Category: good to read

Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes
Modes of Sentience is an essay collection by philosopher of mind Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes that explores the extraordinary intersection of psychedelic experience with philosophy, the analysis of mind in relation to panpsychism, multiple dimensions of space, time, and other metaphysical matters. He discusses the revelatory character of psychedelics, their influence on philosophy or the psychedelic mode of perception and criticizes Alfred North Whitehead. Keeping apace with the psychedelic renaissance in science and medicine, this collection proposes new philosophical models for discerning altered and alternate modes of sentience. Philosopher of mind Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is  a research fellow and associate lecturer at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Numenautics, the TEDx Talker on ‘Psychedelics and Consciousness’, and he is inspiration to the inhuman philosopher Marvel Superhero, Karnak.
Psychedelic Press | December 21

Neelou Malekpour and Louise Androla (illustrator)
The author shares rituals essential to aligning and calibrating your energy. Learn how to use the natural ingredients she employs in her practices — and in her frequency-raising business, SMUDGED — from rose petals to palo santo, and how to source them responsibly. Learn how to cleanse and protect yourself and your space, tap into your intuition, and elevate your frequency through sacred smoke, candle, stone rituals—and more. At a time when many of us are looking for mindful solutions to the chaos of modern life,
The Art of Sacred Smoke offers an empowering new way to connect to nature and to your best self. Neelou Malekpour was born in Seattle and raised in Tehran, Iran, before moving to Los Angeles during the Iranian Revolution. She started Smudged as a tribute to her late grandmother, who taught her to be responsible for the vibrations she put out into the world.
TarcherPerigree | March 22

Carl Abrahamsson 
One of privileged few who spent time with the “Black Pope” in the last decade of his life, Carl Abrahamsson met Anton LaVey in 1989, sparking an “infernally” empowering friendship. In this book Abrahamsson explores what LaVey was about, where he came from, and how he helped shape the esoteric landscape of the 1960s. The author shares in-depth interviews with the notorious Satanist’s intimate friends and collaborators, including LaVey’s partner Blanche Barton; his son, Xerxes LaVey; current heads of the Church of Satan, Peter Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia; occult filmmaker Kenneth Anger; LaVey’s personal secretary Margie Bauer; film collector Jack Stevenson; and film historian Jim Morton. Providing inside accounts of the Church of Satan and activities at the Black House, this intimate exploration of Anton LaVey reveals his ongoing role in the history of culture and magic.
Destiny Books | March 22

Dylan Marron
Dylan Marron’s work has racked up millions of views and worldwide support. From his ‘Every Single Word’ video series highlighting the lack of diversity in Hollywood to his web series ‘Sitting in Bathrooms with Trans People’, Marron has explored some of today’s biggest social issues. Yet, according to some strangers on the internet, Marron is a “moron,” a “beta male,” and a “talentless hack.” Rather than running from this online vitriol, Marron began a social experiment in which he invited his detractors to chat with him on the phone—and those conversations revealed surprising and fascinating insights. Now, Marron retraces his journey through a project that connects adversarial strangers in a time of unprecedented division. After years of production and dozens of phone calls, he shares what he’s learned about having difficult conversations and how having them can help close the ever-growing distance between us.
Simon and Schuster | March 22

Krystle L Jordan
Magic meets healthy living. The Witch’s Guide to Wellness shows you just how easy it is to connect with yourself, listen in to what your body needs, and add a little magic to make sure you’re living your healthiest life. Krystle L. Jordan is a wellness writer certified in holistic nutrition and has been a practitioner of the craft for over twenty years. An absolute lover of the earth and a part-time forest fairy, she focuses on living a sustainable, natural lifestyle and believes that everything carries its own energy and magic. Krystle has additional training in herbalism and body detoxification and is the creator of The Wholesome Witch. In The Witch’s Guide to Wellness, you will bring your spiritual practice into the practical world with spells, potions, and powerful activities. You will be able to treat common ailments, understand your body’s cycle, and develop a positive relationship with your mind and body. Find more of her work at TheWholesomeWitch.com
Simon and Schuster | March 22

Hanya Yanagaihara
Tracing three touching narratives across these timelines, To Paradise tells the tale of multiple characters who find connection through the space of a townhouse in Washington Square Park, New York City. Those of you who consumed Yanagihara’s most celebrated work will not be shocked to know that this book is interested in grief and suffering more than happiness and thrill. Yet, this is also a book full of magnificently painted scenes and profound connection — and despite all its painful turns, one that upholds an unshakable hope for the possibility of love.
Doubleday | January 22

Bill Hayes
Hippocrates, Plato, Galen, Susan B. Anthony, Jack LaLanne, and Jane Fonda, among many others, make appearances in Sweat, but chief among the historical figures is Girolamo Mercuriale, a Renaissance-era Italian physician who aimed singlehandedly to revive the ancient Greek “art of exercising” through his 1569 book De arte gymnastica. Though largely forgotten over the past five centuries, Mercuriale and his illustrated treatise were pioneering, and are brought back to life in the pages of Sweat. Hayes ties his own personal experience-and ours-to the cultural and scientific history of exercise, from ancient times to the present day, giving us a new way to understand its place in our lives in the 21st century.
Bloomsbury | January 22

Chuck Klosterman
In The Nineties, Chuck Klosterman makes a home in all of it: the film, the music, the sports, the TV, the politics, the changes regarding race and class and sexuality. In perhaps no other book ever written would a sentence like, «The video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was not more consequential than the reunification of Germany.» make complete sense. Chuck Klosterman has written a multi-dimensional masterpiece, a work of synthesis so smart and delightful that future historians might well refer to this entire period as Klostermanian. It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. The 90s brought about a revolution in the human condition we’re still groping to understand.
Penguin | February 22

Zora Neal Hurston
Spanning more than thirty-five years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcases the evolution of her distinctive style as an author. You Don’t Know Us Negroes is the quintessential gathering of provocative essays from one of the world’s most celebrated writers. Spanning more than three decades and penned during the backdrop of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery bus boycott, desegregation of the military, and school integration, Hurston’s writing articulates the beauty and authenticity of Black life as only she could. These pages reflect Hurston as the controversial figure she was – someone who stated that feminism is a mirage and that the integration of schools did not necessarily improve the education of Black students.
HQ | March 22

Elena Ferrante
Arguably Italy’s most praised contemporary writer, Elena Ferrante — author of the adored Neapolitan Novels, The Lost Daughter, and The Lying Life of Adults — offers a rare glimpse into her life and writing process. Though the true identity of the author stills remains unknown, nosey fans can now learn more about Ferrante’s influences and battles from the genius herself. She writes about her development as both a reader and a writer, her latest considerations on modern literature, and her appreciation for talents like Emily Dickinson, Ingeborg Bachmann, and Gertrude Stein. The most emotional passages deal with the intricate legacy of women writers, a topic that Elena Ferrante no doubt knows personally.
Europa Editions | March 22

Brian Blomerth
This colorful graphic novel tells the story of R. Gordon Wasson, vice-president of public relations for J.P. Morgan Bank, and his wife, Valentina Pavlova, who liked to eat mushrooms. Their love led them to Mexico and to Maria Sabina Garcia, a Mazatecan healer. Gordon and Valentina participated in a nocturnal ceremony involving psilocybin, called a velada, or wake. Upon their return to the United States, Wasson wrote a detailed article about their experience published in Life Magazine in 1957, «In Search of the Magic Mushroom». It sparked widespread interest in psychedelic plants; Wasson became a renowned ethno-mycologist. Brian Blomerth is an illustrator, cartoonist and musician based in Brooklyn. His previous book was dedicated to Albert Hofmann, the sensational Bicycle Day. Both take us to happy, hippie-trippy cartoon universe. (sgs)
Anthology Books | November 21

Bear Heart
«I don’t make the medicine; it was here before me. I’ve been entrusted to be a caretaker of certain sacred ways.» Bear Heart (1918 – 2008), was a Muscogee Creek Native American Church Road Man with a talent for seeing people as individuals, and for making them feel seen and special in their own ways. The Bear Is My Father: Indigenous Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Caretaker of Sacred Ways contains the final words Bear Heart wrote before his «going on» as well as contributions from friends and family whose lives were forever changed by Bear Heart’s presence and work. In this new book, Bear Heart uses stories of his youth and traditional medicine practices to convey lessons and knowledge about living in harmony and with respect for all. Offering a mix of history and spiritual wisdom, The Bear is My Father is co-authored by Reginah WaterSpirit, Bear Heart’s Medicine Helper and wife of 23 years.
Ingram Publishers | January 22 

Carl Erik Fisher
Carl Erik Fisher, an addiction physician and bioethicist, is an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, where he works in the Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry. He also maintains a private psychiatry practice focusing on complementary and integrative approaches to treating addiction. His writing has appeared in Nautilus, Slate, and Scientific American MIND, among other outlets. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his partner and son. As a psychiatrist and a patient recovering from addiction, he wonders, «Is everyone somewhere on the addiction spectrum?» What factors — biological, psychological, social, cultural — play a role? Carl Erik Fisher draws on his own experience as a clinician, researcher, and alcoholic in recovery as he traces the history of a phenomenon that, centuries on, we hardly appear closer to understanding—let alone addressing effectively
Penguin Press | January 22

T. Jefferson Parker
Laguna Beach, California, 1968. The Age of Aquarius is in full swing. Timothy Leary is a rock star. LSD is God. Folks from all over are flocking to Laguna, seeking peace, love, and enlightenment. Matt Anthony is just trying get by. Matt is sixteen, broke, and never sure where his next meal is coming from. Mom’s a stoner, his deadbeat dad a no-show, his brother’s fighting in Nam, and his big sister Jazz has just gone missing. The cops figure she’s just another runaway hippie chick, enjoying a summer of love, but Matt doesn’t believe it. Not after another missing girl turns up dead on the beach. In a town where the cops don’t trust the hippies and the hippies don’t trust the cops, uncovering what’s really happened to Jazz is going to force him to grow up fast. If it’s not already too late.
Audiobook | Forge Books | February 22

Annabel Streets
A revelatory and informative handbook for anyone stuck in a walking rut, 52 Ways to Walk is a love letter to walking. Walking strengthens our bodies, calms our minds and lifts our spirits. But it does so much more than this. Our vision, hearing, respiration, sleep, cognition, memory, blood pressure, sense of smell and balance (to name a few) are all enhanced by how we walk. For instance: Walking in cold weather burns extra fat and builds more muscle. Walking alone strengthens our memories. Walking in woodland helps us sleep. And there’s nothing more restorative than a romantic nighthike. Our choice of location, time, direction, duration, walking companion and gait, as well as the weather we opt to walk in, can transform our daily stroll. Annabel Streets explains the science behind each walking styles and provides practical tips for making more of your daily steps.
Bloomsbury | February 22

David Graeber & David Wengrow
For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike – either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society.
Penguin | October 2022

Rick Doblin et al.
In honor of Grof’s 90th birthday this year, the contributions begin with Joseph Campbell’s remarkable 1971 lecture in the Great Hall at Cooper Union setting forth the importance of Grof’s findings, and Huston Smith’s 1976 summary of their significance for the study of religion and mysticism, all the way through to the 2021 reflections by psychiatrists and researchers Charles Grob and Michael Mithoefer as part of the current renaissance of psychedelic therapy. Further essays include transpersonal sexual experiences (Jenny Wade), implications for social and cultural change (William Keepin), comparative studies with Asian religious systems (Jeffrey Kripal, Tom Purton), the perinatal dimensions of Jean-Paul Sartre’s transformational 1935 mescaline experience (Thomas Riedlinger), and parallel findings from quantum and relativistic physics (Fritjof Capra).
MAPS | January 22

Roxanne van Voorst
Though increasing numbers of people know that eating meat is detrimental to our planet’s health, many still can’t be convinced to give up eating meat. But how can we change behavior when common arguments and information aren’t working? A massive shift is already taking place—everything van Voorst covers in this book has already been invented and is being used today by individuals and small organizations worldwide. Combining the ethical clarity of Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals with the disquieting vision of Alan Weissman’s bestseller The World Without Us, a thought-provoking, entertaining exploration of a future where animal consumption is a thing of the past. Hopeful and persuasive, this book offers a vision of what is not only possible but perhaps inevitable.
Harper Collins | January 22

James R. Gaines
A bold and original argument that upends the myth of the Fifties as a decade of conformity to celebrate the solitary, brave, and stubborn individuals who pioneered the radical gay rights, feminist, civil rights, and environmental movements. In a fascinating and beautifully written series of character portraits, The Fifties invokes the accidental radicals; people motivated not by politics but by their own most intimate conflicts; who sparked movements for change in their time and our own. Among many others, we meet the legal pathfinder Pauli Murray, who was tortured by both her mixed-race heritage and her in between sexuality, and we hear the prophetic voices of Rachel Carson and Norbert Wiener, and Harry Hay. Change often begins in the lives of de-centered, often lonely individuals.
Simon & Schuster | January 22

Isabel Allende
Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first girl in a family with five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth. Through her father s prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses everything and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. Violeta’s life is shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and ultimately not one, but two pandemics.
Random House | January 22

DMT – Entity Encounters. Dialogues on the Spirit Molecule
Includes contributions from the late Ralph Metzner, Chris Bache, Whitley Strieber, Jeffrey Kripal, Angela Voss, Bill Richards, Chris Timmermann, Michael Winkelman, Luis Eduardo Luna, Anton Bilton, Bernard Carr, Daniel Pinchbeck, Dennis McKenna, Ede Frecska, and David Luke. Found throughout the plant and animal kingdom, DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is also naturally occurring in humans, where it is released during near-death and actual death experiences, earning it the title «the spirit molecule.» When taken as a psychedelic, either via ayahuasca or in pure form, DMT is experientially considered to be the strongest and strangest of all entheogens. The majority of high-dose users report visions of unknown yet curiously familiar alien worlds and encounters with sentient nonhuman presences.
Simon and Schuster | October 21

Witchcraft. The Library of Esoterica
Includes contributions from the late Ralph Metzner, Chris Bache, Whitley Strieber, Jeffrey Kripal, Angela Voss, Bill Richards, Chris Timmermann, Michael Winkelman, Luis Eduardo Luna, Anton Bilton, Bernard Carr, Daniel Pinchbeck, Dennis McKenna, Ede Frecska, and David Luke. Found throughout the plant and animal kingdom, DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is also naturally occurring in humans, where it is released during near-death and actual death experiences, earning it the title «the spirit molecule.» When taken as a psychedelic, either via ayahuasca or in pure form, DMT is experientially considered to be the strongest and strangest of all entheogens. The majority of high-dose users report visions of unknown yet curiously familiar alien worlds and encounters with sentient nonhuman presences.
Simon and Schuster | October 21

Chouette
iny is pregnant. Her husband is delighted. ‘It’s not yours,’ she tells him. ‘This baby will be an owl-baby.’ Odd, lonely, haunted by a mysterious past, Tiny’s always been an outsider. And she knows her child will be different. When Chouette is born, Tiny’s husband and family are devastated by her condition and strange appearance. Doctors tell them to expect the worst. Chouette can’t walk; she never speaks; she lashes out when frightened and causes chaos in public. Tiny’s husband wants to make her better: ‘Don’t you want our daughter to have a normal life?’ But though exhausted, shunned and bereft of her former life, Tiny thinks Chouette is perfect the way she is. Savage, startling, possessed of a biting humour and wild love, Chouette is a dark modern fable about mothering an unusual child.
Little Brown | November 21

Harsh Times
the CIA topples the government of Jacobo Árbenz. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changes the development of Latin America: the accusation by the Eisenhower administration that Árbenz encouraged the spread of Soviet Communism in the Americas. Harsh Times is a story of international conspiracies and conflicting interests in the time of the Cold War, the echoes of which are still felt today. In this thrilling novel, Mario Vargas Llosa fuses reality with two fictions: that of the narrator, who freely re-creates characters and situations, and the one designed by those who would control the politics and the economy of a continent by manipulating its history.
Faber & Faber | November 21

Wonder Drug. LSD in the Land of Living Skies
Spanning the decades from the 1950s to present day, this captivating story follows Anglo-Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Humphrey Osmond down the rabbit hole of psychedelic research, conducted both in the lab and in his living room. Lurching from dazzling imagery to fanged delusions, studded with a cast of radical personalities such as Aldous Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, and Ken Kesey (among others), Wonder Drug is a trip like no other. As Osmond and his colleagues grapple with professional isolation, a growing moral panic, and the burgeoning War on Drugs, their growing body of findings are maligned and misunderstood – but the promise of the pharmaceutical revolution is still on the horizon, and the radical research in Wyburn, Saskatchewan, may still be realized. Since this is a graphic novel, watch this.
Between the lines | November 21

Questlove
Focusing on the years 1971 to the present, Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapestry, whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped Black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to Black genius. And these critical inquiries are complemented by his own memories as a music fan, and the way his appetite for pop culture taught him about America. A history of the last half-century and an intimate conversation with one of music’s most influential and original voices, Music Is History takes a close look at contemporary America.
Abrams & Chronicle Books | November 21

Ai Weiwei
Once an intimate of Mao Zedong, Ai Weiwei’s father was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as “Little Siberia,” where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets. Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile, and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America, where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol. With candor and wit, he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist—and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime. 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows sheds light on the forces that shaped modern China, and serves as a reminder of the need to protect freedom of expression.
Barnes and Noble | November 21

Daniel McQueen
Presenting a step-by-step guide, McQueen explores how to transform cannabis into a reliable and safe psychedelic medicine. Drawing on his years of experience working with clients to release traumas and emotional pain, he explains the importance of proper dose, set, setting, and intention and details how to prepare for your psychedelic cannabis sessions. He shares methods to use cannabis in a mindful way to minimize anxiety and paranoia, and direct the experience to produce vivid psychedelic states, physical relaxation, and healing. Looking at the unique qualities of different cannabis strains, the author explores the art of making a psychedelic cannabis blend, the possibilities and hidden potentials of each strain, and how to blend strains for specific experiences.
Park Street Press | November 21

Paul MacCartney
With unparalleled candour, Paul McCartney recounts his life and art through the prism of 154 songs from all stages of his career – from his earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his solo albums to the present. Arranged alphabetically to provide a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account, it establishes definitive texts of the songs’ lyrics for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now. Presented with this is a treasure trove of material from McCartney’s personal archive – drafts, letters, photographs – never seen before, which make this also a unique visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
Penguin Books | November 21

David Graeber and David Wengrow 
For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike –
either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Their book transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society.
Allen Lane | November 21

Virginia Haze and Dr. K. Mandrake, PhD
If you’ve mastered the art of growing mushrooms at home and have your growing method tuned in perfectly, or you’ve just got very good at foraging and have a reliable patch, you’ll have an endless stream of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. But where do you go from here? What’s the best method of extraction to minimize loss, and how can you stave off the dreaded nausea every time you dose? What’s the deal with microdosing, and how do you do it safely? And if you want to put on a three-course dosed dinner for a few of your best friends, what are the best dishes to cook? All these questions are answered, deliciously, in The Psilocybin Chef Cookbook. Fully illustrated, with mouth watering full-color photos throughout.
External catalogues | September 21

Edited by John C. Ryan, Patricia Veira and Monica Cagliano
This book offers an accessible account of the idea of “the plant mind” by bringing together short essays and poems on plants and their interactions with humans. The texts interpret the theme broadly—from the ways that humans mind and unmind plants to the mindedness or unmindedness of plants themselves. Authors from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences have written about their personal connections to particular plants, reflecting upon their research on plant studies in a style amenable to a broad audience. Each of the authors has selected a plant that functions as a guiding thread to their interpretation of “the mind of plants.” From the ubiquitous rose to the ugly hornwort, from the Amazonian ayahuasca to tobacco, the texts reflect the multifarious interactions between humans and flora.
Ingram Publishers Service | October 21

Beatriz Labate and Clancy Cavnar (Eds.)
Radical, cultural transformation is the guiding force behind this socially visionary anthology. Its unifying value is social justice. The book highlights Chacruna’s ongoing work promoting diversity and inclusion by prominently featuring voices that have been long marginalized in Western psychedelic culture: women, queer people, people of color, and indigenous people. The essays examine both historical and current issues within psychedelics that many may not know about. The essays examine both historical and current issues within psychedelics that many may not know about, and orient around policy, reciprocity, diversity and inclusion, sex and power, colonialism, and indigenous concerns. We believe the book can be another tool to help Chacruna and its allies continue to push for justice and inclusion in the greater psychedelic culture.
Synergetic Press | October 21

Tim Read & Maria Papaspyrou (Eds.)
An exploration of the latest developments from the flourishing field of modern psychedelic psychotherapy. Tim Read, M.D., is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, with degrees in neuroscience and medicine. He is involved in clinical research at King’s College and Imperial College, London University, on the therapeutic use of psychedelics. He has completed trainings in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and transpersonal psychology with Stanislav Grof. The author of Walking Shadows and co-author of Breaking Open, he lives in London. Maria Papaspyrou, MSc, is an integrative psychotherapist, supervisor, and family constellations facilitator. The co-editor of Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine, she lives in Brighton, England. Together, the authors are co-directors of the Institute of Psychedelic Therapy in the UK.
Park Street Press | October 21

Alyson Charles
Brimming with 100 different vibrant animal illustrations, transformative practices, and captivating stories from around the world, Animal Power is an guide to the power of the animal realm and how they bring peace, healing and empowerment to your life. In this compendium, get ready to discover rituals, meditations, and visualizations to connect with 100 remarkable animals and their specific messages to share with you. Learn how to connect with the animal power of the bear for comfort and protection, the leopard for confidence, the seal for healthy relationships, and the peacock for creative inspiration, and many others. The practices are paired with illuminating stories from spiritual teachers around the world.
Abrams & Chronicle | October 21

Maia Szalavitz
Drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars or breast cancer. But in the name of “sending the right message,” we have criminalized drug addiction, denied those who are addicted medical care, housing and other benefits, and have deliberately allowed the spread of fatal diseases. Yet there is an alternative to our present system, one that has been proven to work, but which runs counter to the received wisdom of our criminal and medical industrial complexes. It is called harm reduction. A surprisingly simple idea with enormous power, harm reduction takes the focus off of drug use and instead works to minimize associated damage It is focused not on punishing pleasure but on minimizing harm; in essence, it is a wholesale refutation of the American way of justice.
Hachette Books | July 21

Jan Grue
Jan Grue was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of three. Shifting
between specific periods of his life-his youth with his parents and sister in Norway; his years of study in Berkeley, St. Petersburg, and Amsterdam; and his current life as a professor, husband, and father-he intersperses these histories with elegant, wise reflections on the world, social structures, disability, loss, relationships, and the body: in short, on what it means to be human. Along the way, Grue moves effortlessly between his own story and those of others, incorporating reflections on philosophy, film, art, and the work of writers from Joan Didion to Michael Foucault. «I am not talking about becoming human, but about how I came to realize that I had always already been human».
Farrar, Strauss & Giroux | August 21

David Rooney
Exploring the history, lore, traditional use, psychoactive effects, For thousands of years, people of all cultures have made and used clocks, from the city sundials of ancient Rome to the medieval water clocks of imperial China, hourglasses fomenting revolution in the Middle Ages, the Stock Exchange clock of Amsterdam in 1611, Enlightenment observatories in India, and the high-precision clocks circling the Earth on a fleet of GPS satellites that have been launched since 1978. Clocks have helped us navigate the world and build empires, and have even taken us to the brink of destruction. Elites have used them to wield power, make money, govern citizens, and control lives-and sometimes the people have used them to fight back. Rooney shows, through these artifacts, how time has been imagined, politicized, and weaponized over the centuries-and how it might bring peace.
W.W. Norton | August 21

Gabrielle Union
Right, you and I left off in October 2017, when my first book came out. The weeks before were filled with dreams of loss. Pets dying. My husband leaving me. Babies not being born. My therapist told me it was my soul preparing for my true self to emerge after letting go of my grief. I had finally spoken openly about my fertility journey. I was having second thoughts—in fact, so many thoughts they were organizing to go on strike. But I knew I had to be honest because I didn’t want other women going through IVF to feel as alone as I did. I had suffered in isolation, having so many miscarriages that I could not give an exact number. Strangers shared their own journeys and heartbreak with me. I had led with the truth, and it opened the door to compassion.
Harper Collins | September 21

Anil Seth
What does it mean to “be you”–that is, to have a specific, conscious experience of the world around you and yourself within it? There may be no more elusive or fascinating question. Historically, humanity has considered the nature of consciousness to be a primarily spiritual or philosophical inquiry, but scientific research is now mapping out compelling biological theories and explanations for consciousness and selfhood.  Anil Seth is both a leading expert on the neuroscience of consciousness and one of most prominent spokespeople for this relatively new field of science. His radical argument is that we do not perceive the world as it objectively is, but rather that we are prediction machines, and that we can now observe the biological mechanisms in the brain that accomplish this process of consciousness.
Faber + Faber | September 21

William J. Craddock
It’s not hyperbole to say William J. Craddock’s Be Not Content is the historical and literary successor to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Both writers gave first-hand accounts of extraordinary eras in America’s cultural history. Just as Kerouac did in capturing the 1950s Beat Generation, Craddock’s fictionalized memoir provides the most authentic narrative of the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s. Craddock was working for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1970, when he decided to record his experiences on the behest of friends and admirers: «I wanted to describe in detail the hopeful hopelessness, the paralyzing simplicity, the intricate and dazzling complexity and the agony of final-truth-pain that was part of the religiously devoted acid-head’s day-to-day existence.» This 50th anniversary edition includes additional writings and photos. A hippie bombshell!
Transreal Books | December 2020

Dr. Carl L. Hart
Dr. Carl L. Hart, Ziff Professor at Columbia University and former chair of the Department of Psychology, is one of the world’s preeminent experts on the effects of so-called recreational drugs on the human mind and body. Dr. Hart is open about the fact that he uses drugs himself, in a happy balance with the rest of his full and productive life as a colleague, husband, father, and friend. In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use – not drugs themselves – have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country’s enduring structural racism. Drug Use for Grown-Ups is controversial, to be sure: the propaganda war, Dr. Hart argues, has been tremendously effective.
Penguin Books | January 2021

Akiko Busch
Today, we are relentlessly encouraged, even conditioned, to reveal, share, and promote ourselves. The pressure to be public comes not just from our peers, but from vast and pervasive technology companies that want to profit from patterns in our behavior. A lifelong student and observer of the natural world, Busch sets out to explore her own uneasiness with this arrangement, and what she senses is a widespread desire for a less scrutinized way of life—for invisibility. Writing about her own life, her family, and some of the world’s most exotic and remote places, she savors the pleasures of being unseen. Discovering and dramatizing a wonderful range of ways of disappearing, from virtual reality goggles that trick the wearer into believing her body has disappeared.
Penguin Books | February 2021

Rae Lee
Tiller is an average American college student with a good heart but minimal aspirations. Pong Lou is a larger-than-life, wildly creative Chinese American entrepreneur who sees something intriguing in Tiller beyond his bored exterior and takes him under his wing. When Pong brings him along on a boisterous trip across Asia, Tiller is catapulted from ordinary young man to talented protégé, and pulled into a series of ever more extreme and eye-opening experiences that transform his view of the world, of Pong, and of himself. Rich with commentary on Western attitudes, Eastern stereotypes, capitalism, global trade, mental health, parenthood, mentorship, and more, My Year Abroad, Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is also an exploration of the surprising effects of cultural immersion—on a young American in Asia, on a Chinese man in America, and on an unlikely couple hiding out in the suburbs.
Penguin Books | February 2021

Ibram  X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (Editors)
Four Hundred Souls is a one-volume “community” history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. The writers explore their periods through a variety of techniques: historical essays, short stories, personal vignettes, and fiery polemics. They approach history from various perspectives: through the eyes of towering historical icons or the untold stories of ordinary people; through places, laws, and objects. While themes of resistance and struggle, of hope and reinvention, course through the book, this collection of diverse pieces from ninety different minds, reflecting ninety different perspectives, fundamentally deconstructs the idea that Africans in America are a monolith.
Random House N.Y. | February 2021

Kim Stanley Robertson
This is a wake-up call pointing to more and immediate action on the climate front. It describes an apocalyptic tomorrow where our ecological problems have been given free rein to reach their terrible conclusions, unknown numbers of casualties in their wake. These terrifying events looming on the horizon (spoiler alert: heat, heat and more heat), the author, a steady presence in science fiction, sends us «on a trip: through the carbon-fueled chaos of the coming decades, with engineers working desperately to stop melting glaciers from sliding into the sea, avenging eco-terrorists downing so many airliners that people are afraid to fly, and bankers re-inventing the economy in real time in a desperate attempt to avert extinction.» (Rolling Stone) The solutions discussed and the idea that there is a way out, make this an optimistic book. (sgs)
Orbit Books | October 2020

Anna Barnes
From accepting your thoughts to zooming your focus in and out, The A to Z of Mindfulness will spark your curiosity about a wide variety of mindfulness subjects and encourage you to practice them with interactive prompts and reflective activities. Bright watercolor paintings and charming design make for a calming reading experience, while quotes and mantras provide the perfect dose of inspiration. Sometimes concrete and helpful, sometimes broad and motivational, The A to Z of Mindfulness is an unintimidating book guaranteed to fuel anyone’s mindfulness practice. Anna Barnes has a longstanding interest in mindfulness and emotional well-being. Appreciate the little things, believe in your personal power, and connect with nature is her message.
Andrews McNeel | January 2021

Gordon Korman
Meet Jett Baranov, Silicon Valley’s number one spoiled brat. His father created Fuego, the most successful tech company in the world. So imagine his dismay when his dad’s private plane drops him off at a wellness camp in the middle of the Arkansas wilderness. Can the prince of technology survive an entire summer eating healthy, exercising, and living life totally unplugged – no phones, no TV, no screens of any kind? As the weeks go on, Jett starts to get used to the unplugged life and even bonds with the other kids over their discovery of a baby-lizard-turned-pet, Needles. But he can’t help noticing that the adults at the Oasis are acting really strange. Could it be all those suspicious «meditation» sessions?
Barnes and Noble | January 2021

Nnedi Okorafor, Dave Brahm (illustrations), John Jennings (adaptation)
During a furious storm a young woman’s destiny is revealed… and her life is changed forever. After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s short story On the Road. The drama takes place in a small Nigerian town during a violent and unexpected storm. A Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive. John Jennings and David Brame’s graphic novel collaboration uses bold art and colors to powerfully tell this tale of identity and destiny. Nnedi Okorafor, PhD, is a Nigerian-American author of African-rooted science fiction and fantasy.
Abrams ComicArts | January 2021

Christopher S. Kilham
In India, both yoga and cannabis are considered gifts from the Hindu god Shiva. They are seen as twin currents of wisdom and enlightenment, allies for healing and consciousness expansion. As an ethnobotanist and yogi, Chris Kilham elaborates how cannabis and yoga offer profound benefits for body, mind, and spirit when wisely and thoughtfully combined. Kilham examines the history and lore of both cannabis and yoga, with a special focus on the role of cannabis in Indian and Himalayan yoga traditions where it has been used for thousands of years and explains how yoga practice offers a way to tune the human nervous system and how, through the endocannabinoid system, cannabis harmonizes a multitude of functions, from respiration to pain control, in ways that enhance yoga including the effects of both THC and CBD as well as the different methods of consuming cannabis, with advice on selecting the right method for your yoga practice.
Park Street Press | February 2021