How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair

Synopsis: With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet.

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, 37 Ink/Simon & Schuster.

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele

Synopsis: The visionary writer and director of Get Out, Us, and Nope, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation.

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, Random House.

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

Synopsis: A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love—and life—she’s been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.

Publication Date: October 3, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, Delacorte Press.

Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business by Roxane Gay

Synopsis: Opinions is a collection of Roxane Gay’s best nonfiction pieces from the past ten years. Covering a wide range of topics—politics, feminism, the culture wars, civil rights, and much more—with an all-new introduction in which she reflects on the past decade in America, this sharp, thought-provoking anthology will delight Roxane Gay’s devotees and draw new readers to this inimitable talent.

Publication Date: October 10, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, Harper.

Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country by Patricia Evangelista

Synopsis: A fearless, powerfully written on-the-ground account of a nation careening into violent autocracy—told through harrowing stories of the Philippines’ state-sanctioned killings of its citizens—from a journalist of international renown.

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, Random House.

Hungry as Hell: Meals to Live by, Flavor to Die For – A Vegan Cookbook by Bad Manners (Michelle Davis & Matt Holloway)

Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling duo behind Bad Manners gives you a home-cooking reboot with this fresh collection of more than 100 great-tasting, good-for-you plant-based recipes for any occasion.

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, Rodale Books.

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Synopsis: From Jesmyn Ward—the two-time National Book Award winner, youngest winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, and MacArthur Fellow—comes a haunting masterpiece, sure to be an instant classic, about an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War.

Publication Date: October 24, 2023

I received a gifted copy from the publisher, Book Club Favorites and Simon & Schuster.

The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now by Hilke Schellmann

Synopsis: Based on exclusive information from whistleblowers, internal documents, and real world test results, Emmy‑award winning Wall Street Journal contributor Hilke Schellmann delivers a shocking and illuminating expose on the next civil rights issue of our time: how AI has already taken over the workplace and shapes our future.

Publication Date: January 2, 2024

I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher, Hachette Books.

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

Synopsis: A spellbinding, sweeping novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.

Publication Date: January 2, 2024

I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books.

The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad

Synopsis: In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing novel set in an alternate United States—a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences.

Publication Date: February 13, 2024

I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher, Harper.

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

Synopsis: A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister.

Publication Date: October 31, 2023

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Berkley.

On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe

Synopsis: What Not to Wear and Queer Eye meet All the Feels in this sparkling romantic comedy by Jenny L. Howe, in which the new guest on a popular plus-size makeover show has her style—and her love life—transformed.

Publication Date: December 26, 2023

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin.

Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan

Synopsis: A charming opposites-attract romance, Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan is for anyone who ever stepped outside their comfort zone and found that all the best things can happen when you take a chance.

Publication Date: January 16, 2024

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, St. Martin’s Griffin.