Why we love it: Just Snow Already captures the anticipation & joy of waiting on that first snow while offering funny reminders to live in the moment. It's the first story written by Howard McWilliam, who you may recognize as the award-winning illustrator of several beloved, bestselling picture books, including the I Need My Monster series.
Why we love it: The true story of the first non-white athlete to play in the NBA, yet very few people, especially children, know his story.
As a Japanese American during WWII, Wat faced intense racism to become a symbol of hope for those imprisoned in incarceration camps across the US. He led his University of Utah team to the 1944 NCAA Championship and broke a color barrier when he was drafted by the NY Knicks into the NBA in 1947. The author and illustrator, herself also a Japanese American, both live in California.
Why we love it: Every villain deserves an origin story. In this fully licensed Disney Manga prequel to the beloved Tim Burton cult classic, Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie were close friends. Both eager to prove themselves. But there could only be one Pumpkin King... Get it just in time for Halloween!
Why we love it: From Amberjack Publishing, this is the Black Twilight Zone we've all been waiting for! It's a collection from Black authors paying tribute to the horror genre, while flipping familiar tropes on their heads and offering fresh narratives that center Black characters, out just in time for Halloween! Read on if you think you're brave.
Why we love it: First, there’s front and back gold foiling. Second, it’s divided into Scotland / Ireland / Brittany / Isle of Man / Wales / Cornwall / Gaelic. Third, there are stories from Dorothy K. Haynes (Scotland’s answer to Shirley Jackson), Robert Aickman (writing about a storm hag), and Edith Wharton. Fourth and most importantly - Can the Devil take the form of a horse?
Why we love it: Translated from French, Sadie X is highly inventive literary speculative fiction that engages with deeply philosophical questions about the self and culture. A virus has been found and Sadie and her team must think like a virus in order to rid us of it (this is NOT a pandemic novel, but thinks about the relationship between humans and viruses). With unsettling, brilliant writing, and wholly original plot and form, this book is Proust meets Virginie Despentes.
Why we love it: “That Beautiful Shining People isn’t just a slipstream novel with pretensions to being literature is in great part down to the deftness and tenderness with which Grothaus draws his central relationship … to let us explore a world of robots and deepfakes that’ s just unfamiliar enough to be exotic”—SFX Magazine Book of the Month
Why we love it: The biography of Dot Wilkinson, who Billie Jean King called “the greatest female catcher ever to play softball.” Dot played for the Arizona Ramblers during WWII like the women in A League of Their Own. The result of over a decade’s worth of conversations and interviews with author and close friend of Wilkinson’s, Lynn Ames, Out at the Plate tells the amazing story of a true trailblazer who lived life on her own terms.
Why we love it: Intertwines the biographies of Truman and Picasso, the history of modern art, and twentieth-century American politics. Postpresidency, Harry Truman went on a cruise around Europe; at the same time, McCarthy in the US was trying to ban modern art. Truman abhorred censorship and McCarthy more than he hated modern art so he visited Picasso and modern artists all over Europe to make a point.
This is full of funny stories about Truman crashing weddings, walking the decks of the boat, and generally fighting fascism on his great vacation, from the author of the bestselling The President is a Sick Man and Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure.
Why we love it: The third volume of bestselling and award-winning author Trista Mateer’s goddess-themed poetry collection. Weaves together mythology, tarot, poetry, and conversation to reveal a new side of a very old story. Alternating between the perspectives of poet and goddess, Persephone’s lore is explored, related to modern issues, and ultimately reclaimed.
Why we love it: If you watched HBO's 'BS High' with fascination, shock, and disbelief, read this next! Friday Night Lies, the author of which appears numerous times in HBO's documentary, is the absolutely wild true crime story of a sham high school and football program that somehow ended up on ESPN in a high school matchup they never should have been in. Things blew up spectacularly and the Bishop Sycamore team were decimated 56-0, and that stunning loss started to unravel the con.
A book about the exploitation of the high school football and educational system, racial inequities, and vulnerable young people, that culminated in a series of lawsuits and criminal charges. A stunning story.
Why we love it: Ideal for both beginners and seasoned microdosers, this distinctive journal and guide not only enhances the psychedelic journey but also doubles as a resource and creatively designed self-reflective space—complete with illustrations for adult coloring!