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!
Last monthly Reads of 2024!
I don’t know where this year went, but it was a tough one on many fronts. For better or for worse, here we are.
So, this will be a short intro because I still have one more column to complete this month, and that’s my Best of the Rest for 2024.
Until then, take a look at these 12 titles and tell me what your favorite reads were this year!
Softie: Stories
By Megan Howell (@meganhhowell). West Virginia University Press. 270 pages. Out Dec. 1.
Wonderfully speculative and weird, Megan Howell’s debut collection of short stories explores meaning, embodiment, secrets and relationships. Howell’s is an exciting new voice for the sad girl in all of us.
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Abortion Pills: US History and Politics
By Carrie N. Baker (@carrie.n.baker). Amherst College Press. 302 pages. Out Dec. 3.
A long-time writer and contributing editor for Ms., Carrie Baker is an expert on reproductive rights in the U.S. Well-researched and accessibly written, we need this guidance now more than ever.
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Apartment Women
By Gu Byeong-mo. Hanover Square Press. 224 pages. Out Dec. 3.
Award-winning Korean writer Gu Byeong-mo has written a sharp, original story examining motherhood, marriages and gender roles through four women and their families living in an experimental communal apartment building.
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How We Know Our Time Travelers: Stories
By Anita Felicelli. WTAW Press. 216 pages. Out Dec. 3.
With her latest collection, Anita Felicelli dives deep into a shadowy, surreal, dystopian future of climate disaster, longing and memory. Full of apps, automatons, holograms and time machines, these stories are captivating.
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Kindred Creation: Parables and Paradigms for Freedom
By Aida Mariam Davis (@aidamariam). North Atlantic Books. 224 pages. Out Dec. 3.
The marketing materials for Aida Mariam Davis’ debut are clear that it’s “not written for settler consumption,” so while I haven’t read this one, I highlight it here because I trust the likes of Robin D.G. Kelley, Nikki Giovanni and Ericka Huggins when they sing its praises.
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Kingdom of No Tomorrow
By Fabienne Josaphat (@fabyjosaphat). Algonquin Books. 288 pages. Out Dec. 3.
Award-winning writer Fabienne Josaphat’s latest novel is focused on a young woman who gets involved in the Black Panthers in the 1960s. Through her fight for the rights of her people, she finds her own power and autonomy in this compelling historical novel.
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The Last One
By Rachel Howzell Hall. Entangled: Red Tower Books. 496 pages. Out Dec. 3.
Bestselling mystery writer Rachel Howzell Hall sets her sights on romantasy with her latest book and succeeds beautifully. If you can, get your hands on one of the limited edition copies with gorgeous endpapers and stunning stenciled edges.
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Redface: Race, Performance, and Indigeneity
By Bethany Hughes (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). NYU Press. 280 pages. Out Dec. 3.
In her compelling debut, Bethany Hughes investigates the history of “redface” in the US. Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, this volume sheds light on colonial legacies of racial constructions and performativity.
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Sister Snake: A Novel
By Amanda Lee Koe (@amandaleekoe). Ecco. 272 pages. Out Dec. 3.
Two sisters are as different as could be except for the secret they share: they were both once snakes in Tang Dynasty China. This suspenseful, fantastical and funny tale draws on themes of identity, belonging, truth and tradition.
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Good Pictures Are a Strong Weapon: Laura Gilpin, Queerness, and Navajo Sovereignty
By Louise Siddons. University of Minnesota Press. 320 pages. Out Dec. 10.
Using Laura Gilpin’s The Enduring Navaho (1968) as a case study, Louise Siddons’ latest provides a nuanced exploration of white photography of Native subjects. In so doing, she reflects on broader issues of intersectionality, lesbianism, authenticity, appropriation and the limits of allyship.
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No Place to Bury the Dead: A Novel
Written by Karina Sainz Borgo. Translated by Elizabeth Bryer. HarperVia. 256 pages. Out Dec. 10.
Visceral and original, the latest novel by Venezuelan writer Karina Sainz Borgo is a chillingly composed story of two women trying to survive a plague that causes amnesia. Stark, yet lyrical, this one will stay with me.
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Radical Solidarity: Ruth Reynolds, Political Allyship, and the Battle for Puerto Rico’s Independence
By Lisa G. Materson (@lmaterson.bsky.social). University of North Carolina Press. 286 pages. Out Dec. 10.
Through examining the life and work of white ally Ruth Reynolds, Lisa G. Materson developed the concept of “radical solidarity,” which centers on transnational collective activism as highlighted by Reynolds’ dedication to Puerto Rican independence.
