Books on Deck: May 2024
We've got the 1992 LA Uprisings, a much anticipated celebrity memoir, and the real life Challenger disaster coming in hot in May. Plus, my memoir of the year so far!
Today is the first publication day in May. New books, yaay! The list this month is full of nonfiction, because even though I have been trying to dabble a bit more in fiction this year, I am who I am.
As a reminder, I try my hardest to keep this lists manageable. I am only sharing the books I am truly excited about for the month, and not just the buzzy books you can see on all the lists. Nothing wrong with buzz, but I’m just keeping it real over here.
This list is organized by pub date. Anything I have already read is in bold.
Here are my most anticipated books of May!
Coming Home by Brittney Griner with Michelle Burford (May 7)
I am as eager as anyone to read Griner’s perspective on her ten month imprisonment in Russia, but I am also apprehensive that this book might be coming out a bit too soon. I hope more than anything that Griner has a great group of people around her to support her and keep her safe as she and her family try to heal.Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire by Paula Yoo (May 7)
This one is a work of nonfiction for young adults about the 1992 Los Angeles Uprisings and the people and events that sparked it. It is pretty comprehensive and doesn’t do the thing where it talks down to young people, it is honestly very good for adults, too.The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit by Julian Randall (May 7)
I do not know much about this book, its billed as a braided memoir with history and pop culture, which sounds like me.What I do know is that Kiese Laymon and Clint Smith have been praising it for a while now, and if you know anything about me, you know that those two’s book opinions matter to me deeply.Oye by Melissa Mogollon (May 14)
This is the only novel on my list this month. Oye is a debut novel told as a series of one sided phone conversations between sisters in the face of their grandmother refusing to evacuate before a hurricane headed for Miami. The buzz for this one is percolating. I’m told it is funny with some heart and some plot, which is all I need in a novel these days.Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace (May 14)
This is my favorite memoir of the year so far. The writing is beautiful and tender and vulnerable. This is one of those books that opens up our brains to the idea of what might be possible for ourselves and each other.Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham (May 21)
The guy who wrote the book on the Chernobyl disaster has now written the book on the Challenger disaster, say less.
Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra (May 21)
This book is a work of reported journalism about what is happening to women as they seek abortions and reproductive healthcare since the end of Roe. I have been curious to get an inside look at what is really going on right now in these spaces, and am glad someone is reporting on it.Now it’s your turn. Tell me what books are on your May must read list?
You can see all the forthcoming books I’m looking forward to on my #teampreorder list over on bookshop.org!
My May must reads:
Chain Gang All Stars (Finally!!), James, Caucasia. Might get to Real Americans and Piglet.
I also might get to Everest, Inc. as I just finished Into Thin Air and am wanting more Everest behind the scenes.
I started May with Maria Bamford's Sure I'll Join Your Cult (read by the author). She covers a lot of wise (& hilarious) ground - I expected comedy stuff, Target campaign stuff, and financial transparency stuff, I did not expect an analysis of the Suzuki method. This week I couldn't put down Jen Beagin's 2018 debut Pretend I'm Dead. Marie-Helene Bertino's Beautyland is up next. Space theme there too!