Black History Month 2025 Reading List

Hi everyone!  As I read, I like to do "themed" months, and it's easy to do with the various months that the States celebrates.  Not only is it a way to read some books that I might not have otherwise, but I think that devoting a whole month to a single topic, a single community's stories, is the best way possible to try to learn to see the world from their perspective

Isn't that why we read?  To put ourselves into the mind of someone else?  That's certainly a big part of why I do

Here's my reading list for February, feel free to join!

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"Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2013

I don't only read speculative fiction.  I mean, I mostly do.  But I dabble in literature every once and a while.  I absolutely love everything Adichie writes, and this one is a modern classic about the Black experience in the West.  I can't wait

"Chain Gang All-Stars" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, 2023

Another modern classic, the story of gladiators in the not-so-distant-future America where our for-profit, forced-work prison system has been taken to the next logical conclusion:  Televised gladiator fights.  Honestly, kind of surprised we're not there yet

"My Sister, the Serial Killer" by Oyinkan Braithwaite, 2018

A thriller about a young woman with a beautiful sister whose boyfriends have a habit of ending up stabbed, leaving our main character to clean up the mess.  A story of the things we do to protect the ones we love

"A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond" by Percival Everett and James Kinkaid, 2013

A satirical novel, following Strom Thurmond and his team's attempts to write and have published a more correct version of African-American history (that better reflect his contributions, of course)

"Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora" edited by Sheree R. Thomas, 2001 (short fiction)

So many foundational texts of black speculative fiction that I haven't read.  I couldn't choose.  But I wanted at least one, so I just went with an anthology.  Very excited

"Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland, 2018 (young adult)

Zombie plague hits the States during the Civil War War Between the States, leading the war to end in a truce.  Slavery is ended, but Native and Black Americans can instead be forced to work as undead hunters.  I'm trying to support minority YA authors, and this one does seem pretty fun

"47" by Walter Mosley, 2008(young adult)

A young slave is visited by a man who says he's a traveler from across the stars, who is here to help him escape so he can realize his destiny.  Very YA plot, but I'm willing to see where it goes!

"Braking Day" by by Adam Oyebanji, 2022 (young adult)

Interestingly, I had a surprisingly deep roster to choose from for far-future deep space black scifi, which is amazing and I'm very happy.  Something about this one, a murder mystery set on a generation ship finally about to approach its destination, caught my eye

"Fallen" by Milton Davis, 2019 (novella)

Not everything on my list is big and serious.  I just want to throw in some fun sword and sorcery in an African setting, cuz why not?

"New Kid" by Jerry Craft, 2019 (graphic novel)

The first graphic novel to ever win the Newberry Medal, which I've said before is an award for which I have great respect.  A semi-autobiographical story about a kid being the only person of color at his middle school.  Because that's a story that needs to be told

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And so here we go!  Please, feel free to join me on any of these.  You know I love talking about books!

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