Deepen your reading experiences by pairing books by Black women.

Book pairing has changed the way I read for the better. It broadens my perspective and creates a more complete reading experience. 

It also gives me direction for what to read. When I finish the first book in a pair, I know exactly what to read next to get a fuller perspective of an author or theme (and sometimes I read them concurrently). 

Get Started Pairing Books

I suggest starting by pairing books based on what you want to get out of the reading experience.

Ask yourself a few simple questions once you’ve chosen a book:

-Why do I want to read this book/theme/topic?

-What would make the experience richer (or more fun/enlightening/inspiring)? 

You can pair books for deeper intellectual understanding of a topic or solely for entertainment purposes. For example, pair two true crime books by authors from different time periods. This is a personal favorite of mine because I love to see how authors’ perspectives have changed over the decades and how that is reflected in books. 

Alternatively, you can delve deeper into a theme, concept, or ideology. For example, you can pair a nonfiction and a fiction book that both explore feminism, love, justice, or race and identity. 

How I pair books on the Index of Books by Black women

1. Cross-Era/Intergenerational pairs

One of the greatest gifts of reading is that it can expand our awareness and inner world. Reading books on a specific theme by authors from different generations and eras helps us understand the theme from a broader perspective, opening our minds and creating greater connections in our brains around a concept. 

(*I am an Amazon and Bookshop affiliate. If you click on any of the book links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. Here’s a link to my full affiliate disclaimer policy. )

Jesmyn Ward’s Sing Unbured, Sing explores racism, identity, and trauma. The book features a haunting theme represented by flashbacks of historical trauma and reappearing ghosts. 

Similarly, Toni Morrison’s Beloved explores race, racism, identity, trauma, and centers a reappearing ghost as a symbol of unhealed pain, trauma, and haunting history.

Morrison’s novel is set around 1873, whereas Ward’s is set around 2010 (with flashbacks from the Jim Crow era). Also, the authors are of different generations. At this time, Ward is approximately 48 years old, and Morrison would be 94 (may she RIP).

These two books share common themes but have varied settings and were written by authors from different generations. 

2. Intra-Theme, Cross-Genre Book Pairing

You can also deepen your understanding of a theme by pairing books of the same theme but different genres. For example, a nonfiction book and a fiction book that both share the same theme. 

On the Index of Books by Black Women, I’ve paired the historical biography The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration with the fiction book The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. Together, these books examine the Great Migration, one through fiction and the other through nonfiction.

You can also pair books from the same author if they have works on a theme explored through different genres. Toni Morrison’s books are an excellent source because she was a prolific author who wrote across varying genres. Her nonfiction book Mouth Full of Blood, for example, pairs well with either Beloved or The Bluest Eye as each of these books delves into race, identity, and trauma, but is told through different approaches, literary fiction novels vs nonfiction essay compilations. 

 

Another example of a fiction and nonfiction pair is Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha L. Womack, a nonfiction book exploring the topic, and the fiction Afrofuturism book Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.  

 

3. Intra-Genre, Cross-Author Book Pairs

This is the more obvious and common pairing. Two books from different authors within the same genre, for example, romance. But you can make this even more fun by being intentional with your pairing. 

For example, in the Index, I’ve paired N.K. Jemisin’s fantasy novel The Fifth Season, with Toni Adeyemi’s Young Adult fantasy Children of Blood and Bone. Jemisin’s novel explores injustice and systemic oppression, but it’s a more mature novel, whereas Children of Blood and Bone tackles these themes through the lens of a young adult. Being a YA novel, it has a different feel. Both are fantasy, but they each have a different vibe.

 

 

 

I’ve also paired Buchi Emecheta’s classic book Second Class Citizen with Jennifer Neal’s My Pisces Heart: A Black Immigrant’s Search for Home Across Four Continents. Emecheta’s book, first published in 1974, tells the story of her move from Nigeria to the United Kingdom. My Pisces Heart, published in 2024, is Jennifer Neal’s memoir recounting her moves from the United States to different countries in search of ‘home’. Both books center on immigration, race, and identity, but are told through perspectives distinguished by age and countries of origin.

These are just a few examples of book pairings. Have fun with this, but be intentional with your selection. Think about the experience you want to have and what you want to accomplish. Use this as a guide for what to pair. And if you’re unsure where to start, check out the parings in my index. I’m adding new book pairs (about) every week. 

-Alicia

P.S. You can find the aforementioned book pairings on the Index of Books by Black Women under the filter: Book Pairings
P.P.S. If you want even deeper guidance, check out my Reading Pathways.