Club Book

Speculative fiction writer Peng Shepherd burst onto the literary scene in 2019 with The Book of M. In this critically acclaimed debut, people all across the globe are mysteriously shedding their shadows – and a few days later, losing their memories as well. Booklist praises the premise as “existential apocalypse that is eerie, dark, and compelling.” The Book of M won Shepherd the coveted Neukom Institute Award for Debut Speculative Fiction. Her anticipated follow-up, The Cartographers, hit shelves in March 2022. It centers around Nell Young, a budding scholar born to renowned map expert Dr. Daniel Young. When her estranged and enigmatic father dies under mysterious circumstances, Nell comes into possession of an old highway map. It looks unremarkable, but harbors fantastical and dangerous secrets. In a rave review, Bookpage says: “The Cartographers is wildly imaginative and totally mind-bending in the best possible way. Shepherd has crafted a juicy mystery masquerading as a grown-up scavenger hunt.”

The post Club Book Episode 143 Peng Shepherd first appeared on Club Book.

Acclaimed essayist and poet Boyah J. Farah immigrated to the United States in the mid-1990s as part of the Somali diaspora, when thousands of families fled the war-torn Horn of Africa. Instead of finding safety and freedom, Farah quickly learned that his adoptive country is plagued by deep-seated issues of its own. Systemic injustices against Black people run a wide gamut, from widespread police prejudice to countless microaggressions in workplace and social settings. Boyah’s memoir, America Made Me a Black Man, is one of the first-ever book-length examinations of American racism written from an African emigrant’s perspective. Notes Publishers Weekly: “With a singular poetic voice brimming with imagery, Boyah challenges us to face difficult truths about the destructive forces that threaten Black lives.” In addition to his writing career, Farah is founder of the Abaadi School in Garowe, Somalia, which teaches STEM skills to boys and girls aged 13-24.

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Rebecca Roanhorse is among a small cohort of “Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror, and fantasy – genres in which Native writers have long been overlooked” (The New York Times). Roanhorse’s speculative fiction, much of which is informed by her Navajo heritage, has earned the genre’s coveted Nebula, Hugo, Campbell, and Locus awards. Titles of note include Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts, the first two installments of The Sixth World young adult series. Roanhorse is also among a handful of writers invited to contribute to the perennially popular Star Wars expanded universe. Her bestselling Star Wars: Resistance Reborn is a canon prequel to the 2019 blockbuster film The Rise of Skywalker. Roanhorse’s latest is the critically acclaimed Between Earth and Sky trilogy. Inspired by the pre-Columbian civilizations of America, the series offers a page-turning blend of political intrigue, celestial prophecies, and forbidden magic. Booklist calls it “perfect for those who love George R. R. Martin’s series but crave more diverse worlds.” Fevered Star, the latest installment, hits shelves on April 19.

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Tia Williams is a tour de force in the style industry. For more than two decades, she served as beauty editor for iconic magazines including Elle, Glamour, and Essence. She also pioneered the “beauty blog” with her influential, award-winning site Shake Your Beauty. Williams parlayed many of her first-hand experiences into The Accidental Diva (2001), her debut novel, which “accurately relates the joys and the pains of [working in] the beauty industry” (Booklist). Her follow-up, The Perfect Find, garnered Williams the African American Literary Award for Best Fiction and is currently being adapted into a romantic comedy starring and produced by Gabrielle Union. Williams’ latest novel, Seven Days in June, became an instant New York Times bestseller and gained a still wider audience as the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick for June 2021. Seven Days in June tracks the star-crossed love story of Eva and Shane, two gifted writers with an undeniable chemistry but complicated personal history. As New York Magazine notes: “Williams creates an entire world around the new Black literati. It’s Black without apology, qualification, or race-related tragedy.”

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Few authors today boast the cross-genre appeal or international following of novelist James Rollins. Over the past three decades, Rollins has published standalone thrillers, the popular Jake Ransom middle grade series, and the novelization of the 2008 Steven Spielberg film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Rollins is equally adept at epic fantasy. Recent ventures include The Order of the Sanguines trilogy, co-authored with Rebecca Cantrell, and The Starless Crown, the first entry in his promising Moon Fall Saga. For many readers, however, Rollins is best known for the #1 New York Times bestselling Sigma Force series. Commissioned by the U.S. government, this elite corps explores and safeguards all manner of ‘anomalies’ with national security implications. The sixteenth installment, Kingdom of Bones, hits shelves in April. Deep in the Congo, an insidious phenomenon is leveling the evolutionary playing field by turning the lush biome cunning and predatory. As they race to prevent pending global catastrophe, the Sigmas – so often the hunters – find themselves in the unfamiliar role of prey.

The post Club Book Episode 139 James Rollins first appeared on Club Book.

Jason Mott is the pen behind Hell of a Book, winner of the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly described Mott’s modern masterpiece as “a cinematic novel that tackles what it means to live in a country where Black people live life under the hanging sword of fear.” In alternating and ultimately intertwined narratives, Hell of a Book follows the cross-country publicity junket of an eccentric novelist, and the tale of a young Black boy whose world is turned upside down by a heinous (but all-too-common) episode of police violence. In addition to the National Book Award laurel, Hell of a Book won the prestigious Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction and was selected by The Today Show for the popular #ReadWithJenna book club in July 2021. Mott’s prior novels include his 2013 debut The Returned. It served as the basis for the high-concept fantasy drama series Resurrection, produced by Brad Pitt for ABC Studios.

The post Club Book Episode 138 Jason Mott first appeared on Club Book.

Maggie Shipstead is the author behind Great Circle, one of the most anticipated, best reviewed, and bestselling fiction releases of 2021. Her modern masterpiece intertwines the stories of Marian Graves, an aviation daredevil patterned after Amelia Earhart, and a Hollywood ingenue who attempts to adapt Marian’s larger-than-life story for the big screen a century later. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews raves: “Whether Shipstead is creating scenes in the Prohibition-era American West, in wartime London, or on a Hollywood movie set, her thorough research… allows for [a uniquely] immersive experience.” Great Circle is also shaped in part by the author’s globe-trekking work as a travel writer. The Today Show selected the novel as the May 2021 pick for the popular #ReadWithJenna book club, and the title put the author in contention for the hyper-competitive Booker Prize. Shipstead’s prior novels include her debut Seating Arrangements (2012), an uproarious satire about upper-crust New England society and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

The post Club Book Episode 137 Maggie Shipstead first appeared on Club Book.

Chart-topping novelist Julie Otsuka is the daughter of Japanese immigrants, and a poignant chronicler of the Japanese American experience across the first half of the twentieth century. Her breakout debut When the Emperor Was Divine (2003) shines light on California’s dehumanizing concentration camps for Japanese Americans – a shameful and often overlooked chapter of American history. It holds distinction as one of the most popular Community Reads titles in the country, and more than 45 colleges and universities have assigned it as required reading for incoming freshmen. Otsuka’s follow-up, Buddha in the Attic (2011), breathes life into the untold story of Japanese “picture brides” in the early 1900s. It garnered the PEN/Faulker Award, put Otsuka in contention for the National Book Award, and has since been translated into more than 20 languages. Her latest novel, The Swimmers, revisits the theme of American concentration camps – this time, through the fractured lenses of retrospection and memory loss. Booklist raves: “Once again, Otsuka has created an elegiac, devastating masterpiece.”

The post Club Book Episode 136 Julie Otsuka first appeared on Club Book.

Victoria Christopher Murray boasts more than 30 books to her credit – and is as versatile as she is prolific. Her writing runs the gamut from contemporary romance, to teen novels, to short story collections and even Christmas novellas. Over the course of her career to date, Murray has received an NAACP Image Award, the Phillis Wheatley Trailblazer Award for African American Fiction, and nine African American Literary Awards. Murray’s latest is her first foray into historical fiction. Co-authored with New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict, The Personal Librarian tells the story of banking magnate J.P. Morgan’s collection curator. Throughout Belle da Costa Greene’s distinguished career, her Black heritage made it difficult to navigate the racist and classist society of her patrons. NPR lauded: “Benedict, who is white, and Murray, who is African American, do a good job of depicting the tightrope Belle walked, and her internal conflict from both sides.”

The post Club Book Episode 135 Victoria Christopher Murray first appeared on Club Book.

Brendan Slocumb is a classically trained violinist and accomplished music educator. During his own education at the University of Carolina Greensboro, Slocumb served as concertmaster for the University Symphony. Slocumb has since performed violin and guest conducted for renowned orchestras including the Washington Metropolitan Symphony. Over his two-decade teaching career, Slocumb has earned accolades including Teacher of the Year for his district, the Nobel Teacher of Distinction honorific, and a spot in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Slocumb’s much-anticipated debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy, takes place against a backdrop the author knows well: the fiercely competitive world of professional classical musicians. Intrepid protagonist Ray McMillian – who, like Slocumb, is a Black violinist from North Carolina – is shocked to discover that his family’s beat-up heirloom fiddle is in fact a priceless Stradivarius. Soon after this life-changing revelation, however, the rising star’s fortunes take a turn for the worse. Publishers Weekly calls The Violin Conspiracy: “A gripping debut… Slocumb sensitively portrays Ray’s resilience in the face of extreme racism.”

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