Monthly Pop Picks Digest – March 2026

Black Cherokee: A Novel by Antonio Michael Downing

Ophelia Blue Rivers is a descendent of Cherokee Freedmen: Blacks formerly enslaved by rich southern Cherokee. She is “Black” but doesn’t understand why that makes her different. She is “Cherokee” but struggles to know what that means. Their town of Etsi–once a reservation–still lives with the wounds of its disbanding. When the town, and the river that sustains it, are put in mortal danger personal rivalries threaten their very survival. Against this backdrop Ophelia begins her spirited, at times harrowing, search for place and family. She must discover: what does it mean to belong when belonging comes at such a high price?

Separation of Church and Hate : A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang

For more than two centuries, the United States Constitution has given us the right to a society where church and state exist independently. But Christianity has been hijacked by far-right groups and politicians who seek to impose their narrow views on government, often to justify oppressive and unequal policies. The extremists who weaponize the Bible for earthly power aren’t actually on the side of Jesus–and historically they never have been. How do we fight back against those acting–literally–in bad faith? Comedian and broadcaster John Fugelsang … offers the answers. In this … book, [he] takes readers through common fundamentalist arguments on abortion, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and more–exposing their hypocrisy and inaccuracy through scripture, common sense, and deeply inappropriate humor. It offers practical tips on how to debate your loved one, coworker, or neighbor on the issues that divide us using that Bible they claim to follow.

Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat and Aya Brackett

Samin Nosrat has always had a complicated relationship with recipes. How, she wondered, can a recipe be anything more than a snapshot-an attempt to define the undefinable? How can ever it capture the feeling of experiencing something in person? In Good Things, she makes peace with this paradox, offering more than 125 of her favorite recipes-simply put, the things she most loves to cook for herself and for friends-and infusing them with all the beauty and care you would expect from Samin Nosrat. As she says, “Once I hand them off to you, they are no longer mine. They’re yours, to do with as you please. And maybe, in the act of receiving, a little thread of connection will be woven between me and each of you.”

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore

Ophelia Blue Rivers is a descendent of Cherokee Freedmen: Blacks formerly enslaved by rich southern Cherokee. She is “Black” but doesn’t understand why that makes her different. She is “Cherokee” but struggles to know what that means. Their town of Etsi–once a reservation–still lives with the wounds of its disbanding. When the town, and the river that sustains it, are put in mortal danger personal rivalries threaten their very survival. Against this backdrop Ophelia begins her spirited, at times harrowing, search for place and family. She must discover: what does it mean to belong when belonging comes at such a high price?

If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares

The U.S. Constitution is among the oldest constitutions in the world but also one of the most difficult to amend. Jill Lepore, Harvard professor of history and law, explains why in We the People, the most original history of the Constitution in decades–and an essential companion to her landmark history of the United States, These Truths. Published on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding–the anniversary, too, of the first state constitutions–We the People offers a wholly new history of the Constitution.

Notes on Being a Man by Scott Galloway

Boys and men are in crisis. Rarely has a cohort fallen further and faster than young men living in Western democracies. Boys are less likely to graduate from high school or college than girls. One in seven men reports having no friends, and men account for three of every four deaths of despair in America. Even worse, the lack of attention to these problems has created a void filled by voices espousing misogyny, the demonization of others, and a toxic vision of masculinity. But this is not just a male issue: women and children can’t flourish if men aren’t doing well. As we know from spasms of violence, there is nothing more dangerous than a lonely, broke young man. Scott Galloway has been sounding the alarm on this issue for years.

Supersaurio: A Novel by Meryem El Mehdati

Meryem is twenty-five years old, drinks too much coffee, goes on dates with terrifying men and never says what she really thinks. A Canarian from a Moroccan family, she’s just started working as an intern at a mega-chain supermarket, where the only thing she and her boss have in common is their mutual hatred for each other. To pass the time, Meryem begins to write fan fiction starring her office mates. Surrounded by insecure and inept individuals, she reimagines her bland day job through fabricated office crushes and coworker drama. But to get through the daily grind, she’s going to have to summon more than just her imagination. Bold, refreshing and darkly comedic, Supersaurio vividly portrays the everyday trials and tribulations of entering your twenties in a world that feels like everything’s pitted against you.

Thirst Trap: A Novel by Gráinne O’Hare

Harley, Râoise, and Maggie have been friends for ages. After meeting in primary school years ago, the women are still together, spending their nights on the sticky dancefloors of Belfast’s grungiest pubs. Each woman is navigating her own tangle of entry-level jobs, messy romantic entanglements, and late nights, but they always find their way back to each other, and to the ramshackle house they share. And amidst the familiar chaos, the three are still grieving their fourth housemate, whose room remains untouched, their last big fight hanging heavily over their heads. The girls’ house has witnessed the highs and lows of their roaring twenties–raucous parties, surprising (and sometimes regrettable) hook-ups, and hellish hangovers. But as they approach thirty, their home begins to crumble around them and the fault lines in their group become harder to ignore. In the wreckage, they must decide if their friendship will survive into a new decade–or if growing up sometimes means letting go.

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake

Where there’s a will, there’s a war. Thayer Wren, the brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech and so-called father of modern technology, is dead. Any one of his three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted children would be a plausible inheritor to the Wrenfare throne. Or at least, so they like to think. Meredith, textbook accomplished eldest daughter and the head of her own groundbreaking biotech company, has recently cured mental illness. You’re welcome! If only her father’s fortune wasn’t her last hope for keeping her journalist ex-boyfriend from exposing what she really is: a total fraud. Arthur, second-youngest congressman in history, fights the good fight every day of his life.

Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

Two hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every eighteen-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs. It’s a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats. Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.