12 must-read books by Black women

You may have seen this going around social media:

I’ve heard a lot of people express a desire for something tangible they can do to support the movement, and this is something that’s easy and fulfilling. I’ve been focusing on supporting more Black businesses, in general, and each Black author is a small business. I love to read, so win-win. 

Because I’m a loud-and-proud feminist, I wanted to highlight 12 books I’ve loved written by Black women. There’s a mix of fiction and nonfiction here–truly something for everyone. If you have other favorites, I’d love to hear.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
I’m reading this book right now, but I already love it. From the synopsis: “The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?”

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This book came out in 2018, and I read it last year. There’s a quote from it that I wrote down because I loved it so much: “There are too many loose ends in the world in need of knots.” From the synopsis: “Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.”

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I’ve read a few of her books, but this one is my favorite. From the synopsis: “At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn’t quite match her name (Jamaican for “no problem”). Samad’s late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal’s every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith. Set against London’ s racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future, White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.”

Becoming by Michelle Obama
I listened to this book on Audible and highly recommend that experience. This book doesn’t need any summarizing–we all know what it’s about. I’ll just repeat what so many others have said: this reveals Michelle Obama as a woman like so many of us, juggling motherhood, marriage, work, and passion. It’s truly uplifting in its universality.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
I recently learned via the #PublishingPaidMe thread on Twitter that Roxane Gay was only paid $15,000 for this book, which is absurd. It’s one of the best contemporary feminist books out there, featuring essays that are both funny and insightful. From the book: “I embrace the label of bad feminist because I am human. I am messy. I’m not trying to be an example. I am not trying to be perfect. I am not trying to say I have all the answers. I am not trying to say I’m right. I am just trying—trying to support what I believe in, trying to do some good in this world, trying to make some noise with my writing while also being myself.”

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
My mom reminded me the other day how lucky I was to go to a high school that had many minority authors on the required reading list. This was one of those required books and I loved it so much that I’ve re-read it twice (maybe three times? Can’t remember). The synopsis is here (but it really doesn’t do the book justice; you have to read it): “Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez. As she follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, Morrison introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized black world.”

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
I just finished this book and LOVED it. It follows one family through several generations on different continents. Somehow, the author manages to make each character feel like the main character. Here is a quote I wrote down: “…when you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too.”

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
This book seems “light,” but there is social commentary running throughout. From the synopsis: “Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.”

We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True by Gabrielle Union
I have to agree with this description: “A powerful collection of essays about gender, sexuality, race, beauty, Hollywood, and what it means to be a modern woman.” What I loved about this is how relatable Union is. Listening to this on Audible felt like talking with a girlfriend.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
This is another book I read in high school and then re-read years later. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age story about Maya Angelou’s early life and the strength she developed in the face of racism and trauma.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
I just started listening to this book and it’s fantastic so far. It’s about a Cameroonian immigrant couple living in Harlem and their pursuit of the American Dream. I’m going for a long run tomorrow morning and can’t wait to listen more.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This is classified as a Young Adult book, but it’s a great read for adults too. The book centers around 16-year-old Starr Carter who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer. It’s a story that is sadly reminiscent of today’s headlines, and the book explores so many of the themes that are at the forefront of today’s social unrest. Next up for me is watching the movie.