Hi friends!

March is just around the quarter which means it’s time for a quick recap on March’s Read Disabled 2026 challenge as well as bring you some recommendations for books to read! All of these books are by disabled authors.

Also! Before I get into it, I just wanted to give you all a heads-up that voting for our March book club picks is open in the Discord, and many of the options fit one or both of these prompts!

Without further ado–let’s get into prompts and book recs!

Main Prompt: A Book by a Female Author

What I’m Planning to Read: That’s a Great Question, Thank You for Asking by Elyse Myers (Autism and ADHD representation)

March is Women’s History Month here in America, and to celebrate, our main prompt this month is a book by a female author (read: any book by an author who identifies as a woman), and I’m planning on going the non-fiction route with That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers.

I’ve been following Elyse Myers for a few years now. I find her content at turns very relatable and absolutely hilarious, and I was even able to meet her at Shelves and the City last March (she was so kind!) where she revealed the cover for this book! This is part memoir, part essay collection, and part poetry, talking about her life in a similar way to her video content, but a bit longer form. I’ve heard audio is the way to go for this one, so I’m hoping my library hold will come in by the end of the month for a tandem read, but if not I’ll settle for the physical copy.

My Recommendations:

A Prayer for Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz (autism representation)

This YA fantasy follows Milo, a devout, autistic temple steward who accidentally awakens a girl who was cursed to become a statue a thousand years before. Now awoken after a millennia trapped in stone, Gia is on a mission to kill the corrupt religious leader who cursed her–and she will kill anyone who gets in her way, even Milo.

What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella (glioblastoma, memory loss, and aphasia representation)

Sophie Kinsella’s final book, a novella fictionalizing her own experience with Glioblastoma is beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. It follows Eve, a renowned novelist and mother of six who wakes up in a hospital bed with no memories, and must come to terms with a terminal diagnosis and fight to remember what is important to her.

The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado (PCOS representation)

When Whit Rivera is forced to plan her school’s Fall Formal with her nemesis, Zay, she knows it’s going to be a disaster–and she’s right. But what she wasn’t expecting was the sparks that begin to fly between the two of them.

Bonus Recommendation:

Fairest: A Memoir by Meredith Talusan (albinism representation)

This is a bonus recommendation because I haven’t read it. It’s another that is on my March TBR, but I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump, and don’t know if I’ll 100% manage to get this one read as well as the other two (which I’m prioritizing because they’re on my physical TBR, whereas this one i’d have to get from the library). It’s a memoir following the author’s experience  growing up albino in the Philippines, immigrating to America, and coming out as a transwoman.

Bonus Prompt: A Book Featuring a Developmentally Disabled Main Character

What I’m Planning to Read: Happy Ending by Chloe Liese (ADHD representation)

March is also Developmental Disability Awareness Month! Developmental disability is a broad category of disabilities including things like autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, and more. It’s defined as categorizing disabilities that arise early in life and cause difficulties with communication, knowledge/skill acquisition, social interaction, and/or mobility. I’m planning to read Happy Ending by Chloe Liese for this prompt!

Chloe Liese is one of my favorite authors when it comes to disability representation, and I was under the impression that her upcoming release did not have any, but a few of my friends read early copies and have informed me that one of the main characters has ADHD. I was already excited to see Chloe Liese edge into a more women’s fiction bent in her romance (I’ve heard Emily Henry comped!) but with the added rep I’m doubly excited. This one isn’t out in the world until April, but I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy from Gallery Books.

My Recommendations:

King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin (ADHD representation)

This feels a little like cheating because I talked about it last month so it was already on your radar, but I just read it and it was phenomenal, so I need to scream about it. This follows Pernell, a 17 year old Black boy as he finds himself back in summer school for the third summer in a row and struggles to catch up with his peers. This book is stuffed full of Black disabled joy, and I love how the author knew exactly who his target audience was and wrote a story just for them. There were some really interesting (read: cool!) decisions made in story structure, pacing, and prioritization of different story elements to make this book more accessible and easier to connect with for teens with ADHD–escpecially those who struggle with reading. Cannot recommend this one more.

What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen (Turner Syndrome representation)

When twelve year old Libby’s sister tells her she’s pregnant, Libby is thrilled–and also worried. She knows her sister is struggling financially and that not all babies are born healthy. So Libby strikes up a deal with the universe: she’ll enter a science competition, and if she wins the grand prize, she’ll give that money to her sister and the baby will be perfect.

Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest (cerebral palsy and wheelchair user representation)

As Effie starts her senior year, all of her focus is on college applications. She can’t wait for college, and she already knows the perfect place: a college in NYC with her dream program. But Effie is a wheelchair user, which means there’s a lot more to consider when choosing a college, and as senior year progresses she learns that sometimes growing up means being open to a world of possibilities you never even dreamed of.

Books That Fit Both Prompts: A Book by a Female Author with a Developmentally Disabled Main Character

For anyone who isn’t able to read two separate books, but wants to fit each prompt nonetheless–here are three books that are both by a woman and feature a developmentally disabled MC!

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (autism representation)

When Stella decides that she needs to practice dating, she does the only thing that makes sense: She hires a male escort to teach her all about dating and intimacy. Before long, Stella finds their no-nonsense partnership to make a strange sort of sense, and maybe is becoming something more than she planned for.

Second Chance Summer by Sarah Kapit (dyspraxia representation)

Maddie and Chloe are ready to move on after the dissolution of their best friendship, but when they end up at the same theater summer camp and find themselves repeatedly forced together, they discover that maybe the universe isn’t ready for their friendship to end.

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman (autism representation)

This YA fantasy follows autistic Changeling Seelie in the aftermath of a heist-gone-wrong as she’s forced on the run with her twin sister and unexpected allies. As they flee a murderous sorceress intent on retrieving what they’ve stolen, Seelie and her friends begin to unravel a mystery with its roots in both human and fae history.

Happy reading!

~Kaley

Happy (very belated) February, friends!

My apologies on the delay in content this month. I had midterms from the first week of February through last Wednesday, which coincided with a POTS flare and just left me... paralyzingly brain fogged, BUT I am doing better now, catching up on (non-midterm) schoolwork and everything for Bindery. January Release Round up (and February releases too!) will be coming next week, and that will get us all caught up for March.

HERE is your link to request book recs for February--the form will remain open through the end of the month, and I will do my best to get those recs sent out by the end of the month as well (unless you submit requests on the last day or two of the month... in that case you're recs will come in the first week of March.

Here is the link once again: https://forms.gle/4koDeNx6njL5yKHJ6

I hope February has treated you well so far and that you had a lovely Valentine's Day, Lunar New Year, first night of Ramadan, and/or Mardi Gras depending on what you celebrate!

February is almost upon us! If you’re participating in the Read Disabled 2026 challenge, you may be planning what to read for February’s prompts, so I wanted to tell you a bit about the books I’m planning to read, and recommend some other books I’ve loved that fit next month’s prompts! 

February Main Prompt: A Book by a Black Author

What I’m Reading: King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin (ADHD representation, lived experience)

February is Black History Month here in the U.S., and I wanted to honor that with this month’s prompt. For much of American History, Black voices and their role in our country’s history was silenced. The aim of Black History Month is to uplift those previously suppressed stories and the impact that the Black community has had on America, as well as continue to strive for racial equality and justice.

Because Black History Month celebrates Black History, specifically, I originally wanted to prioritize a historical fiction book by a Black author for this prompt. However, because I am choosing to read only books by disabled authors for this challenge, I was unable to find a book that fit those prompts.* I will be prioritizing books about Black history in my reading outside of this challenge, and decided to instead choose a book about Black disabled joy with King of the Neuro Verse by Idris Goodwin. This is a YA coming-of-age novel in verse following Pernell as he finds his self-expression and first love while working to catch up on his classwork during summer school. 

*There are not no books by Black disabled authors that are historical fiction! In my searching I found Sorrowland (set in the 20th century ft. low vision rep) and An Unkindness of Ghosts (technically this is futuristic scifi, but the society that the MC lives in is based on the Antebellum South ft. lived experience autism rep) by Rivers Solomon, however these books are also horror novels, which is a genre that I personally cannot read. Alternately, Octavia E. Butler’s works all heavily metaphorize disability in their themes and worldbuilding according to modern disability scholars, which makes them eligible for this prompt as well–I just chose to go with a literal representation of disability in my choice for this prompt. I intend to also read Kindred in February, just not specifically for this challenge.

My Recommendations:

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (non-verbal representation)

I do not know how to pitch this book, but bear with me–it feels high concept literary-fantasy to me, while still being accessible to read, as it is a YA novel written with teens in mind. Our main character Lucille lives in a utopian world in which monsters no longer exist, but when her blood seems to accidentally summon Pet, a winged and horned creature, she is forced to reconsider what she has always been told. Pet says that he is here to hunt a monster, and Lucille must learn what monstrosity really is, and save the world from the monsters that no one else will admit exist.

My Rating: 3.75 stars (circa 2024)

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (autism representation, lived experience)

If you have not read Get a Life, Chloe Brown, start there–but since our book club already read books 1 and 2 in this series, I thought I’d skip straight to book 3 for this recommendation. Eve Brown is the youngest of the Brown sisters, and she’s also kind of a hot mess. Desperate to prove herself, Eve interviews for a job at a bed and breakfast…and then proceeds to run over the owner with her car. Now Jacob is in a cast and Eve has taken the job and committed herself to taking care of him as he heals. Though Eve and Jacob could not be more different on the surface, the more time they spend together, the more the animosity between them grows into something else.

My Rating: 5 stars (circa 2022)

Icarus by K. Ancrum (EDS representation, lived experience)

Another YA book that reads like literary fiction, though this one pitches itself as a contemporary romance. Our titular character Icarus is a thief who steals priceless artefacts and replaces them with his father’s forgeries. When Icarus is caught by the son of the man he is stealing from, he expects to be turned in, but Helios has been under house arrest by his father, and he gives Icarus something far more dangerous in exchange for freedom: friendship that grows into something more, something that could damn them both.

My Rating: 3.75 stars (circa 2024)

February Bonus Prompt: A Romance Novel

What I’m Reading: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (unsure of representation)

February is, of course, also the month that features Valentine’s day, and as such a romance prompt is all but required. The book for this prompt does need to be capital-R Romance, aka genre romance–and not just romantic fiction. Paranormal, historical, and even (arguably) fantasy romance all count, so long as the romance storyline is the A-plot and the book ends in a Happily Ever After (or a Happily For Now).

I decided to go with A Love Song for Ricki Wilde for this one because I adored Seven Days in June and finally snagged myself a copy of this one back in November. It’s also set in February, which makes this the perfect time to read it. I’ve seen this one on disability recommendation posts with a mixture of vague disability categories assigned to it (“mental health”, “invisible illness”, “chronic pain”), but have been unable to ascertain specifics. If it turns out there isn’t disability representation I’ll end up using the Chronically Romantic book club’s February pick (Dukes and Dekes by Torie Jean) but I’m trying to push myself to read additional books alongside the book club selections to push myself to read even more books by disabled authors.

I know very little about this book except that it follows our main character Ricki as she moves to Harlem to chase her dream of opening a flower shop, and on one February evening meets a mysterious man who turns her life upside down. There is a magical realism bent to this one as well, and I believe it involves time travel/blurring between the present day and the Harlem Renaissance.

My Recommendations:

Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese (anxiety and autism representation, both lived experience)

Chloe Liese is a master of disability representation, and Two Wrongs Make a Right is no exception. This is a Much Ado About Nothing retelling following Jamie and Bea, who could not be more wrong for each other, as they join forces to concoct a plan for revenge on their meddling, matchmaking friends: They’re going to fake date, and then they’re going to fake a disastrous break-up. But the longer they pretend, the less they feel like they’re faking, and they can’t help but wonder if their friends were so off the mark with their matchmaking.

My Rating: 4.75 stars (circa 2022)

You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie (anxiety, lived experience)

Vale’s life revolves around soccer, but when she starts a fight with her long-time rival Leticia, everything she’s been working towards becomes suddenly out of reach. Her only hope for redemption? Winning the tournament at her summer soccer camp. But when she arrives, she learns she will be co-captaining the team with none other than Leticia herself.

My Rating: 4.75 stars (circa 2023)

Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean (endometriosis representation, lived experience)

If I have the opportunity to recommend Torie’s books, I will be doing so. She writes what is, truly, some of the best chronic illness representation I have ever read. When Evie needs a fake date to bring home to keep her overbearing mother at bay, she last person she wants it to be is Liam Kelly, her childhood friend turned nemesis, but when he unexpectedly turns up in Paris, it appears he’s her only hope. But in order to make this farce convincing, Liam insists on practice dates that ignite long-suppressed sparks in Evie.

My Rating: 5 stars (circa 2022)

Both Prompts: A Romance Book by a Black Author

I know for some people, reading two books per month for a reading challenge can be too much of a stretch, but if you’re interested in being a completionist: here are books that count for both prompts simultaneously!

Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant (migraine representation, lived experience and dyslexia representation)

This YA contemporary romance follows Reggie and Delilah when they first meet on New Year’s Eve, and then continue to connect through chance meetings on subsequent holidays (Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, etc)--as if the universe itself is pushing them together. I loved this book, and I don’t want to say more for risk of spoiling things, but it’s one of my favorite YA contemporaries.

My Rating: 4.75 stars (circa 2023)

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan (depression representation, lived experience)

This is one of the (if not the) best books I have ever read in my entire life. It will tear your heart out of your chest, crush it into a million pieces, and stitch it back together in a way that makes you believe in love like never before. After the devastating loss of a stillbirth, Yasmin and Josiah’s marriage fell apart. Now, they are finding a new rhythm, coparenting their children and learning to find joy again. But they are drawn to each other, even know, and as they heal they begin to reconnect–but doing so reopens old wounds, and they must find out if it is too late for them to find forever.

My Rating: 5 stars (circa 2024)

Outdrawn by Deanna Grey (anxiety representation, lived experience, and carpal tunnel representation)

Noah has finally gotten her foot in the door to achieving her dream–her viral web comic scored her a job at a legendary comic company. There’s nowhere for her to go but up, if not for the fact that Sage is standing in her way. Sage and Noah have been rivals since art school, and now they’re assigned to work as a team on a career-defining comic release. The more they butt heads and are forced to spend time in close proximity, the more sparks begin to fly.

My Rating: 4.5 stars (circa 2024)

What will you read?

I love how much people show up for the Read Disabled challenge every year, and I love seeing what everyone reads--if you've decided what you're reading for either prompt, leave a comment!

And if you have Storygraph but haven't officially joined the challenge yet, you can do so HERE.

While reading books by disabled authors is not required for this challenge, it is encouraged, and all of the authors featured here are disabled, though they may not have the specific disabilities represented.

Thank you all so much for participating--I hope you enjoy your February reads!

Hey hi hello! Apologies on the delay here--the first week of January kicked off my busiest quarter of university so far (two STEM classes...put me out of my misery).

You can fill out the January Google Form HERE.

Bindery has also launched their own Book Rec capabilities through the Bindery website & app. You can also request your recs by clicking on the "Get a Rec" button instead. At some point I hope to switch to that completely, but I'm still trying to figure out how exactly it works so for now, please fill out the Google form if you want a guaranteed response, but feel free to also use the Get a Rec function for additional recs! I will answer them, presuming I can figure out how!

Hope 2026 treats you all well!

In Your Dreams (When in Rome #4)

by Sarah Adams

genre: contemporary romance

representation: anxiety and panic attacks (lived experience)

rating: 3.75 stars

Madison Walker is the family wild child–and the town disaster. After barely scraping her way through culinary school, she’s in desperate need of a fresh start with nowhere to turn, when an unexpected job opportunity is dropped into her lap: Return to her hometown of Rome, Kentucky to open a restaurant with her brother’s best friend, and her childhood crush, James. But everything is riding on this restaurant’s success, and Madison isn’t sure she’s up to the task.

Sarah Adams’s books are undeniably bingeable, and In Your Dreams is no exception. It was light, easy to read, and tooth-achingly saccharine. Madison is my favorite protagonist of the series, but unfortunately, I felt rather apathetic towards James, and was unmoved by the dynamic between the two of them. It seemed like a solid 75% of James’s personality was that he was in love with Maddie and had been forever, and it was so unconvincing to me. We are not led to believe that he and Maddie interacted much beyond a passing interaction before the start of the book, and he hadn’t seen or spoken to her in over two years. And yet he is completely in love with her and knows everything about her? He’s never had a meaningful interaction with her in his life, and yet he knows her better than her own siblings, with whom she is incredibly close? The story was told entirely in the present day, and there were no flashbacks or even references to touchstone interactions between the two of them from which his emotions could stem, and that left the whole dynamic shallow. Maddie’s feelings–a schoolgirl crush she outgrew, that was resparked when he re-entered her life–were solid, but since James’s feelings were the lynchpin of their dynamic and the foundation that their relationship was built on, the whole thing didn’t work for me.

However, I adored Madison’s journey outside of the romantic arc as she grew to believe in herself and learn who she is and who she can be in this town where everyone already has all of these set (and rather negative) expectations of her. I connected so deeply to her fears and self-doubt and her desire to be known, and her character arc of coming to trust herself was compelling, and I did appreciate how James encouraged and supported her in this growth. Some of the plot was rather ridiculous (namely, everything with Tommy–who, by the way, sucked way more than the story gave him credit for), but it worked in a silly goofy kind of way. I do love the town and family dynamic Sarah Adams constructed in this series, and I’m sad to say goodbye to Rome, Kentucky, and the Walker siblings. I wish the series had ended on a stronger note, but I’m looking forward to see what Sarah Adams has in store next.

Happy January, lovelies! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. This month's round-up is rather sparse--publishing goes on a bit of a hiatus in December, so not much was released. January's list is already longer than December and I have barely started looking! Though there aren't many, there are a few that I'm excited about in here, so I hope you still find something that piques your interest, and if not--next month!

JANUARY DISABILITY RELEASES:

Kissed by Frost and Moonlight

by E.J. Lindell

genre: romantasy

representation: hard of hearing

~

Shutout (Rules of the Game #2)

by Avery Keelan

genre: sports romance

representation: ADHD

~

An Archive of Romance (A Study in Drowning #2.5)

by Ava Reid

genre: young adult fantasy romance

representation: PTSD, psychosis, depression (all lived experience)

~

The Many Mistakes of Zoey Andrews (Many Mistakes #2)

by R.A. Hunter

genre: ADHD

representation: romance

~

Downpour (The Griffith Brothers #2)

by Maggie Gates

genre: cowboy romance

representation: wheelchair user, paraplegia

~

Scandalous (The Missarali Storks #2)

by Lottie Moore

genre: sports romance

representation: diabetes

~

In Your Dreams (Rome, Kentucky #4)

by Sarah Adams

genre: contemporary romance

representation: anxiety, panic attacks (lived experience)