March Reading List

From My Bookshelves…Debut Novels

• The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

• Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah

• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

• Maame by Jessica George

• Real Life by Brandon Taylor

• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

• The Martian by Andy Weir

Find the complete list at Bookshop.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m pulling books from my shelves to encourage me to read my own books this year. This month I’ve pulled some debut fiction that I own to share for our reading list. Read as few or as many as you’d like to!

The oldest book on this list is by iconic writer and Pulitzer winner Jhumpa Lahiri. Although not her first book, The Namesake is Lahiri’s first novel after a successful short story collection, and is a story centered around immigrants from India to New York. Another immigrant story on the list is Rootless, where Appiah takes us through the struggle of not really belonging anywhere. And speaking of belonging, Taylor’s debut about a gay Black doctoral student in the Midwest tackles this too.

The protagonist in Reid’s debut also finds herself in a sticky situation when her boss goes viral for very bad reasons. The Martian in Andy Weir’s debut is also the center of attention across the globe when he has to build a life on Mars.

Flournoy’s and George’s debuts round out our picks with complicated stories about family.

Happy reading!