The empathy we feel for book characters wires our brains to have the same sensitivity towards real people.
(Marr et al 2009, Exploring the Link Between Reading Fiction and Empathy)
MANIFESTO
The world would be a better place if more people read books. Reading encourages understanding and increases empathy, which is one of the main motivations of kind behavior; therefore, reading promotes kindness, which makes the world a better place. People who read fiction tend to better understand and share in the feelings of others — even people different from themselves. Fiction allows us to step outside of ourselves; it transports us into a character’s mind, allowing us to see and feel what they do. We can experience the world as another gender, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, profession, or age. We can learn what it is like to live through war, poverty, loss, or love. Reading influences how we relate to and treat people in the real world. It is a crucial way to learn about the world we live in; it educates us on big issues in the world and the people facing them.
My diversity/empathy reading challenge encourages people to read books with characters or authors from an underrepresented voice in literature (diverse books* as defined by We Need Diverse Books). Promotional materials for the #diversebookschallenge are made available to libraries and independent bookstores at no cost. By encouraging participation in the challenge, bookstores and libraries can increase sales or circulation of diverse books and increase kindness and empathy in their communities. Readers can read physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks — they all count. Readers earn badges along the way and can earn prizes from participating libraries and bookstores. Book reviews and participation in discussion groups are not required but are encouraged. We also suggest that readers share their participation in the challenge on their social media accounts with our hashtag and graphics.
* We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.
INSPIRATION
My project had two main inspirations. The Library 100 list features a free kit for libraries to promote circulation and encourage readers to check out the top 100 novels of all time found in libraries worldwide.
The Celebrity Readers Diversity Reading Challenge encourages readers to focus on intentionally reading more diverse books, either with diverse characters or diverse authors. The basic challenge is to read as many diverse books as you can, with an added monthly theme mini-challenge. Diverse books are defined according to the definition set forth by We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit organization that promotes diverse children's literature.
Most reading challenges I found online fall into the "reading themes" category, such as "read a book with a Black or African-American main character." I researched as many diversity challenges as I could find, but few actually suggest certain titles, missing out on a valuable opportunity to promote circulation or sales. I chose to combine elements from the Library 100 with elements from diversity reading challenges to come up with a list of 100 diverse titles for my challenge. Rather than just suggest one book a month, my diverse books challenge is like an ultra-marathon for readers. With no time limit, readers are encouraged to read as many books as they can and challenged to complete the whole list.
To help select an inclusive list, I came up with ten categories and tried to select ten books in each category. I eventually settled on twelve categories: LGBTQIA; Black/African-American; AAPI; the Middle East; Latinx; the Jewish experience; the immigrant experience; indigenous cultures; disability/chronic illness/mental illness; intersectional; non-fiction/memoirs; and young adult. The list has a heavy focus on #ownvoices books.The categorization was mainly for my own use, to keep the list well-rounded; the categories do not appear on the final list. You can view the full, original brainstorm list here.
Branding
With the list of 100 books finalized, I was able to begin branding the challenge. The first task was to come up with a memorable name. I wanted a name that involved books and also suggested learning or growth. The main contenders were Enlightened Reads, Thought Twist, Novel Perspective, On the Same Page, and Shelf Discovery. Once the name Shelf Discovery was selected, I began to design the logo.
MATERIALS FOR LIBRARIES
One of the main goals of my project is to provide promotional materials to libraries and independent bookstores at no cost. Many local libraries already struggle with funding and are asked to pay for promotional materials like bookmarks and posters, even when they are printing them in-house. By providing my materials as free downloadable PDFs, libraries and independent bookstores can participate in the book challenge at just the cost of printing.
MERCHANDISE
WEBSITE
Until I am able to work with a developer to fully build out the site, I have a rudimentary site active at https://www.shelf-discovery.com/
BEANSTACK APP
I also worked with my local library to set up a reading challenge using their Beanstack app. Beanstack is a site and app combination for libraries that helps them to easily design reading challenges for their patrons. I was able to load each book from my list as a challenge activity and to also load all the badges from the challenge. The app tracks each book the patron logs and awards the badges when goals are met.
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