The Feminist Know-It-All: You know her. You can’t stand her. Good thing she’s not here! Instead, this column by gender and women’s studies librarian Karla Strand will amplify stories of the creation, access, use and preservation of knowledge by women and girls around the world; share innovative projects and initiatives that focus on information, literacies, libraries and more; and, of course, talk about all of the books.
Hello, feminist reader friends! Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. The aims of these lists are threefold:
- I want to do my part in the disruption of what has been the acceptable “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male;
- I want to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities—you know, the rest of us; and
- I want to challenge and encourage you all to buy, borrow and read them!
This November in the U.S., we are probably all preoccupied with the elections, which may or may not have occurred by the time you’re reading this. I’m writing this before Election Day, and the tension, anxiety and fear are palpable.
I’ve already voted in Wisconsin, a critical swing state. I recently moved from one red county to another, but I am encouraged by the number of Harris and Baldwin signs I see dotting my commute to and from Madison. Outside the capital and Milwaukee, there are more blue signs than I’ve ever seen. Perhaps foolishly, I take them as signs of hope.
I know the 2024 elections are contentious for a number of valid and important reasons, none of which I’ll tackle here. My hope is that you listened to your conscience and voted and that when I look back at this after the election, I’m not cringing at my naivete.
I hope we’re hopeful.
I hope we’re stronger and more focused. I hope we’re safer and taking better, more humane and considered paths. In the 11th hour, all I can do is hope.
I hope we did all we could to counteract despair and apathy. I hope we did enough to defeat threats of fascism and tyranny. I hope we got through to those we elected so that they may end authoritarianism, injustice and genocide. I hope, I hope.
Until then, I read.
No kidding. It calms and soothes me. It educates and thrills me. Reading makes me a better, kinder, more empathetic person. It helps me not to feel so alone and so discouraged. It counteracts the desperation and uncertainty I feel more often lately.
Reading is healing. It may not be a magic potion, but it is a powerful salve that we can all dip into when we need some rest, comfort or inspiration to keep going. You’ve heard my reading evangelism before, so I won’t belabor it. But I do hope you find solace in reading like I do; I do still hope.
So, friends, here’s to reading. And here’s to hope. And here are the 20 soothing, motivating, educating, loving and ass-kicking books releasing this month that I recommend.
Women Surrounded by Water: A Memoir
By Patricia Coral (@_patriciacoral_). Mad Creek Books. 152 pages. Out Nov. 1.
With all the garbage talk from 45 about the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, it’s imperative to learn the truth about it from the people themselves. This immersive debut memoir is full of robust imagery and lyrical stories of one family of Puerto Rican women.
*
Monstrous Work and Radical Satisfaction: Black Women Writing under Segregation
By Eve Dunbar (@evedunbar). University of Minnesota Press. 192 pages. Out Nov. 5.
English professor Eve Dunbar’s latest work provides a compelling new interpretation of Black feminist literature from the 1930s through the 1950s, examining their challenges to imposed–yet not always equitable–norms of racial integration and their self-defined models for radical satisfaction.
*
The Burrow
By Melanie Cheng (@cheng_melanie). Tin House Books. 200 pages. Out Nov. 12.
A pet rabbit is purchased as a distraction after a family tragedy. An estranged mother returns to push the boundaries of existing relationships and realities. Centering on themes of grief, love, guilt and grace, this story is wise, tender and triumphant.
*
The Lotus Empire (The Burning Kingdoms, 3)
By Tasha Suri (@tashasuri). Orbit. 528 pages. Out Nov. 12.
It’s the last book in Tasha Suri’s Burning Kingdoms Trilogy, and it does not disappoint! If you’ve missed out on this epic rager of a fantasy series, perhaps now is the time to catch up. Full of action, adventure and suspense, this conclusion is one for the ages.
*
Lowest Common Denominator
Written by Pirkko Saisio. Translated by Mia Spangenberg. Two Lines Press. 312 pages. Out Nov. 12.
Witty and wonderful, this coming-of-age autofiction is based on Pirkko Saiso’s youth in 1950s Finland, where she curiously questions family, identity, gender and her place in the world. She finds answers in her exploration of language and literature and takes readers along for the journey.
*
Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice
By Chanelle Gallant (@chanelle_gallant) and Elene Lam. Haymarket Books. 288 pages. Out Nov. 12.
In this first-of-its-kind volume, activists Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam center the voices, wisdom and experiences of migrant sex workers to dispel long-held myths, misconceptions, stereotypes and stigmas of those at the intersections of sex work, migration, policing and labor.
*
Set My Heart on Fire: A Novel
Written by Izumi Suzuki. Translated by Helen O’Horan. Verso. 192 pages. Out Nov. 12.
I’m so grateful to the good people at Verso for publishing work by model, actress and Japanese counterculture legend Izumi Suzuki (1949-1986). This latest slim volume has all the feminist filth and fuckery that I’ve come to love about Suzuki’s style.
*
South Side Impresarios: How Race Women Transformed Chicago’s Classical Music Scene
By Samantha Ege (@DrSamanthaEge). University of Illinois Press. 296 pages. Out Nov. 12.
Musicologist and pianist Samantha Ege has written this groundbreaking exploration of intersections of Chicago’s Black classical music scene and the work of Race women in building community and justice. Well-researched and lovingly written, this book sheds light on a formerly hidden history.
*
Stand in My Window: Meditations on Home and How We Make It
By LaTonya Yvette (@latonyayvette). The Dial Press. 224 pages. Out Nov. 12.
Alongside 25 stunning photographs, the essays in LaTonya Yvette’s latest volume lyrically reflect upon home, self, safety and belonging. She explores motherhood, womanhood, identity, relationships and more as she graciously shares her experiences of life, love and renovating her nearly 200-year-old New York home.
*
Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel
By Shuang-zi Yang. Graywolf Press. 320 pages. Out Nov. 12.
In this uniquely fashioned and gracefully voiced novel, Shuang-zi Yang has upended historical fiction as we know it. Written as a translation of a recently found Japanese text from the 1930s, Taiwan Travelogue bravely, boldly, yet subtly takes on imperialism, colonialism, tradition and power.
*
We Will Rest! The Art of Escape
By Tricia Hersey (@thenapministry). Little, Brown Spark. 160 pages. Out Nov. 12.
This is the counterpart to Rest is Resistance by The Nap Ministry founder Tricia Hersey. We all need the permission, encouragement and determination to take a break, escape, and rest, and here it is! Get one for yourself and others for all the exhausted BFFs in your life.
*
Beyond the Mountains: An Immigrant’s Inspiring Journey of Healing and Learning to Dance with the Universe
By Deja Vu Prem. Counterpoint. 208 pages. Out Nov. 19.
Growing up in the Philippines, Deja Vu Prem faced poverty, abuse and neglect. To escape the situation, she became a mail-order bride at 17 and moved to the US to marry, but things didn’t improve for Prem. She shares her heartbreaking yet hopeful story in this captivating debut memoir.
*
Blacks Against Brown: The Intra-racial Struggle over Segregated Schools in Topeka, Kansas
By Charise L. Cheney. The University of North Carolina Press. 270 pages. Out Nov. 19.
In her latest book, Dr. Charise L. Cheney revisits the 1954 Brown decision through a previously understudied lens, that of Black people who opposed the desegregation of schools. Well-researched and accessible, this work is invaluable to expanding our current understanding of this historic decision.
*
From the Ground Up: The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture
By Stephanie Anderson (@stephanieandersonwriting). The New Press. 256 pages. Out Nov. 19.
Add this one to your list of how women will save the world: regenerative farming! In her latest, farm girl and writer Stephanie Anderson explains our current food system, how it’s broken and what can be done to heal it. Best of all, she introduces readers to the women doing the work.
*
Inspired and Outraged: The Making of a Feminist Physician
By Alice Rothchild (@AliceRothchild). New Village Press. 424 pages. Out Nov. 19.
This free-verse autobiography is unique, compelling, enraging and inspiring. Through engaging and passionate poetry, feminist obstetrician-gynecologist Alice Rothchild powerfully recounts her experiences fighting for gender equity in medicine, reform in health care and justice in the world.
*
The Jewel of the Blues
By Monica Chenault-Kilgore (@monicackilgore). Graydon House. 384 pages. Out Nov. 19.
If you enjoy historical fiction, you will love Monica Chenault-Kilgore’s latest. Vivid imagery and a kaleidoscopic heroine make this Jazz Age story one to savor. It has drama, romance, glamour, secrets and redemption all wrapped up in Chenault-Kilgore’s lyrical prose.
*
Sex Work Today: Erotic Labor in the Twenty-First Century
Edited by Bernadette Barton, Barbara G. Brents and Angela Jones (@drjonessoc). NYU Press. 440 pages. Out Nov. 19.
This definitive anthology brings together experts in sexual labor from around the globe and across the disciplines. In 31 essays, they tackle topics such as racism, job satisfaction, criminalization, labor rights, feminism, binarism, capitalism and the future.
*
We Grow the World Together: Parenting Toward Abolition
Edited by Maya Schenwar (@mayaschenwar) and Kim Wilson (@kimwilsonart). Haymarket Books. 288 pages. Out Nov. 19.
In this immersive anthology, abolitionist organizers Maya Schenwar and Kim Wilson have gathered essays, narratives, stories and more to highlight the intersections between parenting and abolition. Mariame Kaba, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Beth Ritchie, adrienne maree brown, and Dorothy Roberts are among the impressive contributors.
*
City of Night Birds: A Novel
By Juhea Kim (@juhea_writes). Ecco. 320 pages. Out Nov. 26.
Juhea Kim’s latest is a gorgeously written tale of a prima ballerina faced with returning to the life in Russia she thought she’d left behind forever. Well-researched and immersive, the book is a testament to Kim’s lifelong admiration of ballet.
*
Toxic Tropics: A Horror Story of Environmental Injustice
Written by Jessica Oublié. Illustrated by Nicola Gobbi. Street Noise Books. 204 pages. Out Nov. 26.
This personal and impeccably researched work of comics journalism is focused on the poisoning of the spectacular islands and people of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The culprit? The pesticides used in cultivating bananas. Here, Jessica Oublié tells the story to shed light on the importance of health and global citizenship.
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