“Diversity and Nonfiction: What does “diversity” in books mean to you? Does it refer to book’s location or subject matter? Or is it the author’s nationality or background? What countries/cultures do you tend to enjoy or read about most in your nonfiction? What countries/cultures would you like nonfiction recommendations for?”

I’ve never thought much about diversity in my nonfiction reading.  I do in my fiction reading.  I track settings of books and aim to read books set all over the world each year.  (See my map for 2014 on the sidebar.)

I looked at the diversity of the nonfiction books I’ve read this year.

The authors are exactly 50% female and 50% male.

However when you look at race there is a definite imbalance.  Twenty of the books were written by white authors, one was written by an African woman, two were written by Pakistani women, and one was written by a Jewish woman.

What about diversity of subjects?  Roughly the books break down into three broad categories:  Ten biographies/memoirs, eleven historical books, and three essays/current events.

Settings?  Fourteen in the U.S., six in Europe, one in Africa, two in the Middle East, and one in the Pacific Islands.

I choose my nonfiction read based entirely on subject and not the author but I think I need to find some more nonfiction authors of color.  Suggestions?

 

Linking up to Nonfiction November