Diversifying My Reading List

You may have heard of the #weneeddiversebooks campaign that went viral (Yay!) over the past few days. For more information, click HERE. Well, it got me thinking...
 

Reading is a great way to learn about a culture/race/orientation/religion etc. other than the one you identify with. Personally, books have always been a source of learning for me. I widen my vocabulary, learn about legends, hobbies, history and places other than what I’m familiar with, but am I reading enough diverse books? Am I learning about other cultures/races/orientations/religions in the books I read?

I’m not so sure. Out of the 18 books I’ve read this year, only two of them have main characters who are diverse:

·         Two Boys Kissing—David Levithan

·         The Tyrant’s Daughter—J.C. Carleson

My reading repertoire overall has more diversity, but still the percentage to total books read is low. Looks like I need to ramp it up! For each of the eight months left of 2014, I’m going to read at least one book with a main character unlike me, whether they are of another culture, race, orientation, religion etc. One of the best things about reading diversely is that I'll be able to recommend diversely (remember: I'm a bookseller by day).

My #weneeddiversebooks Reading List for 2014

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian—Sherman Alexie

The Summer Prince—Alaya Dawn Johnson

Ask the Passengers—A. S. King

The Art of Secrets—James Klise

The Living—Matt de la Peña

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe—Benjamin Alire Sáenz

She is Not Invisible—Marcus Sedgwick

Marcelo in the Real World—Francisco X. Stork

Oh, and here’s some diversity in the wild!