Tuesday 24 January 2017

Top Ten Tuesday | DiverseAThon Recommendations


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!


This week's theme is a freebie, so as it's currently DiverseAThon I thought I'd share some of my recommendations with you for anyone who's taking part! There's a focus on #OwnVoices this DiverseAThon - e.g. an LGBT+ book written by an LGBT+ author - so that's my focus here, too.

For more information about DiverseAThon, check out these videos!


Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie: This has to be one of my favourite fairy tale inspired stories out there, all about the power of older stories and how they influence our stories of the future. The 1001 Nights is a particular inspiration behind this book, so if you're a fan of A Thousand Nights, The One Hundred Nights of Hero or The Wrath & the Dawn and you haven't read this yet, you're missing out!

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: This is Talley's debut and I loved it. Set in 1959, it explores a mixed-race, LGBT+ romance in an American high school that has started to admit black students for the very first time. It's heartbreaking, but so worth reading given the current political climate.

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I take every chance I can get to mention this book because I love it so very much, and it's such a unique take on witchcraft. Moreno-Garcia is a Mexican writer and both her published novels, Signal to Noise and Certain Dark Things, take place in Mexico City with a Mexican cast. She's so worth reading if you haven't already!

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng: My favourite book of 2016, this is Ng's debut and follows a mixed race family in 1970s America after the death of one of the family's children. It's harrowing, but so well-written and well-plotted and just so good.

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman: This is pretty much a classic by now, right? This is a must-read.


Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik: I really enjoyed this when I read it last year, and it made me realise how few books I've read that feature Muslim characters, never mind a Muslim protagonist. It's so much fun, and funny, but also knows when to be serious and is just really worth reading.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: If you're new to LGBT+ fiction and you're not sure where to start, may I present you with Sarah Waters. Five of Waters' six publish novels feature lesbian protagonists and Fingersmith is widely considered to be her masterpiece - it's definitely a fun one to start with if you're new to her work!

The Good Immigrant ed. by Nikesh Shukla: Such an important book. Read it, read it, read it.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin: This must be the most diverse fantasy book I've ever read, and on top of that it's written and plotted fantastically, too. Highly recommended!

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I love Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is her only short story collection and if you're interested in fiction set in Nigeria written by a Nigerian, then you need to pick this book up.

What did you talk about this week?

20 comments:

  1. I wrote about diversity, too. Thank you for your list.

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/01/childrens-books-that-celebrate.html

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  2. Great list idea! I love this, and I haven't actually heard of some of these!

    Hope you are having a great week!

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  3. Wonderful list! Fingersmith is one of my all-time favorite books, and I loved Lies We Tell Ourselves as well. I recently picked up a copy of the Celeste Ng book, and I'm looking forward to reading it! I need to check out Signal to Noise.

    Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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    1. I hope you enjoy Everything I Never Told You, and of course I highly recommend Signal to Noise. =)

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  4. Oh yay! I love this topic and I haven't read any of these before. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I keep meaning to read the Sofia Khan one, it sounds fun. And I love Noughts and Crosses - I can't understand why they've not made a film/tv series yet!

    My TTT: http://basedonthebook.blogspot.co.uk/?view=flipcard#!/2017/01/top-ten-tuesday-favourite-book-families.html

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    1. It's being adapted for the BBC, which is very exciting! =) Yes, I definitely recommend checking out Ayisha Malik.

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    2. No way! That IS exciting :D

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  6. Oh cool, what a great list. Thank you for sharing!

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  7. Thanks for the recommendations! I’m always looking for more #OwnVoices books.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I'm always on the look out for more, too - thanks for stopping by!

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  8. One of these days I'll have to try Noughts and Crosses. :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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  9. I've read two of these, although Haroun and the Sea of Stories was too long ago and I don't think I remember it well. The Thing Around Your Neck is excellent, like everything else Adichie has ever written. And every other book on this list sounds brilliant! I've had a few of them on my list for a while, and several are ones I've never heard of. I'm so intrigued by all of them.

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  10. *takes notes* I really need to get round to The Fifth Season. I love Jemisin's other works, and it's the Feminist Book Club read for next month on Litsy!

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  11. Noughts and Crosses is one of my absolute favourite books!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/24/top-ten-tuesday-93/

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