.svg)
Every summer deserves a good reading list, the kind that makes you laugh, think, and occasionally throw the book across the room in disbelief. This year’s picks explore everything from disability rights to misinformation to pure escapist joy.
Here are four books we’re recommending this season:
Author: Saou Ichikawa
Translated by: Polly Barton
This book is dark, hilarious, raunchy and a raw description of living with a physical disability. It’s not hard to see why Ichikawa won multiple awards in Japan for her debut novel. At 90 pages in length, there is no excuse not to read Hunchback.
Authors: Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner
As far as Disability Badass Advocates go, Judy Heumann was the queen. Her memoir takes on new urgency with the attacks on the 504 and the ADA. Her words are a reminder to us all how hard she and her contemporaries fought to attain civil rights for all.
Author: Jonathan M. Berman
Vaccines do not cause autism. End of story. But unfortunately, with the current Secretary of Health and Human Services, this story looks to be dragging on with no “jumping the shark” in sight.
I read this book in 2020 and while the majority of the content was written prior to the pandemic, the author does address it in the preface. I was surprised to learn just how long the anti-vax movement has been around, well before the internet. But if you’re like me and believe in science and public health, this is the book to read to push back at the anti-vaccination moment we find ourselves in.
Author: Emily Henry
If you want a book that lets you plug your ears to the world and say “la la la la la la la la,” this is it. It has nothing to do with disability; it’s just a super fun read that I recommend to anyone wanting an escape.
.svg)
.svg)
