2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Desi Book Lists

The Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyThe Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Best South Asian Fiction
734 books — 1,894 voters
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai HidierInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriThe Contract by Zeenat MahalHaveli by Zeenat MahalThe Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Desi Chick Lit (fiction)
256 books — 347 voters

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1984 by George OrwellJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Queen's Library: Best of the Commonwealth
743 books — 231 voters
The White Tiger by Aravind AdigaThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyThe Namesake by Jhumpa LahiriMidnight’s Children by Salman RushdieA Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Indian redditors' favourite books by indian authors
110 books — 207 voters

Siddhartha by Hermann HesseMidnight’s Children by Salman RushdieInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyA Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Fiction/Non-fiction Books About India That Don't Focus On the British Raj
226 books — 108 voters
Written in the Stars by Aisha SaeedA Time to Dance by Padma VenkatramanThe Love Match by Priyanka TaslimBorn Confused by Tanuja Desai HidierWhen Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar
South Asians in Contemporary YA
169 books — 89 voters

The Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinBinti by Nnedi OkoraforThe Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi VoBlack Sun by Rebecca RoanhorseThe Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
Adult SFF by BIPOC Authors
232 books — 42 voters
Falling into Place by Sheryn MunirFood for Love by C. FonsecaThe Outcasts - A Thousand Dreams of Redemption by Lidija StankovikjFunny Boy by Shyam SelvaduraiFeminist Fables by Suniti Namjoshi
Queer and Indian
103 books — 33 voters

Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek ShanbhagCobalt Blue by Sachin KundalkarOne Part Woman by Perumal MuruganPather Panchali by Bibhutibhushan BandyopadhyayWomen Writing in India by Susie J. Tharu
Indian Fiction Translated Into English
207 books — 23 voters
De Rerum Natura by David HillstromMotherwit by Urmila PawarThe Exercise of Freedom by Susie TharuThe Grip of Change by P. SivakamiUnclaimed Terrain by Ajay Navaria
Dalit Literature
99 books — 14 voters

Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AmbedkarThe Weave of My Life by Urmila PawarThe Prisons We Broke by Baby KambleThe Essential Writings of B. R. Ambedkar by B.R. AmbedkarMAHAD by Anand Teltumbde
Dalit History
105 books — 9 voters
All That Sizzles by Sakshama Puri DhariwalThe Wedding Photographer by Sakshama Puri DhariwalSleepless in Dubai by Sajni PatelThe Trouble with Hating You by Sajni PatelFirst Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel
South Asian Reads
58 books — 8 voters

Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AmbedkarWho were the Shudras? by B.R. AmbedkarThe Buddha and his Dhamma by Aakash Singh RathoreCastes in India by B.R. AmbedkarThe Untouchables by B.R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar
95 books — 6 voters
Eating God by Arundhathi SubramaniamThe Interior Landscape by A.K. RamanujanHymns for the Drowning by NammalvarGive Us This Day a Feast of Flesh by N.D. RajkumarWild Embers by Nikita Gill
Indian Poetry
79 books — 5 voters

Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AmbedkarBhimayana by Srividya NatarajanWomen, Race, and Class by Angela Y. DavisTurning the Pot, Tilling the Land by Kancha IlaiahBlindness of Insight by Dilip M. Menon
Social Justice Books: Navayana Publishing
99 books — 4 voters
Khairlanji by Anand TeltumbdeHaunted by Fire by Mythily SivaramanComing Out as Dalit by Yashica DuttSpotted Goddesses by Roja SinghVenomous Touch by Ravikumar
Dalit Nonfiction
92 books — 4 voters

Half Girlfriend by Chetan BhagatTill The Last Breath by Durjoy DattaCould be, Maybe, love...? by Kavita S. SunilRevolution 2020 by Chetan BhagatLove @ Facebook by Nikita Singh
Best Indian Romantic Stories
5 books — 3 voters
Things She Could Never Have by Tehmina KhanReading Like a Girl by Rishma DunlopNura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. KhanTell by Soraya PeerbayeTrust No Aunty by Maria Qamar
Books by Desi Canadian Women
54 books — 3 voters

Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AmbedkarThe Persistence of Caste by Anand TeltumbdeUntouchables Castes in India by ShyamlalHaunted by Fire by Mythily SivaramanRepublic of Caste by Anand Teltumbde
Caste Discrimination
95 books — 3 voters
Ambedkar by Salim YusufjiAmbedkar by Gail OmvedtIconoclast by Anand TeltumbdeAmbedkar's Preamble by Aakash Singh RathoreThe Social Context of an Ideology by M S Gore
Ambedkar — Books About Babasaheb
26 books — 3 voters

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha SuriHani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba JaigirdarThe Henna Wars by Adiba JaigirdarThe Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina KhanA Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
Desi sapphics master list
13 books — 3 voters
Reading New India by Emma Dawson VarugheseFive Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat2 States by Chetan BhagatWhat Young India Wants by Chetan BhagatOne Night at the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat
21st Century Young India
48 books — 2 voters

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriThe Namesake by Jhumpa LahiriNot Quite Not White by Sharmila SenFasting, Feasting by Anita DesaiImmigrant, Montana by Amitava Kumar
Desi Immigrant Experience
11 books — 2 voters
The Museum of Broken Tea Cups by Gunjan VedaSebastian and Sons by T.M. KrishnaCollected Plays of Sanjay Jiwane by Sanjay JiwaneStrength of our wrists by Premanand GajveeDalit Art and Visual Imagery by Gary Michael Tartakov
Dalit Art and Music
10 books — 2 voters

Stranger Intimacy by Nayan ShahSuburban Sahibs by S. Mitra KalitaEchoes of Mutiny by Seema SohiTHE OTHER ONE PERCENT by CHAKRAVORTYBengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America by Vivek Bald
South Asian American/Canadian History
29 books — 2 voters
Love & Other Dramas by Ronali CollingsFirst Comes Marriage by Laila RafiHow Can I Resist You? by Jeevani CharikaPlaying for Love by Jeevani CharikaThe Winner Bakes It All by Jeevani Charika
British South Asian Romance
21 books — 2 voters

Memoirs of a Dalit Communist by R.B. MoreCaste Matters by Suraj YengdeThe Social Context of an Ideology by M S GoreMahad by Bojja TharakamAmbedkar by Narendra Jadhav
Ambedkarite
23 books — 1 voter
A Current of Blood by Namdeo DhasalDays Will Come Back by Kamal Dev PallBlues from Bhimnagar by Yogesh MaitreyaDalit Voices in Indian Poetry by Sakunthala A.I.Letters to Namdeo Dhasal by Chandramohan S.
Dalit Poetry
24 books — 1 voter

Politics as Social Text in India by Jayabrata SarkarThe Dalit Truth by K. RajuThe Trauma of Caste by Thenmozhi SoundararajanBhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and the Question of Socialism in India by V. GeethaUnseen by Bhasha Singh
Dalit Sociology
100 books — 1 voter
The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. MasoodWell-Behaved Indian Women by Saumya Dave
Good Desi Reads
2 books — 1 voter

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