DUE NOVEMBER 17, 2020: The Bad Muslim Discount brings together in California the lives of two very different immigrants. Anvar, as an adolescent, migrated with his family from Pakistan as Islamic fundamentalism began to take hold there. Several years later, post-9/11, Safwa and her father take a much more difficult path from war-torn Baghdad, Iraq, entering the U.S. as undocumented immigrants. Both characters struggle within and against their religion, and with family members’ expectations and demands. As their stories unfold and entwine, the situation becomes volatile and frightening, and the mounting tension kept me turning the pages long into the night. Recommended by Nancy.

Excuse my French here, but THE BRIGHT LANDS is one scary-ass book. Think Friday Night Lights rewritten by Stephen King. Set in where else but high-school-football-obsessed Texas, the story revolves around the brutal murder of the Bison's quarterback. When his brother comes back for the funeral, the homophobic culture of his hometown seems to have frightened and irreparably harmed more than just him. It's filled with sexy, homoerotic tension and builds to a nail-biting finish. Leave the lights on while you read or listen at https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488208447. The print copy is available now. Recommended by Kelly.

The Toni Morrison Book Club Part introspection, part analysis, completely insightful and compelling, The Toni Morrison Book Club is a tribute to Morrison and her voice, illuminating its impact and relevance in our world. Four writers explore four of Morrison’s novels, each writing about two of them. So each novel is examined by two writers. In each essay, Morrison’s novel serves as the foundation or springboard for a discussion of events in the writers’ lives. With deep knowledge of the novels and great analytic skill, the authors move beyond literary analysis to examine life in the United States. Analysis of mothers in Morrison’s novels leads to discussion of motherhood, particularly Black motherhood, in 21st-century United States through the very personal lens of Black mothers. The theme of “other” in Morrison’s novels inspires reflections on growing up gay in a very conservative family. The richness of Morrison’s texts is made powerfully evident as these four authors weave her themes, her techniques, her wisdom into the fabric of their lives, their stories, and their examination of the realities and culture(s) of our nation. If you love Morrison, you should listen to or read this book. If you want to understand more about race and racism in the United States, you should listen to or read this book. If you enjoy memoir and good, rich writing, you should listen to or read this book. Maybe I am simply saying you should listen to or read this book! Beware - after listening to The Toni Morrison Book Club, I now want to re-read all of Morrison’s works. And I want to hear more from these four writers. Recommended by Nancy. https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781690598329-the-toni-morrison-book-club

You Should See Me in a Crown is a quintessential prom story with some twists—namely that the protagonist is a queer Black girl.  Liz Lighty dreams of following in her late mother’s footsteps and attending Pennington.  But she can’t go to college without financial aid, and the music scholarship she was counting on fell through.  She has no other choice but to run for prom queen in the tiny Midwestern town where she’s never fit in, fighting for the cash prize like her future depends on it.  Campaign sabotage eventually forces her to stand up for herself and her values, because fairytales aren’t just for white heteros.  Read on for Black joy and queer romance! Recommended by Mary. Listen to the audio here: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781338637618-you-should-see-me-in-a-crown