The Conjuring of America explores how the folk magic of Black women is woven into the very fabric of American identity, shaping who we are and how we live. ... Read full Story
With humor and razor-sharp wit, Rax King’s sophomore essay collection, Sloppy, shows that engaging in painful self-reflection is a worthwhile venture. ... Read full Story
Alexis Hall’s Looking for Group may be a romance novel, but it’s also an ode to friendship and connection in all its forms—whether online or IRL. ... Read full Story
To Sketch a Scandal is a heartwarming and intimate queer historical romance about embracing authenticity in the face of repression. ... Read full Story
Aiden Arata’s intelligent collection of essays, You Have a New Memory, blends memoir, criticism and reportage to produce a vivid portrait of life in the online age. ... Read full Story
Fueled by adrenaline and the absurdities of contemporary politics, Dan Fesperman’s zeitgeisty Pariah follows a disgraced comedian-turned-CIA asset. ... Read full Story
The Feather Detective chronicles the pioneering work of the U.S.’s first forensic ornithologist: the brilliant, feisty Roxie Laybourne. ... Read full Story
Paul Bradley Carr’s The Confessions begins when an AI achieves sentience—and is immediately racked with guilt over what it has done. ... Read full Story
Former tech journalist Paul Bradley Carr’s The Confessions is an entertaining, thought-provoking techno-thriller about an AI gone rogue. ... Read full Story
STARRED REVIEW Share this Article: Recent Features All Features BookPage Top 10 See our latest list of the best titles of the month. CLICK HERE ... Read full Story
Jennifer Givhan’s Salt Bones employs both the horror of supernatural violence and the horror of systems that ignore missing brown and Black girls and pollute the Earth. ... Read full Story
The tremendous comedy of Maria Reva’s debut novel, Endling, is an act of resistance to oppression with the theatrics to turn things upside-down. ... Read full Story
Thoughtful and enthralling, Soul Machine navigates the age-old conflict between the artificial and the natural with remarkable nuance. This surreal adventure is one you’ll remember. ... Read full Story
Kick your next cookout up a notch with Grilling, which packs a punch with interesting flavor combinations, instructive methodology and helpful serving suggestions. ... Read full Story
“When Moira reached her mother on the phone, it was hard to take in any information other than that she was being sent away. ‘Babysitting and secretarial work?’ Moira said without saying hello. ‘Organizing lessons?’ ‘Hello, Moira,’ Nina said. ‘Let’s drop this petulant teenager routine.’ ‘I am a petulant teenager.’” — Keziah Weir, The Mythmakers: A Novel, 2023
Did you know?
Petulant may have changed its meaning over the years, but it has retained its status as “word most people would not use to describe themselves in a job interview.” Hailing from Middle French and Latin, petulant began its English tenure in the late 16th century with the meaning recorded in our unabridged dictionary as “wanton or immodest in speech or behavior”—in other words, “lewd” or “obscene.” The word eventually softened, at least somewhat, from describing those who are forward in—shall we say—prurient ways, to those who are forward by being merely rude and angrily bold. Today the word is most commonly used to describe someone acting snippy and snippety, snappish and snappy, displaying an often childish ill or short temper of the kind that tends to arise from annoyance at not getting one’s way.