This week our Book Editor, Taposhi selects some books to read that you shouldn’t miss out on. Don’t forget to read them out.
An Abolitionist’s Handbook by Patrisse Cullors ****
In An Abolitionist’s Handbook, Cullors charts a framework for how everyday activists can effectively fight for an abolitionist present and future. This book is filled with relatable pedagogy on the history of abolition; a reimagining of what reparations look like for Black lives and real-life anecdotes from Cullors An Abolitionist’s Handbook offers a bold, innovative, and humanistic approach to how to be a modern-day abolitionist.
In the Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado ****
Silvia Vasquez-Lavado was struggling with alcoholism, repression, and abuse so she started climbing mountains. Eventually, she became the first Peruvian woman to reach Everest’s peak, and the first openly gay woman to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. In this remarkably candid memoir, she describes those experiences, and how they led her to self-acceptance, resilience, and community. It’s an inspiring story that’s being adapted for film, with Selena Gomez set to portray Vasquez-Lavado.
Other People’s Clothes by Calla Henkel ****
Calla Henkel’s claustrophobic debut novel centers on two American exchange students in Berlin who get caught up in a web of celebrity, paranoia and murder. The expats are renting an apartment from an eccentric novelist who they believe is watching them to source material for her next bookso they decide to put on a show. That includes hosting wild parties, a form of performance art that spins out of control. Other People’s Clothes is a gritty take on toxic female friendships, partly inspired by the time Henkel spent abroad right after Amanda Knox’s murder trial in Italy. Expect a slow burn that’s deliciously dark.
