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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.
1,613 books — 648 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
442 books — 486 voters

Never My Father's Daughter by Bamini SelladuraiNever My Father's Daughter by Bamini SelladuraiThe Joy Luck Club by Amy TanInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriUnaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Immigrant Voices (fiction)
386 books — 310 voters
The Child I Lost Found Me by Niki BrownWolf Hustle by Cin FabréThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerA Kaleidoscope of Life by John MurrayBeloved by Toni Morrison
Best Fiction and Memoirs by Authors of Color
440 books — 237 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
484 books — 198 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
279 books — 171 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
280 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
140 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
513 books — 148 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)
166 books — 116 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
233 books — 72 voters

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica KhouryRebel of the Sands by Alwyn HamiltonWishful Thinking by Rose WilkinsThe Secret of Ka by Christopher PikeThe Fire Wish by Amber Lough
YA Genies/Djinn
82 books — 70 voters
Los Sangurimas by José de la CuadraPelea de gallos by María Fernanda AmpueroHuasipungo by Jorge IcazaLas cruces sobre el agua by Joaquín Gallegos LaraUn hombre muerto a puntapiés by Pablo Palacio
Ecuadorian Literature
321 books — 53 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
37 books — 23 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
Paulie Zahn by Ed SorensenA Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí ClarkThe Golem and the Jinni by Helene WeckerThe Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. HossainThe Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn by Usman T. Malik
Fiction Novels Featuring Djinn/Jinn
22 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
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí ClarkAlif the Unseen by G. Willow WilsonThe Mirage by Matt RuffThe Golem and the Jinni by Helene WeckerThe Arabian Nights by Anonymous
Middle Eastern Spec Fiction
29 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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