Fair Play
When you hear the name Tove Jansson, you probably automatically think of Moomin, but Jansson was much more than the exploits of everyone in Moomin Valley.
Diversity
Most old books are written by rich, straight, white men. These books were written by people who were not. Authors from a visible minority and women writing outside of ‘acceptably feminine’ topics can be found here.
Weight of the Earth
In these tapes, Wojnarowicz discusses a vast variety of topics but mostly settles on art, dreams, and death as he processes his HIV diagnosis and impending end of life.
My Father and Myself
The moment real adulthood begins is when you look at the grown-ups around you and realize that they are people and they may not always know what’s best for you or understand your experience.
Motion Sickness
Like the narrator, the novel wanders between past and present and often between locations themselves.
Suzanne and Louise
Guibert’s aunts were a major part of his life and offer him comfort that his parents cannot when he gets sick. In them, he can see his own end of life.
Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black
One of the best parts of the collected editions like this (especially when they’re arranged chronologically) is that you can follow Mueller through her life and watch her evolve as a writer.
At the Bottom of the River
It’s important that one does not expect completely linear stories when one picks up a Kincaid work.
The Weary Blues & The Ways of White Folks
It’s hard to express just how incredible his verse is. Often, it is the perfect union of opposites. Harsh and beautiful. Joyful and full of grief.
Neighbors and Other Stories
Though the book is new, the stories are classics. Oliver’s prose is crisp and stark as she takes the reader into the realities of Black life under Jim Crow.
The Harlem Book of the Dead
It’s a beautiful testament to the love and care that went into caring for the dead, as well as the images that survivors carried with them after the funeral was done.