AAPI Heritage Month

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.
1,523 books — 645 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
437 books — 479 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)
381 books — 257 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
483 books — 197 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
437 books — 191 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
278 books — 170 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
141 books — 168 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
278 books — 168 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
511 books — 146 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)
163 books — 114 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 — 89 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
279 books — 78 voters

A Girl Like That by Tanaz BhathenaThe Wrath and the Dawn by Renée AhdiehShadow Spinner by Susan FletcherHabibi by Naomi Shihab NyeThe Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Young Adult & Middle Grade Fiction Set in the Middle East
237 books — 75 voters
Los Sangurimas by José de la CuadraHuasipungo by Jorge IcazaLas cruces sobre el agua by Joaquín Gallegos LaraPelea de gallos by María Fernanda AmpueroUn hombre muerto a puntapiés by Pablo Palacio
Ecuadorian Literature
320 books — 51 voters

Binti by Nnedi OkoraforThe Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersMirrored in Evergreen by B. PigeonWorm in a Jar by B. Pigeon
QTPOC in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
104 books — 35 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

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
63 books — 33 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 — 31 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
50 books — 27 voters
Aicha by Soraya BouazzaouiThe Free Verse Society by Delali AdjoaOur Cut of Salt by Deena HelmThe Poet Empress by Shen TaoThe Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe
Debut Poc Authors of 2026
36 books — 21 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
41 books — 20 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

Paulie Zahn by Ed SorensenThe 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. Malik
Fiction Novels Featuring Djinn/Jinn
22 books — 17 voters
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí ClarkAlif the Unseen by G. Willow WilsonThe Mirage by Matt RuffDune by Frank HerbertThe Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Middle Eastern Spec Fiction
31 books — 5 voters

El3osba #1 (El-Osba by John MaherZanjan by Aaron EmmelFinding the Valuable Person by Chris SteedPalmyra by Paul Veyne
Middle Eastern-themed
4 books — 3 voters

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