@titania
- American Indian Stories and Old Indian Legends by Zitkála-Šá: Collections of stories and biographical essays by Yankton Dakota activist, artist, and writer Zitkála-Šá. Old Indian Legends are a lot of great fun, while American Indian Stories contains accounts of the author's experiences with boarding school so that's a big CW. https://standardebooks.org/ebooks?query=zitkala&sort=relevance&view=grid&per-page=12 She's famous enough that most libraries would carry her books, I think.
- Persuasion by Jane Austen: My favorite Austen book and like a more-mature Pride & Prejudice imo. I really enjoyed the protagonist's quiet strength and the different takes on what was just and unjust in the romantic situation. https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/jane-austen/persuasion
- Reminiscences of my life in camp with the 33d United States colored troops by Susie King Taylor: A U.S. Civil War memoir by a freedwoman and camp nurse. This one's short and sweet, and I really liked the stories of camp life and the war. The special lifelong camaraderie between the members of the unit was touching, too, as seen in the introduction and elsewhere. CW war, racism, and slavery of course. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73499 Also has a public-domain audio version. https://librivox.org/author/16713?primary_key=16713&search_category=author&search_page=1&search_form=get_results&search_order=alpha
- Silas Marner by George Eliot: I know Middlemarch wasn't your thing, but I honestly find Silas Marner more endearing and wholesome--shorter and simpler, too. If you try this one and don't like it I promise never to recommend Eliot again 😁 https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/george-eliot/silas-marner
- There Is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset: Special mention for being highly promising, though I haven't finished it yet. Set in the 20th century U.S., it follows the relationships between upwardly mobile middle-class Black characters and I'm really enjoying the characterizations, psychological observations, and girl friendships >_< https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/jessie-redmon-fauset/there-is-confusion
