#DiversityBingo2017 Annoucement + #DiversityDecBingo Wrap Up

After the resounding success that was diversity December Bingo, we have decided to come back with a year long readathon – Diversity Bingo 2017. Today I’m going to wrapping up the month of December (and all the wonderfully diverse books I read) as well as letting you know all you need to know about Diversity Bingo 2017!

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D I V E R S I T Y   B I N G O   2 0 1 7 

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Diversity Bingo 2017 is going to work much like Diversity December Bingo in that you try to read as many diverse books as possible that relate to the categories on the bingo card below. Obviously, because you have an entire year to complete it instead of a month, we’re making the readathon a little harder. Instead of trying to complete only one line, this time you need to try and tick off every single box – 36 books in total! 36 books is quite a lot and it’s going to prove no doubt challenging so if you don’t think you can check off every single square, that’s absolutely fine – it’s all about trying to read as many diverse books as you can.

Make sure you track your reading using the hashtag “#diversitybingo2017” so we can all see what books you have been reading! There have been quite a few people keen to participate so far so it should be a lot of fun sharing your reading experience with everyone else. Also, please try and read Own Voices or marginalised authors for all your squares – let’s try and lift those voices up.

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D I V E R S I T Y    D E C E M B E R   B I N G O   W R A P   U P  

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In a shock turn of events, I actually did manage to get bingo this month! It didn’t look like it was going to happen for a while there but I persevered, and okay, veered off my initial TBR a little (maybe a lot) and ended up reading 5 books.

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A Quiet Kind of Thunder // Sara Barnard

★★★★

Category // Mental Health Awareness

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I was slightly scared when starting A Quiet Kind of Thunder as I really did not want to read another book about an MC’s Mental Illness (in this case, Steffi’s selective mutism and anxiety) being magically cured by falling in love. I shouldn’t have worried because Sara Barnard’s new release is anything but. Steffi and Rhys (who is deaf) are introduced to each purely because of the fact that Steffi has a basic understanding of BSL. Not only does this book have a wonderful romance but also a strong female friendship and an intricate, well researched depiction of MI and the D/deaf community.

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The Forbidden Wish // Jessica Khoury

★★★

Category // Asian Main Character

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I honestly live for Asian fairytale retellings – give me those over Western fairy tales any day. And so a retelling of Aladdin – where the romance is between the Jinni and Aladdin instead – was something I was looking forward to so much. Although The Forbidden Wish didn’t quite meet my expectations, it was still an enjoyable story, with interesting characters and vivid world building.

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Every Heart a Doorway // Seanan McGuire

★★★★

Category // Free Space (Asexual MC)

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It’s sometimes so hard to find good fantasy novels with LGBTQ+ characters and to have both asexual and trans representation in Every Heart a Doorway was such a lovely surprise. This book follows students at a magical school, a school for children who have all travelled to different worlds and are trying to make their way back. The writing and characters are all so unique and magical and this book just works so well – it’s a really fast read (under 200 pages) that you can easily knock out in a couple of hours and it is so worth it.

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Not Your Sidekick // C.B.Lee

 ★★★★

Category // Own Voices

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Not Your Sidekick was such a fast-paced and incredibly fun read that takes a unique spin on the popular superhero/villain trope. C.B.Lee provides us with some vivid world building and some fantastic, diverse characters (with PoC/biracial, bisexual and trans rep) with an organic romance that was absolutely adorable. I can’t wait until the next book comes out in 2017 because I am going to be pouncing on it so fast.

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Beginner’s Guide: Love and Other Chemical Reactions // Six De Los Reyes

 ★★★★★

Category // Non-Western (Real World) Setting

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This romance novel, set to the vibrant backdrop of the Philippines, has become one of my absolute favourite contemporaries to date.  Beginner’s Guide was such a unique combination of science, romance and absolutely wonderful characters that worked so well. Kaya and Nero’s relationship grew so organically and they are just SO GREAT TOGETHER urgh. This book provides many laughs and many feels so make sure you’re prepared before you go in!

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Did any of you successfully complete bingo?

Until next time,