With fall finally here, I’ve brought out my jeans and sweatshirts, feeling overjoyed at the most welcome chill in the air. The Corgis spent the weekend playing with their friends and playing fetch for ages. Fall also brings with it my favorite season in book publishing. This is the season when many publishers put out their best books of the year. But while most people are familiar with big publishers’ new titles, many small, indie, and university press titles can end up overlooked. So this week, we’re looking at new books from these small presses that you won’t want to miss.
But first, bookish goods, new books, and a reminder to check out our personalized TBR service, where you can get book recommendations tailored to you.
Bookish Goods
Bookend Lamp by Urban Industrial Craft
I love an industrial decoration to add some special detail for a room. The light bulb actually lights up! Just perfect. $98
New Releases
The Famous Lady Lovers: Black Women and Queer Desire Before Stonewall by Cookie Woolner
Cookie Woolner chronicles the world of Black queer women before Stonewall. The Great Migration created metropolitan centers for Black queer women’s unique subcultures across the U.S. (The University of North Carolina Press)
To Build a Black Future: The Radical Politics of Joy, Pain, and Care by Christopher Paul Harris
Activist Christopher Paul Harris writes about the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) and its impact on the future of Black politics. Harris pushes for a more inclusive future based on Black queer feminist ideals. (Princeton University Press)
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat by Christine Ward
I adore the intersection of food and culture. So much of the connection between human beings happens over a good meal. Christine Ward writes about how religious movements have impacted food traditions and what society eats as a whole. Pythagoras told his followers not to eat beans, and Kosher and Halal food rules dictate that shrimp are off limits. Throughout history, food culture has evolved, and Holy Food looks at the impact of the Great Awakenings on what and how people eat. The book also features dozens of recipes from different religious communities. (Process)
At the Table of Power: Food and Cuisine in the African American Struggle for Freedom, Justice, and Equality by Diane M. Spivey
Culinary historian Diane M. Spivey writes about how Black cooks created the cornerstone of American cuisine as we know it today. Enslaved African people brought their cooking traditions to the U.S., using local ingredients to recreate the dishes from their homelands. Black cooks have historically been left unacknowledged for their careful cultivation of African American cuisine. Spivey shines a light on the cultures and traditions that Black cooks have preserved throughout the centuries. There are recipes and discussion of how certain staples of cuisine came to be, so readers can recreate many of the dishes Spivey discusses in the text. (University of Pittsburgh Press)
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra