Let’s talk bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books and Dani @Literary Lion, here different topics will be discussed.
This week’s topic is ‘diversity in books’!
What do you think is the meaning of diverse?
For me it is when the character is different in any kind of way! So I see Asian or African characters as diverse from me. But also LGBT characters. Both main and side characters!
Who do you think is qualified to write a diverse book?
I would say authors from Asia, can write about Asian characters/cultures. Not necessarily only authors who live/come from Asia, but also have their roots there, so they probably would have heard lots of stories from family members who did live there/ have experiences from there. I have no idea if I’m describing this well!
Kinda the same for the LGBT community, those authors just know best how it is! A straight author just doesn’t have the same experiences as for example a gay author!
And again the same for disability representation, the only person who knows how it is to sit in a wheelchair, is someone how has experienced it!
How do you find diverse books to read?
To be honest, I do not go out of my way looking for diverse books. Older fantasies are generally not diverse, which is a bad thing. But luckily most newer fantasies are diverse! In either the setting or the characters, and I’m loving it!
But I guess the best way to find them is looking on GoodReads etc.! There are loads of lists on there, and you can see how other readers have shelved books! And there are loads of reviewers who shelf their books by their representation, which is great!
What are some diverse topics/PVOs that you specifically look for when you’re finding books and why?
I feel like diverse characters should just be there, since that is the same in the ‘real’ world! Although that is not the case (yet!)
I do look for Asian and African inspired fantasies! I’m loving them, and they show me so many different cultures!
How do you decide if a diverse topic is done well?
For that I think it is best to listen to own-voices reviewers! I mean I can say/think that a certain disability is well represented, but I could not say for sure since I won’t have experienced it!
And that is of course the same for LGBT and different cultures!
Interesting topic for sure! I also think if anyone does their research they can write any character however they should maybe think about the overall diversity of their cast rather than focusing on just a main character, if that makes sense. I also don’t want to pigeonhole BIPOC authors into only writing from their own backgrounds either, that would be a disservice as well.
Research is very important!
And indeed, the whole cast should be diverse!
I’ve always been of the mind that anyone can write a diverse character, even if they aren’t of that particular minority group. The important thing is to do the character justice (do the research, talk to people from that group, make the effort to accurately portray that character), because let’s be honest, if you can only write from your particular background, then that means your book has to include only people of that background, which doesn’t accurately portray your world. Diverse authors write white characters, too, so I think it’s all a matter of making sure that you’re doing the utmost to be as accurate and sensitive as possible.
Just as no one person can represent everyone from their particular minority group, everyone’s stories are going to be their representation only, even if they are writing characters that are of that group. Everyone feels differently about things, so the world of books is naturally going to reflect that. I, for one, hope that one day all books will be diverse, no matter who writes them.
You’re right! If the author does proper research, and indeed does the character justice, it can work!
And indeed if you are only ‘allowed’ to write from you’re background, there will still be a lot of groups that are not properly ‘displayed’ in books!
I really hope all books will be diverse too!
Thanks for the great comment!
I used to go out of my way to read diversely, but I’ve noticed that it’s begun coming naturally to me now. Last year I didn’t try to read diverse books, but I still did. Honestly, these days I’m less interested in stories that don’t have at least one brand of diversity.
That’s good!
I love seeing more diversity in fantasy books coming out now! It’s great when books have a diverse cast of characters.
Same!
i think diversity in books is so, so important, and i’m so glad that there are so many diverse books coming out this year. the book community really needs more of it. i try my best to look for diverse books to support marginalized authors, so i follow blogs that feature these types of books! lovely post <3
It is!
That is definitely the best way to go!