"The Future Is Fiction"

New from Oxford University Press: The Future Is Fiction: A Cultural History of Intergenerational Justice by Stacey Margolis.

About the book, from the publisher:

The Future is Fiction is the first cultural history of the idea that people have an obligation to protect the world for future generations. While political philosophers have regarded intergenerational justice as an important field of study since the 1970s, the history of modern forms of obligation to the future has received almost no attention. This book traces the evolution of the Anglo-American concept of intergenerational justice, from its origins in eighteenth-century democratic revolutions to its flourishing in the 2000s. Thus, it illuminates the contours of a political conviction that has shaped modern culture.

Margolis's central claim is twofold: first, that fiction's capacity to imagine counterfactual worlds has made the most significant contribution to contemporary understandings of intergenerational justice; and second, that this contribution has been misunderstood. Rather than inspiring political change, fiction demonstrates that complex societies will inevitably clash over what counts as a good future and what should be done to bring this future into being.

From nineteenth-century utopian novels like James Fenimore Cooper's The Crater and Mary E. Bradley Lane's Mizora, to post-nuclear war dystopias, like Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, and Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, to recent fiction about endangered children like Toni Morrison's Paradise, Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, and Kazuo Ishiguru's Never Let Me Go, the tradition of future-oriented fiction recognizes that our obligation to the future is not the solution to an ethical problem, but an ethical dilemma in its own right.

Visit Stacey Margolis's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Republic of Memory"

New from S&S/Saga Press: The Republic of Memory: A Novel (The Song of the Safina) by Mahmud El Sayed.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A Memory Called Empire meets Children of Time in this Arabfuturist debut set on a generation ship on the brink of revolution as its crew begin to ask why they should toil for a people, and an empire, none of them remember.

The Safina is a city ship halfway through its four-hundred-year voyage from the ruins of Earth to a new colony world. Its crew maintain the ship, generation after generation, while protecting their ancestors in cryostasis so that one day they will be able to enjoy a fresh start under clear blue skies.

But when blackouts start, unrest follows.

The ship can only continue running smoothly with the cooperation of the crew. And the crew has had enough. As coordinated acts of resistance coincide with a much more complex conspiracy, a chain of events is set into motion that will change life on the Safina forever.

Inspired by the real-world events of the Arab Spring, The Republic of Memory is a bold interrogation of empire and an energizing portrait of revolution.

Follow Mahmud El Sayed on Instagram.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Searching for Wagner in Japan"

New from Oxford University Press: Searching for Wagner in Japan by Brooke McCorkle Okazaki.

About the book, from the publisher:

In 1868 Japan opened its borders to the outside world and began a rapid modernization process which included importing European musical instruments, compositional practices, and repertoire. The operas and prose of Richard Wagner trickled into Japan during this time and, as in other parts of the world, agents in Japan manipulated the composer's prose and musical works to suit ideologies ranging from the fascist to the frivolous.

Through the lens of global history, Japanese cultural studies, and musicology, this book presents a new way of understanding Wagnerism as it filtered through modern Japanese culture. Wagnerism is entangled in modernity, and in Japan these entanglements surfaced not only on the operatic stage, but also in sheet music, film, and popular literature. Author Brooke McCorkle Okazaki documents Wagner's opera premieres and utilizes mass media—such as film, magazines, and comics—to explore the interplay of modernity and Wagnerism in Japan. Okazaki first situates the discussion in the context of global historical methodologies, demonstrating how the story of Wagner's reception in Japan models a non-Eurocentric approach to one of musicology's most canonical composers. She then presents a series of case studies that consider how Wagnerism shaped individuals and institutions in Japan beginning from the late nineteenth century and to the present.

--Marshal Zeringue

"First and Forever"

Coming May 12 from Berkley: First and Forever by Lynn Painter.

About the book, from the publisher:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter comes an utterly irresistible romantic comedy about a football star and his team’s die-hard fan who find themselves entangled in a PR stunt that only one of them knows is fake.

Duffy Distefano loves three things: her dad, the family cat, and Minneapolis Coyote football. So after she gets booed out of a game and becomes the internet’s villain following an awful encounter with the team’s beloved mascot, she is disgruntled, to put it mildly. Eager to clear the air, Duffy agrees to an interview on a hit morning show. She doesn’t expect a co-guest to join her—especially not the Coyotes’ star tight end.

When MVP Connor Cunningham gets tasked with damage control to help his team out of a PR nightmare, he finds himself in a highly amusing verbal sparring match with a recently wronged fan on live TV. The interview instantly goes viral, and the public is obsessed with them. Despite his distaste for PR stunts, a strong push from the Coyotes’ PR team to ride the wave results in Connor asking Duffy out. But he quickly discovers being with Duffy is much easier than he anticipated, and somehow it doesn’t feel fake to him. This secret can only blow up, but all he knows is that if he messes things up with Duffy, it’ll be the greatest fumble of his life.

Oozing with chemistry that feels like fireworks and banter that makes you swoon, Lynn Painter delivers her signature blend of heart and humor in this love story that you won’t soon forget.

Visit Lynn Painter's website.

Q&A with Lynn Painter.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Killing Radicalism"

New from NYU Press: Killing Radicalism: Anti-Rape Advocacy Reimagined by Melinda Chen.

About the book, from the publisher:

A radical challenge to the ways anti-rape advocates work with the survivors of sexual assault

What is “victim advocacy” when regulated by the government? Victim advocates have long served as the designated support people for survivors of sexual violence. But in the neoliberal era, advocates no longer work at independent collectives supporting survivors through whatever means necessary, but instead operate at rape crisis centers, government-funded agencies with strict policies on the uses of their funding. In this compelling book, Melinda Chen argues that pressures from governmental granting agencies onto rape crisis centers have compelled advocates to turn away from their responsibility of challenging intersectional violence and instead lean into normative interpretations of rape and survivorship, hurting the most marginalized of victims.

Killing Radicalism demonstrates that even the most well-intentioned anti-rape activists can inadvertently harm survivors when they forgo an intersectional critique of the oppressive social and institutional structures around them. Through interviews with advocates from over 50 rape crisis centers, and drawing from her own experience as an advocate, Chen examines how neoliberalism affects anti-rape advocacy today. She shows that through everyday activities like grant writing or the compilation of survey data, advocates can inadvertently force victims out of the post-rape process through small-scale acts suggesting that they are not worthy victims.

Chen asks advocates to reconsider their relationship to racial and other marginalized peoples' movements to reimagine a radical politics that can resist hegemonic and normative state powers. Ultimately, this book is a wake-up call for advocates and scholars to reexamine their approaches to anti-violence work and prioritize the needs of all survivors.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Patriot's Daughter"

New from Crooked Lane Books: The Patriot's Daughter: A Novel by Brittany Butler.

About the novel, from the publisher:

Democracy is fracturing—and one woman may hold the key to saving it.

This electrifying new thriller from former CIA officer and TikTok sensation Brittany Butler is the perfect geopolitical thriller for fans of David McCloskey and Alma Katsu.

When a wave of Russian cyberattacks ignites a disinformation firestorm, the United States is pushed to the brink of a civil war. State governments defy Washington. Militias rise. As trust crumbles and chaos spreads, the CIA races to expose the source behind such unrest before democracy collapses from within.

Brilliant, relentless, and haunted by her mother’s disappearance, Ava was recruited for a moment like this. Dispatched to infiltrate Russia’s foreign intelligence service, her mission becomes personal when she locks onto her target, Konstantine, a charismatic SVR officer whose shadowed past intertwines with her own.

What Ava uncovers is more insidious than she feared. With the country unraveling, she must navigate a minefield of deception. Her only anchor is Ben, a veteran counterintelligence officer with complicated romantic feelings for Ava. But in a world where nothing is as it seems, trusting the wrong person could be fatal.

Ripped from tomorrow’s headlines, The Patriot’s Daughter is a fresh new take on the international spy genre.

Visit Brittany Butler's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"No Place Like Home"

New from Oxford University Press: No Place Like Home: Women Philosophers' Struggles with Domesticity by Sandrine Bergès.

About the book, from the publisher:

Why should we think about the home? Most would agree that it is central to children's development-a healthy, stable, and hopefully loving environment where they can prepare for adulthood. But for women, the duties and expectations bound up with life at home have historically often meant stunted development, confinement to the home and domestic work, subordination to a man who goes in and out of the home freely. While societal advancements have helped to close this gap for some, these problems endure for many. The writings of women philosophers, some going back many centuries, reveal insights on these challenges that deserve close study.

In No Place Like Home, Sandrine Bergès calls attention to women philosophers' ideas and arguments, starting in antiquity and continuing into the twenty-first century. Through their writings, she examines the concept of the home in all its historical richness and variety, thus reinstating the home as a philosophical problem, worthy of deep inquiry. Bergès examines writings about domesticity from numerous female thinkers and writers across history, including but not limited to, Perictione, Angelina Grimké, Mary Wollstonecraft, Catharine Beecher, Sojourner Truth, Margaret Cavendish, Simone de Beauvoir, and Marie Kondo.

Through their perspectives, she reveals the rich and varied history of philosophical reflections on the home, from which we are given the tools to draw our own conclusions about its place in our modern lives.

Visit Sandrine Bergès's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Covered Buttons"

New from Mercer University Press: Covered Buttons by Stephanie Saunders.

About the novel, from the publisher:

In the foothills of the Ozarks, seventeen-year-old Thea is stitched into a life she never chose. After losing her mother and best friend, and with no path forward beyond marriage and motherhood, Thea finds unexpected kinship in her unconventional stepmother and her infamous grandmother. Between a world of books and embroidery, secrets stitched in buttons, and the quiet defiance of women's care networks, Thea begins to imagine a life beyond her small Arkansas town. But when a violent betrayal shatters the illusion of love and tragedy strikes where a new family and a reunited friendship had just begun to grow, Thea must choose: remain bound by the threads of grief or step into a future of her own making. Set in 1939 and inspired by the grassroots birth control movement in Arkansas, COVERED BUTTONS is a story of friendship, resistance, and the quiet revolution of women who dare to dream differently.

--Marshal Zeringue

"Disneyland and the Rise of Automation"

New from Princeton University Press: Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth by Roland Betancourt.

About the book, from the publisher:

A history of the engineering marvels behind one of America’s most innovative and beloved entertainment experiences

When Disneyland opened to the public in 1955, it demystified the hidden world of factory automation through its extraordinary new attractions. In this fascinating book, Roland Betancourt tells the story of how the visionary engineers and designers at Disney transformed the technologies of the postwar assembly line into an entertainment experience unlike anything the world had ever seen.

Disneyland and the Rise of Automation traces the origins and evolution of these technical innovations during the theme park’s first three decades in operation, exploring how engineers reimagined the systems and machines of industrial manufacturing and the military. The magnetic tape used to test ballistic missiles was repurposed to animate the talking macaws in the Enchanted Tiki Room. Programmable Logic Controllers, widely used on automotive assembly lines, brought to life the spectacular rides of the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Space Mountain. Betancourt shows how these and other attractions helped to allay fears about automation and job displacement in 1950s America. Along the way, he situates Disneyland’s remarkable creations within a broader history of the technologies that increasingly order and construct the world around us, from the Fordist factory to artificial intelligence.

Essential reading for anyone interested in engineering, corporate histories, or popular culture, Disneyland and the Rise of Automation invites us to consider how technology and the logic of automation become integrated into our lives through entertainment.

The Page 99 Test: Byzantine Intersectionality.

--Marshal Zeringue

"The Dead Room"

New from Thomas & Mercer: The Dead Room by Catriona McPherson.

About the novel, from the publisher:

In this atmospheric thriller from Catriona McPherson, a young widow seeking refuge from her grief wades into the mists at the far end of memory lane―where something even darker awaits.

Reeling from the death of her husband, thirty-something audiobook narrator Lindsay Hale retreats to her Scottish hometown and the comforts of old times. The bungalow where she grew up is just as she left it, next to the scrapyard her family still owns. But something is wrong…something beyond grief.

Something she can only glimpse from the corner of her eye.

Lindsay’s brother and best friend are there to welcome her back. An elderly widow helps Lindsay make sense of her new normal, and a kind man hints at unexpected possibilities. But when her widow friend vanishes, only Lindsay seems to notice. And while she starts “recognizing” strangers, she begins forgetting familiar faces.

Every night, as Lindsay’s dream house fills with nightmares, she wonders whether she’s truly unraveling―or if something more sinister’s at play. Buried secrets surface and reality bends, forcing Lindsay to face the terrifying truth that her new haven isn’t so safe after all.

Visit Catriona McPherson's website.

The Page 69 Test: Go to My Grave.

Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (November 2018).

My Book, The Movie: The Turning Tide.

The Page 69 Test: The Turning Tide.

My Book, The Movie: A Gingerbread House.

The Page 69 Test: Hop Scot.

The Page 69 Test: Deep Beneath Us.

Q&A with Catriona McPherson.

The Page 69 Test: The Witching Hour.

Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (September 2024).

Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (December 2024).

The Page 69 Test: Scotzilla.

My Book, The Movie: Scotzilla.

The Page 69 Test: Scot's Eggs.

Writers Read: Catriona McPherson (November 2025).

--Marshal Zeringue