#23: Read a book by a disabled author.

[Book Riot]

Use this space to discuss books you’re reading or that might fit the 23rd Read Harder task. Sign up for our new Read Harder newsletter to get recommendations for each task delivered straight to your inbox! https://bookriot.com/newsletter/read-...

[Patty]

Would being mentally ill count as "disabled," or does this refer only to physical disabilities? If the former, maybe read "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace or anything by Jenny Lawson.

[Elizabeth]

I'm hoping to finally read Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space for this task. I already have a copy and I've been dying to get to it.

[Tiffany]

Elizabeth wrote: "I'm hoping to finally read Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space for this task. I already have a copy and I've been dying to get to it."

It's really good!

[Hannah]

John Milton was bound when he wrote Paradise Lost. I wonder if this fits the prompt...?

[Karen]

Hannah wrote: "John Milton was bound when he wrote Paradise Lost. I wonder if this fits the prompt...?"

Blind? That is a good idea.

I am looking forward to the latest from Nicola Griffith who has MS. I loved her book Hild and want to get Spear as soon as it is released.

Also, keeping in mind Set Me Free a YA novel from Ann Clare LeZotte, who is deaf. Show Me a Sign, the first book in this series about the historic deaf community on Martha's Vineyard was excellent.

[Brittany]

Helen Hoang has Autism Spectrum Disorder, so I am planning on reading her latest book The Heart Principle.

[Joshua]

If anyone is looking to read romance, Talia Hibbert has fibromyalgia, so any of her books would work.

[Beth]

Hannah wrote: "John Milton was bound when he wrote Paradise Lost. I wonder if this fits the prompt...?"

Hope so, since that's what I'm planning to read.

[Erin]

I may go with The Kiss Quotient, The Unseen Trail: The Story of a Blind Hiker's Journey on the Appalachian Trail, or The Labyrinth's Archivist. I have a year to decide though!

[Erin]

Oh, and Kipling wasn't fully blind, but would definitely be legally blind by today's standards.

[Ron]

Patty wrote: "Would being mentally ill count as "disabled," or does this refer only to physical disabilities? If the former, maybe read "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace or anything by Jenny Lawson."

I would think the mentally is considered 'disability'. I have multiple of them and that's what I've been told by my therapists and such. Just because you can't see it as a physical ailment doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

I too chose a mental illness book for this topic.

[Ron]

The book I chose is The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays .

I have several mental disorders and do a lot of reading on them but the one I have always been curious about is schizophrenia mainly because it's an illness that runs in my family and that there are overlaps between that and bipolar disorder which is the illness I have.

[Elizabeth]

Elizabeth wrote: "I'm hoping to finally read Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space for this task. I already have a copy and I've been dying to get to it."

I still plan on reading this, but I actually realised that at the very beginning of the year I'll be reading Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation for a book club, and I'll definitely be getting to it first in that case. I WILL get to Disfigured this year though.

[Cherri]

I read Golem Girl: A Memoir recently and would recommend!

[Olivia]

Karen wrote: "Hannah wrote: "John Milton was bound when he wrote Paradise Lost. I wonder if this fits the prompt...?"

Blind? That is a good idea.

I am looking forward to the latest from [author:Nicola Griffith..."

I was so curious when I thought he was bound! How did he write it? Who bound him? How long was he bound for?!

[Erica]

I found Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner a great read

[Mary]

I read Growing Up Disabled in Australia, a collection of personal essays and poetry. It was a good read as it was about a country I know about only in broad strokes and covered a wide variety of topics.

[Bobby]

I'm still reading Finnegans Wake by James Joyce from last year, so I may use that for this challenge.

Some other books I am considering:

The Illustrated A Brief History of Time/The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking

El libro de arena by Jorge Luis Borges

El Informe de Brodie by Jorge Luis Borges


I've read these and recommend them:

Paradise Lost by John Milton

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

[Bebe]

I read El Deafo by Cece Bell. I rarely give a book 5 stars, but this one earned it! It is a children's graphic novel so it could possibly fit other catagories.

[Rae]

Seanan McGuire is a great author for this. She does sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, etc.

[Mandie]

I conquered Carrie Fisher's Postcards from the Edge for this prompt.

[Jody]

Shane Burcaw has really amusing books:
Laughing at My Nightmare
Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse

[Teresa]

Their Troublesome Crush, Ascension, or Get a Life, Chloe Brown

[Susanne]

If someone is looking for a graphic novel: I just started Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu, and realized one of the main characters wears hearing aids. So I did some research and found that Walker is hard-of-hearing too and wrote a great text about representation in Mooncakes: https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/201...

[Megan]

I finally figured out what I am reading for this prompt: Hunger Pangs by Joy Demorra (bibliosphere on Tumblr)

[Tiffany]

I read Golem Girl: A Memoir by Riva Lehrer. It is her memoir of growing up with spina bifida and she is an excellent story teller. Highly recommend.

[Elin]

This is probably a bit of a cheat, but Octavia Butler was dyslexic, and I'm already reading Fledgling for #19. (Btw can't believe I never got to read Butler in school, literally everything I've read of hers has been incredible.)
Do y'all think that counts?

[Ron]

Elin wrote: "This is probably a bit of a cheat, but Octavia Butler was dyslexic, and I'm already reading Fledgling for #19. (Btw can't believe I never got to read Butler in school, literally everything I've rea..."

I don't see it as a cheat at all.

I'm going with people who have mental health issues.

Being disabled doesn't mean it has to be physical.

[Ron]

Navigating Bipolar Country: Personal and Professional Perspectives on Living with Bipolar Disorder

This is actually perfect so I'm looking forward to it. As someone with BD, I like finding stories that make sense.

[Sandra]

If you are looking for a sci fi murder mystery by a nerodiverse author with a neurodiverse protagonist, I recommend Hoshi and the Red City Circuit

[Octavia]

I've been meaning to read Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma for a while now, and I've finally got round to it. I enjoyed it - a very interesting book!

[Emily]

Just finished Read and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester (YA #ownvoices about a young woman with hip dysplasia). Would recommend!

[Heather]

I'm just about to start The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang. I am starting to run out of steam and look for short books, LOL. This one is just over 200 pages. But it also gets rave reviews and I'm really interested in the topic.

[Nid]

Reading A face for Picasso by Ariel Henley for this one.

[Jenny]

Octavia wrote: "I've been meaning to read Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma for a while now, and I've finally got round to it. I enjoyed it - a very interesting book!"

I read this for one of last year's prompts and it was fantastic. I listened to her reading the audiobook and highly recommend!