Kanarthi shows up late to read authors of color

Hey, so I'm jumping in almost halfway through the year. Now that summer has hit, I want to finally get serious about my TBR pile. To narrow things down, I'm going to document here only those books I read which are written by authors of color. Let's see if I can get to fifty!

So far this year:
1. Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas
2. Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard
3. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

...Well that's not very many. The following are already on my TBR list (meaning I already have a copy or they are on hold at my library):

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
Mirage by Somaiya Daud
Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
The Iron King, etc. by Julie Kagawa
How to Sit by Tyrese Colman
Trail of Lightning by Rebeca Roanhorse
How Forests Think by Eduardo Kohn
Chasing Utopia by Niki Giovanni
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Reluctant Royals Series by Alyssa Cole
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

If anyone has any suggestions for fantasy, nonfiction, or romance authors, I'm all ears. (One obvious omission is N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy -- but I read that last year!)

Edited to add year to date (without touchstones):
Summary of the year (without touchstones)
1. Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas
2. Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard
3. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
5. Mirage by Somaiya Daud
6. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
7. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling
8. Chasing Utopia by Nikki Giovanni
9. Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
10. Why not me? by Mindy Kaling
11. A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole
12. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
13. How to Sit: A Memoir in Stories and Essays by Tyrese Coleman
14. Fledgling by Octavia Butler
15. Go with the clouds, north-by-northwest vol. 1
16. Go with the clouds, north-by-northwest vol. 2 by Aki Irie.

Oh, and mini-reviews of the three I've read to date: They were all pretty decent 3.5-4/5 reads, although I think Winners Take All could be supplanted by its final chapter and the other two were good but not good enough to make me go run out and read their sequels. But if you're into noir-ish fantasy in immersive historical settings or contemporary romance, check them out.

Looking forward to your reviews!

I'll be following, too.

Oh, and as to suggestions, here's a couple for non-fiction. I have Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist's Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America on my short-list TBR. It came out just last year. It's a memoir written by Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first black woman reporter at the Washington Post.

Also, I read and enjoyed The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama by Gwen Ifill a few years back. It may seem a bit outdated at this point, as events have moved in very unexpected ways since this history was published, but it's still very readable and instructive, I would think.

Thanks for giving me accountability and recommendations! I'll check them out, although I tend to like my nonfiction a little more removed for current events. That memoir does sound interesting, so I requested that my library purchase it. We'll see!

Last year, among others, I read The Lies that Bind, by Kwame Anthony Appiah, and that's the sort of nonfiction I tend to gravitate towards more. It's about identities, which are certainly relevant to understanding current events and politics, but it takes a more philosophical, historical, "zoomed out" perspective. Definitely check that out, if you're interested in analyzing identities from a more abstract perspective. (I'm dying to find more people to talk about that book with.)

> The Lies that Bind sound interesting. I will keep an eye out for it.

4. A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Decent romance read. I really enjoyed the main character, Naledi. She's an epidemiology grad student, and that meant that there were a LOT of references to science, which I thought actually worked very well. For example, she talks about how she doesn't want to get too close to people, which she describes as having a "social phospholipid bilayer". She had realistic grad school struggles and I liked her voice a lot. The love interest Thabiso was much more boring in comparison. Supposedly his main flaw to get over is that he's arrogant and entitled, since he was raised as a prince and sole heir ... but it seemed shallow because he'd get over his character flaws in zero time during any interaction between them and spent the second half of the book simply being lovesick, which is a lot more boring. By the end, you get the sense that he hasn't really changed that much, he's just learned enough to appreciate how great Ledi is. Which ... fair? But short of what it could be, especially compared to Ledi's multiple storylines about her career aspirations, her lost family, her concerns about her friends, etc. Their relationship was supportive and sweet, though, even with the annoying romance trope of "I can't tell you who I really am yet because the book needs a fight in the middle". The author definitely has a good sense of humor, too, and her dialogue between the couple, while Thabiso is undercover as the not-prince Jamal, highlighted culture clash in a realistic and funny way.

I really enjoyed the first 80% of the book, but towards the end it seemed really rushed, and the ending was a little too contrived. Romance novels are great when they embrace the complexity of life, and the rush to wrap everything up neatly undermines what had been a really strong beginning. I would still recommend it for people who like contemporary romance, especially for people who want a main character interested in STEM. I really haven't seen that aspect done better in romance. Also, a shoutout to the cover, which actually seems to match the character descriptions really well. I will be picking up the other books in the series, as the author did a decent job of making the side characters intriguing enough that I want to know their stories ... and having romance books be so quick to read, which helps me fill out this list faster, is a nice plus!

Am I the only LT member who doesn't enter romance books into the site to avoid the deluge of recommendations that would surely follow? Almost certainly not.

5. Mirage by Somaiya Daud

This is a YA fantasy story with a SF sheen. Yes, it's set on colonized planets, but the story draws so directly on idea from folklore and fate that I can only think of it as fantasy. I believe it's the author's first work, and unfortunately I wasn't a big fan. It has a Moroccan/Spanish vibe, which I did think was really interesting. I've been inspired to seek out some food and poetry. However the actual plot was weak and the main romance was utterly cloying. It was also written in a very YA style, where after each plot development, the main character reacts for two paragraphs. Perhaps worthwhile steering a younger relative towards, but unfortunately I think this is one of those YA books which should never be read by adults.

I'm in the middle of reading more serious fare than the last two entries, but those are a bit slower to get towards. Nikki Giovanni is a treasure whom I'm enjoying a lot.

6. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

This is a dystopian fantasy set in an alternate near future with strong influences from Navajo mythology and culture. The plot is episodic in nature, as Maggie and Kai roam around killing monsters and navigating different factions in Dinétah, protected from a natural disaster which wiped out much of the US by Diné (Navajo) magic. This episodic structure made it a quick and addictive read and made the setting feel very fleshed-out and realistic. The use of myth was brilliant. There are multiple characters who are gods. They are depicted as quarrelsome, imperfect beings ... AND as possessing levels of power, savvy, and immortal perspective that are way beyond the human characters.

I read some people classify this as YA, and I really disagree. The themes and character concerns peg this as adult for me. In particular, the main character Maggie is digesting the fallout from an abusive relationship with her former mentor and is processing it in a way that definitely screams 20's, not teens. However, the writing is in first person present, which might be why some people peg it as YA.

The biggest flaw in the book for me stems from this first person writing. Maggie is so caught up in her own damage and misconceptions that writing from her perspective makes it challenging to accurately depict the weight of how she is feeling and to simultaneously depict the fantastic setting in a way that the reader can absorb information and foreshadowing. I think that this balance was uneven, and it made some of the final climax unexciting, because Maggie is taken aback and wounded by a realization that the reader has long ago become very comfortable with. I would contrast it with Midnight Robber, which I'm currently working through, which balances this challenge of writing from an oblivious and wounded character's perspective much better. On the other hand, this failure of realism means that Trail of Lightning is much lighter and easier to read, almost more like watching a TV series.

Highly recommend for anyone interested in dystopian spec fic or mythologically inspired fantasy.

7. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Rushed through this after watching her most recent movie. It was a funny, quick read. She has a particular knack for portraying personality flaws honestly but lovingly. Less concerned with structural concerns than I expected, but I will read more by her.

8. Chasing Utopia by Nikki Giovanni

This collection is a mixture of short personal essays and poetry. They focus on food, family, and social compassion. She has an engaging personal voice which comes through in both essays and poetry. I was more partial to the essays than the poetry. The poems had important themes, but I found her use of line breaks abrupt and friction-inducing. Her essays were fantastic: short, focused, carefully composed. I might not love her poetry, but her essays could only have been written by a poet. She can conjure up emotions and sensations in half a sentence.

At the end of the book, two poems from another volume of hers are included. Interestingly, they are in a very different style. More associative and less narrative.

9. Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse

The sequel to Trail of Lightning, mentioned above. It kept the road-trip style format. The setting was just as good, but the characters on the roadtrip were less interesting, and the mythological elements were handled less deftly. I'll still read the third book when it comes out because I'm a sucker for this genre, but it didn't have the same appeal as its predecessor.

In other news, I finally joined the local library instead of only getting ebooks from the library in my old state. This means that new books are available... Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist's Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America among others! So I'm looking forward to taking you up on your recommendation, >5 rocketjk:.

10. Why not me? by Mindy Kaling

This more recent memoir is exactly what I wished from her first book. Hilarious, touching, but also moving beyond the personal to broader social forces. Highly recommended.

11. A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

Cole continues to paint interesting characters with problems that are realistic. However, the commitment to shoehorning nobility (or royalty) into the plot is beginning to wear thin. I really enjoyed the first third of the book but spent the entire second half shaking my head at the contortions necessary to make the book fit the series theme.

Hmm. It has been a while.

12. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

This slim book actually took longer than expected to read, because the descriptions of life in a war-torn city were evocative and thus upsetting. Hamid's depiction of complicated interpersonal relationships and how being a refugee shifts your notion of identity was quite interesting. However, the last third of the book, I found the focus on the (disintegrating) relationship between the two main characters stifling and less interesting.

13. How to Sit: A Memoir in Stories and Essays by Tyrese Coleman

I really enjoyed this book of partly-autobiographical essays. Personal favorites include Sacrifice and V-Day. Topics include sexuality, growing up, motherhood, and identity. Coleman writes with humor, insight, and deft turns of phrase. This one will stay with me for a while.

14. Fledgling by Octavia Butler
This was my first Butler. First of many! It was smaller-scale than I had expected but very well written. She's very efficient in what she describes, and she draws nuanced and complex relationships between the characters. (As one would expect, when talking about polyamorous vampires grappling with bigotry!)

XX Exit West by Moshin Hamid already listed
I finished this over a month ago but ... in fact did remember to add it here! This book was a little-over written, with many scenes describing one-off characters. The parts of the book that shine are those which focus on the main couple, on their experiences in a war-torn city and as refugees, and on the different forces and yearnings that draw them together and push them apart.

EDITED to correct the count after already listing this book

15. Go with the clouds, north-by-northwest vol. 1 and 16. Go with the clouds, north-by-northwest vol. 2 by Aki Irie. These manga volumes are set in Iceland and tell a slow-paced magical realism story of a half-Japanese teenager and his family and friends. The artwork is gorgeous, especially the landscapes and the interiors. The second volume taught me a lot about Iceland and its unique geothermal features! The story switches deftly from humor, to wonder, to dread, to contemplation.

EDITED to correct the count.