Listopia > Middle Eastern Book Lists

The Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniThe Help by Kathryn StockettA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniMemoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Books with a Non-Caucasian person as the/one of the lead characters.
1,519 books — 636 voters
ثلاثية غرناطة by Radwa AshourThe Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniAzazil by Youssef ZiedanThe Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
Best Middle East Fiction
433 books — 473 voters

The Joy Luck Club by Amy TanInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriUnaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa LahiriThe Namesake by Jhumpa LahiriCutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Immigrant Voices (fiction)
374 books — 250 voters
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar NafisiThe Epic of Gilgamesh by AnonymousNot Without My Daughter by Betty MahmoodyPersepolis by Marjane SatrapiRubáiyát of Omar Khayyám by Omar Khayyám
Iran and Iraq, Ancient and Modern
482 books — 196 voters

Wolf Hustle by Cin FabréThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerBeloved by Toni MorrisonTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale HurstonI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Best Fiction and Memoirs by Authors of Color
429 books — 188 voters
The Color Purple by Alice WalkerZami by Audre LordeThe Children of Gavrilek by Julie Kirton ChandlerHuntress by Malinda LoIf You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
Fiction about lesbian, bisexual, and queer women of color
277 books — 171 voters

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée AhdiehThe Rose & the Dagger by Renée AhdiehA Thousand Nights by E.K. JohnstonThe Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron DokeyThe Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
One Thousand and One Nights Retellings
138 books — 167 voters
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValleThe Girl from the Well by Rin ChupecoLovecraft Country by Matt RuffBleeding Violet by Dia ReevesAnother by Yukito Ayatsuji
Diverse Horror
277 books — 167 voters

The Color Purple by Alice WalkerGiovanni’s Room by James BaldwinZami by Audre LordeAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire SáenzSister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Books by LGBTQ People of Color
507 books — 143 voters
The 231 Club by J. BartellThe Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacintyreA Spy Among Friends by Ben MacintyreAgent Zigzag by Ben MacintyreThe Ghost by Jefferson Morley
Best Espionage Books (nonfiction)
158 books — 109 voters

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica KhouryRebel of the Sands by Alwyn HamiltonBREAKING THE BIAS OF ENGLISH by Vivian ProbstFrom Brick & Darkness by J.L. SullivanExquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios
YA Genies/Djinn
84 books — 92 voters
Last Things by Betta FerrendelliA Girl Like That by Tanaz BhathenaThe Wrath and the Dawn by Renée AhdiehThe Breadwinner by Deborah EllisShadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher
Young Adult & Middle Grade Fiction Set in the Middle East
234 books — 83 voters

Moon Called by Patricia BriggsCry Wolf by Patricia BriggsValentine by Julie ManninoLittle Red Riding Hood by Julie ManninoAngel Devil by Julie Mannino
Diverse Genre Romances
278 books — 77 voters
Los Sangurimas by José de la CuadraHuasipungo by Jorge IcazaLas cruces sobre el agua by Joaquín Gallegos LaraUn hombre muerto a puntapiés by Pablo PalacioNefando by Mónica Ojeda
Ecuadorian Literature
320 books — 50 voters

Silver Phoenix by Cindy PonOf Noble Family by Mary Robinette KowalRed Winter by Annette MarieThe Belles by Dhonielle ClaytonGolden Girl by Sarah Zettel
Black, Latinx, Asian women wearing gorgeous dresses
126 books — 35 voters
Binti by Nnedi OkoraforThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersThe Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinMirrored in Evergreen by B. PigeonWorm in a Jar by B. Pigeon
QTPOC in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
103 books — 34 voters

Minaret by Leila AboulelaThe Face Behind The Veil by Donna Gehrke-WhiteMayada, Daughter of Iraq by Jean SassonUnveiling Islam by Ergun Mehmet CanerWhispers from the East by Amie Ali
Orientalist cover art
62 books — 32 voters
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah JohnsonTreasure by Rebekah WeatherspoonThe Jasmine Throne by Tasha SuriUnder the Udala Trees by Chinelo OkparantaThe Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
WLW Fiction by Authors of Color
153 books — 30 voters

The Storyteller, Or, the Hakawati by Rabih AlameddineA Map of Home by Randa JarrarWhere Jasmine Blooms by Holly S. WarahThe Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja KahfCrescent by Diana Abu-Jaber
Arab Americans in Fiction
48 books — 24 voters
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée AhdiehA Thousand Nights by E.K. JohnstonThe Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron DokeyShadow Spinner by Susan FletcherKeturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
Scheherazade
40 books — 19 voters

Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina KhadraRooftops of Tehran by Mahbod SerajiThe Cry of the Dove by Fadia FaqirThe Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin HamidA Blessed Olive Tree by Zain Hashmi
Middle Eastern/South Asian Doorways
40 books — 17 voters
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. HossainA Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí ClarkThe Golem and the Jinni by Helene WeckerThe Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn by Usman T. MalikKing Cage and the Worth Street Djinni by Mike Stop Continues
Fiction Novels Featuring Djinn/Jinn
21 books — 13 voters

Aicha by Soraya BouazzaouiHold Me Like a Grudge by Celine OngProdigal Tiger by Samantha ChongThe Killing Spell by Shay KauweIn the Country I Love by Alaa Al-Barkawi
Debut Poc Authors of 2026
33 books — 8 voters
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow WilsonThe Mirage by Matt RuffA Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí ClarkDune by Frank HerbertThe Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Middle Eastern Spec Fiction
31 books — 4 voters

El3osba #1 (El-Osba by John MaherZanjan by Aaron EmmelPalmyra by Paul Veyne
Middle Eastern-themed
3 books — 2 voters

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