How to Read Along With the Bookclub:
Goodreads Group
Facebook Group
Twitter Hashtag (Not sure how to use a Twitter hashtag? To keep active, you’ll always include the hashtag #AccessibleBookShelf)
Book club picks will be announced 1x per month on the 15th of the Month then meet via Group Zoom/Google Groups. Book discussions will occur via Facebook. I’ll also update on current reads on my Instagrams and Twitter under the social media handles. Look forward to blog posts for current picks and reviews! For more info: please go to the “Book Club” tab here on my site!
A dream of mine has been an inclusive, accessible book club. A place where everyone felt accommodated, book choices were diverse, and people didn’t feel uncomfortable by commentaries on how they needed to read. I dreamed of a place where inclusion was a prime choice from the start. Can you imagine? A book club where access is a priority, not a second thought! It came to me while staring at my shelves.
As a wheelchair user and disabled person, I can reach for so few books independently. Shelves, just like literature and many other things, are not always designed with access in mind. It doesn’t mean that your voice and opinions as a disabled reader are any less important!
If you are a disabled bookworm, you likely hear commentaries about how you read. I shared an Instagram post dealing with some of the ableism that I face.
I get met with people scoffing and judgemental sneers towards Kindle books.
People will say that reading via an e-book isn’t the same or share rude memes to mock those who use them. I can’t count how many times people have said that audiobooks don’t count as reading.
I’ve gotten invited to book clubs, even when the book is not available in an audiobook format or the venue has stairs. I had people make jokes that I don’t “look like the person who needs books for the Blind.” I had a stranger remark they were surprised when they saw me reading because they assumed I could not – as a person with a disability.
I wanted to create a book club where all people would feel welcome, included, and heard. Please feel free to let me know if you need more accommodations or if I can be more accessible in any manner. Are you read to read with me? Able-bodied allies and disabled people are both welcome to join along. I hope to also encourage education on how we all can promote more inclusion in our reading generation.
Have an idea for a book? Send it my way!
Please make sure it’s diverse & features disability
Love, Dom
The Girl in The Pink Wheelchair 