Do you struggle to find books that truly reflect different cultures, identities, and experiences?

Leelynn Brady, a passionate advocate for diverse literature, is bringing her top recommendations to the Athol Public Library on Thursday.

“It’s really about showing that there is a place for authors of all different backgrounds, all different races, all different ethnicities,” said Brady. “And our stories are great, they just need a platform to be able to talk about it and share it.”

Brady, originally from O‘ahu, Hawaii, is a book blogger, also known as a bookstagrammer. She will be coming all the way from Hawaii to share her favorite diverse and inclusive literature with the Athol community.

Bookstagramme” is a term for people who post book reviews on the social media app Instagram. Brady’s Instagram account is @sometimesleelynnreads, and she has been posting reviews there for the last 10 years.

At the event, Brady will recommend a variety of genres including young adult and middle grade books. This will include books that feature BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and disabled characters, or are written by representative authors.

The event aims to promote diversity and inclusivity in literature. Brady explained her definition of what diversity in a book means to her.

“To be diverse is not to say non-white, I think some people misconstrue that to be like, oh, if you read anything from a CIS white person you’re not being diverse, but it’s like, no you are reading from all facets of life, all walks of life,” Brady said.

Her hobby of book blogging and posting on Instagram started as a fun form of self-care, but over time Brady realized the impact it had on others and how she could make a difference in someone’s life through books.

“My mom has told me that some of her friends started reading again, thanks to seeing my books on Instagram,” said Brady. “It’s been such an honor. I do it for myself, really, but for people to go ‘Oh my God! I read that book that you talked about and I really liked it.’ It’s so heartwarming.”

In her early blogging days, Brady started a personal reflection blog called Diverse or Nah. One of the posts on her blog that became popular was about the book “Fire Keeper’s Daughter,” by Angeline Boulley.

“I really talked about how I am somebody who is also Indigenous, but also mixed, just like the main character Daunis is. And seeing how we are never enough, when it comes to the cultures that we are, like she was not enough Anishinaabe or not enough white,” said Brady.

“I feel the same way as I’m not enough Chamarro, which is indigenous Guam, but also not enough Japanese, and also not enough Black. Not enough Cherokee,” she added. “So I just really felt myself in Daunis’ story, in that cultural identity battle she was having with herself. Seeing that I’m not the only one was really important to me.”

Brady emphasized how important it is for younger and older generations to read diverse books, explaining that you can often see parts of yourself in the stories.

“Growing up, I didn’t really see a lot of myself in books, not just racially, but also just the type of backgrounds that I came from, or the values that I would have,” she said.

This lack of representation in the stories motivated Brady to find stories, characters and authors that she could connect with and relate to.

“It’s important that these stories shouldn’t be withheld. These stories shouldn’t be kept silent,” said Brady. “So, continuing to promote that with whatever platform you have, whether you’re big or small, and just showing that passion will help authors and publishers realize that they need to start opening doors for authors that haven’t had that opportunity in a really long time.”

This event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 20, from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. To register, sign up through https://tinyurl.com/2jsh4avr. Confirmation and reminder messages will be sent through email. A list of the recommended books will be sent out to those who register.