Got booted from a book club for suggesting a banned novel

I joined a local book club in Tulsa last month, seemed like a chill group. We read a popular mystery, then I suggested we try 'The Turner Diaries' just to understand why it's banned everywhere. Three people got up and left. The moderator told me privately that I was being too provocative and they didn't want that kind of discussion. Has anyone else had a group shut down for even mentioning a controversial book?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eva21d ago

Wait, did you actually suggest The Turner Diaries in a Tulsa book club? That's the white supremacist manifesto, right? I'm kind of shocked you even brought that up in a public setting, let alone expecting a chill discussion about it. Those people probably thought you were testing the waters or trying to push an agenda. I can't imagine a book club being the right place for that kind of heavy political talk unless everyone agrees on it first.

ryan71920d ago

Nah, I get why you'd think that, but I actually do think a book club is a good place for stuff like that. The whole point is to talk about books, even the bad ones. I wasn't pushing an agenda, I was genuinely curious how a group of people in Tulsa would grapple with a text like that. Nobody has to agree on it beforehand, that's what the discussion is for.