Black Voices & Culture: Books for Adults

Take a look at some recent notable books by African American authors that reflect upon and celebrate Black culture and history.

Updated February 9, 2023
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All that she carried : the journey of Ashley's sack, a black family keepsake
Miles, Tiya
Paper Book
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A renowned historian traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women to craft a "deeply layered and insightful" (The Washington Post) testament to people who are left out...
Deacon King Kong
McBride, James
Paper Book
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction   Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
Hell of a book : or the altogether factual, Wholly Bona Fide story of a big dreams, hard luck, American-Made Mad Kid
Mott, Jason
Paper Book
***2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER*** ***THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER*** Winner of the 2021 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize Finalist, 2022 Chautauqua Prize Finalist, Willie Morris Award for Southern Writing Shortlist, 2021 Aspen...
His name is George Floyd : one man's life and the struggle for racial justice
Samuels, Robert
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE IN NONFICTION WINNER OF THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE; FINALIST FOR THE J. ANTHONY LUKAS PRIZE; A BCALA 2023 HONOR NONFICTION AWARD WINNER. A landmark...
It's not all downhill from here : a novel
McMillan, Terry
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * After a sudden change of plans, a remarkable woman and her loyal group of friends try to figure out what she's going to do with the rest of her life--from Terry McMillan, the bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and...
The love songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.
Jeffers, Honoree Fanonne, 1967-
Paper Book
An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller * AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION * ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" * BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York...
Memorial Drive : a daughter's memoir
Trethewey, Natasha D.
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller  A New York Times Notable Book  One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2020 Named One of the Best Books of the Year by: The Washington Post, NPR, Shelf Awareness, Esquire, Electric Literature, Slate, The Los...
Memphis : a novel
Stringfellow, Tara M.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY * A spellbinding debut novel tracing three generations of a Southern Black family and one daughter's discovery that she has the power to change her family's legacy. "A rhapsodic hymn to...
On Juneteenth
Gordon-Reed, Annette
Paper Book
Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed's On Juneteenth provides a historian's view of the country's long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African-Americans have...
On the rooftop
Sexton, Margaret Wilkerson
Paper Book
A Reese's Book Club Pick "An utterly original and brilliant story." -Reese Witherspoon A stunning novel about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with the daughters' ambitions for their own lives--set against the backdrop of gentrifying 1950s San...
Scenes from my life : a memoir
Williams, Michael Kenneth
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD * A "gripping, revelatory" (NPR) memoir of hard-won success, struggles with addiction, and a lifelong mission to give back--from the late iconic actor beloved for his roles in The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and...
Seven days in June : a novel
Williams, Tia
Paper Book
One of TIME's 50 Best Romances to Read Right Now   "Sumptuous writing" - Sarah Jessica Parker Two writers get a second chance at love in this romantic, sexy-as-hell New York Times bestselling novel.
The sweetness of water. [large print]
Harris, Nathan
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER / AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021  Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction ...
Take my hand
Perkins-Valdez, Dolen
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction "Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze...an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption."--Celeste Ng Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a...
This is the fire : what I say to my friends about racism
Lemon, Don
Paper Book
The host of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is more popular than ever. As America's only Black prime-time anchor, Lemon and his daily monologues on racism and antiracism, on the failures of the Trump administration and of so many of our leaders, and on America's systemic flaws speak for his millions...
Transcendent kingdom.
Gyasi, Yaa
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Yaa Gyasi's stunning follow-up to her acclaimed national bestseller Homegoing is a powerful, raw, intimate, deeply layered novel about a Ghanaian family in Alabama. Gifty is a fifth year candidate in neuroscience at...
The Trayvon generation
Alexander, Elizabeth
Paper Book
*Named a Most Anticipated Title of 2022 by TIME magazine, New York Times, Bustle, and more* In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Elizabeth Alexander-one of the...
The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE * VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR New York Times<...

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