#175
hello have some coloured woofwoofs
Undertaker + professional cat holder
im not ok. this ship and this au got me in a headlock
In honor of BHM, we've compiled a list of some of our top favorite reads (thus far) that are either by Black diaspora authors and/or the main character is Black. Feel free to add your own to this list!
---
For my recommendations, I've focused on escapism and/or black woman romances only, because we all can use a bit of joy. These are adult reads by Black authors.
The King’s Seer (series) by L.S. Bethel | Genre: Feudal, Fantasy, Romance, Alt World, BWAM (Hero is Korean-Coded) | Link (My new favorite series)
Voices and Visions by Lashell Collins (Touched Series) | Genre: Mystery, Psychic Detective, Romance, BWWM | TW: Escape from off-screen domestic violence, murder | Link (Love this series so far!)
Taken to Voraxia (Xiveri Mates Series) by Elizabeth Stephens | Genre: Sci-Fi Romance, Fantasy (BWAlien &Alien) Coded race | TW: Kidnapped bride | Link
Taken to Nobu (Xiveri Mates Series) by Elizabeth Stephens | Genre: Sci-Fi Romance, Fantasy (BW&Alien) | TW: Kidnapped bride | Link
Unfrozen by Regine Abel | Genre: Paranormal Romance, Sci-Fi BW&Alien/Monster | TW: Torture, experiments (briefly at beginning) Link
I Married a Naga (Prime Mating Agency, #2) by Regine Abel | Genre: Sci-Fi Romance, Marriage of Convenience BW&Alien/Monster | Link
Rescued by Her Relic by Paulina Woods | Genre: Sci-Fi Romance, BW&Alien/Cyborg, Apocalypse | Link
The Alpha Promise by Hayat Ali | Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires, BWAM | Link
Deena's Deception by G.S. Carr | Genre: Western, Historical Romance, Mail-order Bride, BWWM | Link
Chosen by Tiffany Patterson | Genre: Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, BWIM (Indigenous hero) | Link
Honorable mentions at the top of my to-read list
Death at a Seance by Carolyn Marie Wilkins | Link
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora | Link
The Gatekeeper by K. Alex Walker | Link
A mix of fictional narratives, memoir, and politics/culture. All adult reads.
The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa | Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance | Link
*Kindred by Octavia Butler | Genre: Sci Fi | Link (*Triple recommended by multiple mods!)
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby | Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense | Link
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely | Genre: Mystery | Link
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor | Genre: Mixed/Meta | Link
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates | Genre: Bio & Memoir | Link
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon | Genre: Memoir | Link
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall | Genre: Politics, Society & Current Affairs | Link
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander | Genre: Politics, Society & Current Affairs | Link
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin | Genre: Fantasy, Romance | Link
They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib | Genre: Nonfiction, Essay Collection | Link
Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaoabi Tricia Nwaubani | Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction | CW: violence and sexual assault | Link
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo | Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction | Link
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper | Young Adult Historical Fiction | CW sexual assault and slavery| Link
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson | Young Adult Realistic Fiction | book deals with racism, incarceration, and the foster system | Link
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste | Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult (violence against activists) | Link
Each of Us A Desert by Mark Oshiro| Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy | Link
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas| Genre: Young Adult, Realistic (racial profiling, Black Lives Matter) | Link
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas| Genre: Fantasy | Link
Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat| Genre: Short Stories (violence in Haiti) | Link
Monster by Walter Dean Myers | Genre: Young Adult (racial profiling) | Link
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler | Genre: Sci Fi (tw for apocalyptic climate conditions)| Link
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler | Genre: Sci Fi (tw for apocalyptic climate conditions)| Link
This is a two-part series taking place in a sometimes uncomfortably realistic near-future climate apocalypse. Lauren Olamina is a young woman with a hyperempathy disorder who is determined not only to survive, but to make sure her loved ones, her greater community, and humanity as a whole survive as well. To do this, she will have to found a settlement and a religion.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin | Genre: Fantasy | Link
I’m still in the middle of reading this one, but it’s already a compelling and suspenseful story of dynastic succession and powerful but unpredictable magical beings. Don’t spoil it for me!
Raybearer duology by Jordan Ifueko | Genre: Fantasy, YA | Link
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson | Genre: Gothic/Horror, Fantasy | Link
James by Percival Everett | Genre: Historical, Literary | Link
Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope | Genre: Fantasy, YA | Link
The Kingston Cycle by C.L. Polk | Genre: Historical, Fantasy | Link
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk | Genre: Historical, Fantasy | Link
We recommend buying your books at your local bookshop (esp. BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ friendly spots) when you can, smaller online bookstores or checking them out at your local library (the Libby app is great for ebooks and audiobooks) or of course at the author's first preference. Also: if a store doesn't have a book, sometimes they can order it for you.
As for online book trackers, The StoryGraph is Black-woman founded!
Happy reading!
~WWC
i get annoyed when white people on this site act like tumblr is completely fine if you just 'avoid discourse', when discourse can literally mean calling out all the casual racism around you like its never 'peaceful' here for people of colour. Acting like tumblr is some special site where you can just get away from all the drama of other social media sites sure is a privilege i would like to have.
'Just curate your content!' doesnt work when its basically all the content thats the problem.
Angsfest Shippuden era is top notch ❤
I just want to sketch them kiss but somehow my hand slipped. Sorry not sorry 😎
--
DO NOT REUPLOAD.
Thank you.
Possibly the greatest struggle in fandom is trying to talk about racism in either canon or as a general fandom trend and then immediately having your inbox filled with denial that exists in any form anywhere and also getting repeated personal attacks against you for daring to so much as mention that racism is still happening. It’s all good and well until you mention racism is an issue, and then it’s like the entirety of Tumblr turns into Fox News.
mideum. an archive for my meta posts and critiques. formerly/notoriously known as alphaunni lmao
237 posts