It’s World Book Day! That means that you’ve already been inundated with loads of bookish emails and posts about, well, books, to add to your already-overflowing tbr. While I’m not not here to give you some more recs, you can choose to skip over those and focus only on the articles exploring the art of reading — all the very meta & intellectual stuff.
A hot cup of chai & my favourite books
This is one of only two recommendation posts. I can’t drink chai anymore (I discovered I’m allergic to milk one year after writing this), but I still love all 10 of these books and highly recommend them. I’m inclined to update (and add) this list to include more books from 2021 to today.
On bookish elitism:
To put it simply, I’m a big fan of encouraging and allowing people to read whatever the fuck they want to. That means no shaming them for reading romance, telling them to read proper adult literature (literary fiction, people get shamed for reading smut, too, smh), or saying that audiobooks, novellas, comic books, etc. aren’t “real” books. FYI: all books are real books (please don’t come at me asking if hate books are included; employing some critical thinking skills here would be immensely beneficial! :))
On audiobooks & the accessibility they offer
Listening to stories is easier for blind people — that’s the easiest disability to associate audiobooks to. And while they were created for blind people to begin with, now they’re a blessing for those who can’t hold books because of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) — a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). Audiobooks are also great for dyslexic readers, making stories fun instead of stressful, and they’re also an incredible resource for anyone trying to learn a new language.
So does the format matter, or does the joy of immersing yourself in a story matter more? As readers (of all kinds), we should be okay —more than okay, we should champion diverse ways of reading — because we all know how much fun books can be.
Also, by the logic of those who say audiobooks aren’t real books — should we stop reading to kids who can’t read yet? No more bedtime stories until you can read for yourself, eh?
On reading romance
Romance fiction is predominantly written and read by women. 84% of romance readers are women, and they number somewhere between 29-40 million. Now, that’s not a small number at all, and it doesn’t even take into account global romance readers, translated works, and more.
Like teenage girls whose work and obsessions are dismissed, women who read romance aren’t considered ‘serious readers. From calling it soft porn to saying it sets unrealistic standards for men (LOL), the criticism against romance comes in different forms. Romance writers aren’t considered “real writers” because everyone likes to think that romance is easy to write — it’s just sex on paper or it’s just the same story told in different ways (aren’t all books, though?)
My theory is that people were freer to read what they wanted when they didn’t have to show their book covers on the tube or the train, no worries about prying, judge-y eyes.
So, why is it such a big deal if someone likes to read (only) romance books? Or writes (and/or self-publishes romance books?
On that note, here’s the second recommendation post: 10 romance books to check out!
On comic books
That’s a fact. Graphic novels, comic books, and mangas aren’t considered real books, forget “literature”. They’re given a hybrid classification and don’t get enough recognition for being bookish works of art.
Some ridiculous reasons I’ve read from those who don’t consider graphic novels and comic books as real books:
- They’re too easy to read — if you’re not solving a mental puzzle every time you turn a page, is it even worth reading?
- They’re for children — because children’s books have no meaning and depth to them, right?
- They’re not written “right” — apparently, the format bothers some folks. So how come poems and plays are “literature” then?
- They’re not serious enough — have you even read Maus or Kari or Persepolis?
- They don’t have lasting artistic merit — I rest my case on Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series.
On reading classics (and whether we should redefine what constitutes a classic)
This reverence towards classics is all well and good until it becomes suffocating — sometimes we just don’t like reading in ye olde English, you know? So many people tend to place old-timey classics on a pedestal, but some phenomenal books are being published now too.
Maybe we don’t have to wait for these authors to die to actually give their work a look.
All those “Books to Read Before You’re 20/30/50/Dead” lists always have the same old books — maybe those list writers don’t care, or perhaps they actually think it’s still a great idea to recommend The Catcher In The Rye (it’s not), but I’m sick of it.
If someone were to ask me if I’ve read the classics, I’m gonna say yes. To me, The Hunger Games is a classic — it began a wave of dystopian fiction that we’re still reeling from to this day.
Why you should read more fiction as an adult
While it’s probably very fun (I don’t think so, though) to pick up the book every CEO on the planet recommends about getting up at 4 am and having a cold shower to be mega productive, it’s also very important to include fiction in your reading tastes.
Reading fiction makes you more empathetic and accepting. It’s not news that when we are exposed to different narratives, we can gain more perspective. Research at Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab has demonstrated that people who read fiction have better social cognition. Fiction readers are more able to gauge what others around them are thinking and feeling, allowing them to connect better. This also makes them more likely to help others and behave more altruistically.
How to read (or introduce) inclusive and diverse children’s literature
Representation in mainstream media matters because that’s what’s fed to us as the ‘ideal’. Everything else is different and ‘other’. Diverse and inclusive books introduce children to different beliefs and cultures and help them realize there are people both similar and different in the world they need respect, accept, and get along with — each in a different capacity.
Also, the right representation matters. Having an Indian kid who’s bullied for smelling like curry and who befriends his bullies by feeding them said curry — no thank you. All representation is not good representation; let’s get that straight. Accessibility is a huge issue when it comes to representation. If we continue to recommend and gift Harry Potter or The Diary of a Wimpy Kid to the kids around us, we’re failing in our duty. We need to introduce them to writers of colour who are writing books similar to that kid’s experience.
At the same time, we also need to let the kids read widely. White kids don’t have to read books with white protagonists, nor do brown kids only have to read brown kid stories. Kids should be encouraged to read widely, to broaden their perspectives — because isn’t that what books are meant to do? They’re meant to take you to different lands and times, into people’s lives, thoughts, and actions.
A love letter to midnight feasts & boarding schools
This one is a purely indulgent thank you to all the midnight adventures I went on in Enid Blyton’s boarding school adventures (and sometimes even the mysteries), where they ate such deliciously appetizing food that I was genuinely bamboozled when I landed in the UK, and those lush tomatoes were nowhere to be found.
And, of course, to everyone who’s in a reading slump, I feel you. It sucks. I hope you can get reading again soon and enjoy a book properly again! Here’s what’s worked for me in the past.
Thanks for reading (hehe)!
Bonus: Why reading fanfiction is awesome and should be encouraged!
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