Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A Book Written By an Author Who Is Neurodivergent

Any book authored by Temple Grandin qualifies. I've read Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism and Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals and really enjoyed both! I believe Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism should be required reading for any teacher and/or parent! We just typically are unaware of the many different ways people can and do interpret the world and learn!

Seanan McGuire (pronounced Shawn-in) lists an OCD diagnosis at age 9 on Wikipedia, and I didn't realize that qualifies as a neurodivergent diagnosis! Neurodivergent is an umbrella term including many other diagnoses. https://startmywellness.com/2024/01/i....
I have owned a copy of Rosemary and Rue for years and have yet to read it...perhaps 2025 is THE year! 😉

Listopias to help:
Neurodivergent Authors Books

Other listings:
A listing of Books By Neurodivergent Authors from Celadon Books: https://celadonbooks.com/books-neurod...

Listopia is HERE

Last year, 52 Book Club had the same prompt. I read Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason, and will probably read another of her books.

This will be easy enough; I'll just slot whatever Seanan McGuire I read next.

Also good to know are Seanan McGuire's pen names: Mira Grant for horror and A. Deborah Baker for middle grade fantasy. (The middle grade series also ties in to her fantastic Middlegame.)

Irish writer Naoise Dolan has autism.

Her book Exciting Times was very good and I am going to read The Happy Couple.

Karen wrote: "Irish writer Naoise Dolan has autism.

Her book Exciting Times was very good and I am going to read The Happy Couple."

I loved The Happy Couple so maybe I should read Exciting Times!

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Agatha Christie was dyslectic.

I had this for another challenge this year and highly recommend The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir, Kelly Bishop is also dyslexic.

I'm reading Broken by Jenny Lawson this year for a different category, but I like it so far.

I'm not really sure what I'll read next year. Maybe Looking for Alaska or Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

I've followed Dorian's works on YouTube for quite a long time, and autism would qualify for this prompt! Millennium Gothic: The Nostalgia Project, Vol I is not for the faint of heart. Major trigger warnings for drugs, sex, eating disorder content, and everything that made up the sordid world of the 90s-2000s lost goth youth. But Dorian is so... So damn compelling with words. It's been poignant and tearjerking listening to these stories on YouTube, video by video, and now they're here in a memoir.

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty was an interesting book. The author is autistic.

All of Andrew Joseph White's books would work for this.

Nike wrote: "Agatha Christie was dyslectic."

Oh! I didn't know this and love her. I'm going to pick one of her books. Thank you!

Jenny Lawson has a book that I haven't read yet, Broken, so I'll read that.

I got my official autism diagnosis this year which has been the best thing ever so I've been trying to read all kinds of books on the subject.

I've got 3 potential reads for this prompt:

Strong Female Character

What to Say Next: Successful Communication in Work, Life, and Love―with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult - This book is being released in April but already got it preordered. I've started following him on TikTok and he is awesome!

I recommend checking out The Autists: Women on the Spectrum, which is a super interesting read despite its flaws. Romance options include anything from Talia Hibbert, Xan West Z"L, or Helen Hoang, all of whom have written characters that are explicitly neurodivergent.

I'm hoping to read more from any of the romance authors I listed. I'm also hoping to finally read any of Andrew Joseph White's books, which all look excellent, or maybe one of the Rivers Solomon books I haven't gotten to yet.

Elizabeth wrote: "I recommend checking out The Autists: Women on the Spectrum, which is a super interesting read despite its flaws. Romance options include anything from Talia Hibbert, Xan West Z"L, ..."



I did not realize that both Talia Hibbert and Helen Hoang were also neurodivergent, I thought only their characters were! It makes sense, I just didn't know. Thanks for that. I've got Naoise Dolan pencilled in for myself, but if I don't like that, it's nice to know I've got other good choices!!!

I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir is an excellent, but tough read. Highly recommended!

I think I'll give Naoise Dolan a try, since several of you recommended her.

Catherine wrote: "I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir is an excellent, but tough read. Highly recommended!

I think I'll give Naoise Dolan a try, since severa..."

Interesting title but can anyone ever truly "overcome autism"? Tough question to answer.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I recommend checking out The Autists: Women on the Spectrum, which is a super interesting read despite its flaws. Romance options include anything from Talia Hibbe..."

Yes, they're both autistic and have shared as much! :)

Ron wrote: "Interesting title but can anyone ever truly "overcome autism"? Tough question to answer."

It's a very tongue-in-cheek title, like the article she wrote, titled "I’m Autistic, And Believe Me, It’s A Lot Better Than Measles." (I tried to link it, but GR won't let me.)

L Y N N, thanks for reminding me of Temple Grandin. I enjoyed and learned quite a bit from Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior.

However, I have chosen to go with A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire, since I enjoyed Rosemary and Rue.

I recently read a Temple Grandin book and loved it. Thinking In Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism

I definitely want to add more books by her to my list in the future.

I had no idea that Seanan McGuire had been diagnosed with OCD! The newest book in her Wayward Children series comes out next year...Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, so I'll definitely be reading that.

Ursula Vernon / T. Kingfisher has ADHD.

Edit: And Neil Gaiman is autistic.

Rebecca Thorne has ADHD, so I will be continuing her Tomes & Tea series with A Pirate's Life for Tea

Jamie wrote: "Ursula Vernon / T. Kingfisher has ADHD.

Edit: And Neil Gaiman is autistic."
I have quickly become addicted to T. Kingfisher books, so that makes it easy.

I've read these:
The Twisted Ones
What Moves the Dead
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

On my TBR:
Nettle & Bone
The Hollow Places
What Feasts at Night

Hemlock & Silver is being released this year. It would also work for the "silver" prompt.

If we include obsessive-compulsive disorder, add John Green. He has talked about living with OCD.

The Fault in Our Stars
Turtles All the Way Down
Looking for Alaska
Paper Towns
An Abundance of Katherines

He's releasing Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection this year, if you want nonfiction.

I believe Alison Cochrun, K. Ancrum, and Akwaeke Emezi are all neurodivergent authors.

If you've been interested in reading anything by Matt Haig, he has been very forthcoming about his multiple diagnosis on his Instagram.

There's a new book in April that's being released that I'm excited for:



The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult

I’m reading Reasons to Stay Alive

Dea wrote: "I have quickly become addicted to T. Kingfisher books, so that makes it easy."

She's great, isn't she? And a real character in person - I saw her on a couple of panels at the Glasgow Worldcon last year.

Thornhedge and Minor Mage are worth adding to your list, too.

At the same con, I discovered that Mary Robinette Kowal has ADHD - she was talking about her diagnosis and how it changed her life when she gave a reading.

Dea wrote: "I have quickly become addicted to T. Kingfisher books, so that makes it easy."

Trish wrote: "Thornhedge and Minor Mage are worth adding to your list, too. "

And A Sorceress Comes to Call. I read it last year as an ARC and it's hands-down my favorite Kingfisher novel.

I read Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir by Chris Packham, a naturalist and presenter, who is on the autistic spectrum - he also presents programmes about autism.

The book details his boyhood, which was spent as much as possible in the natural world. The poetic descriptions of nature are beautiful but they, and the occasional brutality, make this an intense read.

Anything by Chloe Liese is an auto-buy for me and her most recent came out this week so im going with that. I strongly recommend the Bergman Brother series but the Wilmot sisters series is amazing too.

Mazey Eddings also fits that prompt and writes beautiful romance as well.

I'll be reading All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living. The author was diagnosed as autistic at age 30. I love the encouragement of her poetry and the illustrations to go with it--subtle and makes me pause and think about what I'm reading.

I enjoy Talia Hibbert's romances, so I went with Take a Hint, Dani Brown.

http://www.lauraruthloomis.com/whats-...

https://www.amazon.com/Grails-Shadow-...

I do not know if this is good. Ryan is disabled and special needs, including autism, and is in his 20s. As he spends a many months long recovery from major surgery, he has written with the help of AI this series of fantasy quest books. His mother Amy, a friend of mine, has assisted him to self-publish on Amazon in ebook. They are up on Kicdle Unlimited. I as a rule don't support using AI to write but I can see it in a supportive role for people like Ryan. I will be reading this for this prompt both to support and encourage Ryan. He has always been a teller of imaginative stories. This is his first foray into novel length or series.

The Happiness Blueprint has a neurodivergent FMC and a neurodivergent author.

Excited for this one:


The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult

It's being released in April but the author sent me an ARC in PDF format and it was really good. I can't wait to read the finished product.

I believe both authors of Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl , Brianna R. Shrum and Sara Waxelbaum, are somewhere on the spectrum. Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girls was one of my favourite novels in 2023. So if you're okay with sapphic YA, this is a great choice.

The authors have another novel coming out in October, I believe. And Shrum has published several novels.

Brandon Sanderson says he's neurodiverse
he is also very prolific and writes good (mostly) fantasy books

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog...

Guess I'm adding an earlier book. Dr. Devon Price has a new book coming out late March!

Unmasking for Life: The Autistic Person's Guide to Connecting, Loving, and Living Authentically

I devoured his previous book, Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity which I loved so now I am very stoked for his new one.

I read Reasons to Stay Alive Matt Haig

I ended up reading Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire. I'm loving this whole series.

I attended an event with Fredrik Backman... and he related the following anecdote:

"During my first session with a psychologist I mentioned people around me thought I might be on the spectrum... "MIGHT???"- the therapist replied".

Therefore, I am counting anything by him for this prompt ... probably Beartown since I used other two for other prompts!

I read Broken

I'm using an Agatha Christie book. I'm reluctant because she was never diagnosed in her lifetime; such a diagnosis would have ostracised her (minimum) even if she does show many of the markers. So I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I highly recommend it.

I'm reading How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. Haig has publicly discussed being diagnosed with ADHD. The blurb of the book reads, "How to Stop Time tells a love story across the ages--and for the ages--about a man lost in time, the woman who could save him, and the lifetimes it can take to learn how to live. It is a bighearted, wildly original novel about losing and finding yourself, the inevitability of change, and how with enough time to learn, we just might find happiness."

I'm going to read by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow