Happy Monday, bibliophiles!
Here in the U.S., the last full week in October is Asexual Awareness Week/Ace Week! This year, it lands from October 25-31, so I guess all you a-spec people whose favorite holiday is Halloween are absolutely living it up right now.
In spite of the increased visibility for the LGBTQ+ community, people on the asexual and aromantic spectrum are still widely misunderstood. Even amongst queer people, there’s still widespread stigmas and hatred directed towards a-spec people, with pervading stereotypes about them being broken/in need of correction (often resulting in corrective rape), robotic, or faking for attention. What’s worse is that a lot of the press that asexual people have gotten as of late was from J.K. Rowling, who recently called International Asexuality Day “Fake Oppression Day” for people “who [want] complete strangers to know that they don’t fancy a shag.” I mean, I didn’t expect anything less from her, given her long history of reprehensible bigotry, but this struck me as particularly insidious. Asexual people are still so widely misunderstood by the public. Leave it to one of the most famous, wealthy, and insecure bigots to publicly target a particularly vulnerable part of the queer community again and make sure that their perception is tied up in her shortsighted “understanding” of asexuality and aromanticism.
It doesn’t take a genius to tell that J.K. Rowling—and every other vocal detractor of the a-spec community—is deeply wrong about asexuality. Despite what the bigots say, asexual and aromantic identities are real, valid, and always worth fighting for. So much of society says that sex and romance are inherent to human identity, and that pressure works against this community; regardless, your humanity is not determined by your desire for sex, romance, and connection. A-spec identities are, and always will be, more than valid, and will always have a place within the queer community. (The “A” doesn’t stand for ally, people. C’mon, now.)
For more information, I recommend browsing the Ace Week website!
Unfortunately, I’ve only made a few of these lists (owing to said lack of representation), so I guess I’ll see you all again with another one in 2029, if my schedule stays consistent. However, I’ve compiled as many books as I could that represent characters that are asexual, aromantic, demisexual, and more here.
For my previous lists, click here:
Let’s begin, shall we?
THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR ASEXUAL AWARENESS WEEK (2026 EDITION)
FANTASY:
- To a Darker Shore – Leanne Schwartz | YA | disability, high fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- The Lost Story – Meg Shaffer | Adult | urban fantasy, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Someone You Can Build a Nest In – John Wiswell | Adult | paranormal, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- The Girl, The Ring, & The Baseball Bat – Camille Gomera-Tavarez | YA | magical realism, POC, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- When the Tides Held the Moon – Venessa Vida Kelley | Adult | POC, historical fiction, urban fantasy, disability | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- So Let Them Burn (Divine Traitors, #1) – Kamilah Cole | YA | POC, high fantasy | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
SCIENCE FICTION:
- The Cybernetic Tea Shop – Meredith Katz | Adult | cozy sci-fi, romance, novellas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection – edited by Madeline Dyer (anthology) | YA | short stories (several genres represented) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 *
- Beautyland – Marie-Helene Bertino | Adult | literary fiction, historical fiction | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*NOTE: there are several genres represented in this anthology, including sci-fi; this placement here is arbitrary.
REALISTIC/HISTORICAL FICTION:
- Love Letters for Joy – Melissa See | YA | disability, contemporary, romance | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
- Compound Fracture – Andrew Joseph White | YA | disability, thriller | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Loudest Silence – Sydney Langford | YA | disability, coming-of-age | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NONFICTION:
- Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex – Angela Chen | Adult | sociology, sexuality | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Gender Queer: A Memoir – Maia Kobabe | Adult | graphic memoir | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! What are some of your favorite books by a-spec authors, and what are your favorite books with a-spec representation? Let me know in the comments!
Today’s song:
That’s it for this recommendations post! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
