tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post4287391807242153642..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Diverse Reading by Neil McGowanKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-51341779838787773622022-12-11T09:12:21.730+00:002022-12-11T09:12:21.730+00:00I have always been very interested in stories abou...I have always been very interested in stories about people who are different from me, so I don't exactly seek them out to share, but I try to commit to diversity, anti-racism, etc., in my life and part of that is sharing things on one's platform. As I work for myself from home and am not part of a faith group etc., my main platform is my blog, so I do share and promote and write about diverse books and authors as a specific M.O., even though I knew at first I would get far more engagement, reads and comments if I just posted about White mid-century women writers (that has changed a bit now). What I did do intentionally was seek out Black and other Global Majority People book bloggers so I could read and absorb their thoughts and insights on books I read; that has definitely deepened my experience and allowed me to share more nuanced reactions. <br /><br />As to the economics of the thing, there have been waves of enthusiasm about publishing diverse authors/subjects - there was one in the mid to late 90s and I found a lot of authors through that. Post-George Floyd, there has been a huge surge in publishing (although a friend who runs a diverse author mentoring scheme notes the balance is still very low in children's books et al.) and that does seem to be continuing. I'm having a policy of buying up books while I can get them but sharing them gradually, to try to maintain the momentum in my own small way. LyzzyBeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398604923871095647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-18788090400135462362022-12-08T11:21:45.723+00:002022-12-08T11:21:45.723+00:00That's an interesting piece Neil. Considering ...That's an interesting piece Neil. Considering again how I choose books to read now that I've retired from teaching them, I think book groups are a useful place to find ideas. In mine, CarersFirst, we have just read a fascinating novel by Claire Fuller called Swimming Lessons which followed an earlier one called Unsettled Ground. This way people whose judgement you respect share their liking for an author and/or book. And how did I know about the group? Why through Twitter of course...<br /><br />Thanks for your post and season's greetings to you tooPeter Leylandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07717370262319438102noreply@blogger.com