Joan Is Okay (fiction- hardbound) by Weike Wang
Joan is a thirtysomething ICU doctor at a busy New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese parents who came to the U.S. to secure the American dream for their children, Joan is intensely devoted to her work and her solitary personal life while quietly observing cultural differences between her and her white American counterparts. Once Joan and her brother were established in their careers, her parents moved back to China. This was to be a permanent move until Joan’s father dies suddenly and her mother moves back to the U.S. Between this change, and several others, Joan spirals out of her comfort zone. Joan Is Okay is deceptively spare, quietly powerful, and wholly engaging and funny.
Black Buck (fiction- paperback) by Mateo Askaripour
As an unambitious Gen Z’er, Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown New York office building, but his parents want him to live up to his potential. All that changes when a chance encounter with a CEO of a hot tech start-up convinces Darren to join his sales team. After enduring “hell week” training, Darren, the only Black employee, reimagines himself as Buck, a ruthless salesman. When there is tragedy on the home front, Buck uses his position to devise a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force. Hilarious, piercing, and provocative, Black Buck explores race, ambition, and a new vision of the American dream.
Non Binary (memoir- hardbound) by Genesis P-Orridge
In this groundbreaking book spanning decades of artistic risk-taking, the inventor of “industrial music,” founder of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, and the world-renowned fine artist with COUM Transmissions, Genesis P-Orridge takes us on a journey searching for identity and their true self. It is a revealing and beautifully open memoir from a transgender icon.
Upcoming Events
Honor Black History Month with these special events.
Wednesday, February 16 @ 5:30 pm (live-Online) Michael Tubbs, Author of The Deeper the Roots
The Deeper the Roots is a memoir that is astonishing in its candor, voice, and clarity of vision. Tubbs shares with us the city that raised him—Stockton, CA—and his family of badass women. At the age of 26, Tubbs became the youngest mayor of any major city in American history. As mayor, Tubbs was lauded for his leadership and innovation. Under his stewardship, Stockton was named an “All-America City” in 2017 and 2018, saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019, led the state of California in the decline of officer involved shootings in 2019, was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California and one of the top most fiscally healthy cities in the nation, and was featured in the HBO documentary film Stockton on My Mind.
Wednesday, February 23 @ 5:30 pm (live-online) Carol Anderson, Author of One Person, No Vote, in conversation with Ian Haney López
In One Person, No Vote, Anderson chronicles the rollbacks to African American participation in the vote since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Known as the Shelby ruling, this decision effectively allowed districts with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without approval from the Department of Justice. Focusing on the aftermath of Shelby, Anderson follows the astonishing story of government-dictated racial discrimination unfolding before our very eyes as more and more states adopt voter suppression laws. In gripping, enlightening detail she explains how voter suppression works, from photo ID requirements to gerrymandering to poll closures.
Published on February 10, 2022
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