I'm starting up my own free library soon (essentially a public book exchange box - you can take a book you'd like to read with no obligation to give it back or put in a book you don't want anymore) and it got me thinking. If you have experience with little free libraries - what is the best book you've found & why?

Could be a book you'd been dying to read, something you'd never heard of that became a five star read, a really popular book you were surprised to see, or something else!

Feeling bummed lately because I finished a book last week and my head has hurt too much to read ever since. The combination of migraines and ME/CFS has made reading with my eyes increasingly hard, and I love and appreciate audiobooks, but I just don’t process the same aurally, and I struggle to listen to books I want to really dig into (usually amounts to more literary fiction but not exclusively). Aka right now I’m just listening to nonstop romance audiobooks and reading other books very slowly. Wondering what other people with migraines/ other illness/disability that limits their reading have tried, and just figured this might be a nice space to talk about it. And lmk if you have any tips for listening to audiobooks; I am def willing to work on the way I approach them!

hi everyone!!! happy disability pride month!

every july, the disabled community comes together to celebrate ourselves and our resilience, honour our histories, and our ongoing struggles and dehumanization we face due to ableism, eugenics, isolation, illness, suicide rates, capitalism and innaccessibility. in honour of the month, i've decided to make lists for each colour of the disability pride flag and teach what each colour represents. i got this idea while bored at work lol.

the disability pride flag:

the disability pride flag was created in 2021 by ann magil. the multiple colours on this flag highlights the various experiences, support needs, and uniqueness of the disabled community. each colour represents one aspect of disability.

a disclaimer: before i present the colours, and lists below, not all books within these lists are OwnVoices, meaning the author shares the same disability as a character in a book. these lists are not exhaustive, but each has both fiction and non-fiction books representing each topic. they are always open to recommendations so please feel free to comment on a list that catches your inspiration. each list will be linked below with the name of the colour in bold. lastly, many books within each list present more than one aspect of disability on the flag, and many disabilities may fit into more than one category (OCD is both a psychiatric disability and neurodivergence, but i kept it within the nd list.).

💚 - our first list is the colour green! it represents sensory disabilities. notably, deafness, blindness/HOH, hearing loss, etc.

💙 - secondly, we have the colour blue/light blue!! this colour highlights psychiatric disabilities and mental illnesses. ex: bipolar disorder, depression, general anxiety disorder, PTSD, etc...

🤍 - thirdly, the colour white represents invisible or undiagnosed disabilities. examples of some of these are ehlers-danlos syndrome, chronic illnesses, MECFS, long covid, fibromyalgia, POTS, ulcerative colitis, IBS, and more.

💛 - the colour yellow is for the multiple conditions that fall under neurodivergency, cognitive and intellectual disabilities. such as autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia/dyspraxia/dyscalculia, down syndrome, tourettes, etc.

❤️ - the last colour in the main "rainbow" is red!! this colour represents all kinds of physical disabilities. wheelchair users, diabetes, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, dwarfism, ALS, arthritis, asthma and polio all fall under this category, as well as many others.

🖤/🩶 - finally, we have the colour(s) black/grey, which shows itself behind the flag's "rainbow." this colour calls on all of us to remember those who we've lost to ableism, suicide, neglect, abuse, assimilation, isolation, illness. as we mourn our fallen comrades, we also protest and rage against the systems that left them for dead, and continue to isolate and dehumanize many.

i really hope that you all enjoy and appreciate these lists i've compiled for all of you! both these lists, and this post, took a long time to write and compile so i'd appreciate it wholeheartedly if you'd all check them out. once again, if you all have any recommendations for books to add/remove, please let me know in each comment section! i hope those of you who didn't know about the disability pride flag have learned something new today!!! thank you all for the love!! bisous (kisses)!!

What are everyones favorite pieces of media beyond books? I made a template below but feel free to add to it/delete from it as you see fit.

Movies: TV Shows: Music Artist/Songs: Podcasts: Youtube: Visual Artisit/Art Piece:

I can't wait to see and steal everyones tastes