Let’s Talk Bookish: Diversity in Books

Hello, happy Friday! I hope you’re doing well. I’m really excited for today’s LTB topic, so let’s get into it.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and is hosted by Rukky and Dani @ Literary Lion where we discuss various topics and share our opinions. Today’s topic is Diversity in Books (suggested by Rukky.)

What do you think is the meaning of diverse?

Diversity can have multiple definitions. It’s difference between a variety of things; some common ones that appear in books are different races, ethnicities, sexual orientation. Diversity encompasses many more though, like disabled people, people with different backgrounds, social status, education, and many more that I’m not going to list, because that would make this post longer than necessary.

Who do you think is qualified to write a diverse book?

I think anyone is qualified to write a diverse book, as long as they do their research. Researching is a huge part of writing a book, especially when someone is writing about a subject they don’t know a whole lot about. For example, if you’re writing about a different diverse group, it’s so important that you do your research and find out as much information as you can. I’m pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say that people don’t like reading books where a diverse group isn’t displayed or introduced properly.

How do you find diverse books to read?

Umm, I don’t really know. When I was younger, my mom usually bought me books that had diverse characters in it. Now, a lot of books I’m drawn to usually are either centered around diversity or have diverse aspects in it. 

What are some diverse topics/POVs that you specifically look for when you’re finding books and why?

I have and tend to look for books that have Chinese or Chinese-American protagonists. My mom bought me a lot of books with these characters so it would be easier to imagine me in the story. A lot of kids like to be able to envision themselves in the character’s place, and having the characters look the same as them helps a lot. I don’t really have a specific group of diversity that I look for; a lot of the diverse books that I have are different among race, ethnicity, and gender.

How do you decide if a diverse topic/POV is done well?

Well, I’ve never really thought about that. I think that a diverse topic is done well if I learn something about that group after I finish reading it. For example, in Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee, I learned about what it was like to be poor in San Francisco Chinatown in 1906. In The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani, I read about the journey of a young girl who was Hindu and had to leave the India, for that area would would become Pakistan, for Muslims.

These books are diverse and they teach the reader about that culture and how the characters live. I enjoy reading about other cultures and seeing how they go about their daily lives.

Conclusion

Diversity is really important and I think that it should be included in some aspect in every book. Some books don’t describe their characters in detail and that lets people imagine themselves in the character’s shoes and take the journey in the book, just through the eyes of the written character. It’s important for everyone to be able to see themselves in the book and to have other people understand them.

What do you think about diversity? How do you find diverse books to read?
Chat with me in the comments below!