For January, we’re reading James by Percival Everett.

We will meet at Indy Reads, as usual. To get to the room, pass the checkout counter, go down the hall, and take a left. Masks welcome, but not mandatory.

About the Riot Reads Book Club

Interested in reading books by authors whose voices are often pushed to the margins? Join this book club focusing on books about social justice from authors who know what they’re talking about. Topics include culture, disability, politics, race, religion, sexuality, sex and gender, socioeconomic status, and anything else we want to put on the table.

We understand that life gets busy. And we also get that, for many of us, talking about books is a launching pad to talk about the things most important to us. So, even if you haven’t had a chance to finish the book (or even get that far into it…), please feel free to join us for a lively discussion. Anyone is welcome!

About James by Percival Everett

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view • In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg

KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, LA Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, TIME, and more.

“Genius”—The Atlantic • “A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own.”—Chicago Tribune • “A provocative, enlightening literary work of art.”—The Boston Globe • “Everett’s most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful.”—The New York Times

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. 

Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim’s agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.