“A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan

We started off the year reading “A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan.

It’s a historical thriller about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana in the 1920s. Egan focuses on the societal factors that helped propel the Klan to power, Indiana’s Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson, and the trial that ultimately led to their decline.

The book gives you an understanding of how, after the Civil War, Indiana and other states in the Midwest became ripe for control by the Klan. Egan explores how Stephenson rebranded the group to be more closely aligned to Protestant values in order to become more influential and further oppress marginalized communities.

“Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar

Kaveh Akbar is an Iranian American poet, novelist and editor. His debut novel “Martyr!” follows Cyrus Shams, a first-generation Iranian American poet recovering from alcoholism while processing the grief over his mother’s murder.

In 1988, his mother, Roya, was on Iran Air Flight 655 to visit her brother. That flight was shot down by the U.S. Navy, who mistook the passenger plane for an attacking military aircraft. Cyrus was less than a year old when this happened.

His father moved them to the United States, specifically to Indiana, not long after the tragedy. The pair did their best to hide their Iranian identity in a society that was hostile towards people from the Middle East. The novel jumps around in time as Cyrus grows up in the Midwest and travels to New York, where he connects with a terminally ill artist.

The book covers themes of identity and purpose while reflecting on death and the meaning of martyrdom.

“Careless People” by Sarah Wynn-Williams

Sarah Wynn-Williams reflects on her experiences working as the director of public policy at Facebook. She discusses the early optimism and idealism in her career and how disillusioned she became as the dark reality of Facebook’s internal operations and motivations came to light.

Wynn-Williams details how, in the pursuit of growth, Facebook disregarded the way its platform was being used for political manipulation and even became a place to incite hate and violence across the world.

It is a relevant read that covers the clash between corporate growth and social responsibility, the loss of privacy online, ethics of data use and power dynamics in corporate environments.

“James” by Percival Everett

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Everett reimagines the story of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of Jim, his friend fleeing slavery. The story begins just before the start of the Civil War, when Jim finds out his owner plans to sell him. Meanwhile, Huck is trying to escape his abusive father. The two travel up the Mississippi River in search of freedom.

This book explores the themes of identity, race, dignity and survival while confronting the way that narratives about slavery often sideline Black enslaved people. Reimagining a classic is a tall order, and this book pays homage to Mark Twain while adding a fresh perspective that made all of us reconsider how we think about race and identity.

“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead

“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead follows the story of Elwood Curtis, an African American boy who is sent to a reform school in Florida called the Nickel Academy.

While the school claims to be rehabilitative for the kids sent there, it is filled with physical and sexual abuse. The boys at Nickel Academy suffer at the hands of corrupt officials who care more about brutality than justice. The book is set in the Jim Crow era and analyzes different ways to confront injustice, systemic racism and the lasting impacts of trauma.

“Take a Hint, Dani Brown” by Talia Hibbert

While we like to read stories to help us make sense of our reality, we do also enjoy a good romance book. Our book club decided to end the year on a light note with a cozy story about falling in love when you least expect it.

Danika Brown is a queer PhD student who prefers casual relationships, because she simply doesn’t have time for love. She sees it as a distraction … until she meets Zafir Ansari, an ex-rugby player and security guard at her office.

He heroically saves her during a fire drill gone wrong at the office, but once a video of the save goes viral, the world goes hard shipping the two together (#DrRugbae). The publicity is good for Zafir’s sports charity, but he needs Danika to pretend they are together.

While Danika agrees to the fake relationship thinking it will be easier to seduce Zafir, he has other plans. Yes, the relationship is helping his charity. But as a hopeless romantic, he can’t help but try to get Danika to open herself up to being loved.

The story made a lot of us laugh and feel a bit more hopeful going into next year.