Mia Powell

I can only hope that by the time I publish this, the video has lost traction. Either way: if you’re on BookTok (a community on TikTok dedicated to books and reading), you’ve seen a several-minutes-long rant by a woman who is angered by the general suggestion and encouragement to read diverse books – nothing was ever aimed at her specifically, but she either took it as such or is just so prejudiced she had to scream at the internet. 

I always strive to read books by and about people from cultures that differ from my own, but I know not everyone thinks about their reading list beyond genre, plot, etc. If you haven’t thought about it before, it’s never too late to start! There are endless reasons to think critically and read actively – that is, think about what you’re reading and who you’re reading about. Here are five simple reasons to take a more active approach to your reading list:

1. Reading Diversely is an Anti-Racist Act

In his book How to Be An Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi defines an antiracist as “one who is expressing the idea that racial groups are equals and none needs developing, and is supporting policy that reduces racial inequity” (2019). Additionally, and this is specific to fiction over nonfiction, reading has been proven to have enormous benefits to the growth of the human brain: empathy, socializing, and picking up social cues. Reading teaches us how to be human – an existence that is true regardless of race. Thus, the empathy built by reading fiction by and about people of other cultures will increase specifically anti-racist empathy – in addition to directly supporting a demographic of authors that are under-published and under-marketed compared to their white counterparts.

Graph Source: WordRates

2. You Can Improve Your Mind as a Global Citizen

Related to the above point, we all have a call to answer as a global citizen – to address the world we live in as our own, not as a world of many but separate communities. A global citizen is a person who engages the world as one community of many identities that are both geographically close and far from the individual’s resident location. The idea of global citizenship promotes worldwide interaction and benefits everyone! We can contribute to it easily just by reading books from around the world; it helps us learn and, again, empathize with communities we have yet to engage with, and will encourage us to accept broader identities into our global community!

3. Learning Doesn’t Stop at School

Most curriculums expose us to different ideas in the classroom, where we can learn and discuss together with our peers. But why stop there? Just because we learned how to add and subtract in math class doesn’t mean we don’t continue that lesson at a cashier’s register. And that continues with English, history, and the social sciences: we are constantly learning about other people, other cultures, other communities just by existing, and we can be purposeful about it (much like in the classroom – but this time we are in charge of our own curriculum and lesson plans!) when we decide which book to pick up next. Do you want to know more about the history of the colonization of the world? There are plenty of nonfiction and fiction books to choose from about the topic, or any other; the world is your oyster, the library is your classroom.

4. Books Can Provide Context to Current (and Past) Events

Okay, so you’ve been watching the news and there’s a lot of talk about when and how the next world war will start, or how presidents of the past have led us to the way we run campaigns now (happy election year!) but what does that mean? One way you can immerse yourself in the answer to that question is by finding a book that speaks to it. You can look to biographies or analysis of historic events or people, watch musicals like Hamilton or Six (this is a totally separate note but visual media is just as valuable and analytical as text sources), or find a fictionalized retelling of the past. I especially love novels written by historians, like Tracy Borman or Alison Weir (note: both Borman and Weir are white British women, and I would adore any recommendations on POC historians who also write novels in their specialized time period), to really get you into the world and feel of a historic moment as it’s happening. 

5. They’re Good Books

Equally as important, good books are not only written by white authors. Some authors of color even come from cultures that emphasize the importance of storytelling, and you can tell that they’ve grown and learned and thrived in a storytelling community. The West African griot, for example, is a centuries-long profession that focuses on keeping up the oral storytelling tradition of the groups’ history and legends. This is where we get excellent stories like The Epic of Sundiata, and they are still prevalent culturally and internationally today.

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If you’re looking to diversify your bookshelves, or you already have but you want more recommendations, I have so many! I narrowed it down to ten of my favorites that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their preferred reading styles or genres – these books are just that good! Below you’ll find the title and author, a brief description, the genre, what communities and cultures are represented, and a few content warnings for each book. I would rate each book at or above PG-13, but put a major 18+ warning on The Only Good Indians for its fear-factor and gory detail.

Happy reading!

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

• A story of sacrifice, love, and shame across four generations of a Korean family: how can one decision impact the lives of so many?
• Historical fiction
• Representation: Korean and Japanese characters and setting
• Content Warnings: xenophobia, war casualties, suicide

Slay by Brittney Morris

• When a teen is murdered over an online game, the anonymous game developer – a teen herself – must defend her creation both within the online community she created and the community she lives in.
• Young adult fiction
• Representation: Black American and African-American culture
• Content Warnings: death and violence

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• Pecola, who desperately wishes she was beautiful in the same way she is shown the beauty of white actresses and blonde and blue-eyed children, faces a world that pushes violence on her with disturbing casualness. 
• Literary fiction
• Representation: Black American characters and narrator
• Content Warnings: childhood sexual abuse, childhood pregnancy, colorism, animal abuse

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

• In the Philippines, an island holds a deep and terrifying secret. When a film crew tries to monetize the mystery, a local teen must convince them to leave the island alone – lest it kill them all.
• Young adult horror
• Representation: Filipino characters and setting, nonbinary/queer narrator
• Content Warnings: xenophobia, body horror

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien

• The first in a series (book #10 expected in 2024), Lana Lee seems to find trouble wherever she goes, but she’ll get to the bottom of it if the police are only going to look at someone she knows is innocent. When a property manager of an Asian market – where Lana’s family noodle shop operates – turns up dead after her coworker delivers his lunch, Lana comes to his defense and vows to find the killer herself.
• Cozy mystery
• Representation: Chinese culture, Chinese-American culture and characters, mixed-race characters
• Content Warnings: murder

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

• High school senior Emoni Santiago’s sole focus is on her toddler daughter, but when she is given the chance to follow her culinary dreams at school, with an apprenticeship in Spain, how can she say no?
• Young adult romance
• Representation: Afro-Latinx narrator, Spanish setting
• Content Warnings: teen pregnancy, death of a parent, racism

The Only Good Indians by Stpehen Graham Jones

• Ten years after the biggest regret of four men’s lives, the promise they didn’t keep haunts them to the end.
• Horror
• Representation: indigenous Blackfeet characters and culture, indigenous Crow character
• Content Warnings: death and violence, animal gore

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

• After witnessing a murder, Daunis Fontaine agrees to involve herself with an FBI undercover operation in her community. But how does she keep the balance between protecting her community and bringing justice to the killer?
• Young adult thriller
• Representation: indigenous Ojibwe characters and culture, mixed-race characters
• Content Warnings: drug use, death and violence

Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez

• In a story not unlike The Great Gatsby, Chino exchanges favors with local drug kingpin Willy Bodega. 
• Literary fiction
• Representation: Latinx characters and narrator
• Content Warnings: drug use, gang violence, racism

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

• On his first trip to Iran to meet his mother’s family, Darius Kellner juggles his cultural identity, his first real friendship, and his relationship with his father. 
• Young adult fiction
• Representation: Persian characters, culture, and setting, gay narrator, mixed-race characters
• Content Warnings: xenophobia, depression and mental health issues, sick family member

Let me know if you pick any of these books up – or if you have already! – and what you think. I’d love to hear from you!

What are your favorite diverse book recommendations?

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