This was a wonderfully curated collection of stories. It’s often difficult to find works that do not center a westernized experience, and this collection gave the chance to read 50 of them! I really enjoyed the different literary voices that were given a spotlight, an definately want to get a physical copy once the book officially comes out.

Thank you so much to Joan Anim-Addo, Deirdre Osborne, Kadija George Sesay, et al. and NetGalley for the ARC! I enjoyed it immensely.

A lovely selection of titles, that should be on everyone's radar. This book is a culmination of love and labor that deserves peoples attention.

This book is an amazing read for readers that are looking to decolonize their reading lists and re-consider canonical literature. The editors of this book include a variety of texts from across the world that approach a variety of topics related to identity and community. I loved learning more about authors in the Far East and in the Global South and I look forward to reading some of their work soon!

Is basically a book that's saying what books should be in the cannon verves what actually is in cannon. Very informative.

This is the Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelves in 50 Books does just what the title suggests. The authors offer up 50 titles to add to “The Canon” of our literature studies by BIPOC and First Nation authors. I believe everyone should have this book on their shelves as a reference guide to broaden the literature we consume for pleasure and academic study.

This was great - a true labor of love by the creators. It is appreciated.

Recommend to everyone. I got an advance copy of this from Netgalley and have purchased it as well after finishing to have on hand.

If you want to decolonize your bookshelf and your don't know where to start, this is the book for you. This book presents extensive summaries and additional information for 50 books, and there is a section after each book that suggests even more books in the same vein. This is a great starting point!

I didn't love the format. The summaries are so complete that the books seem "spoiled", and there are no excerpts from the book. It's very worthwhile, just not what I had hoped it would be.

An absolutely brilliant collection of books meant to develop a new, inclusive literary canon that is actually representative of the seminal works of our time by all authors, not just the white dudes and Jane Austen.

A great compilation of proposed texts for the new literary canon. The defense of the texts is spot on, however, the syntax and fluency in the authors voice are off putting and make some parts difficult to follow.

This book challenges the literary world to rethink the ideas of what canonization of literature looks like and gives an excellently crafted brief history of how the process comes to fruition. I valued the assessments and explanations of why the most revered written works in English need to be decolonized and how culturally the academic process of canonizing books needs a complete overhaul. As an American, I had heard of only a few of these titles selected (since this book seems to be published by UK authors) but I was very intrigued by each title and look forward to reading many of these works. This book would make an excellent addition to any English literature course because it examines and challenges our past literary history and how to move forward to be more diverse, and culturally proficient. This is a great resource for any educator that teaches literature in the English Language. I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading the selected works in the future.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic book for anyone looking to make their reading life more diverse. I found it very helpful.

Far beyond the simple list I expected, This is the Canon provides readers with a thoughtful and thorough narrative on what it means to truly diversify your bookshelf. I found the insights at the beginning the book, both unique and deeply profound. For anyone committed to exploring genres and cultures that are unfamiliar, this is a excellent resource.

This book is a must own for all readers! It offers up invaluable information and recommendations for decolonizing your bookshelf. I am so thankful that I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and I will 100% be buying a physical copy of the book as soon as I can! I have already added several books to my TBR and am beyond excited for all of the glorious reading and book discussions in my future!

I really appreciate the intention of This is the Canon, but it was not what I expected, nor was it what I hoped for. Structurally, I don't believe this book was put together in the most reader-friendly way. For example, this reference book's hefty and front-heavy introduction would have been better suited as separate chapter introductions, categorizing the works within and giving them a bit of breathing room.

Structure aside, what I wanted from this book was for it to contain some context about each of the books it recommends. I was expecting that with each entry, the authors would provide a brief summary and then go on to discuss the importance of the book, the things to keep in mind while reading the book, where the book fits into the larger history of literature etc. Instead, the entries are nearly a full summary with some light reviewing. This isn't what I want from a book like this. I want the cultural relevance and theory and historical context for the entries.

This title is a fantastic resource for those who want to expand their reading horizons. The three women who put this book together write on fifty books that are well worth reading. I want to list all fifty excellent choices here but will just list a few. Then readers can experience their own joy of discovery with this resource. So, there are Things Fall Apart by Chinua, Achebe; Wide Saragasso Sea by Jean Rhys; If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin; The Color Purple by Alice Walker; and Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid. All of these books were known to me but others, including The Emperor’s Baby by Bernandine Evaristo, an How to Read the Air by Dina Wengestu were not.

Each entry describes a book in depth. There is then a section, The Novel, that gives some context. Next is autobiographical information on the author and finally, my favorite section entitled If You Like This Try…

I definitely recommend this one! I agree with the introduction that notes that fiction can help us to enter worlds that are not a part of one’s own experience of daily life. This title will lead readers to hours of exploration and many new treasures to pick up. It will be an especially excellent resource for those who are seeking books by authors who are not white and who represent many points of view.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Mobius Books for an advanced copy of this new literary guide to books.

The problem with being a reader in the world today is that no matter how quickly you read there are always more titles, and no matter how you try to keep up there are always more titles. Added to this is the fact that publishers are biased, they would rather chase the short win of a one week bestseller by publishing every political hack complete with a million dollar advance, rather than any new book by a writer of color or marginalized people. This is why a book like This is the Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books by the authors Joan Anim-Addo, Deirdre Osborne, Kadija Sesay is so useful and important.

This is a guide to the authors who are not covered in the glossy magazines or on the Sunday morning shows, or even taught in schools, though the way school boards are going the dictionary will soon be banned because the definition of racism makes people uncomfortable. The book states 50 titles, which it does, but many more authors and titles are mentioned in a section entitled "If You Life This, Try" which lists shorter descriptions and author takes, but feature up to three of four more books that are similar. There is a lot to be gleaned here.

The books are listed by publishing date starting in 1943 and ending in 2019. The descriptions are very good, giving a good idea about the plot, the topics covered, reception, history and and author biographies. In addition there are quite a few essays discussing world literature, how books are published and what is ignored, and how to share these books with other readers, either of like mind, or for readers knew to literature outside their culture.

A very informative guide for people who are familiar with or wish to know more about books that are outside comfort zones and about cultures and people they are unfamiliar with. This is not like a Fodor's of world travel, you won't suddenly be discussing marginalized writers and publishers ignoring and even bookstores omitting books like these from their shelves, like an expert. However this is a good start. A nice gift for students that seem interested in the world, for people who seem stuck in their world, and maybe for libraries as a reference.

Pros: I love reading challenges and reading lists and am more and more aware of what authors are included and excluded from “must read” lists. It is also a goal of mine to read more own-voices books and to increase the percentage of books I read by persons of color. My hope in reading this book was to add books to my “to read” list. Of the 50 books featured in this book, I think I’ve only read 7 of these books, which I see as an opportunity to expand my reading horizons and be more intentional about decolonizing my reading lists.

One of my favorite features of this book is how it is formatted—each of the 50 books is featured in a chapter with a summary of the book, information about the book’s publication and author, and further reading recommendations. Although the book says it features 50 books, there are many more than 50 book recommendations throughout in the “if you like this, try . . .” sections.

Cons: None that I can think of. I wish there were more books like this one and that school curriculums features these books more often.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mobius Books for the opportunity to read this book.