THE JAPANESE MYTHS: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits, by Joshua Frydman. (Thames & Hudson, $24.95.) A professor of Japanese literature ushers readers through the country’s mythology from the earliest written stories to the rise of the manga industry and situates Japan’s rich cultural tradition within religious and historical developments.
THE FANTASY OF THE MIDDLE AGES: An Epic Journey Through Imaginary Medieval Worlds, by Larisa Grollemond and Bryan C. Keene. (J. Paul Getty Museum, $29.95.) Published to accompany an exhibit at the Getty Museum, this volume presents more than 140 illustrations to outline the ways medieval imagery has impacted modern culture from Renaissance Faires to “Game of Thrones.”
GLYN PHILPOT: Flesh and Spirit, by Simon Martin. (Pallant House Gallery, $45.) This first color monograph on the prolific British painter and sculptor investigates his engagement with portraiture, the Harlem Renaissance and various modernisms and considers his impact on queer artists today.
AFRICA FASHION, edited by Christine Checinska. (V&A Publishing, $45.) A curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum explores the dynamism of Africa’s fashion, from post-independence designers who made use of longstanding traditions to a new generation of artists, such as the Nigerian designer Lisa Folawiyo and the Kenyan jeweler Ami Doshi Shah, who make up today’s fashion revolution.
TERRAFORM: Watch/Worlds/Burn, edited by Brian Merchant and Claire L. Evans. (MCD, paper, $20.) This anthology of speculative stories from VICE’s science fiction site features stories from Jeff VanderMeer, Ellen Ullman and others that focus on themes of climate collapse, artificial intelligence and digital surveillance.
RED VALKYRIES: Feminist Lessons From Five Revolutionary Women, by Kristen Ghodsee. (Verso, $24.95.) A scholar of Russian and Eastern European studies traces the revolutionary careers of five 19th- and 20th-century Russian and Bulgarian socialist feminists, including the Soviet diplomat Alexandra Kollontai and the World War II sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko.
ESTATES LARGE AND SMALL, by Ray Robertson. (Biblioasis, paper, $18.95.) This wry novel follows a struggling used bookstore owner and Grateful Dead fan as he grudgingly moves his store online, decides to teach himself two millenniums of Western philosophy, falls in love and attempts to pin down the point of life.
LIGHT IN GAZA: Writings Born of Fire,edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing and Mike Merryman-Lotze. (Haymarket, paper, $24.95; cloth, $45.) This searing collection anthologizes works by Palestinians from Gaza — some residents, some refugees — describing their lives under occupation and amid the ongoing struggle for freedom.