SimonOxfPhys Book Club discussion
Books not written by white authors
date
newest »
newest »
The color purple by Alice walker Letter to my daughter by Maya Angelou
I know why the caged bird sings by maya Angelou
Mules and men by zora neale Hurston
I'd suggest you read Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf (a Christian Arab) who felt like an outsider in both the world he belonged to. It's pretty well written. The historical figure of the Leo Africanus is displayed in the best way possible. Hope you consider it. I am sure you'd love it.
Anything by James BaldwinBetween the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier By Ishmael Beah
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Another Country by James Baldwin
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (it's a novella ;))
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. A classic.
Anything by Borges would probably be an interesting read, my literature lecturer called him the Escher of writing. 100 years of solitude is also one of the most commonly read Latin American books in literature classes (unfortunately most Latino authors I've read haven't had their work translated to other languages)
Toni Morrison is a great author. I personally only read Sula for now, but I intend to read more of her novels.
After seeing this I went to my bookshelf and counted all the non-white authors I have. 5. Of about 400. Thank you for highlighting this!I think we might have different literary tastes, but I plan on reading novels by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun) and Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Exit West).
What a great observation! This is something I need to work on, too. Thanks for the reminder.Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward really made me rethink my youth and realize how differently my non-white friends might be seeing the world, despite our similar upbringing.
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin drove home how much people internalize the way they're treated by others.
Some of my favorite fiction by non-white authors:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Sula by Toni Morrison
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Have you thought of reading Latin American authors? We're not strictly colour people, but I think it is a good idea to know some of our best writers. I would strongly recommend you to read "Aura" from Carlos Fuentes (Mexican author), and "Los detectives salvajes" written by Roberto Bolaño (Chilean author). Both books are about writers or literature students, and are set in Mexico City. Particularly, the first one is a really short book; the second is a pretty long novel, but once you're engaged with the plot, you may want to read it in a couple days! Trust me, it happened to me. I don't think I can't stress this enough, but you should really read them. Once you do, I'm pretty sure you'll want to travel to this part of the world, and specially, to Mexico!
Simon wrote: "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm white. Like, very very very white. The town that I grew in listed its census as 97% white British. Almost certainly because of this, most of my reading history (incl..."Trumpet by Jackie Kay. She's not actually black but two of the most important people in this book are and it kind of talks about it but it is not the main plot.
Simon wrote: "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm white. Like, very very very white. The town that I grew in listed its census as 97% white British. Almost certainly because of this, most of my reading history (incl..."Theres absolutely nothing wrong with reading from white authors, quite the opposite. Realise that whites have made some of the biggest contributions to litterature throughout history and this should be thought of as a huge achievement whereas many peoples have been found lacking. Its obvious that White people are going to read books by other whites, because it relates to OUR experience, OUR values, OUR Culture and OUR history. Same goes for non-Whites with their own litterature. Love your race and be proud of it and stop being ashamed of being who we are. Hail Europa
Joseph wrote: "Simon wrote: "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm white. Like, very very very white. The town that I grew in listed its census as 97% white British. Almost certainly because of this, most of my reading..."When you say "biggest contributions", you mean the white authors have more opportunities to publish their works, right? because there are so many unpublished non-white authors that publishing companies refuse to print. Oh, may I add that many people of colored were discouraged to even learn to be literate because some people want to keep literate exclusively to one type of race. Furthermore, I guess you have not been introduced to Asian literature because they too have contributed tremendously to literature growth with its rich history... there is certainly nothing wrong with reading white authors, but I believe this post started so everyone can expand his/her literary taste to understand other's experience, values, culture, and history rather than limited to one's own experience, values, culture, and history.
I've heard good things about Thomas Sowell. Although I haven't read any of his books, he apparently provides an interesting view of political issues that many might find controversial."Radical" by Maajid Nawaz
Nelson Mandela's biography is supposed to be quite interesting and I'm going to start it soon although it is a big read.
Greg wrote: "If you're still interested in learning more about blacks and race in the US, I recommend (as a start):The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander - amazing non-fiction regarding how profiling and shro..."
I was scrolling to see if anyone had recommended 'The Fire Next Time' - I second both suggestions from Greg.
Simon wrote: "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm white. Like, very very very white. The town that I grew in listed its census as 97% white British. Almost certainly because of this, most of my reading history (incl..."With all due respect but this is cringingly preposterous. The idea is to read great books no matter who the author is. If it happens that the author is a black bisexual female, so be it; if the author is an anti-feminist racist male, so be it. A great book is a great regardless of who writes it, that is to say don't be ASHAMED of your favourite books.
i just read the vegetarian by han kang!
Othmane wrote: "Simon wrote: "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm white. Like, very very very white. The town that I grew in listed its census as 97% white British. Almost certainly because of this, most of my reading..."What I think he's getting at is that reading books by a diverse range of authors exposes you to different ways of thinking, different styles, different cultural references etc, so it's a good way of broadening your mind.
OT: Simon, I'd recommend the Binti series of novellas. They're a couple of pounds on Amazon and I really enjoyed them.
On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae LeeIlustrado by Miguel Syjuco
Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita
The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman
Exist West by Moshin Hamid
Took a class at college this fall that was on reading contemporary literature by authors from the Global South and this was our syllabus and I truly loved each and every one of these and could not recommend them enough!
Donald Goines was an African American writer who wrote about pimping, drug usage, and being a gangster. Where Hollywood glamorized this lifestyle, Donald Goines showed how tragic this life really is. I heard about Donald Goines in college when I took a film class about American crimes. It’s seems that many films pertaining to African American crimes were based off of his books.
I only read 2 books by Donald Goines:
Dopefiend- which tells the sad story of 2 girls and their drug dealer and how dope destroys their lives. This book sticks with you after you read it.
Black girl lost- is about a girl, Sandra, who falls in love with a drug pusher. The story quickly escalated from there, but I don’t want give too much detail.
The reason I bring this up is that I just finished Colson Whitehead's searing The Underground Railroad, and it made me reflect on how I have been missing out on a huge huge part of the literary world by not really reading authors of colour, not through deliberate choice but simply by happenstance.
So my question is: what books should I read that weren't written by white folks like me? I've already added a bunch to my to read list as seen on my profile, but I would love to hear your input. Please leave your suggestions!