Roxane Gay’s Book Club: See All of Her 2024 Picks

"The intimacy and introspection Nezhukumatathil brings to the study of nature and humanity in World of Wonders are the same characteristics she brings to the study of people and food in Bite by Bite, her new collection. In this book, she examines forty foods and their associations with family, memory, and the way our palate both shapes and reflects the human experience...Bite by Bite is a beautiful, meditative book, one that allows us to examine family and legacy through an original lens as well as encouraging us to question what we know about the foods we love." -Roxane Gay

"'Real Americans', Khong’s second novel, marks an evolution of her narrative capabilities: where 'Goodbye Vitamin' feels compact, occupied with the daily faults and intimacies of the final days of a family unit, 'Real Americans' feels expansive, concerned with the mysteries of a Chinese American family trying to figure out just what and who it is over the course of decades...'Real Americans' is a compelling and ambitious novel, filled with astute insights into the cultures of both China and America, the working class, the complexities of family, and the construction of self." -RG

"'With My Back to the World' is one of the pieces at the critical intersection of both Martin’s stylistic shift and her decision to turn away from public life in favor of art...The poems in 'With My Back to the World' are challenging and deeply felt; they both honor the legacy and work of Martin and reestablish Chang as a poet of precision, intellect, and considerable emotional heft." -RG

"The essays in 'Lessons for Survival', written between 2015 and 2023, all revolve around this concept of a strong, resilient mother, but less as a stylized figure and more as a philosophy for operating in the world...Raboteau’s collection is a sobering read, but there are distinct moments of beauty and joy in these essays: the photographs she uses to immerse readers more deeply in a moment, the meticulous observations of birds, mammals, and plants that she illustrates are just as much a part of her community as the people, the stories she tells about and to her children that afford readers a window into their lives." -RG

"Orange’s moving narrative answers questions about what happened to the beloved characters from 'There There' but also offers explores the inherent contradictions of how Native communities—especially those that resist lingering stereotypes—identify, survive, and are understood in the twenty-first century...Part of what makes this novel so masterful is that it does not attempt to give us simple answers to any of these questions; instead this novel tries to answer those questions in complex, unexpected and brilliantly conveyed ways." -RG

"'Martyr!', Akbar’s debut novel, picks up Akbar’s thread of addiction, distress tolerance, and distorted reality: the novel opens with Cyrus, an Iranian American poet, lying 'on a mattress that smelled like piss and Febreze' and willing God to make the lightbulb in his room flicker, to manifest a sign that he should start over again...Told from Cyrus’s conflicted, vulnerable, and often irascible perspective and interweaving the stories of the friends, family, artists, and other characters who have had an impact on Cyrus’s life, Akbar’s debut is an exploration of martyrdom and the reasons we find to stay alive." -RG

"Chef Sohla El-Waylly is becoming well-known for her culinary wisdom, but one of her most enduring talents is the ability to offer not just the what of a dish, but the why...the author gives us a broad base of cooking knowledge, insight into the science that helps to construct our favorite dishes, and lessons intended to teach us culinary techniques not just so that we can replicate them, but so that we can understand them." -RG