Bookstore manager Natasha here! In February, I launched our Women in Translation Book Club, where we read novels written by women and femme-identifying authors translated into English. It’s been a great success thus far and one of the bright spots on my calendar.

I’m delighted to announce the launch of a new book club here at Idlewild, our Social Studies Book Club. This will focus on non-fiction books at the intersection of culture, history, and travel.

My goal with this book club is to read around the world, and to indulge a sense of wanderlust, but not simply as a tourist. I want to read in an attempt at understanding the real lives of denizens in places, whose stories might not be making headlines. I’ve chosen books that range from a travel guide by Anthony Bourdain, a one-man trek through Indigenous lands, an exploration at Blackness in contemporary Europe, and many others.

My aim is to get closer to places that might seem far away, and to do so in community. Right now, that community will take place in bi-monthly Zoom meetings. I’d hope to move this indoors when it’s safe again to do so, but I will, for the duration of this book club, offer food for thought and suggestions for folks participating far away, if Zoom or live attendance in NYC isn’t for you.

If you’ve long been curious about these places, or want to travel around the world in a deeper, more intentional way, please consider joining in whatever way is comfortable to you. However you’re interested in participating, please reach out to me at natasha at idlewildbooks dot com, and I’ll add you to our list!

Bon Voyage and Happy Reading!

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez
“The incredible story of a young working-class man in agricultural Washington state who achieves a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious private school and gives it up to join indigenous runners on a trek from Alaska to Argentina” -Buzzfeed

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain’s travel guide moves “from the hidden pockets of his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai to Tanzania’s utter beauty and the stunning desert solitude of Oman’s Empty Quarter–and many places beyond … Supplementing Bourdain’s words are a handful of essays by friends, colleagues, and family that tell even deeper stories about a place.” from the publisher

Afropean by Johnny Pitts

“Announces the arrival of an impassioned author able to deftly navigate and illuminate a black world that for many would otherwise have remained unseen.” -The Guardian

Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang

Incarnations: A History of India in Fifty Lives by Sunil Khilnani
“A whirlwind tour of roughly 2,500 years of Indian history in 50 fast-paced chapters.” -NYT Book Review