Please Sit Over There: How To Manage Power, Overcome Exclusion, and Succeed as a Black Woman at Work by Francine Parham
Francine Parham, founder and CEO of her own eponymous consulting firm dedicated to women’s leadership and the advancement of women of colour in the workplace, shares her experience and knowledge learned as a Black woman—not to mention a former global executive of two major corporations—on how to move up in the workplace while maintaining a sense of sanity. According to Parham, the key skill that Black women are rarely taught is understanding power dynamics within the organization and learning how to “shift the power” to one’s advantage. Thus, Parham outlines how to build the right relationships and how to use your voice—as well as how to pay it forward once in a position of power—to build a more fulfilling career.
Salt and Skin by Eliza Henry-Jones
A mother and her two children come to live on one of those Scottish islands that is full of myth and mystery. Luda is a photojournalist who immediately gets herself offside with the locals after she takes a picture of a tragic accident. Gradually she becomes intrigued by the stories of women executed as witches on the island, while her children, Darcy and Min, find unusual friendships, notably with Theo, the foundling washed up on the islands as a child.
August in Kabul by Andrew Quilty
The Australian photojournalist, who won a Gold Walkley for his confronting picture of the aftermath of a US airstrike in 2016, first went to Afghanistan in 2013 and stayed until the Taliban returned to power with undue haste last year. This book is an on-the-ground account of the final days of the American-backed government, the rapid exodus of American forces and the chaos and bloodshed that ensued. It’s a time that the Western powers involved in Afghanistan can hardly look on with pride, one that left the people of the country living under a radical theocracy.
Motherlands: In Search of Our Inherited Cities by Amaryllis Gacioppo
Amaryllis Gacioppo’s book is about the idea of home: homes that have been left, the experience of migration and the changes wrought on a psyche in the process. In a sense this is a family history as Gacioppo returns to the cities where her mother, grandmother and great grandmother lived. Perhaps, too, the book is a sort of psychogeography, possibly a travel memoir. However it’s defined, its use of pictures, memories and family stories makes for an absorbing creation.
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
Anders, a young white man, wakes up one morning to find that he has turned “a deep and undeniable brown.” At first, he shares the discovery only with Oona, his old friend turned new lover, but soon the whole town starts to transition. Both Anders’ and Oona’s parents struggle with the seemingly inevitable change, but once the titular last white man—Anders’ father—dies, people begin to forget that whiteness ever existed.
Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean
Mika Suzuki doesn’t have her life together. The 35-year-old just lost her latest dead-end job, her last relationship went up in flames, and she isn’t getting along with her parents. Enter: Penny Calvin, the daughter Mika gave up for adoption 16 years ago. When Penny contacts her out of the blue, Mika is desperate to impress her, so she weaves a precarious web of white lies involving an art gallery and a hunky boyfriend. Once that web unravels, Mika is left to figure out whether she can reconnect with the curious, headstrong Penny and find herself in the process.
A Map For the Missing by Belinda Huijuan Tang
In Belinda Huijuan Tang’s engrossing debut novel, we meet Tang Yitian, who emigrated from China to the U.S. two decades ago to pursue his graduate studies. But when Yitian receives a frantic phone call from his mother reporting that his estranged father has gone missing, he hastily returns to his rural hometown. There, he reconnects with Tian Hanwen, a childhood friend and former lover who once shared his interest in learning. As the pair embarks on a quest to find out what happened to Yitian’s father, Yitian must also contend with familial strain, his sense of identity, and the meaning of home.
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, weaves the stories of three East Africans—Ilyas, Afiya, and Hamza—into a rich, detailed tapestry. Ilyas was kidnapped by the German colonial army when he was a boy. After returning home to find his sister, Afiya, he leaves again to join the schutztruppe, a group of African mercenaries who serve the German empire. Hamza had also joined the Germans as a mercenary, but quickly realizes his mistake, and returns home from war to meet—and fall for—Afiya. These three separate storylines tangle together to probe the violence of European colonialism.
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
In Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, retired tennis legend Carrie Soto aims to make a triumphant return to the sport she once changed forever, winning 20 Grand Slam singles titles and earning the media nickname “the Battle Axe” for her brutal playing style and icy demeanour. A new contender has come along to threaten her record, so Carrie, now 37, returns to the court—alongside her father and lifelong coach, Javier—to defend her record and her legacy.
Mademoiselle Revolution by Zoe Sivak
In 1791, biracial heiress Sylvie de Rosiers flees the Haitian Revolution and arrives in Paris, hoping to find the acceptance that eluded her back home. Instead, Sylvie finds herself swept up in the French Revolution, befriending Robespierre and his mistress. As the Reign of Terror approaches, Sylvie must decide where her loyalties lie, even if it means losing her head.
Alias Emma by Ava Glass
On one of her first assignments as a secret agent, Emma Makepeace has 12 hours to deliver the son of a Russian dissident into protective custody. When Russian assassins hack into the city’s widespread security camera network, Emma must use all her training and skill to deliver him across the most camera-ridden city in the world without being spotted.
Haven by Emma Donoghue
In seventh-century Ireland, Artt has a dream to leave the world behind. He brings two monks with him and the three men search for an isolated place to build a monastery. After rowing down the River Shannon, they settle on a barren island where survival will take all of their faith and skill.
