Some Thoughts on Reading Diversely and Promoting Diverse Books & Authors

Spontaneous thoughts about diversifying your reading and why I do the things I do

Note: this post was previously posted on Medium on January 4 2024, and was later imported here to Substack.

If you followed my page for even just a little while, you probably have noticed that reviews and book lists/recommendations are part of the content I regularly post. You might also have noticed I make an effort to make sure that most of the books I share are diverse.

I sometimes get comments from people praising me or thanking me for reading or sharing diverse books and to be honest… it feels weird. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the kind words, but the fact that this is something people feel the need to praise others for, as if it’s a big thing, is definitely not a good sign.

These sporadic comments made me think… and here is where my thoughts brought me.

Reading diversely should be the standard. You should read about people with different body types, people of different races and ethnicities, people of different religions, people with disabilities, people of different sexualities and genders, and so on…

Not only can you expand your perspective on diverse voices, but reading fiction has been proven to build empathy and understanding, and it influences how we relate to people in real life.

Disclaimer: diverse books are not written with the purpose to educate you on things (unless it’s a specific type of nonfiction). Marginalized voices deserve stories about joy, purpose, and growth. Even seemingly silly stories can expand our perspectives.

You might never be able to understand how a specific group of people feels about something (ex: white people will never know what systematic racism actually feels like) but reading these books makes sure that their voices are heard and their experiences don’t get erased. It exposes you to a lived experience you aren’t familiar with, it makes you see things from other perspectives, and the more you get exposed to it the easier it gets to become kinder, to learn how to treat everyone the right way. It helps you open your eyes to the injustice of this world and it makes you think of how to fight for them, alongside them.

And, to be completely honest, reading diversely is fun.

When I decided to study languages in high school, it was because I loved discovering new cultures and learning about them. Books are a great way to do this, and trust me when I say there are so many great places, cultures and people out there that will leave you in awe.

I started getting back into reading regularly at the end of 2020. This year (2023) was the most diverse year for me, and yet… it was still not diverse enough.

I want to put this out there, because I need you to understand that I’m not an expert either. I’m far from being where I want to be, actually.

The reason why I read and share diverse stories (other than the fact that they’re immensely interesting books) is because I come from a position of privilege, and it’s my duty to make sure I don’t involuntarily perpetuate harm to other communities, but actually support and appreciate them.

I’m still learning. I’m still on the road to fully getting there, and there’s still many marginalized voices I haven’t paid much attention to yet.

I post the things I post to take accountability, and because as a privileged person I need to hold my fellow people in positions of privilege accountable for what they read too.

I share my journey in hope that others will want to join me so that we can grow together.

When I started I, too, had no idea of how important reading diversely actually was (and that wasn’t too long ago, either). Coming from a place of privilege, there had to be a catalyst that made me open my eyes. If I can, I want to be that catalyst for others.

My posts are not a “I’m better than you” kind of thing. They’re a “we should all do better, so let’s do it together”.

It’s part of the reason why The Diverse Baseline was created. I wanted to make something to bring people together and hopefully get more people into the habit of diversifying their reading. I wanted to create a fun shared activity to attract people that usually don’t read diverse books, or who had previously not even thought of doing it.

If you’re starting now, acknowledge where you come from and the power you have, and try to grow from it.

It’s never too late to start.