Boundless Press | Parable of the Sower (Parable, 1)

How it Works Bookshop

Publishing Team Contact

Log in or Sign up

Parable of the Sower (Parable, 1)

Octavia E. Butler

Save to Your Books

Bookshop

Amazon

100% of affiliate revenue supports Boundless Press

This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author “pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale” and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times).

When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day.

Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.

Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith… and a startling vision of human destiny.

Show more

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Boundless Press

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jun 27 2025

dystopian novels by BIPOC authors you NEED to read right now! + how they predict current politics

10 books

6

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • May 21 2024

all 15 books i read over march & april | emily henry, spicy romance, book club picks

reviews of all my march & april reads!

11 books

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Mar 22 2024

Hello loves! I hope you’re having a great week 💛\ \ We’re mid way through March and I seriously can’t believe that we’re almost a ¼ done with 2024 😱I feel like every year I’m so pumped in January and then the year slowly creeps up on me until I don’t know where all the time went.\ \ Regardless, I wanted to give you an update on all the things going on with me! I know content has been a little sporadic and I’ll talk about why a little bit here.\ \ What’s going on with me:\ **My Fulltime job! **So while I did get promoted (yay! 🥳), I’ve also been slammed with work and I’ve been working late at the office almost everyday. We have a launch coming up soon so it’s all hands on deck and I’ve been slowly losing my mind over all the little things that keep coming up. I don’t know about the rest of you but I tend to get irritated over the smallest things at work when in normal life I would hardly care 😂 Overall, I’m just waiting until I get through the next month and I then I swear I’m going to disappear into the abyss and not come out until summer lol.\ \ Chronic illness and mental illness sucks. So while I’ve been taking a lot of new meds prescribed by both my specialist and my naturopath (it’s like 25 pills a day, I’m not even exaggerating lol), I’m still struggling with my health at least a couple days out of the week which tends to just suck the energy out of me. To top it off—I’m still trying to find the right dose of my bipolar meds to keep me stable and the current increase has got me super tired all day. I’ve been struggling to wake up on my own and I experience a lot of brain fog in the mornings. I know I’ll adjust to the dose in due time but for now it kinda sucks.\ \ Another element to this is that I need to reach a stable dose of my bipolar meds before I can start my ADHD meds again and the past month has been a serious struggle with my ADHD symptoms—the biggest victim being my reading. Sitting down to read a book let alone a manuscript for Bindery has been really freakin hard. Audiobooks are as always a saving grace for me but unfortunately it’s not always possible to find, borrow, or buy one for the books I need to read.\ \ All of this just makes me think about barriers for people living with disability and chronic illness and it’s a bit wild to me that I had never really given any of this much thought until I was the one in this position. This is all just to say that you never know what someone might be going through even they seem to be putting on a happy front on social media or in public.\ \ What I’m working on this week:\ \ I have a couple sponsorship deadlines coming soon so I’m going to be working on a couple videos this weekend including my Spring TBR, my March wrapup, and hopefully a vlog as well.\ \ What I’m currently reading:\ \ Currently reading _Parable of the Sower _by Octavia E. Butler! This one is a bit different from Kindred which I absolutely loved. It’s a bit of a dystopian with a vaguely slow plot. It gives me _The Last of Us _vibes if you’ve seen that show. I’m still not sure what I think of it but if you want to join along with me to read it then you should definitely join my book club on Fable!\ \ I also just finished Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano—the fourth book in the Finlay Donovan series—and I absolutely loved it! I always have so much fun with these books and they’re the perfect mix of mystery, comedy, and romance.\ \ That’s all from me for today! Hope you’re all doing well! Let me know how you’re all doing, what you’re up to, and what you’re reading <3

03.22.24 - journal update #5

Open for this week's journal entry!

2 books

7

3

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Black Girl Nerds\ \ Jamie\ \ • Jun 19

Join for free

Poll:\ \ July Book Club Selection\ \ Voting has officially begun for our July Book Club selection!\ \ We invite you to join our Discord community to participate in lively discussions, connect with fellow readers, and share your thoughts throughout the month. For those who prefer to vote here on Bindery, we'll also be posting a poll so members can cast their votes directly on the platform.\ \ 🗳️ Voting will remain open for one week.\ \ 📖 Our group reading will begin on July 1.\ \ If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please join our Discord and let us know. We're always happy to hear from our community.\ \ Happy reading, and we can't wait to see which book you choose for July!\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login

📚 July Book Club Voting Is Now Open! 📚

9 books

5

Bee's Books\ \ Bailee Russo\ \ • Jun 1

Join for free

Get to know me through some of my favorite very specific sub-genres!\ \ Do we share any favorites?\ \ •Q

Get to know me through some of my favorite very specific sub-genres!

Do we share any favorites?

•Queer body horror: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher Providence Girls by Morgan Dante •vengeful vampire romantics: Hungerstone by Kat Dunn Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson Interview with the Vampire TV series A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night film •radical hopefulness The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers The Parable of the Sower & The Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin A Psalm for the Wild-Built & A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers •very niche non-fiction Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique by Sa’ed Atshan Plucked by Rebecca Herzig Abolish Rent by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis Black in Blues by Imani Perry Rogue Sexuality in Early Modern English Literature by Ari Friedlander •weird genre-benders The Seep by Chana Porter Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield Severance by Ling Ma Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

#gettoknowme #booktaste #bookrecs #readmorebooks #readingispower

21 books

1

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • May 31

Join for free

[Sickos! The June votes have finished and we are ready to rock on our June picks for the Fiction & History Sickos Book Clubs.\ \ After two rounds of voting and twelve books to choose from, the Fiction Sickos will be reading:\ \ The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez\ \ This is an ambitious and unique standalone, adult fantasy story that ranks among my all-time favorites regardless of genre. This is very much an all-or-nothing type book, but I've found that the people who are able to find their footing early on typically consider it top tier stuff. The reason it can be difficult to get into at first comes down to the 2nd person POV and the storytelling device it uses to make it a story within a story. It's f'n brilliant but it does take getting used to. My advice: don't do this as audio only, at least at first. The best way is to immersion read it (physical + audio) or go straight eyeball reading.\ \

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.\ \ But that god cannot be contained forever.\ \ With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.\ \ \ \ This will be a re-read for me but I haven't read it in a few years so I'm pretty jazzed up to give it another go and discuss it with y'all!\ \ The History Sickos will be reading:\ \ And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts\ \ This barely edged out Carthage Must Be Destroyed (which I'll probably be re-reading later in the month anyway), and was a suggestion from our comrade Whimsical Judge Theo. I know nothing about it other than the subtitle so here's what's labeled on the tin:\ \ An international bestseller, a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and made into a critically acclaimed movie, Shilts' expose revealed why AIDS was allowed to spread unchecked during the early 80's while the most trusted institutions ignored or denied the threat. One of the few true modern classics, it changed and framed how AIDS was discussed in the following years.\ \ As always, the discussion forums for these are in our Discord and to unlock those channels you'll need to be at the Sicko plus tiers.\ \ OTHER STUFF...\ \

June Fiction/History Sickos Book Club Picks! + Other Stuff

7 books

12

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • May 28

Join for free

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://kistreadsbooks.binderybooks.com/item/qWpdpL1LPQyVJM6iIbog/)

(EARLY ACCESS VIDEO) Parable of the Sower/Parable of the Talents Review!

2 books

5

DocoftheDarkArts\ \ Bob Stuntz\ \ • May 25

Join for free

[Poll:\ \ Q3 Book Club Picks - Select up to 3 choices\ \ Hi everyone! Hard to believe, but it is time to vote for our Q3 Book Club picks! For those of you who are new around here, we pick our books out quarterly to give people time to find the books and prepare their reading plans. We are now selecting our books for July -September 2026. \ \ If you are just here on Bindery and not on our Discord server, we take proposals on Discord. Everyone has a week to post suggestions, react, and comment. I then whittle them down based on the following:\ \

Q3 Book Club Poll!

9 books

13

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • May 18

Join for free

I think this book is going to change the world. Please be a part of it.

5 books

20

2

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • May 11

Join for free

Sickos! Monday's are for updates so let me know what book cheeks you're spreading this week (or what you finished last week) in the comments and let's get to what I've been up to..\ \ READING\ \ REVIEW\ \ PARABLE OF THE SOWER - [Parable #1] by OCTAVIA E. BUTLER (dystopian speculative fiction)\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ I picked up Parable of the Talents last week while finishing this, so that should tell you how much I loved our Fiction Sickos pick for this month. This is a grimdark, dystopian fan's dream, and the Discord forum was full of people commenting on how it just continues to get more dark and bleak. It's unrelenting; at no point does anything feel safe. I gotta write up my full review (I may do it w/Talents included) but yeah, this was exactly what I'd hoped it would be and I'm jazzed for Talents (which I heard is, somehow, darker).\ \ LONDON FALLING: A MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN A GILDED CITY & A FAMILY'S SEARCH FOR TRUTH by PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE (narrative historical nonfiction)\ \ Progress: 168/331\ \ PRK just has a knack for weaving together multiple angles of a story and making it all work and flow. While I think I prefer stakes and subject matter of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing at this point (I'm not sure I care yet why a narcissistic, pathological liar ate it in the Thames), it's still fun watching PRK lay out this web of deception and everything around it. I do feel like PRK is leaning into the mystery bit of it with the way he's slow dripping info that could've been revealed earlier. Either way it's still a very solid read at this point and the final half may change my mind on the stated issues.\ \ CARTHAGE'S OTHER WARS: CARTHAGINIAN WARFARE OUTSIDE THE 'PUNIC WARS' AGAINST ROME by DEXTER HOYOS (academic historical nonfiction)\ \ Progress: 93/192\ \ The Punic Wars are an obsession of mine but how Carthage became a superpower in the Western Mediterranean leading up to that often gets breezed through. Just finished their near 40 years of jockeying and warfare in Sicily with the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse (what a scamp). Despite several dramatic swings, it amounted to not much changing in re: territory. Ultimately though Carthage achieved its main goal of maintaining the east/west divide in Sicily, preventing Dionysius from dominating it. The next section covers their conflict with the fratricidal, tyrant-slayer Timoleon of Corinth who, IIRC, hail mary ass pounds all of Sicily.\ \ I shared a snippet with in the history/nonfic Discord channel yesterday as I thought this Nicomo Cosca-coded moment was humorous:\ \ \ \ WE DO NOT PART by HAN KANG (historical fiction)\ \ Progress: 43/256\ \ Super early doors but I'm not surprised to already feel like I'm in a fever dream with a Kang book (see: The Vegetarian). This ties into the Jeju Massacre where the South Korean government, along with support from the U.S. military, violently suppressed an uprising. So I expect it to also feel somewhat like Human Acts (which was about the later Gwangju Uprising) too as we get further in while still having this eerie, poetic quality to it.\ \ PREVIEW\ \ I haven't given much thought to what's next other than Butler's Talents but I have sampled some of The Roman Empire in Crisis and may make that my next nonfiction read. I'm curious how Mike Duncan will be able to mold this same period into something for a general audience because there's so many challenges around writing a complete narrative around it. I trust 'em though.\ \ PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS\ \ Getting close to knowing more about a second potential book acquisition, should know how it's trending sometime this week.\ \ UPDATE: As soon as I published this, I checked my email, and OUR SECOND BOOK IS A GO! Final terms are agreed upon but the contract is still being finalized so I have to keep all the details confidential, but still, HUZZAH! Can't wait to share everything about this one with y'all!\ \ Also, have you pre-ordered A Complement of Scoundrels yet?! And if you missed it, yes, the audiobook is in development!\ \ EVERYTHING ELSE\ \ I put on Breaking Bad in the background as I started reading the Carthage book and now I'm already at S3E3. So, I guess we're doing a second re-watch. It's one of those shows, like Mad Men or Game of Thrones, that I can randomly put on and gobble through it. Game of Thrones is kind of on hold as I usually watch it at night (don't need the wee emperor seeing all the floppy dong and breasts flapping about every 5 minutes) and despite my Flyers predictably getting bounced by the Hurricanes, I'm still all in on hockey playoffs.\ \ Hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! Me and the boys got a Switch 2 for my wife so she's now hooked on that, and I may sneak in some game time on it this week.\ \ Got my ass kicked two sessions in a row at the climbing gym but my finger tendons are recovered and I'll hopefully be back to projecting more V4/V5 later this week.\ \ FINAL REMINDER that I'll be at BookNet Fest in Orlando, May 15-16! Get your tickets and swing through!\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login

Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!

9 books

10

7

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • May 4

Join for free

Hey hey Sickos, it's Monday update time! Let me know what you plan on reading this week (or what you just finished) in the comments and let's boogie.\ \ READING\ \ REVIEW\ \ WAR AGAINST ALL PUERTO RICANS by NELSON A. DENIS (narrative historical nonfiction)\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ Ripped through this entire puppy over the weekend and it was damn good! It's about a 1950 event where a nationalist uprising was brutally suppressed, marking the first time the US bombed its own citizens. Especially chilling was the details of what prisoners went through at La Princesa, including all manner of torture, squalid conditions, and possibly even human radiation experiments (on top of other confirmed, nefarious experiments). It also gives a brisk overview of the events leading up to this and an examination of how things like "Operation Bootstrap" only succeeded in transferring wealth and infrastructure to US corporations. Would recommend at 4.5 stars.\ \ WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB) - [Bobiverse #1] - by DENNIS E. TAYLOR (space science fiction)\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ Will stick with my previous sentiment that this is perfect for Project Hail Mary fans. The next time I need a lighthearted chaser I'll continue the series. 4 stars, solid!\ \ PARABLE OF THE SOWER - [Parable #1] by OCTAVIA E. BUTLER (dystopian speculative fiction)\ \ Progress: 196/329\ \ I find it so easy to get hooked early in Butler's books. In the Discord Monthly Wrap video call we were discussing how wild it was that in 1993 Butler featured man-made climate change as a major factor in this. Her depiction of 21st century politics is also unsettling in its accuracy. We were talking about potential comparisons and while I was reading it today I think I landed on The Road by Cormac McCarthy, especially with the desolate, dog-eat-dog setting and vibe. The Road is my favorite book of all time and Butler is, so far, doing just as much to capture my attention.\ \ PREVIEW\ \ It's time for me to spread the book cheeks of the History Sickos book club winner for May, London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe. Pretty sure I'll be picking up We Do Not Part by Han Kang for my next fiction read after having it on deck for a while. I'm also itching to continue on with Berserk, where I'll be onto volume 22 (or volume 8 of the Deluxe edition).\ \ PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS\ \ We have a contract/offer out for our second acquisition! There's the usual negotiating to do and they have time to mull it over but I believe it's looking strong. Will update when there is more news there.\ \ I'm pleased to announce that our audiobook deal for A Complement of Scoundrels by S.V. Lockwood is signed, sealed, and delivered. We put the details of that up on Instagram today. Tantor Media is legit as hell and I'm hyped to have them producing the audiobook!\ \ EVERYTHING ELSE\ \ I finished the Hulk Hogan: Real American documentary on Netflix. It's more surface-level nostalgia than anything and it does get into some of the controversies in the later episodes, but it left a good amount of meat on the bone there (which is to be expected as this was co-produced by WWE). Not the best wrestling documentary but I've seen worse.\ \ If you want a cuckoo bonkers documentary, check out Should I Marry a Murderer? on Netflix, where "a fiancée becomes a key witness after staying engaged to a man accused of murder to gather evidence against him..."\ \ I'll probably pick back up the Game of Thrones re-watch with season five and I may start the second season of Your Friends & Neighbors.\ \ I climbed my third V4 last week and I’m projecting a V5 now. I’m starting to feel more stable and technically sound on the wall, but my finger tendons are definitely catching up to the increased difficulty, as those adapt significantly slower than muscles. So I'll be icing the hell out of my fingies this week while hoping it doesn't limit me to light sessions of high volume V3's. On the plus side I stopped skipping leg days and that has translated tremendously to bouldering since so much of it is about utilizing your lower body.\ \ Speaking of climbing, the last episode of The Dark Wizard on HBO drops Tuesday, which is about legendary/controversial climber, base jumper and highline walker Dean Potter. It's been excellent so far!\ \ I've come to peace with the fact that I'll have to be content with the Flyers knocking out the Penguins as the Hurricanes look scary as hell. But I'll still be watching NHL Playoffs every night. At least I know some good Gritty content will come of it.\ \ I don't think I'll have time to play any video games this week. Womp womp.\ \ Yet another reminder that I'll be at BookNet Fest in Orlando, May 15-16!\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login

Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!

7 books

8

7

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • Apr 27

Join for free

SICKOS, it's Monday, and that means I wanna know what you're reading this week in the comments while I update you on what I got done last week and plan on working on this week!\ \ READING\ \ REVIEW\ \ DAISY JONES & THE SIX by TAYLOR JENKINS REID (oral history fiction)\ \ Progress: Finished\ \ After very much enjoying Atmosphere, this makes TJR 2-for-2. I dug the interview style that bopped around multiple POVs, highlighting how the same interactions and stories can be told so many different ways, and the overall vibe of the music industry and the personal struggles that come with it. Only took a small tick off the rating for the ending, which mostly boils down to my personal preference, but ultimately this falls in the 4.5-plus star range and I've already got The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising on the way via Pango.\ \ WE ARE LEGION (WE ARE BOB) - [Bobiverse #1] - by DENNIS E. TAYLOR (space science fiction)\ \ Progress: 208/302\ \ I took this on as a lighter read and while it has a reputation for being humorous, that's more so in the way that Project Hail Mary has elements of lightheartedness, which I prefer because it's not desperately trying to land joke after joke. I started this on audiobook (also, like PHM, narrated by Ray Porter) on the way to a book festival and independent bookstore hopping on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to get into despite some early hard science. It's not totally mind blowing or emotional yet but it's still a damn good time so far.\ \ PREVIEW\ \ I got zero nonfiction done last week but I do still plan on taking down War Against All Puerto Ricans this week before transitioning to the History Sickos book club winner for May, London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe. Speaking of book clubs, the Fiction Sickos book club will be reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler which I'll probably get to after my current read.\ \ PUBLISHING IMPRINT NEWS\ \ Still working on acquiring our second title for Kist Reads and we should have an official audiobook announcement for A Complement of Scoundrels by SV Lockwood up this week.\ \ EVERYTHING ELSE\ \ Getting reacclimated to climbing and hockey playoffs took up the majority of my free time last week, so I didn't make much progress into an series.\ \ I did start the adaptation for Daisy Jones & the Six to see how it stacked up against the book. Early doors but the book felt much more confident in the quiet moments and leaving things left unsaid whereas the show is amping up the drama a touch in every scenario. That's more of an observation than a criticism as that's probably a better fit for the medium and I'm still invested enough to throw that in the rotation.\ \ I'm pumped for the recently announced Assassins Creed: Black Flag Resynced, which will release on July 9th of this year so that may put a nail in my Valhalla playthrough.\ \ Another reminder that I'll be at BookNet Fest in Orlando, May 15-16 as a panelist and hotel bar fly. Get your tickets and swing through!

Weekly Review/Preview - What I'm Reading/Watching/Playing/Doing!

6 books

15

9

Kist Reads\ \ Kist\ \ • Apr 21

Join for free

(VIDEO) May Book Club Options - Fiction/History Sickos

8 books

5

Alysha Fortune Reads\ \ Alysha\ \ • Jan 14

Join for free

Women Fantasy Authors that arent romantasy

Here is my completed list of fantasy and scifi books written by women that aren’t Romantasy! #books #booktok #bookstagram #booksta #bookworm #fantasybooks #fantasy #scifi #Romantasy #womenauthors

30 books

3

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 7 2025

Join for free

\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://leftunreadbooks.binderybooks.com/item/Bt2RDZ8BxmsCeF1E58KB/)

Want a peak at the cover of our newest Dystopian book?

3 books

20

6

Beverly Books\ \ Kristian\ \ • Sep 12 2025

Join for free

[I kept wandering the city, checking my google maps for nearby bookstores. I came upon McNally Jackson.\ \ About McNally Jackson \ \

McNally Jackson Books is an independent bookstore in New York City owned and operated since 2004 by Sarah McNally. The company operates five stores across the city in Soho, Rockefeller Center, Seaport, Downtown Brooklyn, and Williamsburg, as well as three stationery stores called Goods for the Study.\ \ The first thing I saw was the huge wall of books. The lighting and bookcases made for an impressive first impression.\ \ \ \ I didn’t realize just how big the store was. I can’t remember which location I was at, but when I thought there weren’t anymore books, I found another corner.\ \ \ \ I liked how they did shelf talkers.\ \ \ \ An excellent choice of book to recommend, even if it will shred your heart to pieces.\ \ \ \ Parable of the Sower is another must read.\ \ \ \ I left with House of Frank, one of the first Bindery Books releases!\ \ \ \ When I’m in NYC another time, I’d like to visit more of the McNally locations.\ \

McNally Jackson

3 books

Shelley's Corner\ \ Shelley\ \ • Aug 29 2025

Join for free

\ \ I went into this book expecting a dystopian story, but what I got felt closer to a historical retelling. Lauren’s voice is so honest, so unflinching, that it reads like she’s documenting events we’ve already lived through. Literally cautionary tale disguised as fiction.\ \ One thing I really loved is how organic the relationships felt. This could have easily fallen into the ‘found family’ trope, and it kind of did, but it didn’t sit there. Instead, it felt like watching a community form out of sheer necessity, out of survival. Nothing about it is forced or romanticised. It’s raw, messy, and real.\ \ And speaking of raw - this book does not hold back. Every time I thought, “Okay, surely we’ve had enough tragedy, we’ve suffered enough,” Octavia Butler said, absolutely not. At one point, I genuinely believed we’d reached a safe place, only for the rug to be snatched out from under me again. There were moments when I lost all trust, but by the end, I couldn’t help but love how relentless the story was.\ \ At its core, this is a book about humanity - the best and worst of us. We see people at their most monstrous, capable of violence, cruelty, even cannibalism. But we also see resilience, compassion, and choice. In a world falling apart, some still refuse to become monsters. That tension sits at the heart of everything, and it’s brilliant.\ \ There’s so much more I could say, but honestly, this feels like a book that stays with you long after the last page. I’m both excited and terrified to dive into Parable of the Talents next.\ \ Have you read this one yet? I’d love to know what stuck with you most.](https://shelleyscorner.binderybooks.com/item/aCiOtJc35x8qLFTRNSGS/)

Octavia Butler Said ‘Trust No One’ and She Meant It 😮‍💨 Found Family turned to Survived Family REAL QUICK!

1 book

1

Children of Diaspora\ \ Rae the Reviewer\ \ • Jul 4 2025

Join for free

\ \ Join for free or login](https://children-of-diaspora.binderybooks.com/item/shnqo1DInG5XAdpeICTR/)

Giveaway Reminder + Discord + Dystopian Recs

Happy birthday Haymitch Abernathy 🎂

It’s Reaping Day but before you post about how “we’re not far now from having our IRL Hunger Games” I just ask that your dystopia doesn’t begin with The Hunger Games and abruptly end with The Handmaid’s Tale 📕

The third slide has two dystopias I’ve read and two from my TBR that I’ve heard raving reviews of. These can be heavy reads, but the thing I love about dystopia as a genre is the way in which it reveals so much about humanity and the many forms that resistance can take

#dystopia #sunriseonthereaping #thehungergames #handmaidstale #sciencefiction #parableofthesower

6 books

2

Boundless Press\ \ Jananie\ \ • Jun 27 2025

10 books

6

Kirstyn's Bookshelf\ \ Kirstyn\ \ • May 30 2025

Join for free

absolutely feral for these books rn \ \ What’s onyour priority tbr? \ \ #bookrecommendations #books #boo

absolutely feral for these books rn

What’s onyour priority tbr?

#bookrecommendations #books #booksbooksbooks

7 books

Kirstyn's Bookshelf\ \ Kirstyn\ \ • May 13 2025

Join for free

every book on my priority tbr + the insane arcs I recieved 📚

I haven't been this excited about reading in so long. When I'm not reading, I'm thinking about reading these books. Which one should I read next?

Shop books mentioned & checkout my exclusive community: https://kirstynsbookshelf.binderybooks.com/

Thank you for being here ☺️

💌CONTACT ME: hello@lareesocial.com

MY AMAZON STOREFRONT: https://amzn.to/40DKoWe

💗 FOLLOW ME 💗 INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/3zodqNo GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/40DKgWK

9 books

2

Reads with Rachel\ \ Rachel\ \ • May 1 2025

Join for free

AUTHORS FAVORITE BANNED BOOKS

CONTRIBUTORS: Liselle Sambury Website: https://lisellesambury.ca/ Youtube: @LiselleSambury Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisellesambury/?hl=en Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lisellesambury?lang=en

Neka Marie Website: https://nekamarie.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nekamarieauthor/?hl=en Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@neekstok?lang=en Youtube: @Neeks

D.N. Bryn Website: https://www.dnbryn.com/books/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dn\_bryn/?hl=en Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dnbrynauthor?lang=en

Dartanyan Johnson Website: https://bio.site/3djohnson?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaaSIu71\_U-1bbgPGtY0Yprmjolj\_oltOo35WBYPfqQgQ2n5k71zJ-j1p5Y\_aem\_9oaGTxOon0u5GnaVXNqbjw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author3djohnson/?hl=en Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@author3djohnson

Nora Lester Murad Website: www.noralestermurad.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nora\_lester\_murad/ Twitter: https://x.com/NoraInPalestine

Akana Phenix Website: https://akanaphenix.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/akanaphenix.bsky.social Twitter: https://x.com/AkanaPhenix Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akanabooks/

Kelly Coon Website: https://www.kellycoon.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellycoon106/

A.B. Daniels-Annachi Website: https://www.abdanielsannachi.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkmythauthor/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@darkmythauthor

Jamie D'Amato Website: https://www.jamiedamato.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimjomjamie/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimjomjamie

Hazel McBride Website: https://hazelmcbride035.wixsite.com/hazelmcbride Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hazelmcbrideauthor/ Youtube: @HazelMcBrideAuthor Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hazelmcbrideauthor?lang=en

A.J. Vrana Website: https://direct.me/ajvrana?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZHztKKRzhdZFX0DU894f7JdPxmYCl3hxjDv6a6lWfymWo12L3iaMnwwu4\_aem\_6kYFxYG4FPgNtsDRdjxMmA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.j.vrana/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ajvrana

Taylor Grothe Website: https://bio.site/taylorlgrothe/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaapDhXoixA99WVA1fKlFcXqa9KIJbtg12QWxlgnRGnBSBuaHrTgDLQBHV8\_aem\_Tg8BGhbspphykwK6YvrNyg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorlgrothe/

Lacey N Dunham Website: https://www.laceyndunham.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaa6oZnAie4vhQGXFB3Y6ZfwPWhbnFYiiqeocxuPVvB-b7XVJJCqqXr-zV4\_aem\_zSYRmLa9In19-k9H6H53ag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lndhop/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bookbent.bsky.social

Sylvester Barzey Website: https://bio.site/Sylvesterbarzey?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZ\_Czxny\_nOugRqDQRjgYSjcfrw2Q0xhIDejRJo06VAiACCeCf-TC9fGU8\_aem\_B5tJdcmBActjwfTXfouEyA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sylvesterbarzey/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@UCcM3LecMpKhJYQGZVxN2q5A

Leann Schwartz Website: https://leanneschwartz.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schwartzwords/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@UC0s1SWfQ\_i8t9BZPgKxsYGQ

Steph Cherrywell Website: https://stephcherrywell.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stephcherrywell.com Twitter: https://x.com/scherrywell

Katherine Grant Website: https://katherinegrantromance.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherine\_grant\_romance/?hl=en

Rebecca Coffindaffer Website: https://beccacoffindaffer.com/link-stack/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZg3ArfOF\_idto2Bk0SPDtQjZejvgPlIVh-WgBscldlkYZFf-LObJmyTfI\_aem\_04Lj8SfNbt6co5kL0D8FYg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccacoffindaffer/?hl=en Threads: https://www.threads.net/@UC4TQrZHEp0O5t28Q0XRLn8w

William Alexander Website: https://www.willalex.net/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goblinishbooks/

Authors Against Book Bans Website: https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsagainstbookbans?igsh=eW4xemdpM293aXg=

TO CONTACT RACHEL: readswithrachel@gmail.com

SUPPORT THE EDUCATIONAL BOOKSHOP IN JERUSALEM: https://www.gofundme.com/f/jerusalems-educational-bookshop-emergency-appeal?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYg9lO3Duech8Jk64ISYxAbTR3bVyzVv15l3WvgOL6p0W8YmYtK1btC8as\_aem\_jDI-hXFRmsOaQBzhEc59vw

Intro & outro created by E.V.A.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDybFQWoc9NC87xgTD61Zxg/join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/readswithrachel Merch: https://www.bonfire.com/store/reads-with-rachel/ Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3ULISP5ME5YF1?ref\_=wl\_share CONTACT ME: Business inquiries please email me here: readswithrachel@thestation.io

-Use my link to get $10 off your first Instacart order: https://inst.cr/t/VTNrRWxoYmZ6 *Follow me on socials* TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelwithreads INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/readswithrachel BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/readswithrachel.bsky.social WEBSITE: WWW.READSWITHRACHEL.COM

21 books

4

Kirstyn's Bookshelf\ \ Kirstyn\ \ • Apr 24 2025

Join for free

It’s not a science. 😅\ \ The way I haven’t even read some of these, but I still get hot vibes when I

It’s not a science. 😅

The way I haven’t even read some of these, but I still get hot vibes when I see someone reading them in public. 🤭

What book makes you want to know someone instantly?

#books #bookrecommendations #booksbooksandmorebooks

9 books

2

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 6 2025

Join for free

Authors, I want to publish your books!

Pitchfest starts in three days and I am VERY determined to find our next publication! So, to help you help us both, here is a detailed look at exactly what I'm looking for.

18 books

9

1

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Mar 24 2025

Join for free

Authors: It is Pitchfest time! Bring me your books!

There is another Pitchfest quickly approaching and I want to make sure you have all of the information you need to participate! So authors, check this out for a list of the type of manuscripts I am looking for! And good luck everyone!!!

24 books

9

Peppered Ink\ \ Mary\ \ • Mar 23 2025

Join for free

\ \ Join for free or login](https://marysmanybooks.binderybooks.com/item/qBjzygiyPOp7MWY9CDwR/)

Books & Beer with the Book Market at Laudenbach Brewing! 📚🍻

In which we venture to our nearby brewery and shop a new local business...

4 books

2

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Feb 26 2025

Join for free

Wrestle

I am posting this a little late because it took me some time to sit and process what I was writing before I was ready to share it with you. But here are my thoughts as I sit with the heaviness of today. (TW: systemic oppression, death, racism)

4 books

34

4

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Feb 24 2025

Join for free

GIVEAWAY: Parable of the Sower

"Octavia Butler was not just imagining how bad things could get. She was looking at the history of America and predicting, with uncomfortable accuracy, exactly how bad it is designed to get. " - Parable may be one of the most impactful books you will ever read. See below for details on how to win a copy!

2 books

21

30

Bookish AfroLatina's Library\ \ Gabby\ \ • Feb 20 2025

Join for free

This Presidents' Day Book Reviews: Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents

This Presidents' Day, I’m highlighting two books that will have a hold on me for a long time: The Parable duology by Octavia E. Butler. She wrote these books in 1993 & 1998 but they begin in 2024 w/ Lauren Olamina, a Black American teen w/ hyper-empathy. Lauren’s America is plagued by extreme poverty, disease, addiction, corruption, & religious zealots. Through all of this Lauren writes that she doesn’t believe in her father’s god anymore. She believes that “God is Change.” I think it’s important that y’all read both books because Butler’s vision is clearer by the end of book 2.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler Sometimes I think about how my country (the U.S) might fall and this isn’t far off from that. After all, Butler’s predictions in this book were inspired by the patterns of our country’s priorities and behaviors for a few hundred years. Butler stressed that this is the future she saw coming if we (as a people) did nothing to change those behaviors. If you choose to read this series, please do so with care. The plot starts very slowly but it picks up about 1/3 of the way in. My only qualm is that I wish the lead wasn’t a teen.

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler Parable of the Sower was heartbreaking but Parable of the Talents always devastating. Despite the heartache, I really loved the way Butler depicted what a small community focused on mutual aid could look like. This gave me some hope, like a candle in the dark. Lauren’s drive for her purpose was inspiring and maddening all at once. It was an interesting choice for Butler to have her daughter be the narrator for much of the book. This series will definitely stay with me in the years to come.

#Bookstagram #BlackBooks #SpeculativeFiction #BookReviews #BookRecommendations #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackFuturism

[ID in comments]

2 books

Bookish AfroLatina's Library\ \ Gabby\ \ • Feb 20 2025

Join for free

Black History Month: Still Black. Still Here.

Black History Month is still going to be observed this month by the new administration but we all know that we would continue to celebrate regardless of what the government chose to do.

Why? Because it's important to remember: We existed in the past. We exist now. And we will continue to exist in the future.

The following book recommendations depict this for us:

Black Past -Midnight by Beverly Jenkins is about a Faith Kingston, a rebel spy in Revolutionary War era Boston, who falls in love with a free Black man with a passion for justice.

-The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker & Marcus Kwame Anderson depicts the history of the Black Panther Party from its beginnings to its untimely end due to the U.S. Government's involvement.

Black Present -The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Sh*t by Julian Randall is a collection of essays on the author's journey to learn more about an ancestor who passed for white, experiences in academia, and struggling with mental health.

-Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler was published in 1993 and takes place in 2024-2026. It's a work of speculative fiction following a teen named Lauren Olamina who sees the destruction around her community and country and strives to survive through faith in her vision for the future.

Black Future -The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae & More is an anthology of Sci-Fi stories that imagine a future where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color resist and survive the censorship of their brutal government.

-Pet by Akwaeke Emezi is a YA Magical Realism novel about a girl named Jam who lives in a future without police where the comfort of a utopian society makes her community reluctant to remember their past.

I found each of these books incredibly powerful and I hope they lend you perspective as well as strength for the fight we are now in.

#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackFuturesMatter #Books #Bookstagram #BookRecommendations

ID in comments

6 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Feb 19 2025

Join for free

Fearful Musings as I Read The Reformatory

I started reading The Reformatory last night and it has me thinking about the future. Heads up, this is a bit of a heavier read. So go in with that understanding.

3 books

19

10

Bookish AfroLatina's Library\ \ Gabby\ \ • Feb 19 2025

Join for free

Welcome to my Library!

23 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Feb 9 2025

Join for free

book recs for the mental space you need

however you most want to engage with reading right now - I’ve got you covered. 💕

📚 books mentioned: - Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby - Pet by Akwaeke Emezi - Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi - Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler - Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

#funnybooks #fantasybooks #horrorbooks #dystopianbooks #bookrecommendations #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @faberbooks @faberbooks.us @randomhousekids @grandcentralpub

5 books