Fall is always an exciting time for books, book lovers, and book shelves. I thought it would be fun for us to build a list of books we’re all looking forward to reading. I’ll go first:
Sep 16, 2022·edited Sep 16, 2022Liked by Saeed Jones
YOURS 😍 pre-ordered and mingling with my beach stack. Also, Hafizah Augustus Geter's The Black Period & N. K. Jemisin's The World We Make (but read The City We Became first, if you haven't already) ❤️
Oh, there's a ton of good stuff on my TBR for this fall!
Just got ARCs of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's debut novel, Chain-Gang All-Stars, which I know is going to blow me and every reader away, (go check out his debut short story collection, Friday Black, if you haven't yet!). AND I have Kelly Link's new short story collection, White Cat, Black Dog, arriving soon, too.
I've started Sofia Samatar's memoir/travelogue The White Mosque and it's brilliant so far. Also, have George Saunders's new collection, Liberation Day waiting for me after!
Eagerly awaiting N. K. Jemisin's The World We Make in November, too; she's a teacher and friend, and everything she does is just incredible.
And as a publicist, I'd be remiss not to shout out Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura and Desert Creatures by Kay Chronister, coming from Erewhon Books this Fall. Both brilliant in their own ways <3
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske was the most fun I had reading last year, and I'm SO excited for the second book of the planned trilogy, A Restless Truth, to come out in November. CANNOT WAIT.
Apologies in advance for being a downer -- but I can’t think of a better group to ask for recommendations from -- my mother passed away this weekend after a short, intense battle with cancer. I’m looking for books about grief that aren’t about grief, if that makes sense. Thank you so much in advance!
I am currently reading "tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin and "Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals" by Saidiya Hartman
- My Government Means to Kill me by Rasheed Newson
- If I Survive You by Johnathan Escoffery
- What the Fireflies Know by Kai Harris
- And I'm in the middle of Dirtbag, Massachusetts, which I was so excited for and cannot get into even a little bit... so I'm not sure if I'll finish it.
My just finished:
- Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow (WHICH I LOVED SO MUCH)
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (WHICH I ALSO LOVED SO MUCH.)
- Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans (poetry) (I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE SO BEAUTIFUL.)
- To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara (WHICH I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT AND SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE IT WAS NONFICTION...)
You might like my new book, 'The Ultimate Relationship... the one with yourself' (available online). Author is me, Fiona Price. My story from the inside out and really about claiming our innate power to take charge of ourselves and our lives!
Please consider featuring the upcoming “White Women” by Regina Jackson & Saira Rao. The documentary companion “Deconstructing Karen” premieres on CBC next week. Anti-racist work for nice white ladies!
4. Mason J. Crossbones of My Life (Nomadic Press-Lambda Literary award, trans poetry)
5. Mohammed El-Kurd. RIFQA. ( Haymarket Press)
6. Cris Turienzo. La alquimia en tiempos de quimera. (de España)
7. Violeta Orozco The Broken Woman Diaries (Andante Books). prize winner--International Latinx Poet in English
8. Solmaz Sharif. CUSTOMS.
9. Anthology: When There Are Nine: Poems Celebrating the Life and Achievements of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Edited by Rebecca Evans, Shaneen A. Harris, and Ashley Kunsa; MOON TIDE PRESS
I have Bliss Montage on my list! And just got Alive at the End of the World in the mail :)
Two great books just finished:
- Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen
- Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
Other books, mostly preordered so far:
- Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang (tr. by Ken Liu)
- Tell Us When To Go: A Novel by Emil Deandreis [describes recent San Francisco in vivid ways] (Sept 20 release)
- Liberation Day: Stories by George Saunders (Oct 18 release)
- The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes on by Franny Choi (Nov 1 release)
- The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin [for fans of sci-fi where gentrification is the enemy, this is the second book in her The Great Cities series] (Nov 1 release)
I think I'm about to start Mercury Picture Presents, by Anthony Marra, and I'm also really excited about Bliss Montage, A Dangerous Business, The Furrows, Seven Empty Houses, and Signal Fires, too!
Year of the Tiger: An Activists Life--Alice Wong
YOURS 😍 pre-ordered and mingling with my beach stack. Also, Hafizah Augustus Geter's The Black Period & N. K. Jemisin's The World We Make (but read The City We Became first, if you haven't already) ❤️
Ross Gay has a new book of essays coming out! Inciting Joy. I think Oct release
Very much on board with Bliss Montage!
Also...
How Not To Drown In A Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
Woman Without Shame by Sandra Cisneros
Lucy By The Sea by Elizabeth Strout
A Visible Man by Edward Enninful
And because of my nostalgic love for Geek Love I’m going to read Toad by Katherine Dunn.
Thank you for starting and sharing this Fall 2022 Book List!
Shrines of Gaiety- Kate Atkinson
Demon Copperhead- Barbara Kingsolver
Scenes From My Life- Michael K Williams
I expect some tears during Michael's memoir.
Oh, there's a ton of good stuff on my TBR for this fall!
Just got ARCs of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's debut novel, Chain-Gang All-Stars, which I know is going to blow me and every reader away, (go check out his debut short story collection, Friday Black, if you haven't yet!). AND I have Kelly Link's new short story collection, White Cat, Black Dog, arriving soon, too.
I've started Sofia Samatar's memoir/travelogue The White Mosque and it's brilliant so far. Also, have George Saunders's new collection, Liberation Day waiting for me after!
Eagerly awaiting N. K. Jemisin's The World We Make in November, too; she's a teacher and friend, and everything she does is just incredible.
And as a publicist, I'd be remiss not to shout out Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura and Desert Creatures by Kay Chronister, coming from Erewhon Books this Fall. Both brilliant in their own ways <3
ahhhh this isn't complete, but off the top of my head:
Vanessa A. Bee's HOME BOUND (NF, memoir)
Sabrina Imbler's HOW FAR THE LIGHT REACHES (NF, memoir)
Ashley Herring Blake's ASTRID PARKER DOESN'T FAIL (F, wlw romance)
N.K. Jemisin's THE WORLD WE MAKE (F, sci-fi)
Kylie Yamashiro's THE EMPRESS OF TIME (YA, fantasy)
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske was the most fun I had reading last year, and I'm SO excited for the second book of the planned trilogy, A Restless Truth, to come out in November. CANNOT WAIT.
Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization by Neil deGrasse Tyson
How We Heal: Uncover Your Power and Set Yourself Free by Alexandra Elle
Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control by Ryan Holiday
Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future by Yung Pueblo
Apologies in advance for being a downer -- but I can’t think of a better group to ask for recommendations from -- my mother passed away this weekend after a short, intense battle with cancer. I’m looking for books about grief that aren’t about grief, if that makes sense. Thank you so much in advance!
Small Game - Blair Braverman
These are not all new, but I am making my way through the Renaissance reading list posted by the New York Public Library:
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2022/08/08/born-free-renaissance-reading-list
I am currently reading "tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin and "Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals" by Saidiya Hartman
My currently reading:
- My Government Means to Kill me by Rasheed Newson
- If I Survive You by Johnathan Escoffery
- What the Fireflies Know by Kai Harris
- And I'm in the middle of Dirtbag, Massachusetts, which I was so excited for and cannot get into even a little bit... so I'm not sure if I'll finish it.
My just finished:
- Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow (WHICH I LOVED SO MUCH)
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (WHICH I ALSO LOVED SO MUCH.)
- Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans (poetry) (I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE SO BEAUTIFUL.)
- To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara (WHICH I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT AND SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE IT WAS NONFICTION...)
My up next:
- Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
- Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers by Adam Zmith
- Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
- Black Cake by Charmaine Wiklerson
Woman without Shame- Sandra Cisneros
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender- Kit Heyam
What My Bones Know- Stephanie Foo
Invisible Child- Andrea Elliot
After Roe- Mary Ziegler
A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing- DeMaris B Hill
Memorial Drive- Natasha Trethewey
Just finished (and loved): MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME, by Rasheed Newson
Currently reading (and loving): LUSTER, by Raven Leilani
Up Next (and looking forward to): DISORIENTATION, by Elaine Hsieh Chou
So many good books this fall!
Queer Little Nightmares, a monster anthology by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli
Heretic by Jeanna Kadlec (a memoir about leaving evangelicalism)
How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy (queer YA fantasy)
On Repentance and Repair by Danya Ruttenberg (one of the great thinkers and most important problems of our time)
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas (supernatural thriller set in the aftermath of the Mexican war of independence)
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (I will read anything she writes)
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner (romance; college student sleeps with her friend’s mom)
South to America by Imani Perry and Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng are next for me.
You might like my new book, 'The Ultimate Relationship... the one with yourself' (available online). Author is me, Fiona Price. My story from the inside out and really about claiming our innate power to take charge of ourselves and our lives!
aaay love this! my stack currently consists of:
n. k. jemisin - the killing moon + the shadowed sun (fantasy)
rebecca hall - wake- the hidden history of women-led slave revolts (graphic novel)
elvia wilk - oval (sci fi)
eloghosa osunde - vagabonds! (fiction)
marlon james - a brief history of seven killings (historical fiction)
tricia hersey - rest is resistance (non-fiction)
@saeed your beautiful books arrived!
Please consider featuring the upcoming “White Women” by Regina Jackson & Saira Rao. The documentary companion “Deconstructing Karen” premieres on CBC next week. Anti-racist work for nice white ladies!
Poetry:
1. Akiwaeke Emezi Content Warning: Everything
2. Maw Shein Win. Invisible Gifts (Manic D Press)
3. Kimi Sugioka. Wile & Wing (Manic D Press)
4. Mason J. Crossbones of My Life (Nomadic Press-Lambda Literary award, trans poetry)
5. Mohammed El-Kurd. RIFQA. ( Haymarket Press)
6. Cris Turienzo. La alquimia en tiempos de quimera. (de España)
7. Violeta Orozco The Broken Woman Diaries (Andante Books). prize winner--International Latinx Poet in English
8. Solmaz Sharif. CUSTOMS.
9. Anthology: When There Are Nine: Poems Celebrating the Life and Achievements of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Edited by Rebecca Evans, Shaneen A. Harris, and Ashley Kunsa; MOON TIDE PRESS
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton.
from last year, but just reading: Robert P. Jones Jr. The Prophets
I have Bliss Montage on my list! And just got Alive at the End of the World in the mail :)
Two great books just finished:
- Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen
- Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
Other books, mostly preordered so far:
- Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang (tr. by Ken Liu)
- Tell Us When To Go: A Novel by Emil Deandreis [describes recent San Francisco in vivid ways] (Sept 20 release)
- Liberation Day: Stories by George Saunders (Oct 18 release)
- The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes on by Franny Choi (Nov 1 release)
- The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin [for fans of sci-fi where gentrification is the enemy, this is the second book in her The Great Cities series] (Nov 1 release)
I have a few books at the moment that I’d like to get to this month:
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls-- T Kira Madden
Lost Wax--Jericho Parms
Magical Negro--Morgan Parker
I think I'm about to start Mercury Picture Presents, by Anthony Marra, and I'm also really excited about Bliss Montage, A Dangerous Business, The Furrows, Seven Empty Houses, and Signal Fires, too!
Sacrificio, by a former professor, Ernesto Mestre-Reed.
How may we get a signed copy of your lates book?
I am eagerly awaiting my copy of Chen Chen's book...any day now! I just did a book roundup on my substack today. I love reading. https://melissafondakowski.substack.com/p/grateful-for-my-friends-book-roundup?r=5xye1&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web - and oh yeah: yours is on my list, too!!
Jackal- Erin Adams
Just got my copy (I pre-ordered awhile ago!) Going to start this weekend!