After my successful feminist literature reading challenge last year, I decided that I wanted to turn it up a notch in 2022 and try to get even more diversity in my reading list. It can never hurt to read a bit outside of your bubble, and for me, that bubble was definitely old, white, European men. What are considered ‘classics’ or ‘important non-fictional books’ have historically been written by white, European men. Mostly because they have always been the persons in power and would therefore hype up their mates’ work. Old-boys-network etcetera. You get the deal.

Anyway, one of the reasons to read books is of course to gain interesting new perspectives on life. So to then stick to only reading old white-European writers would not be very sustainable. You can read my article on my analysis of my 2021/2020 bookshelves. Therefore I am trying to make a conscious effort to read outside of that bubble. In the lists below, you can see how I’m doing in that regard.

Non-cis-male writers

  1. ✅ In lichtjaren heeft niemand haast – Marjolijn van Heemstra
  2. ✅ Discipline, leven in overvloed – Marli Huijer
  3. ✅ Het Achterhuis – Anne Frank
  4. ✅ Het aanbidden van Louis Claus – Valentijn Hoogenkamp
  5. ✅ I’m glad my mom died – Jennette McCurdy
  6. ✅ A very nice girl – Imogen Crimp
  7. ✅ I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi – Gina Siciliano
  8. ✅ My Year of Rest and Relaxation – Ottessa Moshfegh
  9. ✅ Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Rings – Valerie Trouet
  10. ✅ A Long Petal of the Sea – Isabel Allende
  11. ✅ Tender is the flesh – Agustina Bazterrica

African writers

  1. ✅ A man of the people – Chinua Achebe
  2. ✅ I will try – Legson Kayira
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Asian writers

  1. ✅ After Dark – Haruki Murakami
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South American writers

  1. ✅ A Long Petal of the Sea – Isabel Allende
  2. ✅ Tender is the flesh – Agustina Bazterrica
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