September Books on Deck

Prestige book season is upon us, and 13 new books out in September feel like a really good place to start.

This week marks the start of the literary award season for me. Kirkus released their finalist lists, and since they award a nonfiction prize that is where I start the season — sorry Booker, you’re too exclusive for me. Also, after weeks of begging, and being mad at, Barack Obama, he dropped his book list.

barackobama

A post shared by @barackobama

I think it is a little uninspired as a whole, but am sure many of the books are great on their own. I have read four of them. I was thrilled to see S. A. Cosby on there¹. His episode of The Stacks was a favorite this year, so far. Overall, I wish Obama got a little weirder with his picks; a few debuts, maybe some nonfiction that weren’t bestsellers or by big names. I know we’re all having a tough year, and I fell like that is manifesting big time in Obama’s reading list. Hopefully his end of year list will bring a little pizazz, whimsy or unexpectedness to the mix.

One book he did spotlight that I was surprised how much I loved was on this year’s nonfiction reading guide. Which is only available for you to get through September 22nd. And not to toot my own horn, but my list is way better than Obama’s. I mean, I could never be the president, so I guess we all have our strengths.

Ok, now on to my September preview. I got 13 books for you to be excited about plus a recap of this month’s episodes of The Stacks which featured some absolute bangers and two bonus episodes.

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The Stacks August Recap

We kicked off the month with

Alexis Madrigal

, author of The Pacific Circuit, to talk about Oakland, CA and why it matters in the global context. And also, books. Always, books.

You got a bonus bonus episode this month, lucky you. It was an absolute joy talking to

Sara Hildreth

about our summer reading guides. And for those of you who haven’t gotten my Nonfiction Reading Guide yet, it is only available until September 22nd.

Unabridged: Summer Reading Guide Companion Pod with Sara Hildreth

Tre Johnson

and I had a great conversation about his essay collection Black Genius and writing as a full-time career.

I read and loved Dominion and new I had to talk to the author, Addie E. Citchens. She did not disappoint.

If you are a certifiable nerd, and I know you are because you’re here, you must listen to this bonus episode on oral histories with the guy writing the best oral histories these days,

Garrett M. Graff

.

Unabridged: The Art of Oral History with Garrett M. Graff

We read Braiding Sweetgrass for The Stacks Book Club this month with

Alexis Madrigal

and it was great chat about gospel texts and city people.

Did you have a standout favorite from this month? I’d love to hear what it was and why.

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September Books On Deck

I was able to narrow down my book excitement this month to 13 books, I started at 21, so that’s not nothing. I have to tell you, I had planned to have Steph Curry’s book Shot Ready on this list, but I started it, and it was so incredibly bad, I couldn’t do it. And that is saying a lot because I am a lifelong Warriors fan, and I am nothing if not loyal. But, this was on another level of bad. I DNF’d and I don’t want any of you to say you read it because of me. My own book recommending reputation far surpasses my love of any celebrity/athlete/Oakland legend.

The books are listed here in publishing order, and anything I’ve read (or started) appears in bold.

• Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (September 2)
  This book was not originally on this list, because I have been so out on memoir this year, but it landed on the Kirkus Prize list and then I was told it was edited by my favorite editor, Kathy Belden. So it got added last minute. I am 15% in at the time of the writing is gorgeous, but I am still waiting to be wowed.

• No Ordinary Bird: Drug Smuggling, a Plane Crash, and a Daughter's Quest for the Truth by Artis Henderson (September 2)
  I am so curious about this one. The author’s father was killed in a plane crash when she was five and then no one really talks about it. But then, later, when she’s older someone suggests the crash wasn’t an accident and the author digs and discovers some drug smuggling connections. I don’t stopped reading the jacket copy at that point because I feel like I wanted to be surprised by this one.

• Nobody Can Give You Freedom: The Political Life of Malcolm X by Kehinde Andrews (September 9)
  I am a sucker for a Malcolm X biography, and honestly I haven’t read one in a few years, so I’m due. This one aims to show us how Malcolm X was always thinking about and working toward a global movement for Black Liberation.

• The People's Project: Poems, Essays, and Art for Looking Forward by Maggie Smith and Saeed Jones (September 9)
  I already read and reviewed this book. It is a collection of essays and poems that are a balm for this political moment. It is slim, but jammed packed with wisdom from so many of my favorite writers and friends of the pod.

• Tomorrow Is Yesterday: Life, Death, and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine by Hussein Agha and Robert Malley (September 16)
  A book from two “insiders” — one an analyst the other a diplomat — on why the Israel-Palestine peace process failed and what may lie ahead. I am curious to know their perspectives given years of access and having been privy to conversations with so many leaders who have had their hands in the muck.

• The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (September 16)
  I feel like of all the novels coming out this fall, The Wilderness has been the buzziest. This is a coming-of-age friendship novel about Black women in their 20-40s. I think this might be a little more literary than I like, but with all the buzz, I need to read it to weigh in.

• 107 Days by Kamala Harris (September 23)
  Do I really want to read this? No. Will I read this? Most likely yes. I am just not sure Kamala is ready to give us what we want here, which is the unvarnished truth. I am looking for gossip and I am worried I am going to get more company line.

• The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us by John J. Lennon (September 23)
  John J. Lennon killed a man in Brooklyn in 2001, and has been in prison ever since. He works as a prison journalist sharing with the world what it is like behind bars. This book follows four men who have killed people and challenges our lens of ‘true crime” by letting us in to see the people behind the sensational headlines.

• Underspin by E. Y. Zhao (September 23)
  A coming-of-age sports novel about a ping-pong prodigy who becomes a certifiable table tennis star and dies before his 25th birthday.

• Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work by Jodi-Ann Burey (September 30)
  I love when Black women step into the work advice space, I think so many books about being a “boss babe” or rising in the ranks come from white men and women and that those conversations ignore the very real and tumultuous experiences of Black women in the workplace. I love that this book talks about how much authenticity you owe your employer.

• Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa (September 30)
  A workplace novel² that takes place in one day³ about the owner of nail salon named Ning (goes by Susan like all the employees) and the gossip and desires in her shop. Short, subversive, and Susan-filled. Sounds like something I could get behind.

• Truly by Lionel Richie (September 30)
  I’ll be really real with you, IDGAF if this book sucks, unlike Steph Curry, there is no limit on my love for Lionel. In fact, I bet this book is bad, and it is still easily the best book of the year. IDGAF.

• What a Time to Be Alive by Jade Chang (September 30)
  This novel sounds like my kind of mess. Lola Gold has no clue what to do with her life until a viral video turns her into a self-help guru — which leads to an exploration of social media culture and the commodification of belief.

Your turn, what books coming out in September are you excited about? Anything you think will have award season buzz?

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1. Though Obama’s production company did just get the rights to King of Ashes.

2. Which is quickly becoming my favorite fiction sub-genre.

3. Another favorite fiction convention.