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Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet and a culture critic — a writer I will follow anywhere. A Little Devil in America is his most expansive book to date and showcases his usual clarity about the pressures that creative pursuits, personal decisions, historical dictates, dreams deferred, and cultural trends all exert. In his new book, he focuses on the intersection of performance and the Black experience in America.

Seconded by Kim:
Hanif Abdurraqib’s books are always such a treat to be savored. In this lyrical landscape of American music history and culture, Abdurraqib’s historical and personal words of experience present themselves with precise rhythm and melodious prose that work from every angle. Following up on 2019’s Go Ahead in the Rain, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, Little Devil in America is yet another masterpiece.

Quiara Alegría Hudes is one of my favorite playwrights. She’s won the Pulitzer Prize and she wrote the book for the musical In the Heights. In her dramatic works, home — no matter how imperfect — is a guiding force for all of her characters. Now, she’s turning her generous and poetic voice to her own story, recounting her South Philly barrio and its cacophonous beauty that has always transfixed her.

The story of the AIDS activist group ACT UP is more important than ever in our age of deep inequality, political gridlock, and rampant disease. How social movements arise and make change fast is vital information, and I’m so glad that Sarah Schulman has put years into explaining not just how but why ACT UP succeeded as much as they did. Many of the earlier accounts of the organization have been marred by some of ACT UP’s big personalities, who sought to control the story rather than tell it. I trust Schulman to set the record straight.

Lisa Taddeo’s nonfiction account of women’s inner sexual lives in Three Women was stunning, and it was often noted that it was as gripping as any novel when it became a massive bestseller in 2019. She’s following that achievement with her debut novel, about female anger, power, and autonomy.

Oregon Day Trips by Theme offers adventurers the opportunity to explore on their own terms, enjoying everything from caves and mountains to museums and local festivals, which will slowly trickle back as safety allows. Now, more than ever, I'm looking forward to getting to know my state a whole lot better.

I take a great deal of enjoyment out of the weird, and the dark, and the gory. I guess it's the adult version of children's ghost stories told around the campfire. Let's be honest, who exactly can resist a creepy science tale at the family dinner table? As they say, truth is often stranger than fiction, and I'm thinking Gory Details: Adventures From the Dark Side of Science will prove this old adage in spades.

Taking cues from everything going on in the world, many have found a need to reconnect with the spaces around us, and of course, nature is such a large part of that. Nature walks in our neighborhoods have become commonplace, foraging has become a cherished family activity, and mushrooms have become sought-out treasures. I think many of us took nature for granted before 2020. It took a pandemic to open our eyes to the wonders around us. Rewild Your Life: 52 Ways to Reconnect With Nature is a shout-out to all of us. Adventure awaits, all we have to do is open the front door.

Following their powerhouse debut Cemetery Boys, Portland author Aidan Thomas turns their focus to the shadows of Neverland. Five years ago, Wendy and her brothers went missing in the woods of their hometown, Astoria. Only Wendy returned — with no memory of what happened during her months-long absence. Now, children are going missing again, and only Wendy’s lost memories — and the magical boy she could never quite forget — can save them. This reimagining isn’t afraid to lean into the eeriness of the Peter Pan mythos, but also celebrates the uplifting hope at its center, something many grimdark adaptations lose sight of.

Author Brittney Morris (Slay) describes this as “a Black-boy-joydespite” book, and that’s exactly how it reads. Alex can see the future of any person or object he touches, and he’s learned the hard way that doesn’t mean he can change things. When he sees that his little brother Isaiah is doomed to die soon, he decides to do everything he can to give Isaiah the best last days possible. Morris deftly bares the particular expectations, challenges, and threats our society puts on Black boys, and the joy Alex and Isaiah create together despite is brave, bright, and beautiful.

Great fiction helps kids process things even adults struggle to work through. This book shrunk me into smaller shoes and walked me through two middle schoolers’ unspeakable loss, in a story that will remain all too real until this country does something about our shamefully unaddressed epidemic of gun violence. Cora’s sister Mabel was killed in a school shooting by Quinn’s brother, Parker, who also took his own life. Before, Cora and Quinn were best friends; now, Cora only speaks to Quinn about Quinn’s plan to make a time machine to save their siblings from the person Parker became.

YA powerhouse Justina Ireland (Dread Nation) gives voice to the voiceless dead in this middle-grade novel. When a posse of white men come to set their house alight in the night, Ophie’s father tells her to take her mother and flee. The next morning brings impossible news: Ophie’s father had already been killed, and the warning came from her first ghost. When she and her mother move to Pittsburgh, theoretically more welcoming to Black people, they end up working in an old manor house full of restless dead. Can Ophie use her newfound gift to bring them justice?

I couldn’t make an “anticipated” list without putting this on it. I devoured Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle, and it ended so well that I was honestly quite nervous when she announced she’d be crafting a follow-up trilogy. It took less than a page of Call Down the Hawk for me to know my worries had been misplaced. Central character Ronan Lynch’s story is far from finished, and I’m on tenterhooks to see what will befall him and his fellow dreamers and forgers in this second installment of the Dreamer Trilogy.

A perfectly realized retelling of The Great Gatsby. The narrator is Jordan Baker, Daisy’s childhood friend. She is an adopted Vietnamese orphan who manages to navigate high society and NYC’s queer underworld while observing all with gimlet-eyed accuracy. The prose is lush and the tale laced with magical elements. The author evokes the beauty of Fitzgerald’s story while effectively showing the darkness underlying it all.

I’ve loved all of Pulley’s books starting with The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. The Kingdoms is a time-travel tale that imagines a world where the French win the Napoleonic Wars. Or do they? The heroes are all stalwart (even the children-sailors), the action first-rate, and the love story that transcends ages and incarnations is a heartbreaker.

This should prove to be the biography of the year. Magisterial in scope, it encompasses both the work and the life in all its “love it-hate it” glory.

Wow! This debut novel is so well crafted, I was engrossed from page one. Daunis is a biracial, unenrolled tribal member who recently lost her uncle. When she is approached by an undercover agent to help investigate a drug ring in her community, she accepts. On top of the thrilling mystery, there is a steamy romance, exploration of family, community, and the Ojibwe culture. I cannot recommend this one enough.

I was obsessed with the NBA Bubble when the league restarted in Florida last summer. While I was thrilled to be able to watch basketball again, I was worried for the health and safely of my favorite (and least favorite) NBA players. The experiment was a success, and I cannot wait to read Ben Golliver’s insider account of what life was like living and working in a Disney World hotel for three months covering the most unusual NBA playoffs ever.

A new book from Nicola Yoon is a reason to celebrate! Her third novel brings the romance we expect with a touch of the supernatural. Evie is not interested in love after she starts having visions of how other people’s relationships end. But when she meets X at the dance studio she must decide if she is willing to take a chance. This one is at the top of my to-read pile.

One of my favorite things about my job is encountering new artists, and recently the most captivating has been British Nigerian artist Yinka Shobinaire CBE. He has worked in a wide range of mediums, but this monograph focuses on his textile and fabric works. These sculptural pieces are vivid and arresting, and explore issues of colonialism, postcolonialism, and the construction of identity.

The Transcendental Painting Group was founded in New Mexico in 1938, a time in American art that is mostly known for social realism in painting. This little-known group focused on abstract work with the goal of spiritual enlightenment. The work is luminous, airy, and feels reminiscent of Hilma af Klint.

Polymer clay (aka Sculpey) jewelry is having a moment right now, and it's easy to see why. It's colorful, low-key, playful, and accessible. There are so many great projects in this book, and you can make them even as a complete beginner. I wish I'd had this book during my polymer clay phase of quarantine.

Bress ’n’ Nyam is Gullah Geechee for “bless and eat.” CheFarmer (chef and farmer) Matthew Raiford raises food on the land that has been farmed by his family for six generations. This is as much a history of community as it is a cookbook about the lineage of African foodways. One of the first recipes in the book is for Reezy-Peezy, which I made for dinner. After having just one bite my husband said, “This is exactly what I was hoping to eat for dinner.” In the midst of a pandemic, that is a satisfying compliment. Thank you CheFarmer Raiford.

Mmmm. Shumai, xiaolongbau, mandu, and all those other dumplings whose names I don’t know that I usually just point to on a dim sum cart at my favorite Asian restaurant. This handy comic book cookbook introduces all you need to turn your kitchen into a dumpling cart. Includes pantry and equipment suggestions and best of all, simple drawings of how to fold your own dumplings. Dumplings from many Asian cultures are included so your favorite is likely to be represented and you can find new taste treats as well.

Lucy Hutchings, an innovative, trend-setting gardener, shows us that gardening can be fun. Beginner and master gardener alike can find some exciting creative ideas in Get up and Grow. I’m most enticed by her container and wall growing ideas. I think a hanging garden filled with herbs is just what my kitchen garden needs this summer.

A slow fashion book for the thoughtful fashionista. Rodabaugh states: Start where you are. Start by looking at the clothes you already own before shopping for new. Can they be mended or remodeled rather than replaced? This isn’t just another closet advice book. Rodabaugh gives us inspiring ideas for rejuvenating our old togs into treasures we will be glad to wear. I was a fan of her first book, Mending Matters, and I’m just as excited about Make Thrift Mend.

Willy Vlautin tells remarkable stories with plain language and real characters. His is the kind of writing that puts the reader in the body and heart of the protagonist, in this case, a working-class woman trying to survive and do right in a gentrified, moneyed world. We need to read these fraught stories, and Vlautin makes it compelling to do so.

This graphic novel is scary, sexy, funny, and it makes you think! To quote the publisher, this is "the perfect comic book for anyone who enjoys travel, chardonnay, krakens, Atlantis, volcanos, scuba diving, mermaids, ghost pirates, tropical espionage, secret agents, and/or island-casual Sean Connery."

Richard Sala's graphic novels are the love children of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey, but funnier, scarier, and sexier. This book contains three novellas, with Sala's wonderful cartooning, sense of adventure, and hilarity and terror all together.

Mark Russell has turned the comic book world on its head with his smart, irreverent takes on classic characters (see Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles). Now he takes on the powerful, rude, sexy sword and sorcery icon, Red Sonja. The best writes the best!

If you haven’t read Casey McQuiston’s debut, Red, White, and Royal Blue, then stop what you’re doing and go read that book. It’s a beautiful, hilarious, sexy, coming-of-age romance and it’s easily one of my favorite reads of all time. But now Casey McQuiston has a new book coming out in June that is arguably EVEN BETTER than RW&RB. The love story of August — a 23-year-old cynic — and Jane — a ’70s punk who is stuck in modern day NYC — gives me butterflies. I hope you love it too!

When Sonali Dev’s upcoming book was teased as “Jane Austen meets West Wing,” I perked right up! If any author can write a politician who is honest, vulnerable, compassionate, and SEXY then it’s Sonali Dev. Her contemporary series follows the Raje family, but you can jump in and read any book in the series. Each novel is a highly entertaining twist on a favorite Jane Austen story.

Eve Brown is too old for her antics and Jacob Wayne is too uptight to have any fun. Romance Rules say they’re perfect for each other! Talia Hibbert is my definition of a one-click, must-read author. Her books are always witty, flirty, sexy, and optimistic. Earlier books in this series are terrific and can be read as standalone novels, though reading them all is highly recommended.

Yamile Saied Méndez wrote one of my favorite picture books last year, Where You Are From?, chronicling what it’s like to be a BIPOC child in America. In this companion, What Will You Be?, she pairs with illustrator Kate Alizadeh to create an uplifting story in which a young girl explores with her abuela the many opportunities open to her in life, such as being an explorer, dreamer, student, leader, and best of all, just being herself. A great pick for ages four and up.

Portland author Robin Robinson wrote and illustrated this fantasy graphic novel perfect for ages eight and up. Adventure awaits goblin sisters Pella, the thrill seeker, and Bix, the reluctant adventurer. Stunning, fantastical illustrations take the reader on a trip though the enchanted forest: a wondrous land filled with demigods and monsters along with these compelling characters.

American singer-songwriter Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses and 50FootWave writes this highly anticipated companion to her bestselling 2010 memoir, Rat Girl. Seeing Sideways picks up in the 1990s while on tour and raising her first son, Doony, and continues with struggles with the music industry and raising three additional children. Seeing Sideways is both beautiful and heartbreaking, much like Hersh’s lyrics.

Not gonna lie, I am a Carrot Quinn fangirl down to the bone. An interview with Nicole Antoinette on Real Talk Radio was my introduction to Carrot's story, and to her thru-hiking adventures. In The Sunset Route she focuses on what it was like to grow up with a mentally ill mother who could not and did not provide food, clothing, or much else. She also delves into her train-hopping years, which were fascinating and filled with close calls. This memoir is a powerhouse of riveting prose.

Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor and to the pivotal character of Thara Celehar. Celehar is a Witness for the Dead, able to contact the recently deceased. Celehar lives far from the court and its politics, but intrigue and politics continue to follow him. When a missing woman is found in the river, Celehar is called in. Tightly plotted and packed full of unforgettable characters, Witness for the Dead is a melancholy delight.