What am I reading next?

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There hasn’t been a Top Ten Tuesday on Brown Books and Green Tea for a while! I figured I’d take the opportunity to let everyone know what’s coming up. Check out some of the other Top Ten Tuesdays over at The Broke and the Bookish! 

Check out below to see what I’m reading now, and what’s coming up next:

1. The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father, by Kao Kalia Yang: Admittedly, this book has taken me a while to get through, but the review should be posted this week. It’s a beautifully written story about a Laotian family, specifically the author’s father.
2. Safe House, edited by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey: I’m always on the prowl for new African authors, so this anthology is right up my alley. As the cover says, it’s an “exploration of creative nonfiction writing,” which is what I would write were I a writer. Look for this review in the next week or so!
3. The Angel of History, by Rabih Alameddine: In this political climate, I thought it imperative that I read more books by Arabs and Arab-American authors. This particular book is unlikely to be similar to anything else I’ve read recently, as it details the life of a gay Arab American poet against the backdrop of the 1980s AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. To be honest, I don’t know what to expect from this, so we’ll see.
4. Under The Udala Trees, by Chinelo Okparanta: I’m already halfway through this book right now, and I’m loving it. I’ve read so few LGBT books that take place on the continent, so I’m eating this one up.
5. The Fire This Time, by Jesmyn Ward: If you’ve read The Fire Next Time, then I’m thinking this book is for you. Written by James Baldwin, it was a very “woke” analysis of race in 1960s America. Jesamyn Ward is following up, at a time when conversation surrounding race in America is at an all-time high.
6. The Angels Die, by Yasmina Khadra: Yasmina Khadra is an incredibly prolific Algerian  author, having already written 20 books or so. I’ve read none of them, so I hang my head in shame. But I’m rectifying this, with the fictional story of Turambo, who uses a boxing apprenticeship to earn himself a better life.
7. The Swan Book, by Alexis Wright: I’ve heard so much about this book– good, bad, and in between. Naturally, I had to pick it up so I could assert my opinions too. I also couldn’t help but pick it up once I knew that it was about an Aboriginal in Australia. From what I’ve heard, this book has a bit of mysticism and futurism as well!
8. The Conjoined, by Jen Sookfong Lee: I don’t read nearly enough thrillers considering how much I enjoy them. Just by looking at the bio, I knew I needed to read this book. Essentially, the main character finds the bodies of two young girls in her late mother’s basement– we get to come along for the ride as she investigates what happened.
9. Behold the Dreamers , by Imbolo Mbue: If you know anything about me, you’ll know I love immigrant stories of all kinds. I love hearing about the countries they left behind, and their impressions of their new homes. There’s a special relationship between these stories and me because I’ve heard similar things from my own family and friends. This is another of those, but BETTER (so I’ve heard). I’ll report back with details!

 

Most of these books will be coming out this summer/fall, so keep an eye out for them! Any good books on your shelves lately? Anything you know I need to read ASAP? I could use some relaxing beach reads for the summer, so let me know if you have any recommendations! 

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