Written by North Korean author Bandi (a pseudonym which means firefly), this well-written collection showcases North Koreans' daily lives under the dictatorship of the Kims. These seven stories demonstrate how human rights have been abused and…
Growing up in a mostly white town in Oregon, raised by her white adoptive parents, Nicole Chung had no connection to her Korean ancestry. She knew she looked different from everyone around her, and knew she didn't like being different, but it wasn't…
The term superstar gets thrown around pretty liberally in today’s cult of celebrity, where social media and the 24-hour news cycle can make one famous simply for being famous (the Kardashians come to mind). With this as perspective, it is almost…
By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra:…
Feminist historical fiction that covers 1531 to the present, HMM&HD looks at the prevailing machismo culture of Brazil through the eyes of the women who struggled against it. Each chapter describes a relative of the narrator and their place in…
The latest from Orlean (The Orchid Thief) is essentially three books in one: a true crime investigation of the fire that burned down Los Angeles Public Library's central library in 1986, a history of LA's public library, and an overview of what…
Perry provides an intimate biography about playwright, artist, and civil rights leader Lorraine Hansberry, who died tragically young at thirty-four. She examines what molded this unapologetically proud woman to become the first African American…
Author Colm Toibin explores Dublin culture, history and literature in this set of profiles of the fathers of writers Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats and James Joyce, whose lives intersected and ran parallel at times. Did you know that William…
Do you consider Anne a kindred spirit? What about Marilla, her no-nonsense guardian? You surely will once you read Marilla of Green Gables, in which bestselling author Sarah McCoy provides plenty of scope for the imagination as she weaves a loving…
Perry's follow-up to her acclaimed debut novel The Essex Serpent is another treat for fans of the classics. It’s set in contemporary times but it's written like a Gothic novel from in the vein of Bram Stoker and Daphne du Maurier. Loosely inspired…
Anderson's thorough yet concise book details the many methods by which voters are being disenfranchised across the United States. She writes about gerrymandering, purging of voter registration rolls, complicated changes in voter ID laws, the lack of…
Moore’s beautifully poetic debut novel is a magical realist take on the founding of her native Liberia, told by three characters who possess a supernatural gift and a unique origin story. Gbessa, from the Vai tribe in Liberia, is immortal. June Dey,…
This compelling debut is based on the extraordinary true story of Lale Sokolov who, in April 1942, presented himself to the Nazis when they demanded every Jewish family in Slovakia send an adult child to work in the German labor camps. Lale, with…
Poet and novelist Idra Novey weaves an intricate tale of politics, corruption and the seduction of it all in her latest novel. Told in three distinct sections, in unnamed yet specific locations deemed to be anywhere, Lena suspects a former…
The setting is the familiar territory of Unger's New York—gritty, dark, and dangerous. Poppy's husband died, beaten to death while running in the park. Afterwards a grief-stricken Poppy disappeared for three days and can't remember where she went.…
This collection of six often disturbing stories by veteran fiction writer Eisenberg is thought-provoking and cerebral, a mostly dark landscape pinpricked by luminous language: "an intoxicating fragrance flares into the room like daybreak" when a…
