I have a Spinal Cord Injury (with paralysis, spasms, bodily function issues etc) a friend of mine who was a well regarded political journalist and was a marathon runner was injured in a plane crash. She suffered from multiple injuries including both legs being amputated and severe burns. She's still very active since the injury (swims, kayaks, pilates etc) she has also gained her phD, married and had her beautiful son since her injury. Her book is exceptional and it's called A Certain Light by Cynthia Banham (2018), I'd highly recommend it. It's about many things but includes the difficulty of talking about trauma.
Jen, I really appreciate the time you put into making these videos and I hope you know the effort does not go unnoticed. I myself do not struggle with disability and was never aware of the problematic representation in media before watching your channel. Ever since you educated me, I have become more aware and critical, and also try to pass this knowledge on to friends and others. I hope it will make a difference. Thank you x
It will make a difference. Educating yourself on those around you makes a big difference. We are all part of the world and each and everyone of us affect it in ways we may not notice.
Btw, please don’t use the word ‘struggle’ as many of us don’t see it that way. ‘Live with’ ‘have’ ‘or experience’...would be a better way to put it. :)
@@jessicawatson7360 I apologize for my phrasing, but thank you for correcting me! That was my bad for putting my own perspective on experiences that are not mine, instead of listening to those who actually experience them. You're absolutely right, I will remember to use a different vocabulary in the future! :)
YES!!! Thank you so, so much for this! I have muscular dystrophy and am completely non-ambulant. I have been waiting for this video from you for so long. Well worth the wait. Articulate, informative and interesting - as always! x
I really recommend Mariam Petrosyan's Gray house (which in russian is actually alled "A house in which..."), i's about a school\home for kids and teens with different disabilities. It's magical realism and is completely from the POV of those kids and teens. Very emotional, funny, sad and very peculiar. It deals witht disability very well, shows a spectre of reactions and acceptance of disability by the kids themselves. Petrosyan really created a special little universe in this book. One of my absolute favorites.
forgot to say: the book is in three parts, so it shouldn't intimidate you with its size, parts are relatively small and very easy to read (it's very exciting, really really really hope you'll read it, I'm very interested in your review)
Thank you so much for making this!! I have a disfigurement, & I'm very excited to check out some of these books. I watched a bunch of your videos about disability and disfigurement, & I'm so glad someone is talking about this. People say the most unbelievably rude things when they see my disfigurement, & in public, completely strangers often ask me what happened, as if I have some obligation to tell them. Even worse, are the strangers who try to offer me medical advice, as if I should be doing something to "fix" my disfigurement, so that I can look like everyone else. Thank you for these recommendations!!
I just read Beauty is a Verb a few months ago. I was quite impressed with bits of it, but as with a lot of collections like that it struck me as uneven. I loved seeing this list from you. I regularly seek out books that touch on disability as well, but my specific angles when it comes to interests and tastes lie in such completely different directions than yours that most of these were completely new to me. And that's brilliant! :)
Dear Jen, thank you so much for making this video. It means a lot to me to see you continuously talking about this subject that is so close to my heart, and putting in so much work to pass the knowledge to others. Based on you recommendations I read The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan and The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss this year, both of which are at the top of my all-time favorite list now. The Gray House, The Island at the Edge of Everything and In The Blood are still high on my TBR. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Thank you for taking the time to make and upload this. I've been hoping to see this video having been one of the people who requested it. and I'm so happy to have so many wonderful recommendations. I'll be checking out as many of these as I possibly can.
Hi Jen. Can I suggest 'A Dog Named Slugger' by Leigh Brill. It's a memoir by Leigh Brill who has cerebral palsy and she has a service dog. It's a wonderful read. It was great to see my disability represented in print.
I can't believe you mentioned The Gray House... as soon as i saw it i recognized it even though i've read it in italian with a different title (it's been translated in La casa del tempo sospeso which means The house of suspended time). It's the creepiest book i've ever read (to be fair i've read it when i was about 12 years old which might have been a bit too young) and i couldn't even finish it. I can't remeber anything distinctly terrifying i just know that it was all very bizarre and there was something off about that house. Either time didn't pass or the kids couldn't ever leave... don't remember, but the feeling haunts me to this day
@@josephinewinter not at all! I enjoyed reading "grownup books" but i wasn't very good at it😂 this book scarred me for life hahah and i looked up the plot online to see if it was as creepy as i remembered and apparently it isn't... 🙈
Dear Jen, thank you so much for this video! Thank you for being so respectful toward everyone, even toward people like myself who are able-bodied and are sometimes saying or thinking stupid thoughts/using the wrong words without even meaning to but being harmful nonetheless. I myself often struggle with wanting to treat everyone right but not knowing how to. Or as you mentioned reading books/watching movies and liking them but not always knowing if they are problematic or not... Or wanting to help but not knowing how to or if I should ask/how to ask etc. This sounds like I’m complaining which I don’t want to do at all, I just don’t know how to say it differently. But either way, videos like this are really helpful to me since I am always looking for reading recommendations and also just to broaden my horizon a little more, word by word... It’s incredible how much work you put into your videos, especially into this one and I can’t even express how grateful I am for it! Lots of love, Jasmin
The Gray House sounds, like utterly perfect & straight up my bookshelves. Seriously, hot dang! I never do this, but I'll order it tonight. The author is from Armenia, translated from Russian, it's magical realism/post modern possibly non-linear, translated & includes a unique perspective of folks with disabilities. Who would've thought such a book would exist? 🤩That moment of gushism aside, thanks for putting this video together. It must have taken a lot of time. I taught Wonder & found it to be a great book that's comfortable for starting in class discussions. In class, on day one of the discussions, they divided themselves into teasing vs. compassion. By the end of the book, compassion won. The teasers were taken in by August's personality. How much that'll transfer to real life later on, I'm not sure. But it's a start. I'm happy it sparked some real life positivity also. I read the first of the Uglies because cosmetic surgery & me are at serious odds. I'm happy it's a book for youth, it's a fascinating premise but never read the rest of the series. But seriously, Gray House though ... thanks for finding this book to include in this video. I hope you're week is going pretty awesome! 🥰
I can't wait to read some of these! When I was younger I repeatedly read "Secret Friends" by Elizabeth Laird. It's not so much about disfigurement and disability but more physical difference (or at least that's how I read it at the time). It was the first book I really loved and it taught me a lot about how we see and treat people.
The Call by Peadar O'Guilin , is an amazing dystopian/fantasy YA novel set in Ireland with a main character who suffered from polio when she was a child.
Thanks so much for making this video, Jen - it's great to see a collection of books that deal with disability/disfigurement...they're quite hard to find! I like that you included both representation/books that you liked and didn't. Added a good few to my list! I recently read 'Blindness' by José Saramago and found it to be one of the most ableist books that I've ever read. It again makes a parallel between disability and evilness, whilst denigrating the lives of people who are blind. Somehow it seems acceptable to use a disability like that if it's for a profound literary metaphor! Even though I am not blind myself, I do have a disability and found some of the things said really gut-wrenching. I'm glad I read it now, rather than during my formative years, as it could have been quite damaging to my outlook on my disability. I'm so saddened, though, as it is a book I'd always wanted to read and contributed to the author winning a Nobel. Have you read it? I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this.
I didn’t see it that way in the least. Saramago was not conflating disability with evil in the worst characters in the book; he was exploring just how opportunist and exploitative sinister people can be. And he was also making a scathing commentary on the degrees to which prevailing classes will excuse and institute mistreatment of the marginalized or ill in the interest of preserving their own insularity. Blindness is absolutely brilliant.
Joanne ( JK) feels strongly about disability because her mum had MS. Money she donated to MS research in Glasgow led to links being made between vitamin D deficiency and auto immune diseases. I love Aussie crime fic. I've discovered a detective called Caleb Zelic in a series by Emma Viskic. The books ( Resurrection & And The Fire Came Down) are set in Melbourne. Caleb is deaf.
Haven't read most of these, but I've added a bunch to my TBR. "Cinder" is a favorite of mine, and the rest of the series goes on to provide good disability rep. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction by disabled writers about disability, but finding own voices fiction has been more difficult. Thanks for making this video!
I read “The Gray House” in 2009 when it was published in Russian. I liked it a lot back then, it was a page turner. I don’t know how I might feel about it now though. I suggest you give it a try and if it go well you won’t put it down notwithstanding its size. If it doesn’t you will save a lot of time ))
Jen Campbell That’s me again ) just have found my review on this book and was impressed how much I liked it. Let me translate a quote for you: “I would say - at these strange time when all plots are already created and writers sank to self-assertion through the insanity of points and commas, a fragile Armenian woman wrote something very true and very, very honest”.
I would recommend Electricity by Ray Robinson, which deals bravely and provocatively with epilepsy. My wife mentions it (and a few other books) over on her Booktube channel Books I’m Not Reading in a video she did on her relationship to her epilepsy. I’d also recommend Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (polio). I haven’t read it yet, but The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken has long been on my TBR.
Revisiting lots of old videos because i love your channel so much. Wonder Struck is definitely something i would like to purchase as Im deaf in my right ear x
Some great books in this video, have added to my reading list. I would also potentially add Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which people mainly talk about for how it deals with mental health, but the protagonist also has disfiguring facial scars which affects how she interacts with people
I read The Clocks In This House All Tell Different Times last year, and I liked it for the atmosphere and the tension. I found it very interesting, but I felt there were also things I didn’t quite understand probably because I didn’t know that much about the time it is set in. It captures a very strong feeling of the world being difficult to find your footing in, of a world struggling to function again after WW1. The disfigurement of the «funny men» are seen through Lucy’s eyes, and you never really get to see things from their perspective. Lucy sees everything as very mysterious and hazy in a way, so that’s how they are seen too but that is how everyone and everything is seen. Lucy oversimplifies things she sees, including the «funny men», but as I remember it the book tries to show how these men are a lot more complicated than the caricatures she sort of sees them as. I would recommend it, I thought it was a good read. I would be interested to hear what you thought of it and of how it talks about disfigurement.
Looking forward to picking up some of these soon! Especially Stairs and Whispers as I specialized in Special Education, but particularly Deaf Education, in school. I am also very excited to hear that you’ll be posting the video about Poor Things as I read and loved it and I can’t wait to hear your deeper analysis. I did recommend a poetry collection focused on disability in a prior video and I had seen that you had hauled it in a later book haul but I understand that you had a lot of books to choose from! The collection is The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded and I do really think you’ll appreciate it if you have the chance to read it.
Also, there is a book "Mortal Engines" by Philip Reeve. The main character, Esther has a big scar across her entire face, which changed her as a person quite a bit. It's steampunk YA, and a movie adaptation is already out.
Great list! I've really enjoyed several of these books, especially Kirsty Logan's books (and her short story collections, too), The Island at the End of Everything, Wonderstruck, The Tidal Zone, Stairs and Whispers, and your own book. The Good People I found really difficult to get through and problematic, especially in its ending. While it is perhaps a very realistic account of how children with differences were treated in history, those ideas aren't really challenged in any meaningful way and the abusers are meant to be empathised with, and just everything about that made me deeply uncomfortable. I read The Clock in this House All Tell Different Times when it came out and had reaaally mixed feelings about it. The writing style made some parts very difficult to understand and know what was happening or what the angle was, but I did feel that the representation of the soldiers' disfigurements and their own feelings about it were a good representation of how the aftermath of the war left so many people struggling to accept themselves and their differences when left with no support after service. It's a complex book with a lot of good and bad, I think. Some books you might like: All the Light We Cannot see by Anthony Doer (blind character) You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardener (Deaf character) Electricity by Ray Robinson (epilepsy) Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy (disfigurement) Hospital High by Mimi Thebo (inspired by her own teenage years often spent in hospital)
Cool video😊 I use a power wheelchair because I can’t walk due to my cerebral palsy, but I like to read, especially romance, fantasy or supernatural books, would love to see more books about someone like me 😊
Read Wonder in High School and loved it, we got to present a Braille copy. Just so you know they’re are also sensory impairments why includes deafness and blindness which you mention in this video.
Thank you for the great recommendations. I'm looking forward to checking out and reading some of these! I would also like to recommend the "The Queen's Thief" series to you. It's fantasy but I think it is very well done.
Thank you for bringing your book into the world. I read it a few weeks ago and I can honestly say that it is one of my all time favourite books now. It was so beautifully written and it is my dream to publish something written to this standard. All of the stories were well written but I think the one I liked the most was 'Animals'. I hope to reread it next year.
5:40 Little correction: Cinder is an cyborg (Cyborgs are half human, half robot. So, basically people that lost a limp and have got a robotic hand or leg or eye, that they have controll of, just like the other parts of their body). Her friend Iko is an android (a robot that looks a lot like a human). I love your video and I love that you mentiont the Lunar Chronicles, because that's one of my favourite book-series and I love how Cinder's pysical and Winter's mental "handycap" (is that what it's called in english?) is described in the books. (Sorry, for my bad english.)
This was a VERY good video. So many books that I would love to read. Sarah Moss comes up for me again and again and the universe really seems to be conspiring to have me read her book. I really loved this a lot. I was wondering if you have any book recommendations about morbid obesity that deal with the subject in a way that is both honest but not objectifying? (I don't know if you would consider this disability or disfigurement but I definitely think it could fall in that category and if not at least into a category of body differences.) I look forward to your video about Poor Things which is a book I've had an interest in but have never decided about reading one way or another. Thank you for uploading/sharing!
Thanks for the recommendations I have already really enjoyed the Kirsty Logan books, one book that pleasantly surprised me was The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan and her portrayal of one of her characters, as a mother of a child with that disability it was great that it was something almost unnoticed, it's something but not everything that makes a person.
I love Wonderstruck! Some others I like that weren't mentioned: Orphans of the Carnival (novel about Julia Pastrana) The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (magic realism) Lion Woman (I haven't read the book but I've seen the film on Netflix, about another girl with hair all over) The World of the Castrati (non-fiction)
Ah, I did own 'Orphans...' but wasn't a fan, so DNFed. I read 'The Boy with the Cuckoo-Heart' pre-Booktube but can't remember too much. Thanks for the other recommendations. The condition where you have hair growing all over your body is called hypertrichosis.
Jen Campbell, do you know much about Narrative Psychology? I don’t know if the field has changed much since grad school in the 1990’s. But, back then, the field was about rewriting your life story. If a child has a disability and sees it as something that can not be overcome, than the psychologist must help the child “rewrite” that narrative to empower him/ her. In the case of a physical disability, it would be stories of others (as well as stories of the child) positively overcoming their difficulties. It helps the child with creative problem solving, acceptance that their disability is a part of them and does not define them, and empowers them to know others have been through this and have had positive lives and they can too. As someone with a metal leg, messed up arm, and loss of sight and hearing due to an accident, I found the first book in the Cinder series magical (the rest of the series I did not enjoy). As an adult I enjoyed it, even though it was meant for the teen/ YA audience. I wish I could find more books like that. Jen Campbell, thank you for your continued dedication to helping all of us with disabilities. Your work is an inspiration to me. Thank you
When I said Cinder wasn’t one of my favourites, I’m talking about the plot etc, representation aside: I read a lot of fairy tale retellings and this one just didn’t stand out for me but I’m glad that you enjoyed it :) and, yes, it’s very powerful to see ourselves represented in books (I’ve made a separate video on that). It’s important to have a broad range of representation, where disability is depicted realistically and also books for escapism, too. What I’d like to see more of, is books that are well-researched and don’t pander to an able-bodied audience. More Own Voices, too xx
Hi, Jen, I recently discovered your channel and have been watching your videos one after another with a notepad and my full attention. The way you communicate books and self is wonderful and so insightful and dear and near and a little bit magical, and I've added your own books to my reading list. On the topic of disability and disfigurement, I recently read "Ingenious Pain" by Andrew Miller. I wonder if you've come across it? It is about a man who was born without the ability to feel pain, or anything really, and it walks us through his life journey where he meets others with various disabilities or strange abilities, and more. I would say more but if you haven't read it I wouldn't want to spoil it or influence in any way other than to say that Andrew Miller has beguiled me with his style of writing. If you ever come across it, I should love to hear your opinion. And also thank you for your channel and your posts, and thank you for you.
Hi Jen. I've just subscribed to your Channel. The books you talk about in this video have in common some interesting variations on the same central theme. I wish you could do something similar on the type of books I prefer. I like reading novels/crime fiction especially those written by contemporary British authors. I love British English and I am always looking for realistic stories/series which take place in today's England (without witches, wizards, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, dragons or other fantastic creatures). I am fond of British real-life characters who speaks proper English (not dialect or slang). I am keen on beautifully written books but slow, stodgy, uneventful sagas aren't really my cup of tea. It is an amazing experience following the gripping adventures of my favourite characters throughout several volumes. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to detect from the back cover the nationality of an author and figure out whether he or she writes in British English. This precious piece of knowledge (regarding the writer's origins and language) is too often left out as it were a trivial detail. Believe me, it isn't. So please, from now onwards, don't forget to mention such a relevant piece of information. I hope I gave you materials you can use for making new videos. I am sure you can help me find what I am desperately looking for. Can you recommend any books/authors to me? Or any videos in which you carry out a review of books that might be of interest to me? It would be very nice of you and I'd appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Hello, if you’re interested in crime then I’m afraid you’re not going to find many recommendations on this channel - I don’t often pick up books in that genre. I would recommend doing some research into booktubers who do. Searching TH-cam for reviews of some of your favourite books should help you find your people! As for language, I always mention if a book is translated and name the translator, too. If you mean you’d like to know if they’re from the UK/US etc then you can click the titles of the books in the description and read the author profile. Have a nice day.
@@jenvcampbell hello Jen thanks for your lovely answer. Crime is not the only genre I like... so even novels will do! Anyway, could you be so nice to recommend any British booktubers who are fond of UK crime fiction? As for language, it is not so easy to know whether a book is written in US/UK English. On the web you can find out that a writer lives/works with her/his family somewhere but you can't often tell how she/he writes. Other suggestions? Have a nice day.
Thank you so much for this video. I have a new book series coming out in April 2022. Kickstarter in November. It’s basically Goosebumps with a proudly disabled heroine. Vera Warden has a craniofacial difference like my friend and OI, so uses a wheelchair like another friend. So I’m on the hunt for other kids books staring disabled characters that are NOT educational or inspirational. I think your explanation of Wonder is perfect.
Thank you :) This video is from a few years ago. A more up-to-date version can be found here: instagram.com/tv/CL_egIEjdal/ and my new book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers also falls into this category. x
@@jenvcampbell Ooo! That looks so good! Um, would it be out of line to ask if there are plans for an eBook? I have ADHD/reading issues, so I either do audiobooks, or use the Word Runner feature on my Kindle. Thanks. PS. I think you'd like my friend Kendra Merritt's fairy tale retellings starring physically disabled main characters.
there's a really popular historical fiction writer in America who wrote The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon which has a deaf main character, the deaf book club used to sell it so it should be okay, i always wanted to read it but it cost so much, then i forgot the name, one day on ebay, checking 'other items for sale' from someone who sold me a nice clean book i saw the cover picture and found it! Still not bought yet as i buy way too much and try to control it en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Kabbalist_of_Lisbon
Ooh do you have a review of the Cormoran Strike series by any chance? I don't think I've seen one on your channel and I would love to hear your thoughts; I adore the series but also find them problematic (and sometimes extremely so!).
Not sure what shade this one is but I'm wearing one of these (that's pretty much all I wear) www.bourjois.com/uk/product/lips/rouge-edition-velvet-15-red-volution They stay on very well.
I read it a long time ago so I share your concern about worrying if my views might have changed, but I thought Face by Benjamin Zephaniah was a good book about disfigurement. I also liked The Girls by Lori Lansens, which is fiction about conjoined twins.
Has anyone read The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley (magical realism theme)? I read it 2 summers ago and it was my favourite of that year. Can we think of it in terms of bodily difference? I don't want to give too much away about why I think that but if someone here has read it they will know what I'm talking about. I absolutely love that book.
Disability is something that I've changed my relationship to in the last couple years after a couple brain injuries. That being said this list was great and its so so helpful! Thank you! As a side note i DO NOT reccomend geek love. It was sold to me as a literary horror for somw reason? Its not, and and its just kinda gross. It doesnt say anything useful about disability in my opinion, and feels more like a reason to gawk at the disfigured characters than relate to them. A few are villinized as well, idk, not good?
Can anyone suggest novels related to disability theory. Avoiding and humiliating the differently abled person by society or family . Please suggest some novels related to this.
i don't think it's so you can feel good about yourself reading about others' suffering, it's because you like your suffering vicarious but your happiness firsthand - i used to think, why are we so negative we prefer horrible stories of suffering? Then i thought, we prefer suffering vicarious, then i thought, no, we're logical. We are afraid of others' suffering, we want to know, but no way do we want to get involved or suffer it ourself. It's perfectly logical actually. Not fair or moral, but logical
i was watching a got video, and saw shereen which i'd forgotten about, not the greatest, or the worst, representation, but quite rare in mainstream, i just didn't really pay it much attention
The Gray House ...originally it is a trilogy, hence your copy is so huge. I read first half of the first book. It was weird :D It seemed the kids in this orphanage or home or whatever the institution it is mostly do drugs and bully each other. I feel like nothing happened in what I read so far.
I hope you will like it and then I will be willing to give it a second chance, because right now I have the whole trilogy on my shelves unread :D I know my Russian speaking friends really enjoyed it. Maybe it is a Czech translation that makes it not so great. There is hope :) I mean, it must have been somewhat good if it was translated to several languages.... Fun fact: In the Czech Republic these books are classified for readers 14+ and the name of the first book was changed (censored). In the original it is called The Smoker.
Wonderful video! Thank you! I have dwarfism and use a wheelchair and have worked a little as a sensitivity reader as well. I've had a few short stories published (a couple of them with disabled protagonists--more about one of those in a minute). But can I recommend We Are Giants by Amber Lee Dodd? It's a truly wonderful middle grade novel written from the perspective of an able-bodied child who has an able-bodied older sister but whose parents have dwarfism. Her dad is dead, her mum is very much alive. I also wanted to just make sure you know about Nicola Griffith who published a book about disability recently called So Lucky, but also has attempted to compile her own list of fiction that deals well with disability. nicolagriffith.com/fiction-that-passes-the-fries-test/ As for The Chrysalids... yes, I loved it too when I read it in my teens and the early part of the novel is still great. But on a recent rereading I was a bit dismayed as it seems to me to rather elevate the value of people with "superior" minds as a kind of super race. I too know more about physical disability clearly, but I know enough about learning disabilities/mental health to be disappointed with the direction the book took. Also, the disabled/disfigured people actually end up all dead at the end so it didn't turn out quite as positive as I remembered. Lastly, there's the Defying Doomsday anthology of apocalypse fiction featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists that I have a story in. www.goodreads.com/book/show/28185450-defying-doomsday?ac=1&from_search=true It's thoroughly decent if I'm allowed to say that!
Ha, that’s not how I remember it either. Perhaps another one to add to the reread pile! Wyndham in general always seems to come with a ‘but.’ Thanks for the other recommendations x
Here's an updated recommendations video from March 2022: th-cam.com/video/iFQWRMim7WQ/w-d-xo.html xx
I hope you find this video useful, folks! xx
With all the amazing things u have, u are fantastic with That!
Always
I have a Spinal Cord Injury (with paralysis, spasms, bodily function issues etc) a friend of mine who was a well regarded political journalist and was a marathon runner was injured in a plane crash. She suffered from multiple injuries including both legs being amputated and severe burns. She's still very active since the injury (swims, kayaks, pilates etc) she has also gained her phD, married and had her beautiful son since her injury. Her book is exceptional and it's called
A Certain Light by Cynthia Banham (2018), I'd highly recommend it. It's about many things but includes the difficulty of talking about trauma.
This is literally my most anticipated video ever since I started watching TH-cam three years ago. Thank you very much!
Hurray! Hope it lives up to expectations. x
Jen, I really appreciate the time you put into making these videos and I hope you know the effort does not go unnoticed. I myself do not struggle with disability and was never aware of the problematic representation in media before watching your channel. Ever since you educated me, I have become more aware and critical, and also try to pass this knowledge on to friends and others. I hope it will make a difference. Thank you x
* hugs * thank you xx
It will make a difference. Educating yourself on those around you makes a big difference. We are all part of the world and each and everyone of us affect it in ways we may not notice.
Btw, please don’t use the word ‘struggle’ as many of us don’t see it that way. ‘Live with’ ‘have’ ‘or experience’...would be a better way to put it. :)
@@jessicawatson7360 I apologize for my phrasing, but thank you for correcting me! That was my bad for putting my own perspective on experiences that are not mine, instead of listening to those who actually experience them. You're absolutely right, I will remember to use a different vocabulary in the future! :)
YES!!! Thank you so, so much for this!
I have muscular dystrophy and am completely non-ambulant. I have been waiting for this video from you for so long. Well worth the wait. Articulate, informative and interesting - as always! x
I really recommend Mariam Petrosyan's Gray house (which in russian is actually alled "A house in which..."), i's about a school\home for kids and teens with different disabilities. It's magical realism and is completely from the POV of those kids and teens. Very emotional, funny, sad and very peculiar. It deals witht disability very well, shows a spectre of reactions and acceptance of disability by the kids themselves.
Petrosyan really created a special little universe in this book. One of my absolute favorites.
forgot to say: the book is in three parts, so it shouldn't intimidate you with its size, parts are relatively small and very easy to read (it's very exciting, really really really hope you'll read it, I'm very interested in your review)
Thank you so much for making this!! I have a disfigurement, & I'm very excited to check out some of these books. I watched a bunch of your videos about disability and disfigurement, & I'm so glad someone is talking about this. People say the most unbelievably rude things when they see my disfigurement, & in public, completely strangers often ask me what happened, as if I have some obligation to tell them. Even worse, are the strangers who try to offer me medical advice, as if I should be doing something to "fix" my disfigurement, so that I can look like everyone else. Thank you for these recommendations!!
I just read Beauty is a Verb a few months ago. I was quite impressed with bits of it, but as with a lot of collections like that it struck me as uneven.
I loved seeing this list from you. I regularly seek out books that touch on disability as well, but my specific angles when it comes to interests and tastes lie in such completely different directions than yours that most of these were completely new to me. And that's brilliant! :)
Anthologies are pretty much always uneven, as you say. Great for discovering new poets you might want to read more from, though ☺️ x
Dear Jen, thank you so much for making this video. It means a lot to me to see you continuously talking about this subject that is so close to my heart, and putting in so much work to pass the knowledge to others. Based on you recommendations I read The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan and The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss this year, both of which are at the top of my all-time favorite list now. The Gray House, The Island at the Edge of Everything and In The Blood are still high on my TBR.
Thank you for sharing them with us!
Thanks, Renee! x
All The Light We Cannot See is an amazing novel centered around a blind girl during WWII
Thank you for taking the time to make and upload this. I've been hoping to see this video having been one of the people who requested it. and I'm so happy to have so many wonderful recommendations. I'll be checking out as many of these as I possibly can.
You’re most welcome! x
Hi Jen. Can I suggest 'A Dog Named Slugger' by Leigh Brill. It's a memoir by Leigh Brill who has cerebral palsy and she has a service dog. It's a wonderful read. It was great to see my disability represented in print.
Of course you can :) thanks for the recommendation x
I can't believe you mentioned The Gray House... as soon as i saw it i recognized it even though i've read it in italian with a different title (it's been translated in La casa del tempo sospeso which means The house of suspended time). It's the creepiest book i've ever read (to be fair i've read it when i was about 12 years old which might have been a bit too young) and i couldn't even finish it. I can't remeber anything distinctly terrifying i just know that it was all very bizarre and there was something off about that house. Either time didn't pass or the kids couldn't ever leave... don't remember, but the feeling haunts me to this day
you must be a pretty advanced 12 year old!
@@josephinewinter not at all! I enjoyed reading "grownup books" but i wasn't very good at it😂 this book scarred me for life hahah and i looked up the plot online to see if it was as creepy as i remembered and apparently it isn't... 🙈
Dear Jen,
thank you so much for this video!
Thank you for being so respectful toward everyone, even toward people like myself who are able-bodied and are sometimes saying or thinking stupid thoughts/using the wrong words without even meaning to but being harmful nonetheless. I myself often struggle with wanting to treat everyone right but not knowing how to. Or as you mentioned reading books/watching movies and liking them but not always knowing if they are problematic or not... Or wanting to help but not knowing how to or if I should ask/how to ask etc.
This sounds like I’m complaining which I don’t want to do at all, I just don’t know how to say it differently.
But either way, videos like this are really helpful to me since I am always looking for reading recommendations and also just to broaden my horizon a little more, word by word...
It’s incredible how much work you put into your videos, especially into this one and I can’t even express how grateful I am for it!
Lots of love,
Jasmin
Thanks Jen for this video. I have Aspergers Syndrome, and dyspraxia so I enjoyed watching this video. Have a great day :)
The Gray House sounds, like utterly perfect & straight up my bookshelves. Seriously, hot dang! I never do this, but I'll order it tonight. The author is from Armenia, translated from Russian, it's magical realism/post modern possibly non-linear, translated & includes a unique perspective of folks with disabilities. Who would've thought such a book would exist? 🤩That moment of gushism aside, thanks for putting this video together. It must have taken a lot of time. I taught Wonder & found it to be a great book that's comfortable for starting in class discussions. In class, on day one of the discussions, they divided themselves into teasing vs. compassion. By the end of the book, compassion won. The teasers were taken in by August's personality. How much that'll transfer to real life later on, I'm not sure. But it's a start. I'm happy it sparked some real life positivity also. I read the first of the Uglies because cosmetic surgery & me are at serious odds. I'm happy it's a book for youth, it's a fascinating premise but never read the rest of the series. But seriously, Gray House though ... thanks for finding this book to include in this video. I hope you're week is going pretty awesome! 🥰
Since filming this, I've read Firegirl and would seriously not recommend. Review here! th-cam.com/video/WN8MyyFch5o/w-d-xo.html x
I can't wait to read some of these! When I was younger I repeatedly read "Secret Friends" by Elizabeth Laird. It's not so much about disfigurement and disability but more physical difference (or at least that's how I read it at the time). It was the first book I really loved and it taught me a lot about how we see and treat people.
The Call by Peadar O'Guilin , is an amazing dystopian/fantasy YA novel set in Ireland with a main character who suffered from polio when she was a child.
Thanks so much for making this video, Jen - it's great to see a collection of books that deal with disability/disfigurement...they're quite hard to find! I like that you included both representation/books that you liked and didn't. Added a good few to my list!
I recently read 'Blindness' by José Saramago and found it to be one of the most ableist books that I've ever read. It again makes a parallel between disability and evilness, whilst denigrating the lives of people who are blind. Somehow it seems acceptable to use a disability like that if it's for a profound literary metaphor! Even though I am not blind myself, I do have a disability and found some of the things said really gut-wrenching. I'm glad I read it now, rather than during my formative years, as it could have been quite damaging to my outlook on my disability. I'm so saddened, though, as it is a book I'd always wanted to read and contributed to the author winning a Nobel. Have you read it? I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this.
I haven't read it, no, I haven't heard great things so it wasn't one I was keen to pick up. x
I didn’t see it that way in the least. Saramago was not conflating disability with evil in the worst characters in the book; he was exploring just how opportunist and exploitative sinister people can be. And he was also making a scathing commentary on the degrees to which prevailing classes will excuse and institute mistreatment of the marginalized or ill in the interest of preserving their own insularity. Blindness is absolutely brilliant.
Such a great and interesting video! I really must read The Gloaming and The Island at the End of Everything.
Joanne ( JK) feels strongly about disability because her mum had MS. Money she donated to MS research in Glasgow led to links being made between vitamin D deficiency and auto immune diseases.
I love Aussie crime fic. I've discovered a detective called Caleb Zelic in a series by Emma Viskic. The books ( Resurrection & And The Fire Came Down) are set in Melbourne. Caleb is deaf.
Haven't read most of these, but I've added a bunch to my TBR. "Cinder" is a favorite of mine, and the rest of the series goes on to provide good disability rep. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction by disabled writers about disability, but finding own voices fiction has been more difficult. Thanks for making this video!
I read “The Gray House” in 2009 when it was published in Russian. I liked it a lot back then, it was a page turner. I don’t know how I might feel about it now though. I suggest you give it a try and if it go well you won’t put it down notwithstanding its size. If it doesn’t you will save a lot of time ))
I'll definitely give it a go. Why do you think you may have changed your mind? x
Jen Campbell it was almost 10 years ago, my reading tastes have change since then. And I recall there were many mixed reviews on this book back then.
Thanks for elaborating :) x
Jen Campbell That’s me again ) just have found my review on this book and was impressed how much I liked it. Let me translate a quote for you: “I would say - at these strange time when all plots are already created and writers sank to self-assertion through the insanity of points and commas, a fragile Armenian woman wrote something very true and very, very honest”.
I love your videos, Jen, but they always makes my TBR list so much longer! I can’t take the anxiety 🤣
I would recommend Electricity by Ray Robinson, which deals bravely and provocatively with epilepsy. My wife mentions it (and a few other books) over on her Booktube channel Books I’m Not Reading in a video she did on her relationship to her epilepsy. I’d also recommend Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (polio). I haven’t read it yet, but The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken has long been on my TBR.
Revisiting lots of old videos because i love your channel so much. Wonder Struck is definitely something i would like to purchase as Im deaf in my right ear x
Some great books in this video, have added to my reading list. I would also potentially add Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which people mainly talk about for how it deals with mental health, but the protagonist also has disfiguring facial scars which affects how she interacts with people
Oh I really should’ve watched this with Goodreads next to it, so many interesting books I want to read! Btw, I love this filming set-up!
I read The Clocks In This House All Tell Different Times last year, and I liked it for the atmosphere and the tension. I found it very interesting, but I felt there were also things I didn’t quite understand probably because I didn’t know that much about the time it is set in. It captures a very strong feeling of the world being difficult to find your footing in, of a world struggling to function again after WW1. The disfigurement of the «funny men» are seen through Lucy’s eyes, and you never really get to see things from their perspective. Lucy sees everything as very mysterious and hazy in a way, so that’s how they are seen too but that is how everyone and everything is seen. Lucy oversimplifies things she sees, including the «funny men», but as I remember it the book tries to show how these men are a lot more complicated than the caricatures she sort of sees them as.
I would recommend it, I thought it was a good read. I would be interested to hear what you thought of it and of how it talks about disfigurement.
Looking forward to picking up some of these soon! Especially Stairs and Whispers as I specialized in Special Education, but particularly Deaf Education, in school.
I am also very excited to hear that you’ll be posting the video about Poor Things as I read and loved it and I can’t wait to hear your deeper analysis.
I did recommend a poetry collection focused on disability in a prior video and I had seen that you had hauled it in a later book haul but I understand that you had a lot of books to choose from! The collection is The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded and I do really think you’ll appreciate it if you have the chance to read it.
Oh yes! I do have that, just missed it when pulling books off the shelf x
I've just uploaded the 'Poor Things' video th-cam.com/video/cyKbTxeyBHY/w-d-xo.html&lc=UgxeleAEzSRQaPX6rct4AaABAg x
Also, there is a book "Mortal Engines" by Philip Reeve. The main character, Esther has a big scar across her entire face, which changed her as a person quite a bit. It's steampunk YA, and a movie adaptation is already out.
Great list! I've really enjoyed several of these books, especially Kirsty Logan's books (and her short story collections, too), The Island at the End of Everything, Wonderstruck, The Tidal Zone, Stairs and Whispers, and your own book.
The Good People I found really difficult to get through and problematic, especially in its ending. While it is perhaps a very realistic account of how children with differences were treated in history, those ideas aren't really challenged in any meaningful way and the abusers are meant to be empathised with, and just everything about that made me deeply uncomfortable.
I read The Clock in this House All Tell Different Times when it came out and had reaaally mixed feelings about it. The writing style made some parts very difficult to understand and know what was happening or what the angle was, but I did feel that the representation of the soldiers' disfigurements and their own feelings about it were a good representation of how the aftermath of the war left so many people struggling to accept themselves and their differences when left with no support after service. It's a complex book with a lot of good and bad, I think.
Some books you might like:
All the Light We Cannot see by Anthony Doer (blind character)
You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardener (Deaf character)
Electricity by Ray Robinson (epilepsy)
Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy (disfigurement)
Hospital High by Mimi Thebo (inspired by her own teenage years often spent in hospital)
Cool video😊 I use a power wheelchair because I can’t walk due to my cerebral palsy, but I like to read, especially romance, fantasy or supernatural books, would love to see more books about someone like me 😊
Read Wonder in High School and loved it, we got to present a Braille copy.
Just so you know they’re are also sensory impairments why includes deafness and blindness which you mention in this video.
I love your rec videos, they're always so rich!
Thank you so much! I am looking for information on the representation of people with disabilities in Modernist Literature. :) You've helped me a lot.
Thank you for the great recommendations. I'm looking forward to checking out and reading some of these! I would also like to recommend the "The Queen's Thief" series to you. It's fantasy but I think it is very well done.
Thank you for bringing your book into the world. I read it a few weeks ago and I can honestly say that it is one of my all time favourite books now. It was so beautifully written and it is my dream to publish something written to this standard. All of the stories were well written but I think the one I liked the most was 'Animals'. I hope to reread it next year.
Thank you so much! x
This was a lovely and diverse compilation!!
I have very bad scars, so I really appreciate!
You're so brave 💜 lots of love and prayers for you
5:40 Little correction: Cinder is an cyborg (Cyborgs are half human, half robot. So, basically people that lost a limp and have got a robotic hand or leg or eye, that they have controll of, just like the other parts of their body). Her friend Iko is an android (a robot that looks a lot like a human). I love your video and I love that you mentiont the Lunar Chronicles, because that's one of my favourite book-series and I love how Cinder's pysical and Winter's mental "handycap" (is that what it's called in english?) is described in the books. (Sorry, for my bad english.)
Ah, yes, sorry, I meant cyborg - slip of the tongue! We don't say handicap, no, it's an outdated term. x
This was a VERY good video. So many books that I would love to read. Sarah Moss comes up for me again and again and the universe really seems to be conspiring to have me read her book. I really loved this a lot. I was wondering if you have any book recommendations about morbid obesity that deal with the subject in a way that is both honest but not objectifying? (I don't know if you would consider this disability or disfigurement but I definitely think it could fall in that category and if not at least into a category of body differences.) I look forward to your video about Poor Things which is a book I've had an interest in but have never decided about reading one way or another. Thank you for uploading/sharing!
Thanks for the recommendations I have already really enjoyed the Kirsty Logan books, one book that pleasantly surprised me was The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan and her portrayal of one of her characters, as a mother of a child with that disability it was great that it was something almost unnoticed, it's something but not everything that makes a person.
I read 'Tidal Zone' based on your recommendation and loved it! Excited to try some of these too 😊
I love Wonderstruck!
Some others I like that weren't mentioned:
Orphans of the Carnival (novel about Julia Pastrana)
The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (magic realism)
Lion Woman (I haven't read the book but I've seen the film on Netflix, about another girl with hair all over)
The World of the Castrati (non-fiction)
Ah, I did own 'Orphans...' but wasn't a fan, so DNFed. I read 'The Boy with the Cuckoo-Heart' pre-Booktube but can't remember too much. Thanks for the other recommendations. The condition where you have hair growing all over your body is called hypertrichosis.
Jen Campbell Thanks. I couldn't remember the name of the condition off-hand.
Jen Campbell, do you know much about Narrative Psychology? I don’t know if the field has changed much since grad school in the 1990’s. But, back then, the field was about rewriting your life story. If a child has a disability and sees it as something that can not be overcome, than the psychologist must help the child “rewrite” that narrative to empower him/ her. In the case of a physical disability, it would be stories of others (as well as stories of the child) positively overcoming their difficulties. It helps the child with creative problem solving, acceptance that their disability is a part of them and does not define them, and empowers them to know others have been through this and have had positive lives and they can too.
As someone with a metal leg, messed up arm, and loss of sight and hearing due to an accident, I found the first book in the Cinder series magical (the rest of the series I did not enjoy). As an adult I enjoyed it, even though it was meant for the teen/ YA audience. I wish I could find more books like that.
Jen Campbell, thank you for your continued dedication to helping all of us with disabilities. Your work is an inspiration to me. Thank you
When I said Cinder wasn’t one of my favourites, I’m talking about the plot etc, representation aside: I read a lot of fairy tale retellings and this one just didn’t stand out for me but I’m glad that you enjoyed it :) and, yes, it’s very powerful to see ourselves represented in books (I’ve made a separate video on that). It’s important to have a broad range of representation, where disability is depicted realistically and also books for escapism, too. What I’d like to see more of, is books that are well-researched and don’t pander to an able-bodied audience. More Own Voices, too xx
YES POOR THINGS VIDEO
I've just uploaded the 'Poor Things' video th-cam.com/video/cyKbTxeyBHY/w-d-xo.html&lc=UgxeleAEzSRQaPX6rct4AaABAg x
@@jenvcampbell I saw, I can't wait till I have time to watch it! The book has really become a big thing fornme this year, so thanks you!
Hi, Jen, I recently discovered your channel and have been watching your videos one after another with a notepad and my full attention. The way you communicate books and self is wonderful and so insightful and dear and near and a little bit magical, and I've added your own books to my reading list. On the topic of disability and disfigurement, I recently read "Ingenious Pain" by Andrew Miller. I wonder if you've come across it? It is about a man who was born without the ability to feel pain, or anything really, and it walks us through his life journey where he meets others with various disabilities or strange abilities, and more. I would say more but if you haven't read it I wouldn't want to spoil it or influence in any way other than to say that Andrew Miller has beguiled me with his style of writing. If you ever come across it, I should love to hear your opinion. And also thank you for your channel and your posts, and thank you for you.
The Shardlake series by C J Sansom is a historical fiction set in Tudor London and is about a man with kyphosis (hunchback).
I loved 'Among Others' by Jo Walton!
this is amazing, Jen! ^^
Hi Jen. I've just subscribed to your Channel. The books you talk about in this video have in common some interesting variations on the same central theme. I wish you could do something similar on the type of books I prefer. I like reading novels/crime fiction especially those written by contemporary British authors. I love British English and I am always looking for realistic stories/series which take place in today's England (without witches, wizards, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, dragons or other fantastic creatures). I am fond of British real-life characters who speaks proper English (not dialect or slang). I am keen on beautifully written books but slow, stodgy, uneventful sagas aren't really my cup of tea. It is an amazing experience following the gripping adventures of my favourite characters throughout several volumes. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to detect from the back cover the nationality of an author and figure out whether he or she writes in British English. This precious piece of knowledge (regarding the writer's origins and language) is too often left out as it were a trivial detail. Believe me, it isn't. So please, from now onwards, don't forget to mention such a relevant piece of information. I hope I gave you materials you can use for making new videos. I am sure you can help me find what I am desperately looking for. Can you recommend any books/authors to me? Or any videos in which you carry out a review of books that might be of interest to me? It would be very nice of you and I'd appreciate it very much.
Thank you.
Hello, if you’re interested in crime then I’m afraid you’re not going to find many recommendations on this channel - I don’t often pick up books in that genre. I would recommend doing some research into booktubers who do. Searching TH-cam for reviews of some of your favourite books should help you find your people! As for language, I always mention if a book is translated and name the translator, too. If you mean you’d like to know if they’re from the UK/US etc then you can click the titles of the books in the description and read the author profile. Have a nice day.
@@jenvcampbell hello Jen thanks for your lovely answer. Crime is not the only genre I like... so even novels will do! Anyway, could you be so nice to recommend any British booktubers who are fond of UK crime fiction?
As for language, it is not so easy to know whether a book is written in US/UK English. On the web you can find out that a writer lives/works with her/his family somewhere but you can't often tell how she/he writes. Other suggestions?
Have a nice day.
I have read Wonder by R.J Palacio and I loved it, and I have also been wanting to read The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher since it came it out.
Thank you so much for this video. I have a new book series coming out in April 2022. Kickstarter in November. It’s basically Goosebumps with a proudly disabled heroine. Vera Warden has a craniofacial difference like my friend and OI, so uses a wheelchair like another friend. So I’m on the hunt for other kids books staring disabled characters that are NOT educational or inspirational. I think your explanation of Wonder is perfect.
Thank you :) This video is from a few years ago. A more up-to-date version can be found here: instagram.com/tv/CL_egIEjdal/ and my new book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers also falls into this category. x
@@jenvcampbell Ooo! That looks so good! Um, would it be out of line to ask if there are plans for an eBook? I have ADHD/reading issues, so I either do audiobooks, or use the Word Runner feature on my Kindle. Thanks. PS. I think you'd like my friend Kendra Merritt's fairy tale retellings starring physically disabled main characters.
Ebook is out on 23rd November. x
I also started the Xan Brooks but haven't finished it yet. I was a bit wary about where it was going plotwise but should really give it another go!!
Love this video as someone who only has sight in one eye and wear a prosthetic eye
I’d recommend She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgewick it’s got blind representation.
there's a really popular historical fiction writer in America who wrote The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon which has a deaf main character, the deaf book club used to sell it so it should be okay, i always wanted to read it but it cost so much, then i forgot the name, one day on ebay, checking 'other items for sale' from someone who sold me a nice clean book i saw the cover picture and found it! Still not bought yet as i buy way too much and try to control it en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Kabbalist_of_Lisbon
Ooh do you have a review of the Cormoran Strike series by any chance? I don't think I've seen one on your channel and I would love to hear your thoughts; I adore the series but also find them problematic (and sometimes extremely so!).
I spoke about the most recent one here September Wrap Up | 2018 th-cam.com/video/fMXTMmW2EAY/w-d-xo.html
The red lipstick you wear is always so beautiful! May I ask which one(s) it is? :)
Not sure what shade this one is but I'm wearing one of these (that's pretty much all I wear) www.bourjois.com/uk/product/lips/rouge-edition-velvet-15-red-volution They stay on very well.
Ma'am can you recommend some books that says the avoidance faced by the disabled characters , their pain , sufferings etc...... Please suggest 🙏
I read it a long time ago so I share your concern about worrying if my views might have changed, but I thought Face by Benjamin Zephaniah was a good book about disfigurement. I also liked The Girls by Lori Lansens, which is fiction about conjoined twins.
I was not a fan of the latter (The Girls), but thank you for your other recommendation x
You should read, Out Of My Mind it is one my favorite book and it was the first time I sew myself in books :), and have you read Unborken
YES! This one is outstanding. I read it for years to my fourth graders and it was always their favorite.
@@suburbansnowshite :), it is a book that I think deserves more hype
Has anyone read The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley (magical realism theme)? I read it 2 summers ago and it was my favourite of that year. Can we think of it in terms of bodily difference? I don't want to give too much away about why I think that but if someone here has read it they will know what I'm talking about. I absolutely love that book.
Have you read The Call, written by Peadar Ó Guilín? The main character has a disability, and I would love to know your thoughts about it.
I have not! I'll give it a Google x
Could you, please, recommend fary tales about autism?
Disability is something that I've changed my relationship to in the last couple years after a couple brain injuries. That being said this list was great and its so so helpful! Thank you! As a side note i DO NOT reccomend geek love. It was sold to me as a literary horror for somw reason? Its not, and and its just kinda gross. It doesnt say anything useful about disability in my opinion, and feels more like a reason to gawk at the disfigured characters than relate to them. A few are villinized as well, idk, not good?
I didn’t like Geek Love either.
Hi Jen! I am wondering if you did the Poor Things recap...can not seem to find it in the Aprilish timeframe.... Thanks!
I talk about that in this video.
Thank you Jen!!!
I've just uploaded the 'Poor Things' video th-cam.com/video/cyKbTxeyBHY/w-d-xo.html&lc=UgxeleAEzSRQaPX6rct4AaABAg x
Can anyone suggest novels related to disability theory. Avoiding and humiliating the differently abled person by society or family . Please suggest some novels related to this.
Please suggest
i don't think it's so you can feel good about yourself reading about others' suffering, it's because you like your suffering vicarious but your happiness firsthand - i used to think, why are we so negative we prefer horrible stories of suffering? Then i thought, we prefer suffering vicarious, then i thought, no, we're logical. We are afraid of others' suffering, we want to know, but no way do we want to get involved or suffer it ourself. It's perfectly logical actually. Not fair or moral, but logical
I mean that those reading it feel good about themselves in a "I'm a good person, I'm empathising with someone" kind of way.
Is it just me, or do you also find Selznick books great for lovers of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's writing?
i was watching a got video, and saw shereen which i'd forgotten about, not the greatest, or the worst, representation, but quite rare in mainstream, i just didn't really pay it much attention
The Gray House ...originally it is a trilogy, hence your copy is so huge. I read first half of the first book. It was weird :D It seemed the kids in this orphanage or home or whatever the institution it is mostly do drugs and bully each other. I feel like nothing happened in what I read so far.
Oh dear! Ok, I’ll dip into it and see what I think x
I hope you will like it and then I will be willing to give it a second chance, because right now I have the whole trilogy on my shelves unread :D I know my Russian speaking friends really enjoyed it. Maybe it is a Czech translation that makes it not so great. There is hope :) I mean, it must have been somewhat good if it was translated to several languages....
Fun fact: In the Czech Republic these books are classified for readers 14+ and the name of the first book was changed (censored). In the original it is called The Smoker.
@@Jana_Reads_Too that's hilarious :D I wonder what they did to all the swear words in the book
Wonderful video! Thank you!
I have dwarfism and use a wheelchair and have worked a little as a sensitivity reader as well. I've had a few short stories published (a couple of them with disabled protagonists--more about one of those in a minute). But can I recommend We Are Giants by Amber Lee Dodd? It's a truly wonderful middle grade novel written from the perspective of an able-bodied child who has an able-bodied older sister but whose parents have dwarfism. Her dad is dead, her mum is very much alive. I also wanted to just make sure you know about Nicola Griffith who published a book about disability recently called So Lucky, but also has attempted to compile her own list of fiction that deals well with disability. nicolagriffith.com/fiction-that-passes-the-fries-test/
As for The Chrysalids... yes, I loved it too when I read it in my teens and the early part of the novel is still great. But on a recent rereading I was a bit dismayed as it seems to me to rather elevate the value of people with "superior" minds as a kind of super race. I too know more about physical disability clearly, but I know enough about learning disabilities/mental health to be disappointed with the direction the book took. Also, the disabled/disfigured people actually end up all dead at the end so it didn't turn out quite as positive as I remembered.
Lastly, there's the Defying Doomsday anthology of apocalypse fiction featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists that I have a story in. www.goodreads.com/book/show/28185450-defying-doomsday?ac=1&from_search=true It's thoroughly decent if I'm allowed to say that!
Ha, that’s not how I remember it either. Perhaps another one to add to the reread pile! Wyndham in general always seems to come with a ‘but.’ Thanks for the other recommendations x
Can you recommend any books with a mute character?
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi has a main character who has selective mutism x
I want a book of disability and inclusion books in English to bangla
Never heard of Geek Love.
Why do you feel uncomfortable?
Beth little women Helen what Katy did Clara little nell curiosity shop
I read the lumberjack's dove and loved it!
Oh hurray! Glad to hear that x
Ew; thanks for the fox hunting warning.