The Stacks Book Club - July 2026
For July's book club, we're reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. This feat of reportage follows the families of Annawadi, a makeshift settlement near the Mumbai airport, as they strive toward a better life amidst tragedy, global recessions, economic upheaval, and social issues. With empathy, intelligence, and humor, Katherine Boo paints an intimate portrait of resilience, community, and shared humanity. Published in 2012, Behind the Beautiful Forevers earned critical acclaim, winning the National Book Award and The Los Angeles Times Book Prize among many others, and becoming a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It was also named one of The New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, one of TIME's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the 2010s, and appeared as a best book of the year in countless publications. Needless to say, we're excited to dive into this one.
If you want to read with us this month, here are some key dates for The Stacks Book Club’s read of Behind the Beautiful Forevers.
July 1st — The Stacks episode announcing our guest for Behind the Beautiful Forevers.
July 29th — The Stacks Book Club episode of Behind the Beautiful Forevers.
August 4th — The Stacks Virtual Book Club meetup to discuss the book. To participate, you will need to join The Stacks Pack on Patreon. There, you’ll get even more perks related to the podcast, access to the Discord community, and more.
L.A.-based, Black woman-owned indie bookstore Reparations Club is offering you 10% off your copy of Behind the Beautiful Forevers when you use the code STACKS10 at checkout!
You can support The Stacks by purchasing this month’s pick through my Bookshop or Amazon page.
