Diverse Books 101: Starter Recommendations For Diversifying Your Bookshelf (ft. signed book giveaways)

How can you start diversifying your bookshelf? And how can we encourage other readers (and even non-readers!) to pick up diverse books?

But before we delve into that, I’d like to raise a small point:

Online conversations about diverse books aren’t enough.

As someone who has been deeply immersed in the online book community for nearly five years, it’s easy to forget that online conversations aren’t necessarily representative of the larger conversations taking place offline. Likewise, it’s easy to forget that our ability to participate in the community is a privilege not afforded to many people, especially those who are on the less fortunate side of the digital divide.

Within the online book community, there’s hardly ever a need to explain what diverse books are and why reading diversely is important. However, my conversations with KB (Bookbed) and Salve (Cuckoo for Books) — as we prepared for our panel session in this year’s Literary and Publishing Trade Conversations (huge thanks to the National Book Development Board for having us!) — have sparked much reflection on my part as an advocate of diverse books.

Oftentimes, when we start conversations about diversity in literature, we tend to understate the importance of accessibility and affordability. For instance, in countries where reading for leisure is a huge privilege (like in the Philippines), many readers don’t have the luxury of reading diversely. This can be due to numerous factors, such as limited book selections, high prices (did you know that a $20 hardback is equivalent to my weekly food allowance when I was still in college?), large shipping fees, and lack of public libraries. This is a whole discussion that I’ll reserve for another time (or alternatively, you can attend our LitPub panel session on November 27 — wink, wink).

Conversations about diversity in literature are not accessible.

But for this post, in particular, I want to bring light to another form of inaccessibility. Specifically, the grim reality that the conversations surrounding diversity in literature remain to be really inaccessible to many, especially offline.

A lot of readers and non-readers alike don’t think twice about the value of representation, much less the ongoing call for diversity in literature. Many of them have probably never encountered the phrase “diverse books” or the hashtag “#ownvoices” in their day-to-day conversations. In addition, they likely don’t have the tools to easily navigate catalogs and identify diverse books.

As fun as it is to lovingly shout about diverse books on social media, I think that the next challenge for us is to bring these conversations offline and to make resources accessible to casual readers and non-readers.

• How can we encourage more people within our interpersonal circles to read more diversely?
• How can we invite casual readers and non-readers to rally behind marginalized authors from disenfranchised communities?
• How can we help others start diversifying their bookshelves?

Which brings me to the intended audience of this post: anyone looking to jumpstart their journey to reading more diversely. In this post, you’ll find a brief introduction to diverse books and starter recommendations of diverse books (kind of like the Pokémon starters that new trainers select from). I sincerely hope that this post can help you find your footing!

Diversity in Literature 101

First and foremost, what do we mean by diversity in literature? And what are diverse books? Personally, I think there needs to be a distinction between diverse stories, diverse authors, and diverse publishing.

• When we’re talking about diversity in literature, we’re referring to the actual text, that is, the stories within books.
• Meanwhile, when we’re talking about diversity in publishing, we’re referring to the working individuals (e.g. authors, editors, cover artists, graphic designers) within the publishing industry.

For literature to be diverse, there needs to be a wide range of available stories featuring characters from all walks of life, including those that we rarely encounter on-page. More often than not, these ‘rarely encountered’ stories are experiences and narratives from marginalized and disenfranchised communities. As such, diverse books pertain to stories that include people of color, people within the LGBTQIAP+ spectrum, disabled people, neurodivergent people, and other minorities.

Historically, media and literature have been predominantly white and western — and this is partly due to the composition of the publishing industry itself. Data from the 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey show that the industry’s majority is comprised of white, cis, straight, and abled personnel. The profile of publishing’s workforce has a fundamental impact on the gate-keeping process and on publishing as a whole. In fact, online conversations, such as #PublishingPaidMe, have shown the darker side of the industry where marginalized authors, especially those from Black, Indigenous, and POC communities, are consistently given less compensation and drastically less support.

Furthermore, systems can only reproduce iterations of themselves, as noted by Randy Ribay in one of his author interviews:

I think we really need to work on not just making sure diverse stories are being written but making sure that the industries themselves are diverse so that they make it out into the world and into readers’ hands. Systems reproduce themselves, so if we want to ensure the books on our shelves reflect the diverse reality of our world, then we need to ensure that our teachers, librarians, reviewers, agents, editors, artists, marketing professionals, etc. also reflect that diversity.

— Randy Ribay

Thus, advocating for diversity in literature must go hand-in-hand with advocating for diversity in publishing. In other words, we need diversity both on the frontlines and behind the scenes. This isn’t just about seeing yourself on-page, but also, and perhaps more importantly, seeing actual changes in the system that produces these stories.

Thus, on a personal level, diversifying your reading means consciously consuming stories about marginalized characters, especially written by marginalized authors. However, the larger call for diversity is a call for equal accessibility and opportunity for stories that aren’t white and western, as well as a publishing industry that reflects the diversity of the world that we live in. This is why it’s important for us to read diverse stories and to actively support marginalized authors and creatives.

Starter Recommendations for Diverse Books

Back to the first question of this blog post: How can you start diversifying your bookshelf? And relatedly, what is the best way to start reading diversely?

I don’t think that there’s a right or wrong approach. Personally, however, I think a fantastic first step is to start from home, that is, perusing through local literature. For example, if you’re Filipino, you can look into Filipino authors who write stories within your favorite genres. Some of my personal favorites are Rin Chupeco (author of The Bone Witch), K.S. Villoso (author of The Wolf of Oren-yaro), Gail D. Villanueva (author of My Fate According to the Butterfly), and Randy Ribay (author of Patron Saints of Nothing).

Moreover, you can opt to start with books that are aligned with your personal interests or hobbies. Are you a fan of BTS and K-pop groups? Try out I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee and other K-pop romance novels written by authors of color. Was Mulan your favorite Disney princess growing up? You can seek out Chinese authors who’ve written stories with similar tropes and themes.

Finally, if you’re still struggling to figure out where to start, then read the rest of this post! I’ve compiled a hopefully helpful list of “starter recommendations” for various genres. Kind of like how there are different Pokémon starters for various regions. Enjoy!

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Contemporary

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Fantasy

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Historical Fiction

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Horror

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Literary Fiction

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Poetry

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Romance

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Science Fiction

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Nonfiction

Book Giveaways

Giveaway #1: Mirage by Somaiya Daud

I’m giving away a paperback edition of Mirage by Somaiya Daud to one winner from the Philippines! This will be conducted during our LitPub panel session on November 27, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

More specifically, KB (Bookbed), Salve (Cuckoo for Books), and I are doing a “Repping in Reading” virtual panel where we will discuss diversity in literature and how readers can start diversifying their bookshelves. After our discussion, we will have a live Q&A session where we will interact with our audience. To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is to ask a question during our Q&A. My co-presenters and I will randomly select a winner among the audience members who asked a question.

Giveaway #2: Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

If you miss our LitPub panel session, that’s okay! I’m also giving away a signed hardback edition of Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan to another winner! To enter the giveaway, you must submit your entries in the Rafflecopter widget below. The winner will be drawn after two weeks and will be contacted via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I’d love to hear from you!

🌻 What are your thoughts on reading more diversely? How can you encourage other readers (and even non-readers!) to pick up diverse books?

🌻 Are any of these starter recommendations familiar to you? Did you find any new books from this list?

🌻 Do you think that accessibility plays a large role in a person’s ability to read diversely?