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Post by supersoda on Jun 3, 2020 14:58:57 GMT
My daughter mentioned that she wanted to seek out books by black authors. I've tried to be intentional about reading books by POC over the last few years, so I started rattling off a list for her and thought I'd share it here. Most of these are fiction, but they still give perspective about other cultures and experiences that we may not otherwise see. Anyway, please share what you've read.
Americanah-Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
The Water Dancer- Ta-Nehisi Coates
Men We Reaped-Jessmyn Ward (This one is nonfiction and particularly relevant to current events. Her other books are good, too. Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing)
An American Marriage-Tayari Jones
The Hate U Give-Angie Thomas
Kindred - Octavia Butler
Another Brooklyn - Jacqueline Woodson
Behold the Dreamers - Imbolo Mbue
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wellway
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Post by wellway on Jun 3, 2020 15:14:51 GMT
I'm not sure of her international market but a popular children's author here in the UK is Malorie Blackman. Wiki Malorie Blackman OBE was born 8 February 1962. She is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015.[1] She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethical issues. Her critically and popularly acclaimed Noughts and Crosses series uses the setting of a fictional dystopia to explore racism. Her book "Pig Heart Boy" sold out within a week of publishing it. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malorie_Blackman |
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Post by kamper on Jun 3, 2020 15:15:01 GMT
The Broken Earth series from N. K. Jemisin. She won the Hugo award three years in a row. I've only read the first one (The Fifth Season). It was so good that I'm saving the other books for a special occasion. I don't want to run out of her writing too fast.
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Post by misadventurous on Jun 3, 2020 15:15:11 GMT
N.K. Jemisin is a Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning scifi/fantasy author. I've had several of her books on my to-read list, but I'm going to start with this one, which is a collection of short stories:
How Long 'til Black Future Month?
In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow south must figure out how to save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story “The City Born Great,” a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis’s soul.
I've read The Water Dancer and The Hate U Give, which were both fantastic, and I'll be checking out some of the others you mentioned. Thank you for starting this thread.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 3, 2020 15:27:48 GMT
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is widely considered to be one of the most important books of the last century.
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finaledition
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Post by finaledition on Jun 3, 2020 15:36:48 GMT
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. She’s a Ghanaian-American and this book was a 5 star read for me.
Also Jasmine Guillory is a romance novelist with a handful of books including The Proposal.
And this month, the Good Morning America book club pick is The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Jun 3, 2020 15:38:27 GMT
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé, Guadeloupean but deals with American history! Amazing read. Condé has topped the Nobel Prize in Literature predictions for several years now. Her writing is a journey. Synopsis: This wild and entertaining novel expands on the true story of the West Indian slave Tituba, who was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, arrested in 1692, and forgotten in jail until the general amnesty for witches two years later. Maryse Condé brings Tituba out of historical silence and creates for her a fictional childhood, adolescence, and old age. She turns her into what she calls "a sort of female hero, an epic heroine, like the legendary ‘Nanny of the maroons,’" who, schooled in the sorcery and magical ritual of obeah, is arrested for healing members of the family that owns her.
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Post by Sorrel on Jun 3, 2020 15:54:40 GMT
In the vein of Octavia Butler and NK Jemisin, there is also Nnedi Okorafor. Her Binti series was wonderful.
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Post by bc2ca on Jun 3, 2020 15:55:47 GMT
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Post by pjaye on Jun 3, 2020 16:25:45 GMT
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid gave me a new perspective on a couple of different issues.
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finaledition
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Post by finaledition on Jun 3, 2020 17:00:56 GMT
Also- The Underground Railroad and the Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice.
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Post by mikklynn on Jun 3, 2020 18:36:31 GMT
US Rep. John Lewis autobiography Walking With the Wind is very good.
I also enjoy the poetry of Langston Hughes.
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Post by supersoda on Jun 3, 2020 19:04:50 GMT
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is widely considered to be one of the most important books of the last century. I now feel like a total idiot because I had no idea that book was by a POC. Which opens up a whole new discussion topic about the assumption of whiteness. |
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Post by supersoda on Jun 3, 2020 19:08:52 GMT
Also- The Underground Railroad and the Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice. These have both been on my list for a while. It is amazing that he won the Pulitzer twice! I'm also trying to work my way through the Pulitzer winners. |
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zookeeper
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Post by zookeeper on Jun 3, 2020 19:45:47 GMT
I have The Underground Railroad on my bookshelf. I need to pull it out and read it.
One of my favorites is Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. It is a heartbreaking and important story. In Canada, it was released under the name The Book of Negroes. There was an award winning six part mini-series based on this book.
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Post by Neisey on Jun 3, 2020 19:47:24 GMT
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, also published as Someone Knows my Name.
On my top 25 list of books.
Has also been made into a mini series but I have not seen it.
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zookeeper
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Post by zookeeper on Jun 3, 2020 19:49:40 GMT
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, also published as Someone Knows my Name. On my top 25 list of books. Has also been made into a mini series but I have not seen it. You were in my head! LOL! |
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Post by busy on Jun 3, 2020 19:51:06 GMT
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a YA novel, but very good and worth the read IMO.
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Jun 3, 2020 19:52:45 GMT
Many of the ones mentioned already, plus I just added these to my list this week:
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism by James W. Loewen ETA - Sorry, Loewen is not a POC.
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Post by mom on Jun 3, 2020 19:52:56 GMT
These are the fiction books I ordered yesterday. Cannot wait to get them to read.
The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead (already on the list)
The Mothers by Britt Bennett
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
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milocat
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Post by milocat on Jun 3, 2020 20:07:45 GMT
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, I listened to this on audio and I think it made it even better. Trevor reads it himself. If you didn't know he was born to a black mother and white father during South Africa's apartheid, he was hidden for some of his childhood. Wasn't dark enough to be black or light enough to be white. It's not a Hollywood biography of name dropping  it's about his childhood. The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande is a memoir of a Mexican girl, her parents escape into the US and leave them behind with grandparents. They eventually return for the children, smuggling them into the US. Their path to trying to becoming documented citizens. There is a sequel called A Dream Called Home, I haven't read it yet. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is widely considered to be one of the most important books of the last century. I now feel like a total idiot because I had no idea that book was by a POC. Which opens up a whole new discussion topic about the assumption of whiteness. This is what I wonder, I just pick up books that look interesting. I don't look into the author, often times I barely notice the name. I may have read more books by POC and not even know it. Also I have read some fiction and have wondered is this character a POC...maybe...yeah...no...well..oh yeah. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? You were in my head! LOL! The miniseries is on CBC Gem, not sure if you can watch it outside of Canada. gem.cbc.ca/season/the-book-of-negroes/season-1/60c7dae4-ef54-4a90-bd34-1c75e2727c37 ETA: not sure why this didn't quote the whole thing, about the show. And I just found in my stack of books TBR that I have Any Known Blood by Lawrence Hill.
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scrappinwithoutpeas
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Post by scrappinwithoutpeas on Jun 3, 2020 21:12:52 GMT
Also- The Underground Railroad and the Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice. These have both been on my list for a while. It is amazing that he won the Pulitzer twice! I'm also trying to work my way through the Pulitzer winners. by Colson Whitehead - he's a great writer! I've got both of the above two on my reading list of eBook holds from the library, and I read Sag Harbor when it first came out. Also, Mudbound by Dee Rees. A lot of the others I was thinking of have already been mentioned. I'll update if I remember more. |
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scrappinwithoutpeas
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Post by scrappinwithoutpeas on Jun 3, 2020 21:15:10 GMT
Also, I see that librarylady posted a link to an online list of books by POC in a separate thread. Thanks! |
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Post by MichyM on Jun 3, 2020 21:30:38 GMT
My book group is currently reading Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. Couldn't be more timely, though not by design. Highly recommend.
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Post by birukitty on Jun 3, 2020 23:23:14 GMT
These are some books I've read in the past that I've really enjoyed. They are all fiction.
The Last Thing You Surrender by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya
Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
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Post by librarylady on Jun 3, 2020 23:25:19 GMT
Also, I see that librarylady posted a link to an online list of books by POC in a separate thread. Thanks!
I am bringing my list here. Not all the authors are black, but are people of color.
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Olan
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Post by Olan on Jun 4, 2020 0:24:24 GMT
Audre Lorde and Toni Morrison are my fav black authors. I’m currently reading Paradise.
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Post by andreasmom on Jun 4, 2020 1:13:22 GMT
The Girl with the Louding Voice - Abi Dare
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milocat
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Post by milocat on Jun 4, 2020 1:36:22 GMT
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Post by birdgate on Jun 4, 2020 3:54:46 GMT
“Overground Railroad- the Green Book and the roots of black travel” was a very interesting historical read. Author is Candacy Taylor.
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