Monday, September 12, 2016

Diverse Books For Less

A vertical banner featuring a photo of a young black woman seated on some indoor steps as she writes in a notebook. The caption below reads 37 Diverse-Authored Books For $10 or less (Mostly Less)

Today marks the start of the #Diverseathon, a week-long celebration of books by diverse authors. Many, many people in my Twitter feed have expressed interest in supporting people of colour and queer authors by buying their books, so I thought I'd compile a list of things I've enjoyed that you can get for less than $5 on Amazon, or for less than $10 where omnibus editions are concerned.

This list is far from exhaustive. I kept it to books I've read and rated 3.5 stars or above (my "I really liked this" rating"), and I included only the first book in a series even if subsequent releases also met my price limit. In the case of queer authors, I stuck to people I've seen talk openly about their identity, either on Twitter or through their official bios. I've likely missed many fabulous queer writers with $5-or-under releases, either because I haven't read them yet or I couldn't definitively identify them.

I hope at least some of the 37 titles I found will strike your fancy and fit your budget! I plan to do a list of diverse-authored books on Scribd in the near future, too, as tons of more expensive titles are available on there either in their unlimited selection or for a credit.

All prices are correct as of September 12th, 2016, but be sure to check that they're still in effect before you make a purchase.

Under $1:

THE BLACK TULIP by Alexandre Dumas

TREMONTAINE EPISODE ONE by Ellen Kushner

WHITEHALL EPISODE ONE by Liz Duffy Adams and Delia Sherman

THE REAL SCORE by Kesh Tanglao

ALL'S FAIR IN BLOG AND WAR by Chrissie Peria

COVER (STORY) GIRL by Chris Mariano

SUNBOLT by Intisar Khanani

SERPENTINE by Cindy Pon

Under $2:

THE SIREN by Tiffany Reisz

  • bisexual author; bisexual protagonist & multiple queer characters
  • BDSM erotic novel
  • $1.74 for Kindle

CAST IN SHADOW by Michelle Sagara

RETOLD: SIX FAIRY TALES REIMAGINED, ed. by the Book Smugglers

FLIGHT by Sherman Alexie

LIFE AFTER JOE by Harper Fox

Under $3:

FIT by Rebekah Weatherspoon

MYSTERY SOCIETY by Steve Niles & Fiona Staples

  • Canadian WOC artist
  • contemporaty fantasy/science fiction comic
  • $2.81 for Kindle

THORN by Intisar Khanani

SALSA NOCTURNA by Daniel José Older

  • Cuban-American writer; POC protagonists
  • contemporary fantasy short story collection slated for rerelease on October 1
  • $2.99 on Kindle

BINTI by Nnedi Okorafor

THE PORCELAIN DOVE by Delia Sherman

NEW AMSTERDAM by Elizabeth Bear

  • bisexual author; queer protagonists
  • alternate history short story collection
  • $2.32 for Kindle

HAND OF ISIS by Jo Graham

  • lesbian author; poly protagonist & queer characters
  • historical fantasy novel
  • $2.34 for Kindle

WINTER KNIGHTS by Harper Fox

Under $4:

WHO IS THE BLACK PANTHER? by Reginald Hudlin, John Romita, and Klaus Janson

SONG OF BLOOD & STONE by L. Penelope

FEED by Mira Grant

JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS VOL 1 by Kelly Thomson and Sophie Campbell

Under $5

SKIP BEAT! VOL 1 by Yoshiki Nakamura

  • Japanese writer/artist; Japanese protagonist
  • general fiction manga with magical realism slant
  • $4.74 for Kindle

ESPERANZA RISING by Pam Muñoz Ryan

NEW CERES NIGHTS, ed. by Alisa Krasnostein and Tehani Wessley

TREASURE by Rebekah Weatherspoon

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE VOL 1 by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie

  • genderqueer writer; queer protagonist & multiple queer characters
  • contemporary fantasy comic
  • $5.06 for Kindle

QUEERS DIG TIME LORDS, ed. by Sigrid Ellis & Michael Damian Thomas

PROSPERITY by Alexis Hall

Over $5

THE INHERITANCE TRILOGY by N.K. Jemisin

  • black author; POC and queer protagonists, plus an overall queer worldview
  • secondary world fantasy
  • omnibus includes three novels and one novella
  • $7.81 for Kindle

CARDCAPTOR SAKURA OMNIBUS VOL 1 by CLAMP

  • Japanese writers/artists; Japanese protagonist; multiple characters who're obviously queer but aren't textually confirmed as such at this point in the story
  • contemporary magical girl fantasy manga
  • omnibus contains the manga's first three volumes
  • $7.73 for Kindle

CHOBITS OMNIBUS VOL 1 by CLAMP

  • Japanese writers/artists; Japanese protagonist
  • science fiction manga
  • omnibus contains the manga's first four volumes
  • $10.20 for Kindle

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy any of these books from Amazon, I receive a tiny percentage of the purchase price. This doesn't affect the price you pay. I get squat if you read something through Scribd, Serial Box, or Project Gutenberg, unless you count the satisfaction of knowing people are reading great stuff. Which ain't such a bad perk.
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10 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 12, 2016 at 3:10 PM

    OMG thank you!! As a uni student, money is pretty tight, but I still need to read! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. KailanaSeptember 13, 2016 at 7:39 AM

    Great list! I was checking out some of the ones on Scribd and so short for a credit. There should be a page limit before you have to use them. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MemorySeptember 13, 2016 at 10:17 AM

      I initially thought I'd steer clear of novellas when it came time to spend my Scribd credits, but I've found they're actually a good investment because I can read them fairly quickly. Plus, a lot of queer publishers price their novellas (and their novels) pretty high, so Scribd gives me a chance to read them without shelling out tons of dough.

      Delete
  3. Jenny @ Reading the EndSeptember 13, 2016 at 5:59 PM

    You are excellent as usual, madam! Love this post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ana S.September 14, 2016 at 3:53 PM

    I just got The Porcelain Dove and it's al your fault :P

    Also, this post reminded me that I read Black Ships years ago mainly to get to Hand of Isis eventually and then never did. Idk what's wrong with me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MemorySeptember 15, 2016 at 1:28 PM

      Hurray for you reading Delia Sherman! I just got her short story collection off Scribd, myself, so we're fraternal book-acquisition twins.

      I've been reading Jo Graham completely out of order. I started with STEALING FIRE, then went to THE EMPEROR'S AGENT without realizing it was a direct sequel to THE GENERAL'S MISTRESS, which I haven't read yet. Luckily, this slapdash approach works for the series.

      Delete
  5. AnonymousDecember 24, 2016 at 2:12 PM

    What a great list! Thank you for compiling and sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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