10 fiction books worth reading during Black History Month

These are also worth reading any other time of year!

Several years ago, I realized that while I was reading a wide variety of genres, I was not reading a wide variety of authors. It wasn’t intentional, but I just hadn’t been looking for books written by people who were different from me. I wish now that I had widened my choice of authors long before I did, because now I am playing catch up. Because it’s Black History Month, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite fiction books by Black authors and that have main characters who are Black. Many of them are also historical books, in a way, even if the stories are fictionalized. Next week I’ll share some of my favorite nonfiction books by Black authors.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This book remains one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read by any author. I still can’t get over the fact that this was not only the author’s debut novel but that she wrote it while she was in her 20s. It tells the story of two women and the trajectories their lives take over many decades and generations. It was …