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Banned Book Club
August 12 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm EDT
The book selection for Monday, August 12th 2024 is “1984″ by George Orwell. This book club meeting will be moderated by Ivor Groves.
“George Orwell’s 1984 takes place in London in its titular year. Orwell imagined a grim future—a totalitarian state under the constant watch of Big Brother. With the Thought Police maintaining a hypervigilant control, Winston Smith is in serious danger for having a well-functioning memory. Tangled up in a forbidden love, Winston joins the revolutionary Brotherhood, determined to bring about the end of the Party. With his beloved Julia at his side, he risks his life against those who hold all the power.
While this groundbreaking novel has a place of honor as a PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick, it also maintains its status as the most banned book of all time in America. Why was it banned? Its social and political themes were found to be too controversial, and its sexual content was deemed inappropriate. In 1981, Jackson County, Florida, challenged the book for being pro-communism. Considering large portions of the text are not only anti-communist but in fact anti-government all together, this challenge seems like a bit of a stretch. Furthermore, the book was based on the very real political climate of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, warning against the totalitarianism that caused so much suffering in those countries and the regions over which they had influence.”
Please note that this meeting will take place in the Community Room at the Moss Memorial Library. Entrance will be via the door on the same side as The Friends of the Library Book Store.
FOR THOSE WANTING TO PERUSE SOME BANNED BOOK LISTS:
Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019 complied by the American Library Association at ala.org
PEN America’s The 11 Most Banned Books of the 2022-2023 School Year at pen.org
The Banned Book Club stands up for intellectual rights by reading and discussing books that have been banned in libraries right here in the United States. Anyone who cares about the freedom to exchange ideas is welcome to attend. You may also be interested in visiting The Banned Book Club website to learn how to stand up and fight book bans and also how to get access to banned books in communities where they were banned.