About

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Meet The Archivist

Hi! My name’s Curio and I’ll be your archivist!

This Archive is my passion project, and though I am just one person, I’m going to do my best to make it as accessible, detailed and easy to use as possible.

I am a member of the disability community myself; I have a progressive genetic condition called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. A large part of the reason I started this archive is because, growing up, I just wanted to see someone like me in a book but I didn’t know where to look. And now I do, and so do you!

Please enjoy!

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Note:

Just because a book is included here does not mean I endorse or support its content or author.

That being said, I will review any potentially problematic entry if asked.

I try and add content warnings and notes to every entry as and where possible, and will do my best to warn of any potentially harmful content or history behind a book.

Comments are on on every entry. If you feel I have made a mistake or would like something added then please speak up.

A Note on Spoilers:

There will be some slight spoilers in these entries. I try to limit them, of course, but I research every book that I put on this archive in order to list all of the content warnings and tropes that I can, and some spoilers may slip through.

History:

August 2023 I put a post out on tumblr asking for disability book recommendations. A little over two weeks later, I had notes on over 200 books, fiction and non-fiction, written up on a spreadsheet, begging for attention.

I wanted to make it easier to access (there’s only so much you can fit on a tumblr post) so I have painstakingly put this website together.

Here you’ll find information on books across every genre, format and age range. Every book contains some form of disabled representation or discussion, with characters from a variety of different cultures, countries, sexualities, life stages etc. etc.

I’ve tried to make it as varied as possible, and I aim to update every month at least, but it is just me here, so that might not always be consistent. But I will try!

What is the Archive?

The archive is a database. It is not a library.

There are no links to buy or borrow these books anywhere on this site. My aim is to give you enough information so that you are able to find them for yourself, if you want.

For the non-fiction books specifically, I have done my best to track down DOI/EISBN/ISBN numbers where possible.

I have read some books on this list, but definitely not every one. The large majority of them have been suggested by people who have either personally read or written them themselves. It’s my responsibility to trust their judgement and do a little bit of my own research.

Sometimes it’s difficult to get all the information I need, and that’s why this project is so heavily reliant on community support. Without it, this database would not be nearly as big as it is now.

It is my hope that we can continue to grow it going forward!