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PSA: I found a bookstore in Asheville with a whole wall of banned books
I was in Asheville last weekend and walked into this little bookstore called The Open Page. They had a whole back wall labeled 'Banned Book Club Picks' with probably 50 different titles. It had everything from 'The Bluest Eye' to 'Maus' to newer ones like 'Gender Queer'. The owner said they started it after their book club had a huge fight about whether to read 'The Hate U Give'. Now they feature a challenged book every month and host a debate night. It got me thinking about how often book clubs avoid tough topics. Has your club ever picked a book knowing it would cause a big argument?
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reeseperez3d ago
Look, I get that people like to feel like they're doing something big. But it's a book club, not a protest. Maybe the owner just wanted a cool wall to sell more books. I mean, how many people actually go to the debate night? It feels like making a big deal out of reading a book, which is just a normal thing to do. Idk, maybe it's just me, but turning a book club into a fight club seems like a weird goal.
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the_paul4d ago
Avoiding arguments is the whole point of a book club.
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mia_hart904d ago
Our club read Americanah last month, Paul. Half the meeting was a heated debate about race and immigration. That's the whole point. You get different views in one room. Avoiding that just gives you boring small talk about the weather.
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