BrownGirl Speaks

The latest Diversity Roll Call wants us to list our favorite read of 2009 by a non-white author. If you have more than one, you can do a top 10 list or a selection for each genre read or whatever suits your fancy. These books did not have to be published in 2009.
Trust me when I say you couldn't go wrong with any of these.

So, here's my top 10 for 2009:
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James - A young female slave may be the key to a long planned, female led insurrection on an 18th century Jamaican sugar cane plantation. (fiction)

Atlas of Unknowns by Tania James - Two sisters distinctly different discover themselves and solidify their bond once they are separated by time and two countries-India and America. (fiction)

Woman At Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi - An Egyptian prostitute shares her story in prison as she awaits her execution. (fiction)

Slumberland by Paul Beatty - A Black Los Angeles DJ travels to Berlin in search of his musical hero he has nicknamed "The Schwa". (fiction)

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie - A collection of short stories by the new heroine of Nigerian literature covering a number of topics from love to immigration. (fiction)

Kinky Gazpacho by Lori L. Tharps - The author's travelogue and memoir of falling in love with Spain and her interracial relationship with her Spanish husband. (nonfiction)

Children of the Waters by Carleen Brice - A story that examines the idea of race in America with the revelation of a mixed race woman's secret adoption as the catalyst. (fiction)

Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers - A young man, who hopes to be a jazz musician, spends his summer in Harlem in a mixed up adventure with Fats Waller and encounters a number of key figures if the Harlem Renaissance along the way. (YA fiction)

Passing by Nella Larsen - A novella that examines racial identity via the lives of two women who are able to 'pass' for white. (fiction)

Race Matters by Cornel West - A collection of essays on race relations in America. (nonfiction)