Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space | 
Joining in #12daysofchristmas hosted by @Andrew65
Listing my favourite books of the year over the next 12 days from my annual fiction and non-fiction reads.
pickAmanda Leduc, in an insightful memoir combined with literary analysis, takes us on a journey of investigating the historical roots of fairy tales and how the values they taught can be harmful.
At times distressing to listen to, this was a powerful examination of the stories that form us. I was forced to confront some internal biases I have. And it makes me want to revisit my NaNoWriMo projects that were fairy tale retellings. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
pickIt‘s painful, but utterly necessary. Beautiful and hopeful; and this is a dive into an extremely important change of perspective that ought to inspire.
pickA fascinating academic analysis and a valuable personal perspective/memoir(?) in one. Got historical context for the earliest written/collected versions of these tales, which helps to explain the harmful beliefs that have carried down to modern day versions.
Going forward, we need to change the narrative, push for systemic change, because what is conveyed in fairy tales has far-reaching consequences. READ IT!!
"...- stories are one of those constructs that have the most power because they get you at such a young age."
pickI don‘t think it had ever occurred to me before picking up this book how many villains are “ugly” or “disfigured” making those things seem to be “bad” or “evil”. Or the many other ways that disabilities are portrayed negatively in stories. I found this book to be very thought provoking and appreciated the author sharing her story alongside so many familiar tales. #readharder2022
I forgot to post this yesterday for #bookspinbingo
2 completed lines, #bookspin and #doublespin achieved. Another set ticked of the tbr listand challenges.
Love this challenge.
@TheAromaofBooks
Off to enjoy the sunshine with my last 2 reads for the #thingsincommon challenge. I've enjoyed this immensely, thank you for hosting @Clwojick
Common theme - fairytales and folklore. Finishing with my favourite genre.
Wishing you all a great weekend. X 😃🌞📚🍸
I've nearly completed Circus of Wonders, which is amazing btw. I'd like to read the tagged book as the author of CoW used it in her research, when planning to tell the story of the macabre'freak shows' at their zenith during Victorian era. It is already on my tbr list but I'm even more intrigued after Elizabeth MacNeal's empathetic depiction of her characters.
Does this still count as #thingsincommon @Clwojick
pickI really liked this one, it was an interesting perspective on fairytales & the link to disabilities. The author herself is disabled & ties in her experiences to fairytales. In fairytales the person that needs saving or is the villain is disabled or disfigured. The premise is that people that are disabled need to change to fit society, not that society needs to adjust for disabled people. Which is a bigger systems issue in the US, where the
“why, in all these stories about someone who wants to be something or someone else, was it always the individual who needed to change, and never the world?”
this is a sort of hybrid book, part memoir of the author and an examination of how disabilities are portrayed in fairytales as punishments or impediments that can be overcome with the right attitude or magic
#bookspinbingo board for March 2022. I have started reading the tagged book the other day & it has been very interesting. I‘m hoping I can get some reading done for the month but I feel that everything else going on in life is going to take precedence. March is also #womenshistory month and #developmentalfisabilitiesawareness month, so my book choices have reflected these two topics.
so-soDisfigured explores disability from the lens of the author‘s own disability (mobility impairment from cerebral palsy) and the earliest stories we hear, fairy tales. While I like her fresh approach and I think disability narratives are important, I found this quite one note. It feels to me that the author has more to work through in her own processing of how disability has impacted her life, but I‘m not sure she‘s insightful to that.
Starting this. So delighted it's available as an audiobook.
pickThis is an absolutely fantastic book. The information that the author shares with the reader is incredibly digestible and accessible, which I really appreciate. I chose to consume this via audio (for the most part), and I definitely recommend it.
pickLeduc explores the various tropes of disfigurement and disability used in fairy tales from around the world, interspersing her own experiences of being diagnosed and living with cerebral palsy.
Read November 21-24
Rated 3.5/5 ⭐️
Book 49/60
pickI think it's an important read, particularly for those who may have never before considered the relationship between art, disability, preconception, and real life.
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Favorite quote:
"And when you train people to understand that they have worth simply through being who they are – that a life that is different from the norm has just as much value as any other life – what kind of world-shaking magic happens then?" (p. 224)
Can you imagine?! ?❤?
Taking my time with this one and making notes as I go. Not too far into it, but already one I'd recommend!
This is a bit of a hybrid book, memoir combined with study of fairy tales and disability. It‘s not scholarly but it is more dependent on research than everything else I‘ve been reading recently.
pickLeDuc looks at the relationship between old/new fairy tales and attitudes towards disabilities. LeDuc also intersperses her personal experiences of dealing with mild cerebral palsy -- both physically and how society treats her. The memoir aspect was more than I expected, but still worthwhile reading. Through LeDuc's astute lens, there is some hope that society will be more aware and accepting of those of us who don't fit in a "normal" category. ?
pick5/5🌟 Out Feb 4th! Excellent! Leduc has written a compelling take on Fairy Tales and Disabilities. She analyzes several fairy tales, as well as Disney retellings, Marvel superheroes and more. She illuminates the ways that people with disabilities in Fairy Tales are perceived and the lack of inclusion and proper representation in our society today. An important book, one that I will be thinking about for some time. #bookreview #mustread
This was in today‘s mail, via #LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I‘m very much looking forward to reading Leduc‘s perspectives, especially since I‘m Deaf which is considered a disability.
