Introducing our very first monthly pick

It's time to announce the inaugural pick for Curious Reading Club!

Say hello to A Map of Future Ruins by Lauren Markham—a book released this past February about migrants, borders, and the way we think about belonging. Copies are on their way to existing members right now, and if you aren't already a subscriber and sign up before May 15th, we'll send a book straight out to you.

You won’t regret digging in to this fantastic read.

I'll be honest: I really wrestled with this first pick. What should I choose? What message would it send? Should I start with a revered classic or an instant bestseller?

Things got easier when I decided to simply trust myself and pick a book that I really enjoyed. In A Map of Future Ruins, Lauren—who has written for The New York Times Magazine, VQR, Mother Jones and more—manages to combine reportage, investigation, travel and personal reflection.

The book starts by looking at a tragedy that happened in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, but it ends up going much further. She looks at why people leave their country of origin and undertake perilous journeys to a better life, how they get treated along the way, and how society's attitudes towards migrants change—and don’t change—over time. She takes us on some unexpected journeys as a reporter, and a few funny ones as a traveler and tourist. She digs into her own relationship with place as somebody whose own family left Greece for the US generations back. I absolutely ate it up when I read it earlier this year.

We're going to be holding a live online conversation with Lauren on May 16th, so check your email for more updates on timing over the coming weeks. And if you're looking for more context, you can visit her website, listen to a great interview on the Longform podcast, or read a good outline of Future Ruins at the LA Review of Books.

And again, if you're based in the US and not already signed up to Curious Reading Club then please consider becoming a member: for $25 each month you get a hand-picked, fantastic title like this—something that is thought-provoking, well-crafted and absolutely worth your time.

I look forward to seeing some of you later this month for the live Q&A!

Onward

Bobbie