Women's History Month ends in March, but these books are solid reads all year long
The Thread's Must-Read
"An Unkindness of Ghosts"by Rivers Solomon
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The world of “An Unkindness of Ghosts” is both wildly imaginative and painfully familiar. The novel unfolds on the HSS Matilda, barreling through space, Earth just a memory from generations before.
And while the technology has surpassed our wildest dreams, the ships’ residents haven’t escaped the brutal history of racism. The ship itself is organized like the antebellum South, with black laborers working in the lower decks and white aristocrats living in luxury on the upper tiers.
Aster, an outsider on the lower decks, defies the system by moving around Matilda, from her concealed laboratory in the ship’s depths to passageways that lead to the top. When she begins to unravel the mystery around her mother’s decade-old death, she stumbles onto a discovery that could crash the racist power structure.
For people who are tempted to dismiss science fiction as one-dimensional or superficial, “An Unkindness of Ghosts” digs deep into issues of race, class, gender and human connection.
-Tracy Mumford
12 must-reads during Women's History Month To celebrate International Women's Day this week — and Women's History Month all month — we asked female authors from around Minnesota to give us their recommended reads.
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A creepy, twisty page-turner that toys with truth "Based on a True Story" by Delphine de Vigan
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Bookseller Morgan Miller recommends a novel built around a writer who finds sudden success, and a new acquaintance: "It's both very literary, and also just a really good, creepy, twisty thriller."
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Andrew Lloyd Webber's genius is "Unmasked" in new memoir "Unmasked" by Andrew Lloyd Weber
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The famed composer of "Evita," "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera" and many more tells his story in a new memoir.
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A Chinese classic takes flight in English "Legends of the Condor Heroes" by Jin Yong
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Jin Yong's wildly popular historical series "Legends of the Condor Heroes" has been adapted many times for Chinese TV, movies and comics, and now the first volume has been translated into English.
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A stirring and engrossing account of the battle for suffrage "The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote" by Elaine Weiss
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Elaine Weiss' new book reminds us how close a call women's suffrage was. It all rode on one yes vote in the Tennessee Legislature, cast by a man who changed his mind after pressure from his mother.
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Despite a sad setup, "House Of Broken Angels" hums with joy "The House of Broken Angels" by Luis Alberto Urrea
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Luis Alberto Urrea's latest, based loosely on his own brother's death, follows the members of a vibrant Mexican-American family as they deal with grief and impending death — but also celebrate life.
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"It just felt very wrong": Sherman Alexie's accusers go on the record Author Sherman Alexie issued a statement in his own defense last week after allegations of sexual harassment began to circulate online. Now, several of the women accusing him are speaking to NPR.
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Deep, compassionate "Tess of the Road" contains a whole world "Tess of the Road" by Rachel Hartman
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Rachel Hartman follows up "Seraphina" and "Shadow Scale" with the story of Tess, a rebellious young woman who runs away to escape being sent to a nunnery, and finds pain and growth along her road.
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A sister shares "Horrible and Wonderful" memories of her brother's life and death "Everything Is Horrible and Wonderful" by Stephanie Wittels Wachs
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Comedy writer and TV producer Harris Wittels died of an overdose in 2015; a new book by his sister Stephanie Wittels Wachs came from her desperate need to talk to him, even yell at him, after he died.
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