@bookstodon Notable new book releases in the US for October 24, 2023, (including an unusual number of anthologies).
Organ Meats, K-Ming Chang. [Incredibly imaginative and intense mythological allegory. Like Bestiary, it's very visceral.]
Julia, Sandra Newman. [Amazing feminist retelling of 1984, told from the perspective of Julia, with the full support of the Orwell estate.]
America Fantastica, Tim O'Brien. [Completely bonkers satirical look at America's obsession with lies and liars.]
Let Us Descend, Jesmyn Ward. [The inner spiritual strength that sustains souls trapped in a descent into the horrors of slavery, and their refusal to lose their inner worth.]
I Died, Too, But They Haven't Buried me Yet, Ross Jeffrey. [This is Grief Horror, described as beautifully and utterly heartbreaking.]
What Wild Women Do, Karma Brown. [Intriguing dual timeline mystery connecting a 1970s feminist activist and a modern day screenwriter.]
The Privilege of the Happy Ending: S/M/L Stories, Kij Johnson. [How 'bout a little experimental speculative fic along with an examination of the nature of stories themselves?]
Jewel Box, E. Lily Yu. [Short stories mostly about how we navigate and think about this one weird, crazy, confounding life, and where our imagination can take us.]
When We Become Ours: a YA Adoptee Anthology. [Powerful adoptee short stories written by actual adoptees.]
Christmas and Other Horrors: an Anthology of Solstice Horror, Ellen Datlow, ed. [Winter Solstice horror shorts from around the world, with contributions from Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, and more.]
Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance, Kaveh Akbar, ed. [Contributions from Jo Harjo, Bernard Wade, et al.]
Aster of Ceremonies: Poems, JJJJJerome Ellis. [Neurodivergent poet Ellis advocates for the marginalized, and also imagines what reclamation of our past, and healing for our future, might look like.]
Homeland of my Body: New and Selected Poems, Richard Blanco. [National Humanities medal winner Blanco explores home, identity, and Cuban-American culture in this collection.]
@bookstodon Notable new book releases in the U.S. for October 17, 2023:
Straw Dogs of the Universe, Ye Chun. [19th century Odyssey from China to CA, highlighting the brutality endured by Chinese immigrant railroad workers.]
If You'll Have Me, Eunnie. [Very sweet New Adult sapphic romance graphic novel.]
House Gone Quiet, Kelsey Norris. [Dark short story collection about connections, community, and what it means to feel you belong somewhere.]
The Goth House Experiment, S.J. Sindu. [Departure from her earlier work. These are stories designed to elicit a reaction, to make you think. Sly and razor-sharp.]
These Burning Stars, Bethany Jacobs. [Layered, complex, and twisty Space Opera.]
The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young. [A curse, a mystery, and an unexpected romance.]
Let the Dead Bury the Dead, Allison Epstein. [How 'bout a little alt-history of early 19th century Russia, accented with magic, folklore, and social conscience?]
Generation Ship, Michael Mammay. [We can just start over on another Earth-like planet without bringing along any of the problems that plagued us originally, right, Guys? Um . . . Guys?]
Distant Sons, Tim Johnston. [Crime thriller which examines the tiny little events which make a dramatic event possible.]
The House of Doors, Tan Twan Eng. [Surreptitious alliances, intelligent but isolated characters, and the upheaval of both imperialism and revolution, all provide the cracks and fractures in this novel which encourages a close reading.]
Our Divine Mischief, Hanna Howard. [Celtic legends, Scottish folklore, even a talking dog? Sign me up for this YA fantasy!]
I open the guest room door
as violent winds pummel the inn.
Lightning illuminates the blood
dripping onto the floor.
I shiver in fear.
Who else is here?
Are the Penobscot Indians friends or foes?
If enemies, Elizabeth doesn't want it to be so.
But would she rather have enemies within her friends?
I don't believe so.
@bookstodon Notable new book releases in the U.S. for October 3, 2023, many of which are horror titles:
Death Valley, Melissa Broder. [One woman's quest to process loss, leads her to a desert odyssey. You wouldn't think this would be as funny as it is.]
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, Jordan Peele, ed.
The Quiet Room, Terry Miles. [No one told me that there was a sequel to Rabbits?!? Also, you should totally read Rabbits. It's amazing.]
Beholder, Ryan La Sala. [Horror which plays into all the fears we have about the reflection in the mirror.]
Edenville, Sam Rebelein. [This equal parts humor and horror story, taps into our tendency to see what we want, instead of what's there.]
Starling House, Alix E. Harrow. [Small town Southern Gothic by a wicked good storyteller.]
Before the Devil Knows You're Here, Autumn Krause. [Forest folk tale (Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed) horror, a Faustian bargain, and a Mexican-American poet with a missing brother. This sounds amazing!]
Knock Knock, Open Wide, Neil Sharpson. [Horror blended with Celtic folklore. Very frightening.]
Gone Wolf, Amber McBride. [Too powerful to be just for younger readers. What it means to be Black and young in America.]
Monica, Daniel Clowes. [Superb graphic novel offers a multilayered deep dive into a complex life.]
Brooklyn Crime Novel, Jonathan Lethem. [In one neighborhood, over time, the good guys and the bad guys are hard to tell apart.]
The House on Sun Street, Mojgan Ghazirad. [The 1979 Iran revolution, as seen by a young girl.]
Company: Stories, Shannon Sanders. [Intriguing interconnected stories, each connected by family, and by a guest who enters each story, examining different meanings of company. ]
One Puzzling Afternoon, Emily Critchley. [What if you kept a secret so long, you can't remember what it was, and it involves a long ago missing girl?]
After The Forest, Kell Woods. [Think you know your Fairy Tales? Clever reimagining of several tales at once.]
The storm ravages the inn,
As my heart drums a frantic beat.
In this place as dark as sin,
I hear the sound of pounding feet.
A shriek.
A thud.
The lights flicker to darkness.