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Black Authors

Description: To diversify our reading and support Black Lives Matter, please share your fiction and nonfiction books by Black authors.

1 2 3 4

Rank Title Author Added

1

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

20,291 members

339 reviews

4.1

12 Members: Quaisior, jain, krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, perennialreader, elkiedee, gypsysmom, ahef1963, mommajoi, ManWithAnAgenda, DreamEaterLibrary, steller0707

2

Parable of the Sower

by Octavia E. Butler

8,527 members

242 reviews

4.1

11 Members: Quaisior, anglemark, jain, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, elkiedee, Dilara86, gypsysmom, chwiggy, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

3

by Octavia E. Butler

8,757 members

358 reviews

4.2

12 Members: Quaisior, hipdeep, dara85, jain, krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, elkiedee, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

4

The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead

9,378 members

456 reviews

4

9 Members: anglemark, krazy4katz, sturlington, elkiedee, Dilara86, gypsysmom, ahef1963, chwiggy, steller0707

5

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

15,191 members

224 reviews

4

8 Members: Quaisior, dara85, krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, perennialreader, elkiedee, gypsysmom, steller0707

6

by Toni Morrison

23,458 members

408 reviews

3.9

9 Members: jain, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, Dilara86, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, Pina87

7

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

21,189 members

435 reviews

3.8

9 Members: jain, krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, Dilara86, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

8

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston

19,653 members

349 reviews

4

7 Members: hipdeep, jain, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, Dilara86, ahef1963, steller0707

9

Purple Hibiscus

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4,644 members

184 reviews

4

7 Members: jain, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, elkiedee, Dilara86, ahef1963, steller0707

10

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

7,057 members

298 reviews

4.2

7 Members: krazy4katz, sturlington, elkiedee, Dilara86, gypsysmom, ahef1963, steller0707

11

Parable of the Talents

by Octavia E. Butler

3,756 members

97 reviews

4.1

7 Members: Quaisior, anglemark, jain, sturlington, Dilara86, gypsysmom, ManWithAnAgenda

12

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

6,493 members

368 reviews

½ 4.4

6 Members: krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, elkiedee, ahef1963, chwiggy

13

An American Marriage

by Tayari Jones

4,129 members

258 reviews

3.9

6 Members: Bookmarque, krazy4katz, sturlington, gypsysmom, ahef1963, steller0707

14

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

8,056 members

299 reviews

4.2

6 Members: krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, elkiedee, Dilara86, steller0707

15

The Fifth Season

by N. K. Jemisin

8,549 members

372 reviews

4.2

7 Members: Quaisior, jain, sturlington, gypsysmom, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

16

5,868 members

282 reviews

½ 4.3

6 Members: PaperbackPirate, sturlington, gypsysmom, ahef1963, chwiggy, steller0707

17

by Toni Morrison

13,911 members

242 reviews

3.9

6 Members: jain, sturlington, perennialreader, Dilara86, gypsysmom, steller0707

18

The Obelisk Gate

by N. K. Jemisin

4,494 members

194 reviews

4.2

6 Members: Quaisior, jain, sturlington, gypsysmom, ahef1963, steller0707

19

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

26,389 members

433 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: anglemark, krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, Dilara86, gypsysmom

20

by Michelle Obama

8,964 members

349 reviews

½ 4.4

5 Members: Quaisior, PaperbackPirate, gypsysmom, ahef1963, steller0707

21

Breath, Eyes, Memory

by Edwidge Danticat

2,971 members

69 reviews

3.8

5 Members: dara85, Dilara86, gypsysmom, ahef1963, steller0707

22

by Samuel R. Delany

3,814 members

75 reviews

3.8

3 Members: anglemark, gypsysmom, aspirit

23

A Raisin in the Sun

by Lorraine Hansberry

5,696 members

78 reviews

3.8

4 Members: hipdeep, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

24

by N. K. Jemisin

3,976 members

168 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: Quaisior, jain, gypsysmom, ahef1963, steller0707

25

by Ralph Ellison

16,587 members

212 reviews

4

4 Members: krazy4katz, perennialreader, elkiedee, aspirit

26

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand

by Samuel R. Delany

1,409 members

22 reviews

3.9

4 Members: jain, Dilara86, aspirit, ManWithAnAgenda

27

We Should All Be Feminists

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4,152 members

173 reviews

4.2

4 Members: jain, PaperbackPirate, sturlington, steller0707

28

13,881 members

248 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: PaperbackPirate, Dilara86, gypsysmom, steller0707

29

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

by Barack Obama

9,702 members

214 reviews

3.9

4 Members: Quaisior, krazy4katz, gypsysmom, steller0707

30

Nervous Conditions

by Tsitsi Dangarembga

2,097 members

46 reviews

4

4 Members: jain, elkiedee, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

31

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

by James McBride

6,271 members

116 reviews

4

3 Members: krazy4katz, perennialreader, ManWithAnAgenda

32

My Sister, the Serial Killer

by Oyinkan Braithwaite

3,592 members

248 reviews

3.8

4 Members: PaperbackPirate, sturlington, ahef1963, steller0707

33

by Nnedi Okorafor

2,996 members

252 reviews

3.9

4 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

34

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

by Margot Lee Shetterly

4,868 members

197 reviews

3.9

4 Members: krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, gypsysmom, steller0707

35

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

8,134 members

373 reviews

½ 4.4

4 Members: sturlington, Dilara86, gypsysmom, steller0707

36

So Long a Letter

1,347 members

44 reviews

3.8

3 Members: jain, Dilara86, ahef1963

37

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom

1,619 members

16 reviews

4.2

3 Members: Quaisior, hipdeep, chwiggy

38

The Vanishing Half

by Brit Bennett

6,053 members

243 reviews

4.1

4 Members: sturlington, elkiedee, gypsysmom, ahef1963

39

Bloodchild and Other Stories

by Octavia E. Butler

524 members

16 reviews

4.1

3 Members: Quaisior, jain, sturlington

40

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

10,010 members

124 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: hipdeep, krazy4katz, ahef1963

41

Giovanni's Room

by James Baldwin

5,835 members

127 reviews

4.2

3 Members: jain, krazy4katz, gypsysmom

42

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

12,238 members

384 reviews

4

4 Members: PaperbackPirate, elkiedee, gypsysmom, steller0707

43

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

by Bryan Stevenson

4,949 members

242 reviews

½ 4.6

4 Members: hipdeep, PaperbackPirate, gypsysmom, steller0707

44

by Samuel R. Delany

2,267 members

43 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: anglemark, jain

45

by Candice Carty-Williams

1,644 members

61 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

46

3,423 members

173 reviews

3.8

4 Members: PaperbackPirate, sturlington, gypsysmom, ahef1963

47

The Memory of Love

by Aminatta Forna

719 members

46 reviews

4

3 Members: krazy4katz, elkiedee, steller0707

48

Black Water Rising

by Attica Locke

873 members

52 reviews

½ 3.5

3 Members: Bookmarque, elkiedee, steller0707

49

by Thomas Mofolo

228 members

6 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: thorold, Dilara86

50

Redemption in Indigo

659 members

46 reviews

3.9

3 Members: Quaisior, anglemark, sturlington

51

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

2,332 members

120 reviews

4.2

3 Members: Quaisior, sturlington, steller0707

52

The Known World

by Edward P. Jones

7,004 members

166 reviews

3.8

2 Members: Crypto-Willobie, gypsysmom

53

The City We Became

by N. K. Jemisin

3,406 members

108 reviews

3.9

3 Members: gypsysmom, aspirit, ManWithAnAgenda

54

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

by Nelson Mandela

4,996 members

63 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: krazy4katz, PaperbackPirate, ahef1963

55

Narrative of Sojourner Truth

by Sojourner Truth

1,272 members

14 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: Quaisior, krazy4katz, ManWithAnAgenda

56

Who Fears Death

by Nnedi Okorafor

2,269 members

110 reviews

3.8

3 Members: Quaisior, sturlington, ManWithAnAgenda

57

by Bryan Washington

460 members

15 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: gypsysmom, ManWithAnAgenda

58

by Percival Everett

1,078 members

42 reviews

4.1

2 Members: Bookmarque, steller0707

59

Boy, Snow, Bird

by Helen Oyeyemi

1,849 members

109 reviews

½ 3.5

3 Members: elkiedee, Dilara86, gypsysmom

60

A Gathering of Old Men

by Ernest J. Gaines

1,080 members

26 reviews

4

3 Members: hipdeep, gypsysmom, steller0707

61

Go Tell It on the Mountain

by James Baldwin

5,959 members

112 reviews

3.9

3 Members: Dilara86, ahef1963, steller0707

62

The Haunting of Tram Car 015

by P. Djèlí Clark

875 members

68 reviews

4

2 Members: jain, sturlington

63

The Thing Around Your Neck

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

1,925 members

76 reviews

4.1

2 Members: jain, steller0707

64

The Water Dancer

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

2,914 members

112 reviews

4.1

3 Members: sturlington, gypsysmom, steller0707

65

River, Cross My Heart

by Breena Clarke

1,279 members

15 reviews

½ 3.3

2 Members: dara85, PaperbackPirate

66

Amari and the Night Brothers

by B. B. Alston

1,083 members

34 reviews

4.1

2 Members: aspirit, ManWithAnAgenda

67

by Percival Everett

181 members

20 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: Bookmarque, sturlington

68

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country

by Amanda Gorman

1,245 members

28 reviews

½ 4.5

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, ManWithAnAgenda

69

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands

by Mary Seacole

327 members

3 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: Dilara86, ManWithAnAgenda

70

A Brief History of Seven Killings

by Marlon James

2,991 members

110 reviews

3.8

2 Members: anglemark, gypsysmom

71

Another Country

by James Baldwin

3,037 members

41 reviews

4.1

2 Members: elkiedee, ManWithAnAgenda

72

3,725 members

161 reviews

3.8

2 Members: dara85, ahef1963

73

No Future Without Forgiveness

by Desmond Tutu

767 members

5 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: krazy4katz, ahef1963

74

6,904 members

90 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: perennialreader, gypsysmom

75

by Akwaeke Emezi

1,152 members

43 reviews

4.1

2 Members: aspirit, ManWithAnAgenda

76

Babel-17 / Empire Star

by Samuel R. Delany

679 members

15 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: jain, ManWithAnAgenda

77

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

by Harriet A. Jacobs

4,460 members

80 reviews

4

2 Members: hipdeep, ManWithAnAgenda

78

Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas

by Maya Angelou

1,152 members

6 reviews

3.8

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, steller0707

79

Waiting to Exhale

by Terry McMillan

1,720 members

21 reviews

½ 3.5

2 Members: Bookmarque, gypsysmom

80

The Wedding Date

by Jasmine Guillory

1,685 members

97 reviews

½ 3.5

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, ahef1963

81

by John Howard Griffin

4,375 members

79 reviews

4

2 Members: krazy4katz, ahef1963

82

This Mournable Body

by Tsitsi Dangarembga

378 members

13 reviews

3.2

2 Members: thorold, gypsysmom

83

March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine

by Melba Pattillo Beals

131 members

4 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: dara85, sturlington

84

The Ballad of Black Tom

by Victor LaValle

1,630 members

87 reviews

3.9

2 Members: jain, sturlington

85

Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy

by Stephen L. Carter

265 members

3 reviews

4.1

Member: cpg

86

Population Zero

by Wrath James White

58 members

1 review

½ 3.4

Member: yoyogod

87

Back Down Memory Lane

by Lamartz Brown

2 members

5

Member: LamartzB

88

Citizen: An American Lyric

by Claudia Rankine

2,128 members

69 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: hipdeep, steller0707

89

The Hate U Give

by Angie Thomas

9,812 members

473 reviews

½ 4.5

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, ahef1963

90

Gather Together in My Name

by Maya Angelou

1,537 members

18 reviews

3.9

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, steller0707

91

686 members

29 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: anglemark, sturlington

92

9,512 members

225 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: Dilara86, steller0707

93

The Nickel Boys

by Colson Whitehead

4,309 members

217 reviews

4.2

2 Members: sturlington, elkiedee

94

4,036 members

142 reviews

3.9

2 Members: elkiedee, ahef1963

95

The Killing Moon

by N. K. Jemisin

1,823 members

98 reviews

3.9

2 Members: jain, sturlington

96

No Longer at Ease

by Chinua Achebe

1,548 members

26 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: jain, Dilara86

97

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

by Terry McMillan

1,394 members

14 reviews

½ 3.3

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, gypsysmom

98

Devil in a Blue Dress

by Walter Mosley

2,650 members

99 reviews

3.8

2 Members: sturlington, gypsysmom

99

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

by Isabel Wilkerson

5,514 members

190 reviews

½ 4.5

2 Members: PaperbackPirate, ahef1963

100

The Book of Negroes

by Lawrence Hill

3,746 members

178 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: gypsysmom, ahef1963

1 2 3 4

About This List

Started: PaperbackPirate
July 2020
Type: Numbered and unnumbered

Related Lists

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Best African American Literature

Racism and Race Relations in Literature

Recommendations

Charleston Syllabus (waitingtoderail)

Current Discussions

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Related Tags

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