Next up in our Handsell for the Holidays feature is the wonderful new pop-up bookstore, Lucky Cloud Books. If you subscribe to The Dipper, you may remember we featured Lucky Cloud in our Shooting Star section in September. Lucky Cloud Books highlights queer/trans and BIPOC writers, books in translation, and small press titles. Though Lucky Cloud does not have a physical space yet, you can help support their mission by purchasing books or gift cards through the Lucky Cloud Bookshop page.
Have we mentioned that we are huge fans of the Lucky Cloud Books Instagram page? Tyler writes about books so beautifully and with such heart.
Lucky you. Lucky us. Lucky Cloud!
Our Work is Everywhere, by Syan Rose
Through exquisite and vibrant illustrations, Syan Rose brings to life the voices of queer and trans folks as their identities intersect with other aspects of their lives, including, for example, Black femme mental health, Pacific Islander authorship, fat queer performance art, disability and healthcare practice, sex worker activism, and many others. With deep compassion, this book goes bravely into the enduring struggles of being queer and trans while also celebrating the beauty, uniqueness and empowerment that comes from living one's truth. A feast for the eyes and a joy for the heart, this beautiful book from small (but mighty!) press, Arsenal Pulp, is a truly powerful act of queer and trans upliftment.
I Will Die in a Foreign Land, by Kalani Pickhart
From the radically bold press, Two Dollar Radio, Kalani Pickhart's debut novel takes the reader to Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2013 where Ukrainians were protesting the president's close alliance with Putin and Russia's growing influences over the nation. The story follows four characters—a Ukrainian-American doctor from Boston, an engineer who recently lost his wife, an activist/artist exploring her sexuality, and a former KGB agent turned pianist—whose lives are intimately entwined as they navigate the military’s violent reinforcement to the peaceful protests; but while violence lies in the background, this story rises above the unrest by deftly weaving in folklore and Slavic history and culture to show the deep well of compassion, love and tenderness that bring people together in tumultuous times. I felt so many varying emotions as I was pulled deeply into this story, and was left with such a love for humanity's potential to cultivate peace and passionate empathy.
Open Water, by Caleb Azumah Nelson
From Black Cat Press comes the intimate debut novel from British-Ghanian writer Caleb Azumah Nelson that explores the relationship between two Black artists—one a photographer and the other a dancer—living in London and falling in love. Their relationship gets entangled with the racism deeply embedded in the city surrounding them, and frayed by the strain of violence, hatred and judgment that weaves constantly through their lives. With incredible emotional and soulful depth rarely found so beautifully in literature, and a brilliance with language, Nelson brings radical empathy to the writing of his characters as they swim in the messy waters of exquisite vulnerability and interior exploration. Seldom have I found a story about romantic love that so compassionately narrates the turbulence of embodiment, identity, and the struggle for autonomy in partnership.
As a bonus, we have a Vermont pick from Tyler!
The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven, by Nathaniel Ian Miller
This debut novel from Vermont writer Nathaniel Ian Miller takes the reader to Svalbard and follows the story of the deeply reclusive Sven Ormson as he learns to trap, survive polar bear attacks, and reluctantly build friendships with remarkable characters who all have their own reasons for living in the far north. Miller, who spent time in the arctic as research for his writing, makes no attempt to protect the reader from the bleak and lonely existence in this harsh, unforgiving, and dangerous environment, so the reader feels like they, too, have journeyed to the cold lands... which is, of course, why I loved this book—I traveled far without leaving my much less cold Vermont home. Yet even through the endless, dark winters, Miller also writes with incredible empathy and tenderness for his characters as they navigate their inner worlds, reckon with their shadows, and find ways of connecting with those who attempt to reject all connection. An intimate encounter with the north not to be missed.