We live in an age of high screen times and declining literacy rates, which means the most important thing that you can do is to read for pleasure. If you already plan to read more books this year, it’s important to make an effort to read different kinds of books, genres and stories. Here’s a list of groundbreaking books to add to your TBR.
- Bloodchild by Octavia Butler
If you are at all interested in dystopian or science fiction, then this is for you. Octavia Butler is widely recognized as a trailblazer for science fiction and has a widely respected body of work. Her writing takes real-world themes and events like women’s rights and the experience of black Americans and explores them through a literary setting. Bloodchild is a collection of four short stories, which is great for new readers looking to get into the world of Butler. My personal favorite is Speech Sounds, which takes place after a global pandemic that has left the world desolate and stripped the human race of its ability to communicate, and society as we know it has devolved into chaos. Despite this, a few survivors have persisted including the story’s main character, Rye. If you finish Bloodchild and find yourself wanting more, I also recommend Prarable of the Sower and Kindred.
- We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
We Hunt the Flame is a fantasy novel with romantic elements set in ancient Arabia. Technically speaking, it is a duology (and while I’ll mostly be talking about book one know that, once you read it, you’ll want to read book two). We follow Zafria, a huntress and Nasir, an assassin, as well as a cast of other characters on their quest to save their world from an impending darkness threatening to swallow it up. Faizal’s world building is masterful, and her writing can be described as nothing less than beautiful. The book does a great job at balancing the politics and action with the character development and romantic storyline. If you are as tired of the same old same old romantasty recommendations from TikTok than you must pick this up.
- The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart
This novel takes on stronger themes revolving around mental health, so if you have difficulty surrounding that subject matter I recommend either not reading or being prepared for what you might face. Still, this book is great representation of different examples of the variety of experiences that a person struggling with mental health issues might endure. We follow Lily, who comes to terms with her own struggles with anxiety, with help from her sister Alice and friend Micha, who both received treatment at the same mental health facility. Through Lily’s story, we see her use art and her relationships to become a much more confident and capable version of herself. If you are a fan of books like Girl in Pieces or Holding Up the Universe, this book is definitely up your alley.
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
While there’s a big chance you’ve seen this title on a class reading list or have seen the film, I still cannot leave it off this list. However, I will be giving another warning for this book because it does talk about sexual assault. If by chance you haven’t heard of The Color Purple, the story follows Nettie, who we meet as a young girl and who we follow as she grows up in Georgia in the early 1900s. It does a good job of depicting the realities of what it means to be a black woman in the American South at the time and the struggle and trauma that comes along with that experience. Walker also makes creative decisions that the writing is better for; not only is it an epistolary novel, but it’s also written in a dialect, which functions to fully immerse the reader in Nettie’s mind.
- Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
This novel can be best described as a telenovela in book form. Esquivel sets her story in early 1900s Mexico and mixes Mexican history and culture with a helping of magical realism. The novel follows the love story between Tita and Pedro, which is doomed by societal rules that prevent Tita from marrying. Additionally, the use of recipes and food as storytelling tools is so original and adds another layer to the world of the book. I don’t want to give away too much about the story because I think it’s something you should discover on your own. However, if you are tired of reading the same book over and over again, rest assured that this is nothing like anything else you’ve seen before.