20 terrific tomes for your TBR: to be read

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South

by Michael W. Twitty

Renowned culinary historian Michael Twitty traces his family roots (both Black and white) from Africa to America and the history of Southern cuisine in this richly drawn memoir. It's a substantial, detailed read, which gives ample space to both personal and culinary history; I appreciated Twitty's distinctive style of storytelling.

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

From the publisher: "Best-selling author Alexandre Dumas—who also wrote The Three Musketeers—tells this heartbreaking yet heroic tale of Edmond Dantes who takes revenge on the men responsible for his unjust fourteen-year imprisonment, keeping him from the woman he loved and the life he was supposed to live. The Count of Monte Cristo is a must-have for any home library or literary aficionado." Over the years I've been floored by the superlatives readers use to describe this behemoth of a novel: epic, thrilling, the best book they've ever read. WSIRN guest Ahtoosa Dale advised me to read the audiobook narrated by John Lee. Forty-seven hours later, I finally understood why readers love this tale of a man thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit and his long quest for retribution. This was wonderful on audio, but I did turn to SparkNotes on a half-dozen occasions for clarity on plot details.

1Q84

by Haruki Murakami

Setting: Tokyo, 1984. A young woman begins to notice troubling discrepancies in the world around her, which makes her think she's living in a parallel reality, which she names 1Q84, the "Q" standing for "question." The two storylines converge over the course of the year, exploring fantasy, self-discovery, religion, love, and loneliness. The translation itself has been highly praised. On my TBR because a friend who loves it calls it "the longest book you'll never, not once, lose interest in."

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

by Isabel Wilkerson

This is one of the few nonfiction works on this list, from the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. An essential read about a slice of forgotten American history detailing the decades-long migration of almost six million black citizens from the South to the North and West between 1915 and 1970, hoping for a better life, and how their resettlement changed the face of America. Wilkerson focuses on the stories of three individuals, giving us both an intimate portrayal and Big Picture view of what they experienced and how this changed the country.

Chirp

The Priory of the Orange Tree

by Samantha Shannon

Bustle calls this The New York Times bestseller an "epic feminist fantasy perfect for fans of Game of Thrones."

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha Book 1)

by Tomi Adeyemi

According to Teen Vogue, it took Adeyemi "45 drafts and 18 months to complete her book because of her commitment to getting all the small but crucial cultural details in the story right." Inspired by West African folklore and mythology, this fantasy has already been optioned for film and taken the YA world by storm. It features Zélie Adebolam, who has a chance to bring back magic and use it to bring down the monarchy in Orïsha.

20 terrific tomes for your TBR: to be read

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South

The Count of Monte Cristo

1Q84

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha Book 1)

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