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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Books in Order

Find Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie books in order, with summaries, standalone reading guidance, background on her work, and easy suggestions on where to begin.

Last updated: July 14, 2026

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie books in publication order

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33 books

For Better and for Worse

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

1993

This Selected Shorts audio anthology gathers stories about marriage, partnership, and complicated love. Performed by actors, the pieces move through tenderness, frustration, loyalty, and the bargains couples make.

Even More Laughs

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

1998

This Selected Shorts collection brings together comic stories performed for audio, ranging from sly irony to broad absurdity. It is built for listeners who like literary fiction with a laugh.

Purple Hibiscus

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2003

Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her brother Jaja live under the strict control of their admired but frightening father in Enugu. A visit to their aunt's home opens their world, bringing warmth, questions, and the possibility of resistance.

Recommended by

1 person

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2006

As Nigeria heads toward the Biafran war, the lives of houseboy Ugwu, sisters Olanna and Kainene, and writer Richard become tightly entwined. Their relationships are tested by political upheaval, hunger, separation, and the daily demands of survival.

Timeless Classics

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2006

This Selected Shorts anthology presents classic short fiction by writers such as Edith Wharton, James Thurber, Shirley Jackson, and Raymond Carver, read aloud by performers who give each story a fresh charge.

Edith Wharton

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

Selected Shorts presents four Edith Wharton stories in live performance, highlighting her sharp eye for manners, class, secrets, and social traps. It is a concise audio introduction to her short fiction.

Falling in Love

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

This Selected Shorts audio collection gathers stories about attraction, first sparks, longing, and romantic confusion. The readings turn familiar feelings into compact dramas full of humor and ache.

Family Matters

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

Families misbehave, misunderstand, and occasionally come through in this Selected Shorts anthology. Many stories use a child's-eye view to catch the comedy and pain of life at home.

Food Fictions

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

Food becomes memory, temptation, comfort, and trouble in this Selected Shorts anthology. Recorded live, the stories serve up literary meals with humor, sensual detail, and human messiness.

Pets!

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

Animals take center stage in this Selected Shorts anthology, though the real subject is often human behavior. The stories range from comic pet chaos to stranger, more surprising creaturely bonds.

Tales of Betrayal

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

This Selected Shorts collection explores betrayal in families, friendships, faith, and private life. The stories ask what makes people break trust, and what remains after the damage is done.

Travel Tales

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2007

This Selected Shorts collection follows characters in motion, on trips, flights, roads, and emotional detours. The journeys matter, but so do the awkward discoveries made along the way.

Are We There Yet?

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2008

Planes, trains, cars, and restless travelers shape this Selected Shorts collection. The stories treat travel as both movement through the world and a way into loneliness, hope, and surprise.

The Thing Around Your Neck

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2008

This story collection moves between Nigeria and the United States, following people dealing with migration, family, desire, violence, and belonging. Each story finds tension in the gap between what characters hope for and the lives they actually have.

A Touch of Magic

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009

This Selected Shorts anthology gathers stories brushed with fantasy, horror, wonder, and surreal twists. Familiar authors and strong performers turn wishes, strange rooms, and impossible events into lively audio.

Imitation

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009

A Nigerian mother living comfortably in Philadelphia learns that her husband has installed his mistress in their Lagos home. The news forces her to confront the compromises, loneliness, and carefully managed appearance of her marriage.

The Shivering

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009

After a plane crashes in Nigeria, graduate student Ukamaka invites a lonely neighbor inside to pray and wait for news. Their uneasy conversation offers comfort at first, until she senses that Chinedu is carrying a devastating secret.

The William Hurt Collection

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009

William Hurt performs stories by Richard Ford, Ron Carlson, Tobias Wolff, and Aleksandar Hemon in this Selected Shorts collection. Ford's “Communist” anchors the set with a stark Montana coming-of-age tale.

Whodunit?

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009

Mystery drives this Selected Shorts collection, with stories of suspicion, crime, hidden motives, and clever reveals. It is made for listeners who enjoy literary tales with a puzzle at the center.

American Classics

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2010

This Selected Shorts anthology pairs major American stories with stage and screen performers. The lineup includes writers such as Poe, Eudora Welty, Alice Walker, John Cheever, Amy Tan, and Joyce Carol Oates.

New American Stories

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2011

Four contemporary stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, Sherman Alexie, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Aleksandar Hemon explore immigration, identity, alienation, and belonging in America, each performed before a live audience.

Poe!

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2012

This Selected Shorts collection spotlights Edgar Allan Poe in performance, leaning into suspense, dread, and psychological unease. It is a compact audio choice for classic mystery and horror moods.

Americanah

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2013

Ifemelu leaves Nigeria for university in America, while her first love, Obinze, tries to build a life in London. Years later, their paths cross again in Nigeria in a novel about race, migration, ambition, and unfinished love.

Recommended by

2 people

We Should All Be Feminists

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2014

Adapted from Adichie's talk, this concise essay argues for a more inclusive everyday feminism. Drawing on personal experiences in Nigeria and abroad, it examines the habits and assumptions that keep gender inequality in place.

The Arrangements

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2016

In this political short story, Adichie imagines Melania Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. The close interior view turns public spectacle into a tense portrait of marriage, ambition, performance, and the stories people tell themselves.

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2017

Written as a letter to a friend raising a daughter, this short book offers fifteen practical suggestions for bringing up a feminist child. Adichie addresses independence, language, gender roles, love, and the importance of letting girls become fully themselves.

Recommended by

1 person

We Should All Be Feminists: The Desk Diary 2021

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2020

This 2021 desk diary turns the ideas of *We Should All Be Feminists* into a year of planning, reflection, and daily use. It is a practical companion for readers who want feminist prompts beside their schedules.

Zikora

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2020

A successful Nigerian lawyer in Washington, D.C., is abandoned by her partner just before she gives birth. During labor, Zikora looks back on family history, romantic disappointment, and the pressures placed on women who are expected to cope alone.

Notes on Grief

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2021

After the sudden death of her father in 2020, Adichie writes through the shock and disorder of mourning. This brief personal essay considers family, memory, distance, and the strange ways grief changes ordinary time.

The Visit

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2021

In a Lagos shaped by a powerful matriarchy, stay-at-home husband Obinna prepares for a visit from his outspoken old friend Eze. Their reunion exposes the everyday restrictions and unequal expectations faced by men in this reversed social order.

Mama's Sleeping Scarf

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2023

Little Chino loves the scarf her mother wears to bed and discovers the many games, memories, and family connections wrapped up in it. This warm picture book follows a child's imagination through an ordinary day at home.

Annie Leibovitz: Women: 2025 Edition

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2025

This two-volume photography collection pairs Annie Leibovitz's 1999 portraits with more recent images of women across public and private life. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie contributes an essay alongside Susan Sontag and Gloria Steinem.

Dream Count

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2025

Four women connected by friendship and history confront love, betrayal, grief, work, and the futures they imagined for themselves. Moving between the United States and Nigeria, the novel follows private choices as they reshape whole lives.

Where to start with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

For a powerful coming-of-age novel: Purple HibiscusHalf of a Yellow Sun
For love, migration, and identity: AmericanahThe Thing Around Your Neck
For a short, direct introduction to her ideas: We Should All Be FeministsDear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
For her newest fiction: Dream CountZikora

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie collections, short stories, and related book types

Short Stories/Novellas

  1. Book cover for "Imitation"

    Imitation

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2009
  2. Book cover for "The Shivering"

    The Shivering

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2009
  3. Book cover for "The Arrangements"

    The Arrangements

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2016
  4. Book cover for "Zikora"

    Zikora

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2020

Short Story Collections

  1. Book cover for "The Thing Around Your Neck"

    The Thing Around Your Neck

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2008

Children's Books

  1. Book cover for "Mama's Sleeping Scarf"

    Mama's Sleeping Scarf

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2023

Non-Fiction Books

  1. Book cover for "We Should All Be Feminists"

    We Should All Be Feminists

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2014
  2. Book cover for "We Should All Be Feminists: The Desk Diary 2021"

    We Should All Be Feminists: The Desk Diary 2021

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2020
  3. Book cover for "Annie Leibovitz: Women: 2025 Edition"

    Annie Leibovitz: Women: 2025 Edition

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2025

Black Stars Books

  1. Book cover for "The Visit"

    The Visit

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2021

Selected Shorts Books

  1. Book cover for "For Better and for Worse"

    For Better and for Worse

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    1993
  2. Book cover for "Even More Laughs"

    Even More Laughs

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    1998
  3. Book cover for "Timeless Classics"

    Timeless Classics

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2006
  4. Book cover for "Falling in Love"

    Falling in Love

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  5. Book cover for "Food Fictions"

    Food Fictions

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  6. Book cover for "Travel Tales"

    Travel Tales

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  7. Book cover for "Edith Wharton"

    Edith Wharton

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  8. Book cover for "Pets!"

    Pets!

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  9. Book cover for "Tales of Betrayal"

    Tales of Betrayal

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  10. Book cover for "Family Matters"

    Family Matters

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2007
  11. Book cover for "Are We There Yet?"

    Are We There Yet?

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2008
  12. Book cover for "A Touch of Magic"

    A Touch of Magic

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2009
  13. Book cover for "The William Hurt Collection"

    The William Hurt Collection

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2009
  14. Book cover for "Whodunit?"

    Whodunit?

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2009
  15. Book cover for "American Classics"

    American Classics

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2010
  16. Book cover for "New American Stories"

    New American Stories

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2011
  17. Book cover for "Poe!"

    Poe!

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2012

Annie Leibovitz Photography Books

  1. Book cover for "Annie Leibovitz: Women: 2025 Edition"

    Annie Leibovitz: Women: 2025 Edition

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2025

Standalone Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie books

  1. Book cover for "Purple Hibiscus"

    Purple Hibiscus

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2003A Novel
  2. Book cover for "Half of a Yellow Sun"

    Half of a Yellow Sun

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2006
  3. Book cover for "Americanah"

    Americanah

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2013
  4. Book cover for "Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions"

    Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2017
  5. Book cover for "Notes on Grief"

    Notes on Grief

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2021
  6. Book cover for "Dream Count"

    Dream Count

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    2025

Author bio

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria, in 1977 and grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her father taught statistics there, and her mother became the university's first female registrar. The campus, its routines, and the wider political life around it would later echo through her fiction.

She grew up in a home where books mattered, but her early path was not a straight line toward becoming a novelist. She studied medicine at the University of Nigeria for a year before leaving for the United States at 19.

In the US, Adichie studied communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University. She later earned a master's degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University and another master's degree in African history from Yale. Those studies gave her room to build a writing life while moving between Nigerian and American settings.

The change of direction stuck.

Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, arrived in 2003. Told through the eyes of the quiet teenage Kambili, it follows a family living under a father's harsh religious control in Nigeria. Readers often come to it for its close view of adolescence, family loyalty, fear, and the slow discovery that another kind of home life is possible.

In Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie turns to the Biafran war of the late 1960s. The novel follows several people whose lives cross as Nigeria breaks apart, including a houseboy, two sisters, and an English writer. It is a large historical story, but its force comes from the everyday details of love, hunger, work, friendship, and survival.

Then came Americanah, a novel about Ifemelu and Obinze, teenage sweethearts separated when they leave military-ruled Nigeria for different lives abroad. Ifemelu's years in the United States bring race, class, hair, work, and loneliness into sharp focus, while Obinze faces a harder route through England. The book won the National Book Critics Circle Award and became a key starting point for many new readers.

Her books make room for private lives inside public pressure.

Adichie's shorter work is just as direct. The Thing Around Your Neck collects stories set in Nigeria and the United States, often following people caught between expectation and desire. Her essay We Should All Be Feminists, adapted from a 2012 talk, uses personal experience to argue for a fuller, more ordinary understanding of feminism. Dear Ijeawele takes the form of practical advice to a friend raising a daughter.

She also writes about loss without dressing it up. Notes on Grief began after the death of her father in 2020 and stays close to the disorienting, uneven experience of mourning. Her 2025 novel, Dream Count, returns to fiction through the connected lives of four women navigating love, disappointment, ambition, and difficult choices.

Adichie divides her time between the United States and Nigeria, where she leads an annual creative writing workshop. Across novels, stories, speeches, and essays, she keeps returning to questions of family, migration, gender, power, and the stories people tell about one another. The result is writing that is serious about big subjects but always alert to the small moments that make a life feel real.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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