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THE DARK QUEENS

One of our recommended books is The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak

The remarkable, little-known story of two trailblazing women in the Early Middle Ages who wielded immense power, only to be vilified for daring to rule.

Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet-in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport-these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.

The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes. They formed coalitions and broke them,

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I’LL BE THERE (BUT I’LL BE WEARING SWEATPANTS)

One of our recommended books is I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants) by Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston

There are few things that can feel more challenging than making friends as an adult. Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston address common obstacles to true connection and offer a confessional, hilarious, and practical guide for building friendships in the middle of this crazy, rollercoaster life.

If you’ve ever wondered why it seems like such a struggle to make and maintain friendships as an adult–it’s not just you. The number of Americans who claim to have no close friends has drastically increased over the last few decades. Loneliness doesn’t care what age you are, how many Instagram followers you have,

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THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

One of our recommended books is The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk

Anxious People meets the delights of bookish fiction in a stunning debut following a librarian whose quiet life is turned upside down when a priceless manuscript goes missing. Soon she has to ask: what holds more secrets in the library—the ancient books shelved in the stacks, or the people who preserve them?

Liesl Weiss long ago learned to be content working behind the scenes in the distinguished rare books department of a large university, managing details and working behind the scenes to make the head of the department look good. But when her boss has a stroke and she’s left to run things,

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BLACK GIRLS MUST BE MAGIC

One of our recommended books is Black Girls Must Be Magic by Jayne Allen

In this highly anticipated second installment in the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series, Tabitha Walker copes with more of life’s challenges and a happy surprise—a baby—with a little help and lots of love from friends old and new.

For Tabitha Walker, her grandmother’s old adage, “Black girls must die exhausted” is becoming all too true. Discovering she’s pregnant—after she was told she may not be able to have biological children— Tabitha throws herself headfirst into the world of “single mothers by choice.” Between her job, doctor’s appointments, and preparing for the baby, she’s worn out.

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JANE AND THE YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER

One of our recommended books is Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron

May 1816: Jane Austen is feeling unwell, with an uneasy stomach, constant fatigue, rashes, fevers and aches. She attributes her poor condition to the stress of family burdens, which even the drafting of her latest manuscript—about a baronet’s daughter nursing a broken heart for a daring naval captain—cannot alleviate. Her apothecary recommends a trial of the curative waters at Cheltenham Spa, in Gloucestershire. Jane decides to use some of the profits earned from her last novel, Emma, and treat herself to a period of rest and reflection at the spa, in the company of her sister, Cassandra.

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MANIFESTO

One of our recommended books is Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo

From the bestselling and Booker Prize-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo’s memoir of her own life and writing, and her manifesto on unstoppability, creativity, and activism

Evaristo’s nonfiction debut, Manifesto, is an intimate and inspirational account of Evaristo’s life and career as she rebelled against the mainstream to fight to bring her creative work into the world. She recalls her childhood and teenaged years as a young actor and playwright in London, details her early political awakenings and activism, and recounts her determination to tell stories that were absent in the literary world around her.

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