Whether you are looking for some escapism or to become more engaged with the world around you, reading is one of the best ways to achieve your goals. Finding books that interest you, however, is oftentimes a difficult task. Arcade Book Corner will be a monthly column that features some of the best books we came across over the course of the previous month. This month’s list features both nonfiction and fiction so that you can find a book that best suits your needs and interests.

Here is a look into some of Arcade’s top reads from September.

Disability Visibility

Edited by disability justice activist and research consultant Alice Wong, “Disability Visibility” is one of 2020’s most spectacular reads so far. This engaging anthology brings together a collection of personal narratives, blog posts, eulogies and interviews from people with both visible and invisible conditions to create a work that masterfully displays the wide variety of experiences found within disability. The text remains incredibly accessible to audiences new to reading about disability while not sacrificing the quality or richness of stories. The book’s release is paramount given the stigma that still surrounds the topic of disability in mainstream discourse. 

A People’s Guide to Capitalism

“A People’s Guide to Capitalism” is a captivating and straightforward introduction to both Marx’s social and economic theory. By doing so, readers become acquainted with how capitalism drives social and economic inequity, dizzying levels of environmental devastation and a gratuitous disregard for life and wellbeing. Author Hadas Thier does not shy away from unpacking concepts that are frequently obscured from general knowledge and does so in an incredibly accessible way. This urgently needed book is a must-read for everyone looking to enhance their knowledge of capitalism as well as those who want to learn why the current system was never inevitable. 

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Dating is rough, especially if you are Chloe Brown. A computer nerd by day and hopeless romantic by night, Chloe decides she needs to reevaluate her life after having a near-death experience. She comes up with seven goals ranging from traveling the world with minimal luggage to having meaningless, but nevertheless satisfying, sex. These directives act as the scaffolding for the new, more exciting, life that Chloe is looking to build for herself. To conquer her to-do list, Chloe enlists the help of her *ahem* man-friend, Red Morgan. Together, the duo looks to each other for the answers to some of life’s biggest questions while Chloe also handles the effects of her chronic illness. The first in a trilogy of novels, “Get a Life, Chloe Brown,” by Talia Hibbert, is the perfect novel for any reader looking for a romantic comedy that is as heartwarming as it is meaningful.

When No One is Watching

Alyssa Cole began her career as a romance novelist, but her newest work represents a stark departure from her previous releases. “When No One is Watching” captures the unique horror onset by gentrification through the lens of Sydney Green, a born and raised Brooklynite. Though Sydney has spent all of her life in this neighborhood, she no longer recognizes her surroundings as familiar faces are forced out and are replaced with superfluous businesses and high-end condos. Readers of this psycho-social thriller want for nought as they join Sydney on her journey to connect historicized wrongdoings with current events. Not only must Sydney contend with emotional and material difficulties that are inherent to gentrification, but she must also manage her feelings of distrust that she has towards her new neighbor and confidant, Theo. An expert storyteller, Cole brings the racist and classist motivations of gentrification to the forefront of the story all the while crafting a rich storyline filled with memorable characters and a suspenseful build up.