Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Blurb from Goodreads

In 2024, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.

Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.

When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday, everyone! Just like that, we are already in the last workweek of the second month of 2026. Woah. February is nearly through, and March is just right around the corner. How time flies! Time takes its natural course. It flows forward, sans regard to any of. As such, I hope that the year is going—and will continue to go—well for everyone. I hope that the year will curry favor with you all. Things are starting to look up at work. After a couple of hectic and challenging weeks, things are starting to take a more normal rhythm. There are still challenges before me, but hey, I do enjoy challenges. Well, at least from time to time. Anyway, I hope everyone had a good start to the workweek and the year. The new week brims with hope and fresh starts. I hope that the week will flow in everyone’s favor. Wishing you continued success and happiness.

I know—not many people get excited about Mondays (though I’m sure a few are out there). I, too, am not exactly a fan. I hope that as the week moves forward, I hope you slowly gain a semblance of momentum. After all, we’ve got to start somewhere, and Monday is one of those starting points. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well—mentally, emotionally, and physically. With the month drawing to a close, I am slowly wrapping up my venture into the works of Latin American and Caribbean writers; I kicked off my reading year with their works, as ithas been some time since I last had a Latin American and Caribbean literature month. I am nearly halfway through Jorge Barón Biza’s The Desert and Its Seed. This is a book I acquired a couple of years ago, although it was left to suffer the same fate as most of my books: gathering dust on my bookshelf.

Anyway, this week’s featured book is not a work of a Latin American or Caribbean writer. Instead, I am featuring a work by an African American writer. I was just reminded that February is Black History Month, and in commemoration of this occasion, I decided to feature at least one work by an African American writer before the month officially ends. I have several African American writers whose bodies of work I wanted to explore. One such writer who has recently piqued my interest – well, not really recently, but I have yet to explore her oeuvre – is Octavia Butler. I have been encountering Butler through must-read lists. Her works are also prominently featured amongst works of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction. This actually reminds me of Cormac McCarthy, particularly of The Road. Anyway, among Butler’s prominent works is Parable of the Sower, the first book of her Parable series; it is also referred to as the Earthseed series.

Interestingly, while Parable of the Sower was originally published in 1993, it was set in 2024. I guess this is the reason why I believed that the novel was recent; I just learned today that Butler has already passed away. Anyway, I find the novel’s premise fascinating. As I have mentioned, it echoes some elements of The Road. Further, the novel examines the impact of climate change. For a novel published in 1993, this feels not only ambitious but also visionary. Along with it, the novel provides a prognosis of the future, where society and the state have been rendered futile by corporate greed, resulting in the growing disparities between the different social classes. There are several reasons to look forward to the book. For sure, it is worth a look, or maybe a read. For now, I hope I get to obtain a copy of the book. How about you, fellow readers? How was your Monday? What books have you recently added to your reading list? Drop your thoughts in the comments. For now—happy Monday, and as always, happy reading!