Opinions of a Wolf

I have always been committed to reading from diverse authors. I think it’s important for reading to not only be fun but also to broaden my worldview. Additionally, I like to vote with my dollars (or my advanced copy request at NetGalley or my hold request at the library) to help make it clear that diversity matters.

I have made it clear on Instagram that I support Black Lives Matter, but for those who don’t follow me there, I wanted to also make it clear here. I thought what better way than to provide you with a list of books I’ve previously read and reviewed on this book blog by Black authors to help you support the Blackout Bestseller List movement started by Amistad Books. “Saturday June 13 – Saturday June 20, we encourage you to purchase any two books by Black writers.” (source)

The list will be title, author, genre, who I recommend it to, and buy it link. The title will link to my review. If I’ve only reviewed it in short form on GoodReads, it will link there.

List is presented alphabetically by author last name.

• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, contemporary YA, for those who love cooking shows and Latinx culture, buy it
• Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, contemporary (trigger warning for abuse), for those who love a highly literary story, buy it
• Brothers (and Me): A Memoir of Loving and Giving by Donna Britta, memoir, for women with siblings who are men or who are raising sons, buy it
• The Xenogenesis trilogy by Octavia Butler (link goes to first book in trilogy), scifi, for those who want a twist on an alien invasion, buy it
• The Earthseed trilogy by Octavia Butler (link goes to first book in trilogy), scifi, for those who want a twist on dystopia, buy it
• Kindred by Octavia Butler, fantasy, for those who want a real and raw time travel story, buy it
• Like One of the Family by Alice Childress, short story collection, for those who want the maid’s perspective on being “like one of the family,” buy it
• Living in, Living Out: African American Domestics in Washington, D.C., 1910-1940 by Elizabeth Clark-Lewis, nonfiction history, for those who want an oral history of the great migration, buy it
• Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert, contemporary LGBTQIA YA, for those wanting representation of a blended family facing mental illness, buy it
• Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks, nonfiction educational literature, for those interested in transformative pedagogy, buy it
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, historic fiction, for everyone (this is one of my favorite books) ok a more specific recommendation…..for those looking for a truly tear-jerking story set in Florida, buy it
• The Book of Night Women by Marlon James, historic fiction, for those looking for a heartbreaking historic read set in Jamaica, buy it
• The Untelling by Tayari Jones, contemporary fiction, for those wanting to see what impact a maybe pregnancy has on a relationship, buy it
• Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones, historic fiction, for those looking for a multiple perspective historic fiction set in the mid 20th century centering around kidnappings, buy it
• Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Lamon, memoir (trigger warning for abuse), for those looking to address their weight bias or see a Black perspective on weight bias, buy it
• Coming of Age in Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of a Young Black Girl in the Rural South by Anne Moody, memoir, for those looking for an in-the-moment depiction (this was published in 1968) of Jim Crow from a Black perspective, buy it
• Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely, mystery, for those who love a cozy mystery, buy it
• Tail of the Blue Bird by Nii Ayikwei Parkes, mystery combined with magical realism, for those who love a detective story and don’t mind some magic tossed in, buy it
• The Street by Ann Petry, historic fiction, for those who want a family drama or who enjoy settings in the 1940s or Harlem, buy it
• Everlasting: Da Eb’Bulastin by Rasheedah Prioleau, fantasy horror, for those who want to see what might happen with a curse on an island that’s half Gullah and half Indigenous, buy it
• Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown, nonfiction, for those who want to lead and facilitate change, buy it
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker, historic fiction LGBTQIA, for those looking for a moving female/female romance set in the early 20th century in the American South, buy it
• Meridian by Alice Walker, historic fiction, for those who want a story set during the Civil Rights era, buy it
• Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright, urban fantasy, for urban fantasy lovers looking for some fun twists like the addition of Santeria, buy it