June 2021 Staff PicksLike this list

14 items

• Beloved Beasts

  Fighting for Life in An Age of Extinction

  Nijhuis, Michelle,

  Add Beloved Beasts to your for later shelf

  Environmental journalist Nijhuis presents a history of the conservation movement which highlights pioneers of different ecological concepts from the time of Linnaeus in the 18th century to the present day. Refreshingly, optimism infuses each…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Conductors

  Glover, Nicole,

  Add The Conductors to your for later shelf

  Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were conductors on the Underground Railroad. But not the same one you learned about in school. This Underground Railroad exists in a world where magic is real, and Hetty and Benjy are some of the best magical…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Consent

  Springora, Vanessa,

  Add Consent to your for later shelf

  In this heartbreaking memoir, French writer Springora chronicles a period of her life when, at the age of fourteen, she was victimized by a fifty-year-old esteemed literary figure, who was a not-so-secret serial sexual abuser of children. With great…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Early Morning Riser

  Heiny, Katherine,

  Add Early Morning Riser to your for later shelf

  Heiny's Early Morning Riser is the hilarious and tender story of Jane, a second-grade teacher, and Duncan, a decidedly unambitious woodworker who only really succeeds at racking up girlfriends. Set perfectly in Boyne City, Michigan from 2002 to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Empire of Pain

  the Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

  Keefe, Patrick Radden, 1976-

  Add Empire of Pain to your for later shelf

  In his latest, journalist O'Keefe (Say Nothing) sets out to reveal how much the Sackler family, who owned Purdue Pharma, the company that made OxyContin and aggressively marketed the drug as a safe, nonaddictive pain medication, knew about its…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Girlhood

  Essays

  Febos, Melissa,

  Add Girlhood to your for later shelf

  In 8 unflinching essays, Febos recounts her violent, traumatic transition from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to young adulthood. At the age of ten, she describes a sudden and pervasive awareness of her body as a source of shame,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Little Devil in America

  Notes in Praise of Black Performance

  Abdurraqib, Hanif, 1983-

  Add A Little Devil in America to your for later shelf

  One of the preeminent music writers of his generation, Abdurraqib focuses on the rich legacy of Black American performance in his latest book which stretches to encompass the work of comedians, dancers, magicians and film and TV performers, though…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Malibu Rising

  a Novel

  Reid, Taylor Jenkins,

  Add Malibu Rising to your for later shelf

  In 1980s Malibu, we follow Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit, tight-knit adult siblings and passionate surfers, as they prepare for Nina's annual party. Periodically, we pop back into the 1950s to watch their parents June and Mick Riva as they fall in love and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• One Last Stop

  McQuiston, Casey,

  Add One Last Stop to your for later shelf

  This romance starts off a bit slowly but grows into a story you won't be able to tear yourself away from. Readers will revel in the magic of finding love on a New York City subway train and finding community with craigslist roommates. With its…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Plot

  Korelitz, Jean Hanff, 1961-

  Add The Plot to your for later shelf

  Korelitz's devilishly-plotted literary thriller is a page turner that might keep you up late past your bedtime, curious to find out what happens next. When writing professor Jacob Finch Bonner finds out that a student who attended a summer MFA…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Rainbow Milk

  a Novel

  Mendez, Paul, 1982-

  Add Rainbow Milk to your for later shelf

  In this semi-autobiographical novel, debut novelist Paul Mendez tells the electrifying story of a young man's experience of being Black, gay and a former Jehovah's Witness in the UK. At 19, following excommunication from his religion, he runs away…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Somebody's Daughter

  a Memoir

  Ford, Ashley C.,

  Add Somebody's Daughter to your for later shelf

  Memoirist Ashley C. Ford recounts a painful life history growing up the child of an incarcerated father and a troubled mother. Ford skillfully enables the reader to sympathize not only with her experiences of disassociation and emptiness, but also…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Twilight Zone

  a Novel

  Fernández, Nona, 1971-

  Add The Twilight Zone to your for later shelf

  The subject of the dictatorship of Chile under Pinochet and the people who were "disappeared" during that era has been written about before, especially by literary figures who were adults at the time. Fernández writes about the experience from the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Ugly Cry

  a Memoir

  Henderson, Danielle,

  Add The Ugly Cry to your for later shelf

  Comedian, writer, and podcaster Danielle Henderson uses her talented and original voice to tell the story of being abandoned by her mother at the tender age of 10 and subsequently being raised by her grandparents. In a series of intimate and highly…Read moreRead more of this annotation