Roxane Gay is an American writer. She is also an editor, social commentator, and professor. Roxane is a bestselling author for many of her books and is a contributing opinion writer at New York Times.
Roxane is also the founder of Tiny Hardcore Press and the essay editor for The Rumpus. Over the last 18 years, she has published many of her fiction and non-fiction works. Here is a collection of some of her best books.
Bad Feminist: Essays
“Roxane Gay is so great at weaving the intimate and personal with what is most bewildering and upsetting at this moment in culture. She is always looking, always thinking, always passionate, always careful, always right there.” — Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be?
A New York Times bestseller, this read became the best book of the year as per NPR, Boston Globe, Time out New York, Buzz feed, et cetera. This book revolves around politics, criticism, and feminism. It is a collection of essays. In this book, Roxane talks about her journey of evolution as a woman. She has also talked about the current state of feminism. It is an insightful book with some humor in it.
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
“I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere… I was trapped in my body, one that I barely recognized or understood, but at least I was safe.”
This book is a memoir about food, weight, and a guide about how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself. It is a collection of essays and Tumblr blogs. She has talked about the conflict of interests, between desire and denial, comfort and self-care. It is a thought-provoking book written by the author from her personal experiences.
Difficult Women
A national bestseller, an exceptionally insightful book. It is a collection of stories of modern America. It talks about passionate love and complicated human connections. The women in these stories live lives of privilege and poverty. They are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. Through this book, Gay has given voice to unforgettable women.
An Untamed State
“Once you start this book, you will not be able to put it down. An Untamed State is a novel of hope intermingled with fear, a book about possibilities mixed with horror and despair. It is written at a pace that will match your racing heart, and while you find yourself shocked, amazed, devastated, you also dare to hope for the best, for all involved.” —Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory, and The Dew Breaker.
In this book, the protagonist is living a fairytale. She’s been the youngest daughter of one of the richest families. She has a very adorable husband and a lovely son. She had a perfect life. But soon, this fairytale comes to an end. This novel is a book of privilege in the face of crushing poverty. You need to read the book yourself to know what actually happened.
Ayiti
This book explores the Haitian diaspora experience. In this book, a married couple prepares to leave their homeland. They look for a boat passage to America. It is a collection of mysterious stories of different people. It is a wise and fanciful book that you must read.
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture
This book is a collection of essays from writers including Gabrielle Union, Brandon Taylor, and Lyz Lenz, which are based on topics like Rape, assault, and harassment. In this book, the author has presented a collection of original and previously published pieces of these writers. These essays address women’s issues related to harassment, violence, aggression, bullying, and gaslighting. It covers a range of topics and experiences, and it is a heartbreakingly candid book. It is a must-read for everyone.
The Banks
This book is a heist thriller. It is about the most successful thieves in Chicago. Surprisingly, the women of the Banks family are these thieves. For fifty years, the women of the Banks family have been doing this successfully. They had one simple rule: never get greedy. It is a very interesting read. “The Banks is the best kind of heist story: a sharp, tight robbery with escalating tensions and threats coming from every direction.” – The A.V. Club.
How to Be Heard
If you want to know about the art of writing, then this book is for you. Early in this book, the author has said that writing advice is mostly terrible. Ironically she has given various practical writing advice for aspiring and established writers. She has answered all the questions she was asked about writing. This is the way she is teaching the world how to be heard by improving their writing skills. It is a very realistic book and a collection of advisors for inexperienced writers who want to progress.
The Sacrifice of Darkness
“When I was a young girl, my husband’s father flew an air machine into the sun. Since then, the days have been dark, the nights bright.”
The book is based o a short story by the author, ‘We are the Sacrifice of Darkness.’ The book is based on a tragic event that pushes away the world in darkness. It is about a woman’s powerful journey where she discovers love, family, and true light.
Reading is one of the best habits. Your health is not only based upon what you consume but also on what you feed your mind. With great books, we can make some changes in our life. I hope these book recommendations helped in some way. Happy reading.
