TBR is Book Riot’s subscription service offering Tailored Book Recommendations for readers of all stripes. Been dreaming of a “Stitch Fix for books?” Now it’s here! Tell TBR about your reading preferences and what you’re looking for, and sit back while your Bibliologist handpicks recommendations just for you. TBR offers plans to receive hardcover books in the mail or recommendations by email, so there’s an option for every budget. TBR is also available as a gift to give to the readers in your life! Visit mytbr.co to sign up today. What makes something fat positive? Is it the way the characters are described by the author, especially when they’re naked? Is it the way the love interest sees the fat main character, not in spite of their fatness (and not because of it either—that’s called a fetish), but their fatness as simply a part of them? Is it the way the character moves through the world, not afraid of their fatness or of people’s perception of that fatness, even if they have to deal with people who aren’t fat-positive in the course of the story? Or is it something intangible that just makes you know you’re in a safe place? It’s all of those things, individually and put together. Here are some great books that have fat protagonists and fat-positive protagonists who are not fat themselves (often love interests of the fat protagonists) for the 2021 Read Harder Challenge. If there’s one thing to say about romance by Black authors and Black romance in particular, it’s that those authors aren’t afraid to give us fat heroines. That’s how we get A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha L. Harrison, or White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter, Things Hoped For by Chencia Higgins, or I Think I Might Love You by Christina C. Jones. And overall, you’re more likely to find an array of fat-positive romances in self-publishing than in traditional publishing, at least until now. As we move into 2021, I look forward to seeing what else romance has in store. I know Olivia Dade has been talking about basing a character on much maligned (but wildly attractive) Fat Thor, and there were a few new releases at the end of the year like The Lady’s Champion by Marie Lipscomb with fat male protagonists. I’d also like to find more paranormal romance where the fat part of a fat character goes beyond a brief mention of a character’s body and then never mentioned again. Note: Olivia Dade’s older books show a bit of her own issues with fat acceptance, but her more recent books, including her self-published ones, are all great in their own ways. Note: Rebekah is overall an excellent author to pick up if you’re looking for fat and fat-positive characters. Note: Talia’s M/M romance Work For It also has a fat male protagonist. Note: Katrina Jackson is another author to pick up if you’re looking for fat characters of all types. We’ve got a long way to go as a society when it comes to fat positivity for all types and all genders, but I hope we see more steps in the right direction soon. To find more recommendations and to read more about considerations of fat representation, positivity, and acceptance, here are some great things to read:
The Troubling Gap Between Fat Representation and Fat Acceptance12 Must-Read Romances with Great Fat Representation (some titles cross over from this list)Corey’s favorite fat rep from 2019
