Happy May, my book friends! How was your weekend? I spent some time reading. Shocking, I know. I read a horror graphic novel coming out in September that I loved called Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath. It’s like Richard Scarry, but if the animals are homicidal. I also spent time watching the activity at the bird feeders in our backyard. I saw a yellow-rumped warbler, which we don’t usually see around here! (Yes, like the bird in the Key Bank commercial.) It was very exciting. And I started a little spring cleaning, despite that fact that spring is wrapping up–it still totally counts. I have grand dreams of reorganizing all my books, but I don’t know that I am quite ready to tackle that yet. I usually start moving them around and then abandon my plans because it cuts in on my reading time. Maybe this time I can get the cats to help me.
And speaking of books (always), it’s new release day! At the top of my list of books to acquire today are Ghostroots: Stories by ‘Pemi Aguda, How It Works Out by Myriam Lacroix, and The Skunks by Fiona Warnick. And on this week’s episode of All the Books!, Danika and I talked about great books we loved that are out this week, including The Ministry of Time, The Library Thief, and Women and Children First.
Today, I am doing a round-up of several exciting books from the first Tuesday of May 2024. Below, you’ll find titles (loosely) broken up into several categories to make it easier for your browsing convenience. I hope you have fun with it! And as with each first Tuesday newsletter, I am putting asterisks *** next to the books that I have had the chance to read and loved. YAY, BOOKS!
Biography and Memoir
brother. do. you. love. me. by Manni Coe, Reuben Coe
Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg
Coming Home by Brittney Griner and Michelle Burford
The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit by Julian Randall
You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck
First Love: Essays on Friendship by Lilly Dancyger
Fiction
Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski***
Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang
Ghostroots: Stories by ‘Pemi Aguda
Perfect Little Angels by Vincent Anioke
American Abductions by Mauro Javier Cardenas
Bad Seed: Stories by Gabriel Carle, Heather Houde (translator)
Their Divine Fires by Wendy Chen
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung
The Body Farm: Stories by Abby Geni
Juja by Nino Haratischvili, Ruth Martin (translator)
Troubled Waters by Mary Annaïse Heglar
How It Works Out by Myriam Lacroix
Shanghailanders by Juli Min
América del Norte by Nicolás Medina Mora
Pages of Mourning by Diego Gerard Morrison
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor
Peacocks of Instagram: Stories by Deepa Rajagopalan
Ella by Diane Richards
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson
See Loss See Also Love by Yukiko Tominaga
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
The Skunks by Fiona Warnick
skin & bones by Renée Watson
The Lady Waiting by Magdalena Zyzak
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Middle Grade and Picture Books
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol***
Anzu and the Realm of Darkness by Mai K. Nguyen
Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen and Minnie Phan
Any Way You Look by Maleeha Siddiqui
Unicorn Crush: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure by Dana Simpson***
Korgi: The Complete Tale by Christian Slade***
Mystery and Thriller
The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé
I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay
Blood Rubies by Mailan Doquang
The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean***
Hunted by Abir Mukherjee
Nonfiction
The Year of Living Constitutionally by A.J. Jacobs
Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure, and the Bloody Conquest of the American West by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury
The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness by Kenn Kaufman
Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That Is Transforming America by Luis A. Miranda Jr. and Lin-Manuel Miranda
I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv by Illia Ponomarenko
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger
It’s Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (but Were Never Told) by Dr. Karen Tang
Romance
The Takedown by Lily Chu
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
Lavash at First Sight by Taleen Voskuni
Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley***
Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhoul
Not a River by Selva Almada, Annie McDermott (translator)
Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
Red Side Story (Shades of Grey, #2) by Jasper Fforde
Archangels of Funk by Andrea Hairston
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea Book 1) by Rebecca Thorne***
Young Adult
Death’s Country by R. M. Romero
This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed
Queerceañera by Alex Crespo
Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R.X. He
Bite Me, Royce Taslim by Lauren Ho
Hot Boy Summer by Joe Jiménez
Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams
Sweet Nightmare (The Calder Academy, #1) by Tracy Wolff
Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire by Paula Yoo
This week: I’m currently reading Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?: A Memoir by Séamas O’Reilly and Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans. I watched the first season of The Jinx this week. I knew all about it, but it still doesn’t prepare you for it. I’ll probably watch the new season once it is finished airing. I’m also on season four of my rewatch of The X-Files. This is my 12th or 13th time and—spoiler—I still love it. (Peter Boyle’s guest spot is the greatest guest spot in television.) The song stuck in my head is “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners.
And here’s a cat photo: Zevon is catching the last bit of heat from the radiator before it’s too warm to have it on. (You can tell he’s my cat because he’s using books for a pillow.)
That’s it for me today, friends. I am sending you love and good wishes for whatever is happening in your life right now. Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty