It’s a new quarter and that means new fiction and nonfiction picks have been selected for you courtesy of Bestsellers Club! Four fiction picks are available for you to choose from: diverse debuts, graphic novel, historical fiction, and international fiction. Four nonfiction picks are available for you to choose from: biographies, cookbooks, social justice, and true crime. Our fiction and nonfiction picks are chosen quarterly and are available in regular print only. If you would like to update your selections or are a new patron who wants to receive picks from any of those four categories, sign up for Bestsellers Club through our website!
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Below you will find information provided by the publishers and authors on the titles we have selected from the following categories in fiction: diverse debuts, graphic novel, historical fiction, and international fiction and the following categories in nonfiction: biographies, cookbooks, social justice, and true crime.
Acronym definitions
BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
LGBTQ+: Lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, and more.
FICTION PICKS
Diverse Debuts:
Diverse Debuts: Debut fiction novel by a BIPOC author, LGBTQ+ author or an author from another marginalized community.
Ravishing by Eshani Surya
A provocative, razor-sharp novel about two Indian American siblings caught in the clutches of a beauty tech company, Ravishing is an incisive portrait of a predatory industry and its dangerous ability to capitalize on our deepest insecurities. Full of heart and vulnerability, Eshani Surya’s dazzling debut shines a light on the dark enticements of wellness culture and the ill-fated pursuit of perfection.
For teenage Kashmira, it’s painful to look in the mirror; she has her father’s face, and every feature is a reminder of his abandonment. When a friend introduces her to Evolvoir, a beauty product that changes users’ features, Kashmira is quickly seduced by its ability to erase the triggers of her grief. Meanwhile, at Evolvoir corporate, Kashmira’s estranged brother Nikhil sees the product as an opportunity to make a difference, but is quickly mired in complicity as reports surface of severe side effects in some users. As Kashmira becomes more dependent on the escape the product offers, she is hospitalized with inexplicable symptoms and must negotiate the constraints of her new reality, while Nikhil uncovers a vicious truth that forces him to decide where his loyalties lie.
Deftly excavating the repercussions of living in white spaces, and fearlessly examining the realities of what it means to live with chronic illness, Ravishing is perfect for readers of Gold Diggers and You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine. Eshani Surya delivers a piercing novel that asks how much quiet suffering we’ll endure in exchange for beauty, for acceptance, for love. – Roxane Gay Books
Graphic Novel:
Graphic Novel: Fiction novel for adults of any subgenre with diverse characters depicted by color illustrations, sketches, and photographs.
Milk Without Honey by Hanna Harms ; with a foreword by Sarah Wyndham Lewis ; with an afterword by Professor Jürgen Tautz ; translated from German by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp.
What would the future of the world look like without bees?
Bees are vital to securing our food supply. We could live in a paradise where insects, especially bees pollinate fragrant seas of flowers whose fruits we harvest. Instead, vast lawns are now replacing flower gardens, and agriculture is characterized by monocultures. Pesticides and climate change are also causing insect mortality, with dramatic consequences for the global ecosystem. As we destroy the insect populations, honey is just one of many foods that will no longer be available to us, unless we learn to honor our innate connection with nature before it’s too late.
In gorgeous, limited palette artwork, using contemplative images as well as informative charts, Hanna Harms brings us into the world of bees: their hives, their colonies, and their interactions with the global ecosystem. This is the perfect gift book for anyone concerned about climate change and the environment. – Street Noise Books
Historical Fiction:
Historical Fiction: Historical fiction novel written by a BIPOC author, LGBTQ+ author or an author from another marginalized community, with main character(s) from a marginalized community.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.
From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women. – Gallery / Scout Press
International Fiction:
International Fiction: Fiction novel originally written in another language with main character(s) from marginalized communities.
The jaguar’s roar : a novel / Micheliny Verunschk ; translated by Juliana Barbassa.
The story of an Indigenous girl’s kidnapping during a colonial expedition intertwines with a young woman’s modern-day search for identity and ancestral truths.
In 1817, two German scientists traveled across Brazil and into the Amazon gathering flora and fauna to study and display in Europe. Among the collection they brought to the Bavarian court were two Indigenous children.
The children’s images became widespread, satisfying European curiosity about the distant land they came from. But little was known about the children themselves. Despite the scientists’ detailed records about many of the plant and animal specimens, they only noted the children’s tribes: the girl was a Miranha, and the boy, a Juri. After a few months, the children died in Germany, far from anyone who knew their names.
The Jaguar’s Roar, a spellbinding poetic novel told in many voices, imagines the children’s journey and a modern Brazilian woman’s effort to counter their disappearance from history.
In her award-winning fifth novel, Micheliny Verunschk inhabits the fictional perspective of the Miranha girl, of the jaguar she conjures for protection, of the German scientists who determine her fate, and of the two rivers that frame her life. Intertwined in this narrative is a story of Brazil’s suppression of its Indigenous history, and of a young woman named Josefa, a newcomer unmoored in the megacity of São Paulo, who identifies with the girl after seeing her image in an exhibit and tries to recover the child’s voice and story.
In Juliana Barbassa’s vivid translation, Verunshuk’s lyrical sentences carry the reader through a powerful exploration of memory, colonialism, and belonging, and make a lasting contribution to world literature. – Liveright
NONFICTION PICKS
Biography pick
Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln by Matthew Pinsker
An eye-opening portrait of Lincoln behind the scenes: Here is the career-long party politician whose brilliant coalition-building during the Civil War set the political foundation for emancipation and Union victory.
We know Lincoln as the eloquent, compassionate leader of a nation torn by civil war. But he had another, less visible side, equally central to his character and leadership: Lincoln was a master of party politics. Schooled as a Whig in the rough-and-tumble of Illinois electioneering in the 1830s, Lincoln skillfully navigated treacherous partisan crosscurrents and helped build the Republican party into a viable force. His decades of experience as a party leader proved invaluable to him as president and commander in chief during the Civil War.
Matthew Pinsker’s groundbreaking history draws extensively on Lincoln’s private correspondence to move beyond the marble icon and realize a flesh-and-blood character in Boss Lincoln. Behind closed doors he was shrewd and insistent, capable of deft manipulation, blunt intimidation, or thoughtful argument as needed. As a decision-maker he was attentive to detail but kept his own counsel and trusted his own acumen. His aides noted that in cabinet meetings Lincoln had the final say, and “there is no cavil.” Devoted to elections, he kept careful, handwritten tallies of party turnout, even gifting one to Mary Todd, another partisan, during their courtship. His hymn to democracy at Gettysburg in 1863 carried a partisan message to the political leaders gathered there: The fight for the union would take place at the polls as well as on the battlefield. Boss Lincoln often sacrificed candor for purpose. He used his White House meeting with Frederick Douglass in 1864, ostensibly about emancipation, to send a message to radicals about his need for their support.
With emancipation and the war’s outcome at stake, facing withering criticism from all sides, Lincoln won reelection by building a new political coalition through the Union party. Here was Boss Lincoln at his height, captured in absorbing detail in this indelible portrait of our greatest president. – W.W. Norton & Company
Cookbook pick
Breaking the Rules: A Fresh Take on Italian Classics by Joe Sasto with Thea Baumann ; photographs by Huge Galdones.
A bold, fun, and daring collection of recipes that break the rules of Italian cooking from Top Chef and Food Network star Joe Sasto.
It’s time to ditch the same boring recipes and get creative in the kitchen. Known for his signature curled mustache and dynamic presence on shows like Bravo’s Top Chef and Food Network’s Tournament of Champions, Joe Sasto brings his culinary expertise and passion for pasta to your kitchen. Breaking the Rules is a celebration of Italian cuisine, reimagined with Joe’s unique flair, playfulness, and creativity.
Dive into a world of pasta with step-by-step techniques that guide you through creating dishes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. From classic Italian recipes like meatballs and focaccia to innovative creations such as Corn Cacio e Pepe, Marinated Tomato “Amatriciana,” and Pesto Pinwheel Pull-Apart Bread, Joe’s recipes are designed to inspire both novice and experienced cooks. Each recipe begins with a simple version, perfect for beginners, and offers variations to elevate the dish for those ready to “break the rules” and take their skills to the next level.
With stunning full-color photographs and pro tips throughout, Breaking the Rules is more than just a cookbook—it’s an invitation to embrace creativity in the kitchen. Whether you’re a fan of Joe’s many television appearances or a home cook looking to expand your repertoire, this book is a must-have for anyone passionate about Italian cuisine and culinary innovation. – S&S / Simon Element
Social Justice pick
By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle
Before 2020, American Indian reservations made up roughly 55 million acres of land in the United States. Nearly 200 million acres are reserved for National Forests—in the emergence of this great nation, our government set aside more land for trees than for Indigenous peoples.
In the 1830s Muscogee people were rounded up by the US military at gunpoint and forced into exile halfway across the continent. At the time, they were promised this new land would be theirs for as long as the grass grew and the waters ran. But that promise was not kept. When Oklahoma was created on top of Muscogee land, the new state claimed their reservation no longer existed. Over a century later, a Muscogee citizen was sentenced to death for murdering another Muscogee citizen on tribal land. His defense attorneys argued the murder occurred on the reservation of his tribe, and therefore Oklahoma didn’t have the jurisdiction to execute him. Oklahoma asserted that the reservation no longer existed. In the summer of 2020, the Supreme Court settled the dispute. Its ruling that would ultimately underpin multiple reservations covering almost half the land in Oklahoma, including Nagle’s own Cherokee Nation.
Here Rebecca Nagle recounts the generations-long fight for tribal land and sovereignty in eastern Oklahoma. By chronicling both the contemporary legal battle and historic acts of Indigenous resistance, By the Fire We Carry stands as a landmark work of American history. The story it tells exposes both the wrongs that our nation has committed and the Native-led battle for justice that has shaped our country. – Harper
True Crime pick
A Killing in Cannabis: A True Story of Love, Murder, and California Weed by Scott Eden
Santa Cruz is one of the country’s surf meccas and a favored getaway of the Silicon Valley elite. For decades, marijuana has been cultivated, consumed, and trafficked in these mountains, one of the most important regions in the country for the crop. It’s where Ken Kesey threw his wild parties, where back-to-the-land types came to live off the grid, and where Tushar Atre, Silicon Valley founder, was found brutally murdered.
Charismatic, ambitious, arrogant, and rich, Atre was the leader among a clutch of tech execs and venture capitalists with a voracious appetite for risk, work, and money, riding waves at dawn and then putting in fourteen-hour days. When he met Rachael Lynch, a maverick cannabis grower and mover of product, he had a vision of how their lives could come together in business and in love. Atre sought to disrupt the newly legal cannabis trade by funding a start-up with black market capital. This illegal pursuit would entangle him with an array of colorful and dangerous characters, many of whom had compelling reason to want him dead.
Award-winning journalist Scott Eden’s panoramic investigation exposes the symbiotic relationship between the legal weed world and its shadowy, illegal counterpart. It is a story of love, greed, and betrayal, set in a world where visionaries, hippies, masters of the universe, and stone-cold killers are all stakeholders, eager to exploit the power of the plant. – Spiegel & Grau
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