Sitting Pretty by Rebekah Taussig, read by the author The audiobook is delightful, with lots of laugh-out-loud moments. From his struggle to situate his sexuality within his religion, to accidentally going viral for a sarcastic college essay taken way too seriously, to falling in love with a gay pastor and becoming an internet sensation, these essays are honest, heartfelt, and show the same wit he brings to social media. Eric Thomas’s life as a Black gay Christian.

This charming and funny memoir-in-essays describes comedian and playwright R. Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. All six stories in this collection deftly explore the Black experience in America, whether it’s the present or the future. If his son has the exact same upbringing and opportunities as his ACM students, will he still experience the systemic racism the protagonist experienced? The second story, “Virginia is Not Your Home,” written in the second person, is about a Black woman who longs to live anywhere but America. In the first story, “Control Negro” narrated by Lavar Burton, a Black professor conducts an experiment comparing his estranged son with the ACMs (American Caucasian Males) that populate his classroom. This perfectly written short story collection has a full cast audio. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, read by Aja Naomi King, January LaVoy, Landon Woodson, LeVar Burton, Ngozi Anyanwu, Tomiwa Edun Her narration is as dry and hilarious as her essays. Whether she’s talking about her Crohn's disease, her dating life, her difficulties with budgeting, or her knack for getting along with moms, Irby’s essays are both deeply revealing and relatable. Irby’s debut essay collection is uproariously funny. Meaty: Essays by Samantha Irby, read by the author Despite the many years that have passed, June has never been able to forget about that rocket stranded in space, nor about the issues with her uncle's fuel cell. As an adult, June becomes an astronaut and engineer, working closely with her uncle's protégé James. Her aunt sends her to space training school, where June is thrust into classrooms with students far older than her.

June thinks they're still alive and has discovered evidence to prove it, but no one listens to her. 12-year-old June's beloved uncle created a fuel cell for a rocket that ultimately failed, leaving the crew stranded and presumed dead, though her uncle died before learning of his failure. This inventive retelling of Jane Eyre is set in space. In the Quick by Kate Hope Day, read by Rebecca Lowman

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