7 new books to read in September

Here’s a selection of new books being published this month.

Courtesy of Verso

Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern

Available Sept. 6

On a purely surface level, gentrification in U.S. cities is generally associated with the establishment of new yoga studios, juice bars, high-end coffee shops, and the construction of new luxury apartments, etc. But looking deeper, gentrification is so much more about power over vulnerable communities. Inspired by the likes of Jane Jacobs and Sharon Zukin, urban scholar Leslie Kern proposes an intersectional way at looking at the gentrification crisis amid our current economic climate, based on class, race, gender, and sexuality.

Courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company

Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent by Dipo Faloyin

Available Sept. 6

Africa, the second largest continent on earth, has so often homogenized by the white gaze in the global media, stripping so many cultures and communities of their individuality and histories, and reducing the continent to a single place only concerned with famine, poverty, and safaris. Vice senior editor Dipo Faloyin presents a much-needed beginning to course correction, breaking down struggles from colonization to democracy to dictatorships among different regions, how the white savior complex hangs over charity and humanitarian campaigns, and how rivalries for good (such as the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament) are shaping the future.

Courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company

The Family Izquierdo: Stories by Rubén Degollado

Available Sept. 6

This family drama is told through short stories that span three generations of one Mexican-American family—one plagued by a series of mysterious misfortunes. From divorce to death to disillusionment, is it a curse or a series of unfortunate events? Or other external forces out of their control?

Courtesy of Smith Street Books

The Ethical Traveller: 100 Ways to Roam the World Without Ruining It by Imogen Lepere

Available Sept. 6

Celebrities are increasingly being called out for their excessive and dangerous use of private jets, some so badly they’re derided as “climate criminals.” But even those of us who travel commercial—in business or economy—need to reconsider how we plant our global footprints as climate change gets worse. London-based travel writer Imogen Lepere—whose jaunts have spanned couch surfing around Scandinavia to sailing around Indonesia’s Spice Islands—offers 100 tips to support local communities, conserve energy, reduce waste, and more things we can do while traveling to leave the world a better place than how we found it. Tips are organized around itinerary planning, packing, transportation, lodging, and leaving a positive impact.

Courtesy of Simon & Schuster

How to Invest: Masters on the Craft by David M. Rubenstein

Available Sept. 13

2022 hasn’t been good for the stock market, to say the least, but many industry experts say that a bear market is a good time to buy stocks on sale. In this guide for both new and experienced investors, Carlyle Group cofounder David Rubenstein has assembled an anthology of interviews with expertise and guidance about everything from endowments and hedge funds to crypto and venture capital.

Courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg

Available Sept. 13

Few journalists carry as much authority and experience as NPR’s legal correspondent Nina Totenberg. In this new book about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Totenberg traces both her own and Ginsburg’s careers, from the earliest days of NPR as well as through the decades as they both battled the barriers of gender discrimination in their respective fields, especially examining the history of Roe v. Wade amid the unprecedented overturning of the landmark ruling.

Courtesy of Viking

The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves by Alexandra Horowitz

Available Sept. 20

While dogs have always been regarded as a human’s best friend, more Americans than ever understand the value (and responsibility) of that companionship after people adopted dogs in record numbers during the first year of the pandemic. Alexandra Horowitz, who has penned several books about the lives and psyches of dogs, charted the first year of her own puppy’s life in this memoir intended to make sense of a dog’s behavior in ways that are often missed when the focus is only on training, often drawing analogies between the first year for a puppy as well as the first year for a child.