Let's Talk Bookish; Do I Prioritise Diversity In My Reading?

It's Friday, so it's perhaps time for another Let's Talk Bookish post courtesy of the book blog Book Nook Bits and the topic for today is "do I prioritise diversity in my reading?".

Here's the further prompts for today.

Diversity and diversity in reading are often huge topics of conversation. Do you actively seek out diverse books? What kind of representation do you look for? Do you feel that diverse books are often spotlighted, or that it takes more of an effort to find diverse books? What recommendations do you have?

Considering I'm bi and have ADHD, there's perhaps no surprise I seek out diverse books, especially if there's LGBT+ representation, but I actively search for diverse books in general, so my diverse reads actually are diverse.

Some bookish websites, book influensers and what-not are good at spotlighting diverse books, while others could perhaps do it a bit more. There's also the aspect that some diverse topics so to speak are more spotlighted than others. Like, for Black History Month or Pride Month, it's easy enough to find books by black authors or LGBT+ characters, but how often are books containing characters with disabilities or invisible illnesses, or for that matter, wheelchair users, highlighted? This is of course just a few examples and not an extensive list. So in some cases, it's actually a bit of an effort finding the right diverse book.

Here's some spooky book recommendations featuring diversity worth checking out.

• The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass (black and gay characters)
• Goth by Otsuichi (Japanese)
• Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones (Native American)
• Sallow Bend by Alan Baxter (character with autism)
• The Well by Marie Sexton (gay characters)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (latinx)