BOSTON, MA - June 27, 2024 - The Boston Public Library (BPL) celebrates Disability Pride Month with its first-ever Disabled, Not Unable booklist. Observed annually in July, Disability Pride Month honors and explores the influence and legacy of members of the disabled and neurodivergent community.
The Disabled, Not Unable booklist, compiled by BPL staff from the Central Library in Copley Square and the Chinatown and Mattapan branches, features 75 recent titles that are either written by disabled authors or are about the experiences of disabled people. The list showcases fiction and nonfiction selections for adults, teenagers, and children by authors such as Talia Hibbert, Abigail Johnson, Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow, Libo Cao Meyers, and Holly Smale. Genres from this collection include graphic novels, picture books, mystery, romance, poetry, and memoirs.
Each book on the list contains a synopsis and is accompanied by an image of the book cover as well as classification information. In addition to print books, select titles are available as eBooks or audiobooks.
Along with the booklist, the BPL will celebrate Disability Pride Month with related programs:
- Quiet Reading Party for ADHD& Neurodiverse Adults | July 13 and 27, Central | This quiet group setting provides a place for ADHD and otherwise neurodiverse adults to focus on achieving their reading goals by "body doubling," or working on tasks alongside someone else. Whether you're reading for pleasure or studying for school, bring a book and a page count goal.
- Read to Finley the Therapy Dog | July 13, West Roxbury | Finley the Therapy Dog loves to listen to kids read. To get a chance to read to Finley, a parent or guardian can call the West Roxbury Branch Children's Room to reserve a spot. Children can bring a book of their choice or choose one at the library. Each participant and their adult will get to spend 10 minutes with Finley and her handler.
- South Boston Book Discussion Group: True Biz by Sara Nović | July 18, South Boston | Discuss True Biz, a 2022 novel by Sara Nović, a coming-of-age story that follows the trials and tribulations of students at the River Valley School for the Deaf.
- Neurospicy Reads: A Book Group for ADHDers, Autistic Adults, and Allies | July 22, Central | Join this book discussion group for the neurodivergent and neurocurious, whether you're an ADHDer, an autistic adult, or an ally, to discuss Sincerely, Your Autistic Child, a collection of essays by autistic adults about what they wish their parents had known when they were growing up, and what they want parents to know about raising autistic kids today.
Physical copies of the inaugural printing of Disabled, Not Unable will be available at all BPL locations starting July 1, 2024; it can also be accessed digitally, opens a new window. In addition, the booklist and information about Disability Pride Month programs will also appear on the BPL website at bpl.org, opens a new window and on the BPL social media accounts (X, opens a new window, Facebook,, opens a new window Instagram).
Patrons can view many years' worth of prior affinity booklists, such as those from Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, and Pride Month in an online archive, opens a new window.
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ABOUT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library is a pioneer of public library service in America. It was the first large, free municipal library in the United States; the first public library to lend books; the first to have a branch library; and the first to have a children’s room.
The Boston Public Library of today is a robust system that includes the Central Library in Copley Square, 25 neighborhood branches, the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center, the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center, and an archival center, offering public access to world-class special collections of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and prints, along with rich digital content and online services.
The Boston Public Library serves nearly 4 million visitors per year and millions more online. All of its programs and exhibitions are free to all and open to the public. The Boston Public Library is a department of the City of Boston, under the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu. To learn more, visit bpl.org.
