For the past two years, I set myself a goal of reading 50 books by people of color. I decided on the challenge after listening to a podcast with speculative fiction writer Nalo Hopkinson, who talked about how books by people of color tend to be overlooked by publishers and readers alike. If you don't seek out new voices, it's easy to fall into reading books primarily, if not solely, by white authors. The challenge has introduced me to new authors, some of whom I’d never read but are widely known and some whose first novels debuted this year (Zen Cho—when can I read your next novel?).

By July, I had met my challenge. Then I looked at my reading list and frowned. Of those 50 books, only 22 were by women. (This is in large part because I discovered the prodigious Walter Mosley and tore through many of his books). So I set myself a new challenge—to read 50 books by women of color before the year’s end.

Two weeks before 2015 comes to a close, I’ve met my challenge. So if you’re looking for books to read, give, or both over the holidays, don’t forget that women of color write books—and these books are often fantastic (and frequently overlooked).

My reading list is here:
https://bitchmedia.org/article/i-read...