fiction books I couldn't put down, by @geneweingarten, @MonicaHesse, @LisaTaddeo and Jill Lepore https://t.co/kCwnsNcaEr
Three Women
Lisa Taddeo
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INDIE NEXT PICK A Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post * NPR * The Atlantic * New York Public Library * Vanity Fair * PBS * Time * Economist * Entertainment Weekly * Financial Times * Shelf Awareness * Guardian * Sunday Times * BBC * Esquire * Good Housekeeping * Elle * Real Simple “THIS IS THE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. This is it. This is the one...It blew the top of my head off and I haven’t been able to stop thinking or talking about it since.” —Elizabeth Gilbert “Taddeo spent eight years reporting this groundbreaking book...Breathtaking...Staggeringly intimate.” —Entertainment Weekly “A breathtaking and important book…What a fine thing it is to be enthralled by another writer’s sentences. To be stunned by her intellect and heart.” —Cheryl Strayed A riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women, based on nearly a decade of reporting. Hailed as “a dazzling achievement” (Los Angeles Times) and “riveting page-turner that explores desire, heartbreak, and infatuation in all its messy, complicated nuance” (The Washington Post), Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women has captivated readers, booksellers, and critics—and topped bestseller lists—worldwide. In suburban Indiana we meet Lina, a homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks and, after reconnecting with an old flame through social media, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota we meet Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student who allegedly has a clandestine physical relationship with her handsome, married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial will turn their quiet community upside down. Finally, in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, we meet Sloane—a gorgeous, successful, and refined restaurant owner—who is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women. Based on years of immersive reporting and told with astonishing frankness and immediacy, Three Women is both a feat of journalism and a triumph of storytelling, brimming with nuance and empathy. “A work of deep observation, long conversations, and a kind of journalistic alchemy” (Kate Tuttle, NPR), Three Women introduces us to three unforgettable women—and one remarkable writer—whose experiences remind us that we are not alone.First, four non-fiction books I couldn't put down, by @geneweingarten, @MonicaHesse, @LisaTaddeo and Jill Lepore https://t.co/kCwnsNcaEr
The Ones We've Been Waiting For
Charlotte Alter
There are now 26 millennials in congress - a fivefold increase gained in the last midterms. They're governing over Midwestern cities and college towns, sitting on city councils and running for state legislatures. Some of them have been in office for a few years; one of them is running for president. In The Ones We've been Waiting For, TIME correspondent Charlotte Alter defines the class of young leaders who are remaking the nation, and what America will look like when they're in charge."Millennials in politics" is my fave topic but even if it wasn't I'd still tell you to get @CharlotteAlter's book. She's an incredible writer & the folks she covers (@AOC! @SvanteMyrick! @HaleyLive! @LaurenUnderwood! @EricLesser & more) are so compelling. https://t.co/B8AqU8J9lz?
Trust Exercise
Susan Choi
WINNER OF THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Electrifying” (People) • “Masterly” (The Guardian) • “Dramatic and memorable” (The New Yorker) • “Magic” (TIME) • “Ingenious” (The Financial Times) • "A gonzo literary performance” (Entertainment Weekly) • “Rare and splendid” (The Boston Globe) • “Remarkable” (USA Today) • “Delicious” (The New York Times) • “Book groups, meet your next selection" (NPR) In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed—or untoyed with—by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls—until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside-down. What the reader believes to have happened to David and Sarah and their friends is not entirely true—though it’s not false, either. It takes until the book’s stunning coda for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place—revealing truths that will resonate long after the final sentence. As captivating and tender as it is surprising, Susan Choi's Trust Exercise will incite heated conversations about fiction and truth, and about friendships and loyalties, and will leave readers with wiser understandings of the true capacities of adolescents and of the powers and responsibilities of adults.@diazmarg More: Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Benn Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Trust Exercise - Susan Choi The Other Americans - Laila Lalami Disappearing Earth - Julia Phillips Honestly, there are so many good things by women — you never *need* to read a man.
The Other Americans
Laila Lalami
Late one spring night in California, Driss Guerraoui--father, husband, business owner, Moroccan immigrant--is hit and killed by a speeding car. The aftermath of his death brings together a diverse cast of characters: Guerraoui's daughter Nora, a jazz composer returning to the small town in the Mojave she thought she'd left for good; her mother, Maryam, who still pines for her life in the old country; Efraín, an undocumented witness whose fear of deportation prevents him from coming forward; Jeremy, an old friend of Nora's and an Iraqi War veteran; Coleman, a detective who is slowly discovering her son's secrets; Anderson, a neighbor trying to reconnect with his family; and the murdered man himself. As the characters--deeply divided by race, religion, and class--tell their stories, each in their own voice, connections among them emerge. Driss's family confronts its secrets, a town faces its hypocrisies, and love--messy and unpredictable--is born. Timely, riveting, and unforgettable, The Other Americans is at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture.@diazmarg More: Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Benn Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Trust Exercise - Susan Choi The Other Americans - Laila Lalami Disappearing Earth - Julia Phillips Honestly, there are so many good things by women — you never *need* to read a man.
Disappearing Earth
Julia Phillips
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST One August afternoon, two sisters--Sophia, eight, and Alyona, eleven--go missing from a beach on the far-flung Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia. Taking us through the year that follows, Disappearing Earth enters the lives of women and girls in this tightly knit community who are connected by the crime: a witness, a neighbor, a detective, a mother. We are transported to vistas of rugged beauty--open expanses of tundra, soaring volcanoes, dense forests, the glassy seas that border Japan and Alaska--and into a region as complex as it is alluring, where social and ethnic tensions have long simmered, and where outsiders are often the first to be accused. In a story as propulsive as it is emotionally engaging, Julia Phillips's powerful novel brings us to a new understanding of the intricate bonds of family and community, in a Russia unlike any we have seen before.@diazmarg More: Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Benn Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Trust Exercise - Susan Choi The Other Americans - Laila Lalami Disappearing Earth - Julia Phillips Honestly, there are so many good things by women — you never *need* to read a man.
- THE NUMBER TWO SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Hilarious, compelling, painful, enlightening, honest. I loved it.' - Dolly Alderton 'Brilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking' - Jojo Moyes 'A vital, often very funny novel' - The Sunday Times 'Inspirational, funny and wise' - Kit de Waal 'Perfect for anyone who loves Fleabag' - Mail on Sunday Queenie Jenkins can't cut a break. Well, apart from the one from her long term boyfriend, Tom. That's definitely just a break though. Definitely not a break up. Then there's her boss who doesn't seem to see her and her Caribbean family who don't seem to listen (if it's not Jesus or water rates, they're not interested). She's trying to fit in two worlds that don't really understand her. It's no wonder she's struggling. She was named to be queen of everything. So why is she finding it so hard to rule her own life? A darkly comic and bitingly subversive take on life, love, race and family, QUEENIE will have you nodding in recognition, crying in solidarity, and rooting for this unforgettable character every step of the way. Perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Elizabeth Day, Sally Rooney and Diana Evans, and anyone who loved Fleabag. ******** Praise for QUEENIE: 'I was engrossed and loved Queenie - her humour, her pain, her politics, her friends, her family.' - Diana Evans 'Candice gives so generously with her joy, pain and humour, that we cannot help but become fully immersed in the life of Queenie - a beautiful and compelling book.' - Afua Hirsch *This book has been printed with three different colour cover designs. We are unable to accept requests for a specific cover. The different covers will be assigned to orders at random*
@diazmarg More: Patsy - Nicole Dennis-Benn Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams Trust Exercise - Susan Choi The Other Americans - Laila Lalami Disappearing Earth - Julia Phillips Honestly, there are so many good things by women — you never *need* to read a man.
We Are Indivisible
Leah Greenberg
NATIONAL BESTSELLER “The breakout star of the new activists.” —The Economist “If Democrats are able to retake the House in 2018, it will be a victory built from Greenberg and Levin’s blueprint.” —Politico “One of the biggest successes so far this year...Indivisible has played a leading role in turning out voters at congressional town halls to voice their opposition.” —The New York Times “The centerpiece of a robust new grassroots machinery.” —Rolling Stone This is a story of democracy under threat. It’s the story of a movement rising up to respond. And it’s a story of what comes next. Shortly after Trump’s election, two outraged former congressional staffers wrote and posted a tactical guide to resisting the Trump agenda. This Google Doc entitled “Indivisible” was meant to be read by friends and family. No one could have predicted what happened next. It went viral, sparking the creation of thousands of local Indivisible groups in red, blue, and purple states, mobilizing millions of people and evolving into a defining movement of the Trump Era. From crowding town halls to killing TrumpCare to rallying around candidates to build the Blue Wave, Indivisibles powered the fight against Trump—and pushed the limits of what was politically possible. In We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump, the (still-married!) co-executive directors of Indivisible tell the story of the movement. They offer a behind-the-scenes look at how change comes to Washington, whether Washington wants it or not. And they explain how we’ll win the coming fight for the future of American democracy. We Are Indivisible isn’t a book of platitudes about hope; it’s a steely-eyed guide to people power—how to find it, how to build it, and how to use it to usher in the post-Trump era. *All proceeds to the author go to Indivisible's Save Democracy FundGreat news: @Leahgreenb & @ezralevin's @IndivisibleTeam book is out today! I've read it & can confirm: It is funny, super smart, inspiring, and will make you want to get off Twitter & go make a difference. Get your copy ASAP. https://t.co/qvDJcTZ2qa
One Day
Gene Weingarten
A journalist pulls a random day in history from a hat to see if he can make a worthwhile news story from what happened. The result is One Day, a deeply illuminating and affecting exploration of the quiet dramas and human interaction that make a seemingly insignificant day - December 28th, 1986 - into an important, poignant part of American history.I don’t understand why this book hasn’t made a bigger splash but wow oh wow did I love @geneweingarten’s One Day. Perfect for a rainy Sunday. https://t.co/EFq9VOnJVC https://t.co/2CCptmBLss
All This Could Be Yours
Jami Attenberg
From critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling author Jami Attenberg comes a novel of family secrets: think the drama of Big Little Lies set in the heat of a New Orleans summer. "If I know why they are the way they are, then maybe I can learn why I am the way I am," says Alex Tuchman of her parents. Now that her father, Victor, is on his deathbed, Alex--a strong-headed lawyer, devoted mother, and loving sister--feels she can finally unearth the secrets of who Victor is and what he did over the course of his life and career. (A power-hungry real estate developer, he is, by all accounts, a bad man.) She travels to New Orleans to be with her family, but mostly to interrogate her tight-lipped mother, Barbra. As Barbra fends off Alex's unrelenting questions, she reflects on her tumultuous life with Victor. Meanwhile Gary, Alex's brother, is incommunicado, trying to get his movie career off the ground in Los Angeles. And Gary's wife, Twyla, is having a nervous breakdown, buying up all the lipstick in drugstores around New Orleans and bursting into crying fits. Dysfunction is at its peak. As family members grapple with Victor's history, they must figure out a way to move forward--with one another, for themselves, and for the sake of their children. All This Could Be Yours is a timely, piercing exploration of what it means to be caught in the web of a toxic man who abused his power; it shows how those webs can entangle a family for generations, and what it takes to--maybe, hopefully--break free. With her signature "sparkling prose" (Marie Claire) and incisive wit, Jami Attenberg deftly explores one of the most important subjects of our age.Good morning, here are some of the (many) books I’ve liked lately! https://t.co/lel3vPOWMm
Ninth House (Alex Stern)
Leigh Bardugo
The mesmerizing adult debut from Leigh Bardugo, a tale of power, privilege, dark magic, and murder set among the Ivy League elite Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.Good morning, here are some of the (many) books I’ve liked lately! https://t.co/lel3vPOWMm
How We Fight for Our Lives
Saeed Jones
WINNER OF THE 2019 KIRKUS PRIZE IN NONFICTION WINNER OF THE 2020 STONEWALL BOOK AWARD-ISRAEL FISHMAN NONFICTION AWARD ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2019 One of the best books of the year as selected by The Washington Post; NPR; Time; The New Yorker; O, The Oprah Magazine; Harper’s Bazaar; Elle; Kirkus Reviews; Publishers Weekly; BuzzFeed; Goodreads; School Library Journal; and many more. “A moving, bracingly honest memoir that reads like fevered poetry.” —The New York Times Book Review “Jones’s voice and sensibility are so distinct that he turns one of the oldest of literary genres inside out and upside down.” —NPR’S Fresh Air “People don’t just happen,” writes Saeed Jones. “We sacrifice former versions of ourselves. We sacrifice the people who dared to raise us. The ‘I’ it seems doesn’t exist until we are able to say, ‘I am no longer yours.’” Haunted and haunting, How We Fight for Our Lives is a stunning coming-of-age memoir. Jones tells the story of a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Through a series of vignettes that chart a course across the American landscape, Jones draws readers into his boyhood and adolescence—into tumultuous relationships with his family, into passing flings with lovers, friends, and strangers. Each piece builds into a larger examination of race and queerness, power and vulnerability, love and grief: a portrait of what we all do for one another—and to one another—as we fight to become ourselves. An award-winning poet, Jones has developed a style that’s as beautiful as it is powerful—a voice that’s by turns a river, a blues, and a nightscape set ablaze. How We Fight for Our Lives is a one-of-a-kind memoir and a book that cements Saeed Jones as an essential writer for our time.Good morning, here are some of the (many) books I’ve liked lately! https://t.co/lel3vPOWMm
Dominicana
Angie Cruz
“I have been eagerly waiting for a new book from Angie Cruz. So glad the time has come.” —Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother I’m Dying and Breath, Eyes, Memory “Gorgeous writing, gorgeous story.” —Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street “An essential read for our times.” —Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay. As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.Good morning, here are some of the (many) books I’ve liked lately! https://t.co/lel3vPOWMm