Recs if you like Invisible Man...
Classics Not Written by Straight Cis White Men
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!
1001 Books to Read Before You Die
Based on the list/book published in 2006, general editor Peter Boxall.
thatβs not my name!
they call me hell, they call me Stacy, they call me her, they call me Janeβ¦thatβs not my name!!!
this is a list of books featuring characters without a name
as always, taking any and all suggestions!!
books by Black authors
this is your reminder to read books by Black authors all month, all year, every yearβ not just during Black History Month. itβs crucially important to be able to diversify your reading and your bookshelves. expand your mind, your perspectives, your knowledge, and your taste. if you donβt know where to start, here are some recommendations!
Ologies Podcast Suggestions
Ologies is a weekly science podcast hosted by Alie Ward. Each episode, Ward interviews an expert from a distinct scientific field.
This unofficial list contains book suggestions made by the host or by her guests. I avoided extremely technical books or papers. Currently from episode 1 to 525 More details on these books and their associated episodes in my ever evolving spreadsheet.
In the spreadsheet there are also books not found on Goodreads and general book recommendations (like the entire bibliography of a specific author or group of people)
Read Until You Understand
novels, poetry, literary criticism, and history books by Black authors referenced in Farah Jasmine Griffinβs Read Until You Understand; The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature β forming a type of Black literary canon
Itβs okay to judge a book by itβs cover!
Beautiful books for when your monthly reading roundup needs a little facelift π
The Big List of Banned or Censored Books
A list of Banned or Censored books (from around the world) that I want to read and form my own opinions about...
Widening the Canon: Diverse Classics
Inspired by some comments I saw regarding classics being too straight white male oriented. There are lots of classics that aren't, but unfortunately don't always get as much recognition. Hoping this list might help those interested expand their range of classics. Non-exhaustive and taking suggestions!
Black American Classics
Essential literature by African American authors that changed the world, but somehow none of us were expected to read in school. Note: Most of these are available for free from Project Gutenberg.
Marilyn Monroe's Personal Library
Marilyn Monroe was known as an avid reader with a deep love of literature. She took literature courses at UCLA, married a playwright, and was (in?)famously photographed reading Ulysses in a park. It's said that her divorce to Arthur Miller stemmed from an incident in which he insulted her intelligence. Supposedly, she amassed a 1000+ book collection at the height of her reading that she was very proud of. Here are the books known to be a part of her beloved personal library.
Black Classics
A curation of Black classic novels, poems, essays, and more from across the diaspora. Fiction and Non-Fiction. More will be added, recs welcome.
1925-2024: 100 Years of Popular Books
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)
oh brother, this guy stinks! π
books to hate-read, recommended by the pagebound club comments
people hate the character(s) but they couldn't put the book down π
(antihero, villain protagonist, unreliable narrator, etc.)
boo!! tomato tomato!! π π π
Black Literary Fiction
Not exhaustive but literary fiction with Black American authors .
Will continue to update with time
Last updated 10.11.2025
The Guardianβs The 100 Best Novels of All Time
A list published by The Guardian on 5/16/2026, as voted on by authors, critics, and academics worldwide.
Top 100 Books! (According to The Guardian)
The Guardian Top 100 Best Novels
illustrator highlight: Jim Tierney
This list features book covers illustrated/designed by Pennsylvania-based artist Jim Tierney. Tierney's illustrations feature sweeping textures, dramatic lighting, and bold, nostalgic text design, as you will definitely note while scrolling through this list. Please note that in some cases, his work is one of multiple versions of cover art for the same book, so it may appear as a different version here than the one he illustrated. In some cases I have avoided adding specific versions to curb confusion.
Time Magazineβs All-Time Best 100 Novels
Time Magazineβs All-Time Best 100 English Language Novels from 1923 to 2005 as published in 2005.
Widen your horizons π NON-FIC
A list of books to help you assimilate different perpectives - in politics, sociology, race studies, humanities, real history, psychology.
Books you might need in order to become "disgustingly educated" on various topics that concern all of us.
As always, anything must be taken with a grain of salt, even when it's a perspective we agree with β οΈ
Never forget πΈ
