Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nigerian Author & Cultural Commentator

Nigerian writer known for exploring identity, gender, and postcolonial themes. Has recommended 19 books spanning literary fiction to children's classics.

Authors & Thinkers

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a celebrated Nigerian author whose novels, including Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun, have garnered international acclaim. Her work examines race, feminism, and Nigerian culture with sharp narrative insight. Through her reading selections, she champions diverse voices from literary giants to beloved children's authors.

19 Books Recommended by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site

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Moby Dick book cover
#2

Moby Dick

by Herman Melville

6 people recommended

The classic I am supposed to have read but have had difficulty getting past the first page.

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Also recommended by: Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Jack Edwards, Penn Jillette, Pewdiepie

Things Fall Apart book cover
#3

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

4 people recommended

[The author's] classic.

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Also recommended by: Barack Obama, Jacqueline Novogratz, Sarah Jessica Parker

πŸ“–
#4

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

4 people recommended

I admired the fierce honesty in the single-mindedly feminist world-view of this book.

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Also recommended by: Emma Watson, Hillary Clinton, Shonda Rhimes

The Remains of the Day book cover
#5

The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

3 people recommended

A stunning book.

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Also recommended by: Jeff Bezos, Emma Watson

πŸ“–
#6

Doctor Zhivago

by Boris Pasternak

3 people recommended

I also loved [this book].

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Also recommended by: Winston Churchill, Christopher Hitchens

πŸ“–
#7

Naked Lunch

by William S. Burroughs

2 people recommendedrecommended 2x

A book I consider grossly overrated.

A book I consider grossly overrated.

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Also recommended by: Anthony Bourdain

πŸ“–
#8

The Female Persuasion

by Meg Wolitzer

A page-turner that succeeds both at character and ideas.

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πŸ“–
#9

Cuz

by Danielle S. Allen

recommended 2x

Unbearably moving.

Unbearably moving.

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πŸ“–
#10

Speak No Evil

by Uzodinma Iweala

recommended 2x

It is elegant and elegiac, and evokes Washington DC with subtle power.

It is elegant and elegiac, and evokes Washington DC with subtle power.

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πŸ“–
#11

Enid Blyton Famous Five Series

by Enid Blyton

recommended 2x

I was entranced by the children who had these wonderful adventures and who were always magically at the right place at the right time.

I was entranced by the children who had these wonderful adventures and who were always magically at the right place at the right time.

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πŸ“–
#12

Arrow of God

by Chinua Achebe

recommended 2x

Complex and funny and interesting.

Complex and funny and interesting.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#13

Anil’s Ghost

by Michael Ondaatje

recommended 2x

Made me cry.

Made me cry.

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πŸ“–
#14

Fine Boys

by Eghosa Imasuen

recommended 2x

Made me laugh. It’s a brilliant novel about contemporary Nigeria.

Made me laugh. It’s a brilliant novel about contemporary Nigeria.

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πŸ“–
#15

Playing in the Light

by ZoΓ« Wicomb

recommended 2x

A very sharply observed, brilliant, beautiful novel about life in postapartheid South Africa.

A very sharply observed, brilliant, beautiful novel about life in postapartheid South Africa.

Buy on Amazon β†’
πŸ“–
#16

The Unwinding

by George Packer

recommended 2x

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recommended this book in an EW interview.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recommended this book in an EW interview.

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πŸ“–
#17

Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery

by John Gregory Brown

recommended 2x

It is so atmospheric, so hauntingly described, that the reader never quite emerges from the book.

It is so atmospheric, so hauntingly described, that the reader never quite emerges from the book.

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πŸ“–
#18

Waiting for the Vote of the Wild Animals

by Ahmadou Kourouma

recommended 2x

This is a humourous, irreverent and unabashedly political novel.

This is a humourous, irreverent and unabashedly political novel.

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πŸ“–
#19

Fathers and Sons

by Ivan Turgenev

recommended 2x

I loved this book as a teenager and have never forgotten how completely absorbed I was by [the author's] wonderfully evocative world.

I loved this book as a teenager and have never forgotten how completely absorbed I was by [the author's] wonderfully evocative world.

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