Recs if you like The House on Mango Street...

I've seen so many people say they don't read classics as they aren't diverse, and I wanted to give some suggestions that are.

This is a list of classics written by authors who are not Straight, Cis, White, and Men as the title suggests. I am also aiming to include a variety of cultures and regions in this list. If your looking for something more focused (e.g. diverse US classics) check out the lists I posted in the comments.

Suggestions are more than welcome!

Shorter books (under 200 pages) that are part of at least one quest. Many are also in the public domain, making them easily accessible when you want to grind for that next badge.

Books that illustrate some aspect of the immigrant experience - in fantasy, or in the real world; in childhood, or in old age; in history, or in the modern day. (work in progress - recs welcome!)

Classic books by U.S. BIPOC/fem/LGBTQIA Authors. Inspired by my post in US classic lit quest, I wanted a place to share all the wonderful recommendations by the PB community from the forum! 'Classic' refers to enduring, high-quality works that have stood the test of time, featuring universal themes, memorable characters, and artistic merit that remain relevant and insightful about the human condition across generations, often studied for their cultural significance and literary excellence.

If we are going to do Qwordy's the Hardest Reading Challenge You'll Ever Do 3.0 - we should probably get some Pagebound badges along the way! I'm specifically going to be adding books from Quests and readalongs that go past the July start date and match at least one of these title prompts: Periodic Table, Familial Terms, Rainbow of Words (also Joseph's coat), Numerical Titles, Titular Counting 5+, Pun in the Title, and First & Last Name in the Title. Recommendations welcome!

Books that use the language itself as a narrative and literary device, switching from English to Spanish and back again in a variety of ways, from light sprinklings for flavor and atmosphere to requiring the reader to be functionally bilingual to fully understand. Suggestions always welcome!

audiobooks where the narrator is the author! any book goes, no matter the genre. there may be multiple versions of the audiobook, but at least one version has the author as narrator. please suggest more in the comments!

Short books that you can read in a sitting, to help you achieve your yearly reading goal 🤭🥳 Feel free to mention anything else from the list, I'm so glad to add & check them out 😁

the fragmentary novel is constructed of fragments or vignettes, typically following images, thoughts, and feelings over a sequential series of events. in a world of disruption, displacement, and of time being swallowed and spat out by the machines of capitalism and colonialism, the fragmentary novel offers an alternative structure.

title borrowed from jenny offill. recommendations welcome.

TCKs are those who were "raised in a different culture than their parents, for a large part or the entirety of their childhood and adolescence. They typically are exposed to a greater volume and variety of cultural influences than those who grow up in one particular cultural setting."

These books must delve into the themes and conflicts of being a TCK and not just have a TCK. (this is different from an immigrant story, it's the generation that follows)

Banned books are books that have been prohibited or had its free access restricted by an authority—the government, school system or religious group—because they object to its content, ideas or themes. Banning a book is a form of censorship. The list is bound to not contain everything since the number is astronomical but feel free to suggest :]

A list of Banned or Censored books (from around the world) that I want to read and form my own opinions about...

books from all US states and territories. asking for recommendations! these books must a) be written by an author with a strong connection to the state or territory and b) take place largely in the state or territory. i want to try to prioritize, whenever possible, underrepresented voices / voices that america’s regime tries to silence.

please lmk if any of these authors or texts aren’t good representation.

i will comment a list with each state/territory + its associated book!

Books with short chapters!!! I started a challenge where I read a super long book a chapter-a-day and annotate it using a study guide! I found that annotating short chapters is super accessible and not overwhelming at all for me, so I wanted to share this list with anyone that wants to start over-analyzing their books :) I included a variety of stories because HOW you read is as important (if not more) than WHAT you read!!!!

bildungsroman if ya nasty

Bring on those Gen Y memories! A list of books likely to give people born between 1981 and 1996 a lot of feelings.

This list is for those of us who grew up eagerly awaiting the Scholastic Book Fair, watching Reading Rainbow (or Wishbone!), and dreaming of a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.

Note: these are not books published in 1981-1996, but books that had a hold on the millennial generation.

Also check out the Dear America series, American Girl series & Royal Diaries series.

do you remember The Wiggles song “Fruit Salad”? or maybe “I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas”? what about any song from Veggietales like “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”?

this list is freshly harvested and full of books with (specifically) fruits and veggies in the title or on the cover 🌶️🥭🍒🍋🫑🥕🍓🍑🥝🫐🍇🥒

some are more appropriate than others 😈

as always, please feel free to suggest any books I missed!

classic & modern classic literature by women. limiting myself to one book per author. please let me know who i've missed!

The most popular book of each year according to Goodreads (Posted by Sharon on April 1, 2025). In order of oldest (1925) to newest (2024)