New books in the store

There is no real theme for today's new books. They kind of come from every direction. No use in trying to follow my train of thought. These were just the most interesting books I recently found and want to include into Indigo's collection.

Fiction —

The Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature
I found this title while searching out information on Sherman Alexie. It looks interesting. "The Companion includes bio-bibliographies of forty authors, maps, suggestions for further reading, and a timeline which details major works of Native American literature."

The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South edited by Nikky Finney
My friend Sheree Thomas introduced me to this title. It contains some of her work as well as poems by Nikki Giovanni, Yusef Komunyakaa, Sonia Sanchez, Kalamu ya Salaam, Kevin Young, and many, many others.

In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar
"... raises comparisons to Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner ... Critics agree that Matar's poetic, visual prose reflects a skill and maturity often lacking in first novels." -- Bookmarks Magazine

Non-Fiction —

Poor People by William T. Vollmann
Vollmann traveled the world to create this work that illustrates the plight of the poor. I saw Vollmann on "NYTimes Talks" (on the CUNY channel here in NYC) talk about this book. He seems like a strange guy but his empathy for the people he depicts in this volume was quite evident.

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
Any black person who has contemplated going to the doctor here in the US thinks about the our past history with the medical establishment. We look at them with fear and distrust. Not just about the past but about the present. The disrespect we often encounter as well as the extremely poor care has a history. Washington illustrates in this book more history than we even knew. There is a reason to distrust. Yet we need medical care. We need to hold the medical profession accountable to what they do to our bodies as well as keep a documented history of how Blacks in America receive medical care. It's about the future and not just the past.