In their first newsletter of the year, Radical Books Collective, an alternative and inclusive initiative dedicated to building a community of readers, announced their book club selections for 2025.

Committed to “nudging book clubs back into an educational and communal space,” Radical Books Collective hosts monthly events, always available to join virtually, and sometimes in person. Participants are encouraged to contribute as much as they are able to support the initiative or a particular cause, depending on the event. Authors also often participate in these book clubs.

This year’s book club series opens with Mahmoud Darwish’s Memory for Forgetfulness about Israel’s brutal 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The event, co-hosted with Workshops 4 Gaza, will take place on February 15, commemorating one year of South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel.

The second book club of the year will center on We, the Kindling, the debut novel from Ugandan-Kenyan poet Otoniya J. Okot Bitek. Bitek will be joining the event on March 29.

Other books in this exciting line up are Palestinian poet and professor Refaat Alareer’s If I Must Die, Sudanese author Safia Elhillo’s Bright Red Fruit, Palestinian writer Mohammed el-Kurd’s Perfect Victims, and Egyptian-Canadian writer Omar El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.

Each of these books is important and radical:

Radical books stimulate our imaginations to advance transformative futures. Radical books expose structures of oppression and chart creative paths forward. Such books alter our understanding of historical events, amplify the voices of marginalized groups, and account for the costs of persecution and repression.

These book clubs form an important virtual community of book lovers dedicated to engaging in reading and thinking as political acts.

Keep an eye out for the details of future book clubs on Radical Books Collective’s website!