General Nonfiction

Jia Tolentino's debut essay collection navigates our absurd modern world. Each one is fatalistic and filled with quick wit covering everything from identity, celebrity culture, feminism, and religion. Tolentino expertly binds these disparate topics with her cynical humor and intelligence. Every essay is filled with Tolentino's refreshing voice and provides empathy and relief when redemption in this country feels impossible. - Natalie

First published in 1983, legendary feminist scholar and science fiction writer Joanna Russ’s rigorous review of women writers’ diminished contributions and deliberately neglected works is an absolute must-read that is, maddeningly, still relevant today. - Ksenia

Jia Tolentino's debut essay collection navigates our absurd modern world. Each one is fatalistic and filled with quick wit covering everything from identity, celebrity culture, feminism, and religion. Tolentino expertly binds these disparate topics with her cynical humor and intelligence. Every essay is filled with Tolentino’s refreshing voice and provides empathy and relief when redemption in this country feels impossible. - Natalie O.

If you have any interest in linguistics or LGBT history, you will not be disappointed in picking this up. Paul Barker details a thorough, but accessible, history of the secret LGBT language Polari. Intermixed is Barker’s own story of his relationship with Polari. Highly entertaining, you’ll find yourself figuring out the proper way to read “Varda the bona palone?” off the page, and connect in some way to those whose love and lives depended on this language. - Jocelyn

Let your closet do some good, and pay attention to where your donated clothes are going. The Conscious Closet will give you techniques to green-ify your wardrobe, and Fashionopolis takes an unflinching look at the fast-fashion industry and its impact on the world. Either one of these books would be great for environmentally conscious folks wanting to bring their Earth-friendly values into more of their lives. - J Gallo

Voice computing represents the biggest shift in how we interact with computers since the advent of the smart phone. The changes brought on by Siri and Alexa are affecting every aspect of our lives. This well researched book provides a fascinating account of how voice computing developed the current state of the technology, and the possibilities and pitfalls of its future. - Trey

Lowry won’t just tell you to stop buying coffee. Step by step, this book helped me understand money and the world of money we live in. I now know how you’re supposed to use a credit card, why a 401K is important, and I even changed my Savings account. As soon as I finished, I recommended this to every millennial I know – and now I’m recommending it to the ones I don’t know. - Jocelyn

Published just three years after 9/11, this is a powerful meditation on the intention behind and consumption of war photography. Sontag explores the necessary act of acknowledging violence while challenging ourselves to respond to it with empathy, not apathy. Today, when acts of mass violence are as common as the hashtags that represent them, this book feels particularly urgent. - Kristi

I have been reading (and loving) Brooklyn lifestyle blogger LaTonya Yvette for years and am so excited about this, her first book. In Woman of Color, Yvette beautifully blends memoir with essays on motherhood, love, beauty, grief, identity, and racism. Although her blend of powerful writing, fashion advice, and design inspiration could only come from her, the takeaways are for everyone. “Admire and celebrate other women,” she writes. LaTonya Yvette, it is easy to do so with you. - S.B.

When Michele Filgate, the editor of What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About, wrote an essay about her stepfather’s abuse, she revealed the fracture that the abuse caused between her mother and her. The essay went viral and Filgate realized that there was much to be learned about what happens in the intimate bond between mother and child when things go unsaid. Filgate gathered 15 writers to explore the topic. Some of the essays are hilarious; others heartbreaking; but there is such strength and resilience in this collection. I kept recalling Leonard Cohen’s line, “There is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in.” - S.M.C.