The 45 Best Books by Black Authors to Add to Your Reading List
From page-turning romances to must-read memoirs.
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With so many genres to explore, from inspiring feminist books to TikTok's most talked-about novels, I'm sure your to-be-read list is longer than a CVS receipt. But because you can never have too many new reads to discover, I'd like to put you on to some phenomenal books written from the Black perspective because, yes, it's important to diversify your bookshelf and the stories you're consuming. Celebrating Black voices starts with understanding the Black experience well beyond Black History Month in February. After all, reading a wide range of diverse voices, whether fiction or nonfiction, is the first step in better understanding each other and different perspectives or obstacles that we may not have previously considered.
Whether you gravitate toward a steamy romance (consider Seven Days in June by Tia Williams) or you’re more in a self-help kind of mood (check out Alexandra Elle’s How We Heal), we’ve gathered some of the best reads by Black writers to add to your reading list. From Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age to Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half and classics like Alice Walker's The Color Purple, some of the books on this list will teach you about Black history, while others will make you feel every emotion possible. Keep scrolling to discover some of the best books by Black authors you 100% need to know about if you haven't read them yet.
In this powerful memoir, writer Ashley C. Ford illuminates her upbringing as a poor Black girl in Indiana dealing with the effects of incarceration on her family. When she discovers the truth about why her father is in prison, Ford’s world is forever turned upside down.
Calling all twenty (and thirty) somethings trying to find their way in the world: this one is for you. Maame (which, in this case, means woman) follows Maddie, a self-proclaimed “late bloomer” trying to navigate life in her 20s, from dating horrors and female friendships to being the only Black woman at work to being torn between two cultures in an unconventional family dynamic. Both funny and moving, this modern coming-of-age novel, which just debuted in 2023, is well worth a read.
Does true love have an expiration date? That’s one of the central questions fueling this charming, smart novel about two former lovers who reconnect after years—and who both happen to be successful writers running in the same literary circle. As you might guess, tons of drama and hilarity ensues.
Set in 1940s Japan just after the end of World War II, this period novel spans decades and continents to tell the story of forbidden love. Deeply moving and poignant, Lemmie crafts an epic tale that will have you rooting for the heroine, Nori, as she fights for her freedom.
The Instagram-favorite author, wellness educator, and restorative writing teacher weaves together a book that’s part essay collection, part insightful interviews, and part guided journaling and meditation practice. If you’ve been looking for an entry point into being more reflective and intentional about how to heal from past traumas, this book is a must-read.
If you thought your home was busy, let me introduce you to the Turner house. Thirteen Turner children grew up here, left, experienced the death of their father here, and eventually brought their own children here too. But when their mother gets sick, the Turners are called home once again to figure out the future of the house while dealing with the ways the house shaped them—both good and bad—into the people they are now.
Imagine having an identical twin sister. Now imagine your identical sister is able to pass as a member of a different race. Meet the Vignes sisters! The plot of Brit Bennett’s second novel is enough to grab anyone’s attention, but you’ll become enraptured as you follow this story of one Black sister passing as white.
This book is so good it was immediately adapted into a Hulu series. The Other Black Girl chronicles Nella, the only Black employee at a publishing house, and the story that follows when Hazel, another Black employee, starts work in the cubicle next to hers one day.
How to even quantify The Color Purple’s impact? Alice Walker’s classic follows the lives of Black sisters Celie and Nettie during 20th-century Georgia. After they’re separated as children, they communicate through letters spanning 20 years. The powerful story sheds light on horrific domestic and sexual abuse and also shows that growth can spring from pain.
What does it mean to be husband and wife? Can marriage overcome unthinkable circumstances? These are the questions that author Tayari Jones seeks to answer in her moving novel about newlyweds Celestial and Roy. After Roy is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Celestial seeks comfort in Roy’s friend (who was the best man at their wedding). When Roy is released, the three former lovers/former friends are forced to figure out how to move forward. Complicated! BTW, Barack Obama is a fan of this book, so you know it’s good.
Shonda Rhimes isn’t only cranking out the bingeable shows you can’t stop rewatching (hello, Bridgerton), but she also spent an entire year saying “YES!” to everything that scared her and wrote all about it. She weaves in stories from her childhood, so you get an idea of what made her the successful writer she is today.
Raise your hand if you miss Game of Thrones and need a new fantasy series to get into! Because let me tell you, this is it. Tracker is known for his unmatched hunting skills, and when he starts using them to search for a mysterious boy who has been missing for three years, the usually solitary Tracker finds himself working as part of a rag-tag team full of interesting characters, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard. Oh, and this is the first book in a trilogy, so once you’re done with this one, there are two more you can read. Win-win-win!
Go behind the glittering curtain of fashion media by reading this enthralling memoir. Having spent decades at Vogue, the iconic editor saw it all—the good, the glam, and the not-so-glam. Although an entertaining read for everyone, fashion enthusiasts and historians alike will especially appreciate this juicy page-turner.
Prepare to be blown away by Kiley Reid’s debut novel. What starts with a 20-something being wrongfully accused of kidnapping a kid she babysits quickly evolves into a story of class, race, and how good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. You won’t be able to put this one down. Seriously.
If fictional stories based on true events are your thing, then The Nickel Boys is calling your name. Based on a very real and very horrifying reform school that operated in Tallahassee for 111 years, this book tells the story of Elwood Curtis, a young boy who was unfairly sentenced to the juvenile reformatory. Elwood’s only joy there is his friendship with another young boy, Turner, whose hardened belief that the world is crooked has a profound effect on Elwood.
No one can write a high-stakes romance novel quite like Beverly Jenkins. In Indigo, Hester Wyatt escaped slavery as a child and has become a badass member of Michigan’s Underground Railroad. When an injured man is brought to her to hide, she very quickly regrets her decision to take him in because he’s just so dang rude. But as he heals and they get to know each other, they may just find a new kind of freedom in true love.
Homegoing will have you feeling all the feels as it takes you through the journey of two sisters and eight generations of their descendants. From Ghana to the plantations of Mississippi to the Civil War to the Jazz Age in New York City, this novel dives into the issues of slavery both for those who were taken and those who were left behind.
Sci-fi fans will LOVE this book from Octavia Butler. Dana, a 26-year-old woman in ’70s L.A., finds herself abruptly taken back in time to a plantation in the pre–Civil War South where she has been summoned to save the drowning son of a white plantation owner. She keeps getting pulled back in time to the plantation, and with her stays getting longer and longer, Dana gets intimately involved in the community there. It’s an important look at the experience of slavery from the perspective of a modern woman.
Beautiful, the favorite, and possibly sociopathic—that’s how to describe Korede’s sister, Ayoola. After Ayoola’s third boyfriend winds up dead, Korede is forced to figure out exactly how far she’s willing to go to protect her sister. (And you thought your family was complicated!)
Is 👏🏾 sa 👏🏾 Rae 👏🏾. If you’ve ever stumbled on an episode of Insecure, then you know how brilliant Issa is. Misadventures is titled after her popular web series and showcases why she’s become a household name. If you’re the least bit introverted, shy, or awkward, you’ll devour this book.
