lou's library

Reading more diversely is a win-win situation, if you think about it. You get to discover new books and expand your horizon and educate yourself in the process. So, here are some tips on how to ensure your reading becomes more diverse!

Look At What You’ve Been Reading

If you want to branch out and discover more diverse books, a good first step is to take a look at your bookshelf and see what it’s missing. Are you only reading books by authors from your country? Are all your romance novels about straight couples? Are there no non-white characters in any of those stories? By reflecting on what you’ve been reading so far, you can determine what needs to change to ensure your reading experience becomes more diversified.

Do The Research

Once you know what you’re missing, you can go looking for it. This is where the fun begins! Go to your favourite independent bookshop and ask them for some recommendations. Some book stores will have small sections devoted entirely to queer romance novels or books with black characters. The same goes for libraries. If that feels a little overwhelming, consider looking at what the online book community is reading. For example, Jack Edwards is one of my favourite bookish content creators. He has a video series in which he is attempting to read a book from every country. That should give you lots of inspiration if you’re looking to find new authors from amazing countries you know very little about. In my opinion, discovering a country through its literature is a fascinating way of travel that costs near to nothing and allows you to delve into its world for a little while. I’ve been buying a book from a local author whenever I visit a new country and it’s been so fun and educative!

Ask Your Friends

Different people have different taste and are drawn to different books. For all you know, your friends might already know a bunch of diverse books you’ve never heard of. It’s always fun to get recommendations from someone you know, and to see whether or not you agree. This can even lead to a little book club of sorts and can mean that you delve deeper into the themes of the books and what makes them diverse in your opinion. I do believe that particularly for books that can teach us something about a reality that isn’t our own, talking about them, asking questions and reflecting on them can be very helpful in ensuring you’re getting the most out of the reading experience.

Don’t Be Afraid

It can be quite daunting to leave your comfort zone. That is true for anything in life and books are no exception. For a lot of readers, books are their comfort zone, which is why many of us are reluctant to change our reading habits. But branching out and ensuring your reading becomes more diverse doesn’t have to mean you have to change everything. For example, if you love to read spy novels, you can continue to do so. But perhaps you can look for some in which the characters aren’t white? Or if you’re really into fantasy books, maybe there are some with LGBTQIA+ representation? Reading should be fun, first and foremost. You shouldn’t have to give up on what you love in the name of morality. Just try to take small steps and before you know it, your reading will have diversified significantly.

There you have it, some advice on how to read more diversely. I hope these were helpful! Let me know some of your favourite diverse reads, please ❤