Jul 6, 2023

Why we’re fascinated: Because Lopez’s fantastic new memoir hits as hard as his crosscourt backhand. With a dazzling pink cover, “Dispatches From Puerto Nowhere” highlights Brooklyn’s surprisingly diverse tennis community while investigating the absurdity of American assimilation — a process millions of New Yorkers know well. As a long-time professor and prolific author of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, Lopez implements fragmentation, frantic characters and a deliciously dark sense of humor to keep readers alert and wanting more. Lopez’s home courts are in Fort Greene; head there if you think you’ve got game.

— Colin Kirkland