My Black Nerd Problems Summer Reading List

Summer reading lists are almost mandatory in this book review business. They remind me of elementary school. My mom — continually short on time and long on work — would send my sister and I off to the library at least once a week during summer vacation, with me designated as “the one in charge.” We would walk the mile in the Cleveland humidity and spend as much time as possible in the air conditioned children’s reading room. I would sneak into the Adult section to check out Agatha Christie mysteries. I was oh-so-risque. To this day, my sister and I are both avid readers, due at least in part to that old summer habit. This summer for my reading list, I’m stepping back from the new books I usually read and review to read some titles that have been hanging out on my “gotta read” list for too long. There are more books on this list than there are months in the summer, however, so really this is a wish list as much as a reading list. As all of these books are out and widely available, I’m sharing it in advance and inviting anyone to read along. I’ll be tracking my progress on Goodreads if you want to follow me there and, of course, there will be reviews here.

Alif the Unseen  

Alif the Unseen is written by one of the most respected women writers in comics today, G. Willow Wilson. Before she brought the world a Pakistani-American Ms. Marvel, she wrote this cyberpunk novel set in an unnamed Middle Eastern emirate about Alif, a man wrapped up in love for aristocratic Intisa…