W. W. Norton & Company

As with each book, Richard Powers centers a subject of curiosity and explores it deep and wide, adding layers of resonance: here it is outer space and inner. Bewilderment is stunning in its simplicity, heart, and genius. It is the story of a grieving father and his unique, troubled son Robin, and the experimental treatment to improve Robby’s behavior by tapping into the emotions of his dead mother. It is a book about our current world in crises and how to endure, about the universe and its infinite possibilities, going beyond humanity, and in so doing, offering astonishing hope. Bewilderment asks for your whole heart, your intellect, and your imagination, and the only answer is yes—truly the most moving book I’ve read this year. —Melinda

Millennial, writer, Cowlitz Indian Tribe member, witch, popular culture consumer - through these individual but interconnected essays Washuta has formed a sampling of her very soul. In these funny, poignant, sincere yet self-aware, and at times painfully familiar essays, Stevie Nicks, Twin Peaks, and Red Dead Redemption share equal time with childhood memories, oppressed heritage, adult heartbreak, and magic in ways that will have you demanding more beyond the last page. - Jocelyn

After finishing Unworthy Republic, you’ll be wondering how the US got off so lightly in Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Two hundred years of violent, though piecemeal, efforts to displace the original inhabitants of the Eastern US did not result in the purging of all Native peoples. Claudio Saunt explains how the first systematized, censused, self-capitalized, internationally brokered, and democratically determined program to remove an entire people, or kill them if more convenient, led to the Trail of Tears, the expansion of slavery, and Disney World. — Dave

This is the story of the American Dream gone awry. Don and Mimi Gilbert want only the best for their 12 children. But in adolescence their eldest, golden son begins exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia, and it’s only a matter of time before several of his brother’s follow suit. Fascinating and heart-wrenching, Kolker’s interviews with the family and his research on the topic illustrate just how little is understood about an illness that afflicts so many. — Jade

This book is part of our Spring Reading Challenge. Read more here.

Much has been written about the destruction of Pompeii, the “discovery” of Angkor; but what of those cities in their prime? What about the people who lived there? Newitz spent years traveling the world, researching, excavating, and speaking with experts in order to glean a deeper understanding of ancient cities and the lives of their citizens. Educational and engaging, Four Lost Cities is both an enjoyable history lesson and a call to take care of the cities of today, before they too fall into ruin. — Jade

Brina weaves her own life—from a desperate attempt to camouflage herself with a variety of punk hair colors, doomed attempts at relationships, and her first ever conversation with her mother in Japanese as an adult—together with that of her mother, a survivor of the Battle of Okinawa and a war bride living unhappily in America. The deep scars of the battle, and the ongoing US military occupation of Okinawa, show in the trauma and healing between them. — Dave
 

If you have a relationship with ants (be it positive or war-based), you should read this new book by noted biologist and naturalist Edward O. Wilson. It is an accessible exploration of the world of these six-legged powerhouses. At worst, you’ll have a lot of cool facts to impress your friends with. Or you just might come out with a newfound appreciation of the wonderful world of Formicidae! — MJ

The timeless words of trailblazer Audre Lorde never fail to move, challenge, and inspire me. This stellar collection, edited by Roxane Gay, showcases the breadth of Lorde’s poems and prose as she speaks to motherhood, race, patriarchy, white feminism, and the fight for justice. For those new to Lorde’s thoughtful and brilliant work, Selected Works is a great introduction, and for those of us who are already admirers, it is an essential addition to our shelves. — S.B.

This collection amplifies and revitalizes the Latin American tradition of protest poetry. Featuring the work of beloved poets such as Cesar Vallejo, Pablo Neruda, Nancy Morejon, and Ana Maria Rodas, this bilingual text asks us to remember that the fight for justice is ongoing and motivated by our own creative and collective power. — Juj

Organized by geographic location of the poets’ Nations, the poems in this wide-ranging anthology run from the 17th century to the present day, some in English, some bilingual (translated from Native Nations languages), varying in form and content from traditions Eastern, Western, and Indigenous. Each section is preceded by editors’ essays which give context and appreciation, guiding you as the reader on a tour of American literature that may lead you to your next favorite poet. — Jocelyn