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District Book Read 22-23: Disability Visibility: Home

About the District Book Read Program

The overall purpose of the District Book Read program is to build community among faculty, staff, students and administrators and cultivate deeper awareness around diverse identities to better equip us in our lives and our studies. 

How it works

  • Fall Quarter: Copies of the current book selection are shared with students, faculty, and staff who are interested in participating in one or more book discussions
  • Winter Quarter: Book discussions are hosted via Zoom. Participants can attend any and all book discussions!
  • Spring Quarter: Taking lessons learned during the book discussions, Spring events are centered around providing space for participants to reflect and identify ways we can take action on our campuses and local communities. 

How Books Are Selected 

In Spring, members across the district will be invited to submit book suggestions for the following year's District Book Read. This narrowed list of books to be voted on will center a theme that surfaces from the original list of submitted book recommendations. The book that gets the most votes by our community will be selected for the following year's program!

eBook Access at Seattle Central Library

Access the Book in Even More Formats

Plain Language Summary 

Available for free online by Sara Luterman 

 

Adapted for Young Adults

Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today

Available at the Seattle Public Library 

   

Book jacket designed by Angela Carlino of DISABILITY VISIBILITY: 17 First-Person Stories for Today adapted for young readers edited by Alice Wong. The cover has thin vertical gray lines with overlapping geometric shapes in green, blue, magenta, yellow and purple.

 

Washington Talking Book and Braille Library 

Four-volume Braille edition and Downloadable Talking Book are available for eligible users through the catalog for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. 

 

Bookshare

Disability Visibility can also be accessed through Bookshare, an online library of accessible ebooks for people with reading barriers that offers customized reading tools including audio, highlighted text, braille, large font, and other formats. Eligible students at Seattle Central College can sign up for a Bookshare account by getting in touch with a librarian. 

District Book Read Selection

Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century 

Edited by Alice Wong

Image Description: Book titled ‘Disability Visibility: First Person Stories from the 21st Century Edited by Alice Wong’ the book cover has overlapping triangles in a variety of bright colors with black text overlaying them and an off-white background. Book cover by Madeline Partner.

"A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience: Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, "an art . . . an ingenious way to live." According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden--but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers. There is Harriet McBryde Johnson's "Unspeakable Conversations," which describes her famous debate with Princeton philosopher Peter Singer over her own personhood. There is columnist s. e. smith's celebratory review of a work of theater by disabled performers. There are original pieces by up-and-coming authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma. There are blog posts, manifestos, eulogies, and testimonies to Congress. Taken together, this anthology gives a glimpse of the vast richness and complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own assumptions and understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and past with hope and love." 

(description from the Seattle Public Library)

Get Your Copy at Seattle Central Library!

Thank you for your interest in participating in the District Book Read Program co-sponsored by the district Faculty Development, All Campus Libraries, and EDI and Student Leadership Offices!

For students at Seattle Central College, fill out this form if you'd like to request one of the faculty, staff, and student copies of the book that have been generously purchased by the offices named above.

Since we have limited copies of the book, we ask that when you claim one you also commit to attending at least one book discussion in Winter, 2022. Dates for the sessions will be published soon, and we'll follow up and let you know when they are. Discussions will take place online for the District. Copies of the book will be available while supplies last and can be picked up at Seattle Central College campus library. Shipping options are also available on a limited basis. If you cannot retrieve the book in person, indicate this in the comments below. We look forward to seeing you in the discussion sessions!

About the Editor

Anthology Editor Alice Wong

Alice Wong


Photo of an Asian American woman in a power chair. She is smiling and wearing a blue patterned jacket with orange, black, and white shapes. 
She is wearing a mask over her nose attached to a gray tube and bright red lip color. Her hands crossed over the front of her chest. 
Photo credit: Eddie Hernandez Photography

 

Alice Wong is a disabled activist, media maker, and research consultant based in San Francisco, California. She is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture. Alice is also the host and co-producer of the Disability Visibility podcast and co-partner in a number of collaborations such as #CripTheVote and Access Is Love. From 2013 to 2015, Alice served as a member of the National Council on Disability, an appointment by President Barack Obama. You can follow her on Twitter: @SFdirewolf. 

(publisher description)

Access to additional Book Formats at local Libraries

Additional formats of Disability Visibility are also available at local public libraries, including the Disability Visibility eBook and the audiobook narrated by Alejandra Ospina. 

Users can stream and download books from their local library for free using the Libby app for eBooks and audiobooks. These tutorials from the Pierce County Library System demonstrate how to:

1. Download the Libby app

2. Search for books

3. Download eBooks and audiobooks

4. Set your reading preferences

You can find even more information on the Libby app here!

See below for details on how to sign-up for a library card and check availability of these resources at your local public library!

Seattle Public Library

      

All students can get a library card free. Details on how to sign up here!

Check availability of the downloadable audiobook narrated by Alejandra Ospina.

Check availability of the Disability Visibility eBook here.

King County Library System (KCLS)

If you live in King County but not in Seattle, Hunts Point, or Yarrow Point, you can get an ecard for free online here and begin using KCLS online resources. 

Check KCLS availability of the Disability Visibility audiobook narrated by Alejandra Ospina here

Check KCLS availability of the Disability Visibility eBook here. 

Pierce County Library System 

If you are a resident of Pierce County, you can sign up for a library card here!

Check availability of the Disability Visibility downloadable audiobook narrated by Alejandra Ospina.

Check availability of the Disability Visibility eBook here.

Sno-Isle Libraries

If you are a resident of Snohomish or Island Counties, you can sign up for a library card here!

Check availability of the Disability Visibility downloadable audiobook narrated by Alejandra Ospina. 

Check availability of the Disability Visibility eBook here.