Help us choose the rest of our reads for 2025

Book Coven is a free virtual book club dedicated to empowering members through literature as a tool for both personal and collective liberation. learn more

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Hello Coven,

We’re building our Book Coven syllabus for the rest of the year and you get to help shape it. I’ve pulled together a list of ten books that have either:
— come really close in past polls
— or been requested over and over by you all

From this list, we’ll be choosing five books, one for each of the remaining months: August, September, October, November, and December.

The goal is to co-create a rhythm that gives us time to gather our books in whatever format works best (audio, eBook, library, physical), and gives me enough lead time to reach out to authors for possible guest appearances during our virtual coven gatherings.

Having a clear reading path ahead helps the entire experience feel more grounded. No last-minute scrambling. No surprise book drop. Just shared anticipation and a sense of flow we can move with together.

This will be how we move forward with Book Coven planning — a yearly syllabus, decided together.

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VOTING - The Book Coven 2025 Mid-Year Reading Ballot

Here are your ten options. Choose five books from this list —one of the options is a bundle of two shorter books we’ll read together in a single month. Most of these titles were close runner-ups in past polls or heavily requested by the community. Please reply back to this email with your top 5 or in the comments section.

I appreciate your time and energy in reviewing these titles and choosing.
⸻

1. We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance

2. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

3. Climate Optimism by Zahra Biabani

4. Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science

5. We Will Not Be Saved by Nemonte Nenquimo

6. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

7. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

8. Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Maud Newton

9. Real Americans by Rachel Khong

10. The Serviceberry + Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Bundle: Two short reads for one month)

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BOOK COVEN - What You Can Expect

As part of the Book Coven community, you’ll receive:

• Monthly Reads – One book each month (with extended time for longer reads when needed).
• Curated Book Guides – Reflection prompts, discussion questions, reading schedules, and deeper resources to enrich your experience.
• A Private Chat Space – Ongoing conversations, insights, and support.
• Monthly Virtual Gatherings – Discussions where we come together to share thoughts, questions, and reflections.
• Guest Author Visits – Whenever possible, we invite the authors of our chosen books to join us for conversations.
• Polls to Help Shape Our Selections – You’ll get a say in what we read next.
• Event Announcements – Be the first to hear about upcoming virtual and in-person gatherings.

Note: You’ll receive the registration link for each virtual meeting directly in your monthly book guide.

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Thank you for being part of this journey. I can’t wait to read, reflect, and grow alongside you.

With love,
Juliet Diaz (Founder of Book Coven)

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By Juliet Diaz:

Juliet Diaz is a neurodivergent Indigenous Taino and first-generation Cuban American, as well as an award-winning and internationally bestselling author and literary activist. Her writing is rooted in liberatory and decolonial themes, empowering others to reclaim their voices, align with their truth, and embrace their innate magic and humanity.

As the founder of the Literary Craft Society, she leads a revolutionary writing community dedicated to fostering change, healing, and liberation through the transformative power of words.

Her works, including Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within, Plant Witchery, The Altar Within, the Seasons of the Witch Oracle Deck series, and the Earthcraft Oracle Deck, have inspired thousands across the world to create meaningful change within themselves and their communities.

I have my own newsletter:

The Altar Within Newsletter —notes on life, magic, and liberation.