BOOKS I’VE LOVED BY BLACK AUTHORS + TBR LIST

In celebration and honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Kamala Harris’s historic inauguration as the first Black, South Asian, woman Vice President of the United States happening on Wednesday this week, I wanted to share my favorite 2020 reads from black authors!

Fiction: contemporary, historical fiction, thriller

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Nonfiction: feminism, racism, memoir, poetry

Becoming by Michelle Obama
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Where to Begin by Cleo Wade

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One of my reading goals of 2021 is to ensure I am reading from diverse authors and voices in a variety of genres. Most importantly, I want to continue to read about racism, feminism, and classism from BIPOC and queer authors. Additionally, I’d like to diversity my readings in my favorite set of genres – mystery, thriller, suspense – as this tends to be a genre I read mostly from white writers. Authors and books I hope to read this year can be found below.

TBR List: fiction and nonfiction

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Heart Talk by Cleo Wade
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Memorial by Bryan Washington
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
The Skin We’ve In by Desmond Cole
While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson 

Resources:
1 | 25 Amazing Books by African-American Writers You Need to Read
Mental Floss article linked here

2 | 32 New Novels by Black Authors to Read Now
Goodreads article linked here

3 | 44 of the Best Books by Black Authors You Should Read in Your Lifetime
The Oprah Magazine article linked here

4 | 62 great books by Black authors, recommended by TED speakers
TED article linked here

5 | 66 of the Year’s Most Anticipated Fiction by Black Authors
Goodreads article linked here

6 | 96 Books Sharing the Joy, Love, and Adventures of Black Lives
Goodreads article linked here

7 | An Anti-Racist Reading List: 20 Highly Rated Nonfiction Books by Black Authors
Goodreads article linked here

8 | Contemporary African American Authors You Should Be Reading
Goodreads article linked here

9 | Mysteries by Black Women to Add to Your Reading List
Goodreads article linked here

Note: if I have misidentified an author as Black whom does not identify as such, I do offer my sincerest apology

Until tomorrow, Meryn

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