Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author


This is definitely going to expand my horizons, I don't think I've ever read a book by a deaf author. I don't read much middle-grade, but I've seen so many great things about El Deafo!


Listopia list is Here: A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author

This one doesn't take much thought for me, I'll be reading Kelly Andrew's new book, Your Blood, My Bones since I enjoyed her debut The Whispering Dark.

I found this article: https://www.hearinglikeme.com/deaf-au... looks like some good options.

A few years ago I read Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law which would work for this or the vision prompt. It wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever read, but it was interesting and read quickly.

Dave Grohl has been dealing with hearing loss since at least 2011, so The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music works here!

A few years ago I read Deaf Sentence. It's fictional but seems like it could be inspired by real events. A quick google doesn't tell me if David Lodge did write it while experiencing hearing loss, but if he did, this would qualify well. I'm not giving it a full throated endorsement - I rated it 3 stars, but thought I'd mention it as I don't have many ideas for this prompt.

I have Deaf Utopia by Nyle Dimarco on hold at the library. I may save it for this prompt. It's a memoir. I haven't looked at the other prompts yet but he's deaf, if I remember correctly. I remember him from America's Next Top Model.

I'm going to read Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism

True Biz! She was born hearing but began losing her hearing during childhood.

Some others that I don't see here are: True Biz, Give Me a Sign, Unravel, Deaf Culture Fairy Tales, Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Journey of Love, Identity, and Adoption

Heather Gudenkauf was born with profound unilateral hearing impairment. Any of her books would qualify. I loved Not a Sound, as she really explores Deaf culture vs deaf culture, and deafness is a significant but not the only part of the character's identity.

Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life looks like a good one. As one who listens to music constantly, it seems right up my alley in terms of the theme.

I'm not sure if tinnitus strictly qualifies as hard of hearing, but if it does, William Shatner books would fit this prompt.

I added Sounds Like Home: Growing Up Black and Deaf in the South and The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL: Its History and Structure the list.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

True Biz by Sara Novice, interesting take on deaf schooling.

Stephen King is deaf in one ear, so ANY of his books will fit this category. Too many to list! But a few of my favorites are:
The Stand
It
Bag of Bones
Heart in Atlantis
The Eyes of the Dragon
The Gunslinger (#1 of Dark Tower Series)

I haven't personally read this, but the author was a Minnesota book award winner and it would count for this category and the blind/visually impaired author, plus maybe the poetry one. Not sure about if it qualified for that category.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

Andi-Roo wrote: "Stephen King is deaf in one ear, so ANY of his books will fit this category. Too many to list! But a few of my favorites are:
The Stand
It
Bag of Bones
Heart in Atlantis
The Eyes of the Dragon
The ..."

this is very good to know!! i wasn't very much interested in any of the options on the list and i didn't know at the top of my head of any deaf authors...
there's a bunch of King books I haven't read yet, so... thanks!!! :D

Denise wrote: "I'm going to read Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism"

Seconding this. I read it in 2022 when it was nominated for a Hugo award (didn't win, but it was a tough race).

Lilith wrote: "Heather Gudenkauf was born with profound unilateral hearing impairment. Any of her books would qualify. I loved Not a Sound, as she really explores Deaf culture vs ..."
Oooh! Working at Borders years ago, they featured her debut, The Weight of Silence, so of course, being the only dedicated employee, I read it and posted a review in the store for all my coworkers to read and use. I now own two more of her books but have not yet read them! Perfect! Little Mercies and These Things Hidden

I picked up Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back, which looks really interesting.

My copy of this book arrived. Other than this book being about a man going deaf and music I have no idea what it's about. I just did a random Google search of deaf authors with a 2024 release date and this one came up. Given that it deals with music I was immediately hooked.

Going to start it hopefully today or tomorrow.


Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life

One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

I am going to try = People Suck: A Cheat Code for Introverts


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...

I was browsing the Anisfield-Wolf award winners. The 2020 winner in poetry would work for this. Deaf Republic.

The Words in My Hands by Asphyxia

I'm reading Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement. The author self describes as a "hard-of-hearing, chemobrained amputee with Crohn’s disease and tinnitus and possibly some undiagnosed anxiety or PTSD related to my cancer treatment."

I read Hearing Maud: A Journey for a Voice and found the lived experience, the explanation of cultural difference and honesty in describing identity contrasted with the history of Maude a fascinating read.

Added Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman to the Listopia as Alan Rickman states in-text that he developed hearing loss which was determined to be permanent during his work on a film (I forget which) in the late 1990s.

Accidentally posted this in the wrong thread, so here it is in the right place: If you're interested in going a little more offbeat with this one, Provincetown Seafood Cookbook reads more like a book than a cookbook, and its author lost his hearing in his youth.

I'm currently reading my book for this, Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End Ableism and it is really good. I'm surprised that more people haven't read it, it provides a realistic view of what it's like to actually live with a disability and there's a lot to think about and unpack in this book. I'm about halfway through and highly recommend it.

I came across a reel of celebrities with hearing loss. Jane Lynch, Rob Lowe, and Stephen Colbert all have right ear hearing loss and have written books.

Andi-Roo wrote: "Stephen King is deaf in one ear, so ANY of his books will fit this category. Too many to list! But a few of my favorites are:
The Stand
It
Bag of Bones
Heart in Atlantis
The Eyes of the Dragon
The ..."

Awesome!!!! Thanks!

Is R.F. Kuang deaf or hard of hearing? I saw Babel on the Listopia and I'd love to be able to count The Poppy War towards this challenge.

I already read my book for this prompt, but I'm currently reading a new book and the author mentions how she's hard of hearing.

Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out

Laura Ruth wrote: "I picked up Stairs and Whispers: D/deaf and Disabled Poets Write Back, which looks really interesting."

This was an excellent collection, great variety of poets. Review:
http://www.lauraruthloomis.com/whats-...

I saw a book by Tana French on the list but I can't find where she's deaf or a hard of hearing author. Does anyone know for sure?

Any book by Heather Gudenkauf. Love her books

I read The Searcher. I really couldn't find anything stating she is deaf or hard of hearing. One of her books is listed on our listopia list. If anyone knows for sure let me know & I'll read something else.

OK, so I saw a Blake Crouch book on the Listopia, but I can't find anything substantiating that he is, in fact, deaf or hard of hearing. Same goes for Tana French (whose books I adore).
I suspect that they may have ended up there due to wishful thinking ...?
Why would people do such a thing? Or is the person who put Recursion and The Hunter on the list here and can tell us how they know?

I see The Teacher by Freida McFadden on the list. does Freida suffer from hearing loss? I can't find anything.

Conny wrote: "OK, so I saw a Blake Crouch book on the Listopia, but I can't find anything substantiating that he is, in fact, deaf or hard of hearing. Same goes for Tana French (whose books I adore).
I suspect t..."



It looks like the same person added both The Hunter & Recursion, as well as The Teacher, Babel, Apeirogon, & The Woman in the Library. (You can see who voted on the book by clicking on the "1 person voted" and then from there clicking on their name to see the rest of the books they voted in. Each of these books have only one vote, so they are all coming solely from this reader.) To my knowledge, none of those authors are hard of hearing (but I could be wrong!) Perhaps she got confused about which list she was on and added these to the wrong list? Or she's just confused about Listopias in general, because I got curious and looked at books she added to a few of our other Listopias, and MOST of her choices make sense, but a few do not. A K-Pop book added to our K-Pop list, but also a K-Pop book and a true crime book added to the women athlete list, which make no sense. I think it's likely that she got confused about which list she was in in this case.

I am reading Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out which is by a hard-of-hearing author and is also delightful for any bibliophile!

Doni wrote: "I am reading Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out which is by a hard-of-hearing author and is also delightful for any bibliophile!"

I recently read this one too. It was a fun read.

Doni wrote: "I am reading Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out which is by a hard-of-hearing author and is also delightful for any bibliophile!"

I'm pretty sure I have this book and didn't know anything about the authors, thanks now I know what to choose for this prompt

I read Your Blood, My Bones for this prompt and really enjoyed it!

I just finished True Biz for this prompt and enjoyed it.

I read Deaf Sentence by David Lodge. The author suffers from age-related hearing loss, which began when he was in his forties.

The book does a good job of conveying the frustrations of deafness - Lodge says that it is often viewed as comic, whereas blindness is usually seen as tragic, in life and, especially, literature - and some of this book is funny. As someone who has always struggled to hear when there is a lot of background noise, I appreciated his description of nodding frantically at people during parties. One of those episodes has unfortunate consequences in this book.

I too don't read a lot of middle-grade graphic novels, but I'm reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. The blurb reads, "This funny perceptive graphic novel memoir about growing up hearing impaired is also an unforgettable book about growing up, and all the super and super embarrassing moments along the way."

I also just finished El Deafo and the above blurb sums it up nicely