Thanks for the recommendations!
I've read some of them:
- Nella Larsen "Passing" - I remember liking it, and will check out the thread.
- Octavia Butler: I've read "Kindred", where a modern Black woman is thrown back in time to the early 1800s. A time travel story which really brings home that for the majority of people, the past wasn't just pretty dresses and quaint manners. I also have bought, but haven't read yet, "Parable of the Sower". I remember several people comparing it to "The Handmaid's Tale", saying that Parable was an even better comment on the current political developments. (That sounds pretty depressing, so I have to be in the right mood to read it.)
- Zadie Smith: I've read about halfway through "White Teeth", don't remember why I gave it up. As I remember it was well written, but didn't quite manage to hold my interest. Maybe I was more in the mood for space battles and wizards at the time, I'll give it another try.
- NK Jemisin: I've read some of her short stories from "When is Black Future Month" -- I really liked "The Ones Who Stay and Fight" (an answer to "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"). Her novels are definitively on my to-read list.
- Alisha Rai: I just finished "The Right Swipe" and "Girl Gone Viral", and liked them a lot. Cute romances, with enough drama to be interesting.
- Alyssa Cole: "A Princess in Theory" where a cynical and overworked student is spammed with emails about how she's betrothed to a prince, and "In order to aid in this process, please send the following verifications of identity: a scan of your license, passport, or other form of ID; up to date medical records—", and then it turns out that it's not fake
I've been meaning to pick up "An Extraordinary Union", about two undercover agents during the US Civil War.
I'll check out the others -- some I've been meaning to read, and others are new to me. I think I'll start with Beverly Jenkins. I've been meaning to read her for a long time.
The discussion here is also interesting, I'll add to it later!