10 of My Favorite Books by BIPOC Women
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the feeling of getting lost in a story. Reading was one of my favorite hobbies as a child. This hobby was essentially replaced by my smartphone when I was about 13. I still did, of course, read a few books on my own throughout my teenage years. But I didn’t actually reunite with my old love of reading for fun until the past year. At the beginning of 2020, I made one of my resolutions to read 12 books that year. I read 9. And while I didn’t reach my goal, by the end of the year I was back to reading regularly again. It took me a minute to get back into the groove of it, but I’ve got my TBR loaded up and I’ve been flying through books lately.
As a result, I’ve put together a solid list of favorites over the past couple of years. Some of my favorite reads have been by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), women-identifying authors. This isn’t surprising. These stories feel personal to me and are a testimony to the shared experiences that BIPOC women have, whether they be positive or negative. Reading stories that speak to my own thoughts, emotions, and life experience are more meaningful than I can really put into words. Growing up, I felt deprived of this feeling as BIPOC women were largely underrepresented in media and entertainment. Reading so many books brought to life by women like me has been a breath of fresh air. I realize now that I’m especially drawn to books written by BIPOC women for this reason.
Even though the reason that I personally love reading books by BIPOC women is because of our many shared experiences, there is an enormous amount of value for people who identify outside of this group to read these stories, as well. As I said before, stories of BIPOC women have been traditionally grossly underrepresented in entertainment and media. While representation has for sure improved over the past couple of decades, we still have a very long way to go. Reading the stories and listening to the voices of those who have typically not held the microphone will broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding of those who have lived different experiences than you have.
BIPOC women have stories to tell that deserve to be heard. Below, I’ve listed ten of my favorites from the past couple of years, in no particular order. I hope that you add a few, or maybe even all of them, to your bookshelf to be read in 2021.
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
I read this book a few months ago, while in the middle of a massive life transition very similar to the main character Queenie’s. I instantly fell in love with Queenie and the honesty of her story. After a really tough breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Queenie tries to pick up the pieces left behind while also simultaneously watching as her life seemingly falls apart all around her. Throughout all of this, Queenie’s mental health declines rapidly, and her self-confidence along with it. Following her journey of understanding her mental health and taking back her life will leave you emotionally wrecked but also invested in her story.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
I read this book in a couple weeks, even though it was on the lengthier side (400+ pages of historical analysis). Isabel Wilkerson dives into a detailed historical analysis of the caste systems of Nazi Germany, the United States of America, and India. Wilkerson is painfully honest in her analyses, and does not hold back in depicting the horrors and atrocities that came as a result of these caste systems. This is a long, detailed, and heavy read, but it is necessary. If you’re looking to make up for the lack of historically accurate information we got in school growing up, then this book is for you.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Like many others, I was first exposed to this story through Hulu’s adaption of it through a killer limited series starring Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. I watched the entire show in a couple days and knew I had to pick up the book that it was based on. Ng tells the story of an eclectic traveling photographer and her 15-year old daughter as they move into Shaker Heights, a cushy suburb outside of Cleveland, and encounter the seemingly perfect family that rocks both of their worlds.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
It’s been a couple of years since I read this one, but it’s definitely on my list to reread in 2021. Another story with a beautiful on-screen adaptation, this is a must-read. Having grown up watching Black boys gunned down by police officers and turned into hashtags, Starr’s story was painfully familiar. After Starr watches her childhood crush and best friend get shot and killed by a police officer right in front of her, she is thrown into the position of advocate and social justice leader almost instantly. This story is gut-wrenching, redemptive, and heart-breaking all in one.
More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
My first read of 2021, and my new favorite of all time, I can’t even describe what Elaine’s memoir meant to me. It felt like I was reading a letter from my future self. Honestly though, it was a little freaky how similar Elaine and I are. But, it was also the most soul-filling, joy-inducing feeling that I have felt in a long, long time reading Elaine’s wisdom filled words. Reading her personal and professional story gave me a sense of hope and assurance that I have been lacking in formulating my own.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
I read this as I was recently learning more about the affects of colorism within the Black community. Not only did this book impress me, but the rest of the world as well - considering it won Book of the Month’s “Book of the Year” and was a finalist for other BOTY awards as well. Told over the course of two twin sister’s lives, this story will make you reexamine the way race inserts itself into not only society as a whole, but into our homes, our neighborhoods, and our towns.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
I read this for my senior year AP Literature class in high school. I remember being shocked at how good it was just a few pages in. I finished it quickly, which was its own feat in and of itself at the time. Another one I’d like to pick up again this year, this story has stuck with me over the years. Shamsie tells the story of love and loyalty between two families while reimagining Sophocles's play Antigone unfolding among British Muslims. This book provides a lens of perspective that will come from a place of empathy.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
A year into college, I read America’s Favorite First Lady’s memoir at a moment when I was still searching for who I was supposed to be. Michelle’s memoir starts all the way back in her days as a little girl trying to find her way on the South Side of Chicago, to her days at Princeton, to her corporate lawyer stunt, all the way to her legendary eight years in the White House. She’s one of America’s most liked people for a reason, and it shines through in her writing.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Admittedly, I have not finished this one yet. However, after only a few pages in, I have felt solidarity with Chanel Miller, being a survivor myself. In her memoir, Chanel Miller takes ahold of the microphone and tells her own story of her sexual assault which made national news because of her attacker’s punishment - or lack thereof- of only 3 months in prison. While she at first was known as Jane Doe, she is now powerfully telling her own story, under her real name, as all survivors should have the ability to do.
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
My first read of 2020, I was reminded of what it’s like to become invested in the outcome of a character’s journey while reading it. Adonai is a young Nigerian girl who wants nothing more than to be educated. Her father and her village, however, have different plans for her - ones that include marriage, and now. Adonai has a long, tumultuous journey to becoming who she wants to be and where she wants to be, but it’s one that ends up being pretty powerful in the end. Not only for her, but for the lives that she touches along the way, as well.