#books are political

[swordandstars]

Friends!

Are you feeling hopeless in the face of the oncoming MAGA-pocalypse? Want to do something fast, easy, and free that will make a difference?

If you're in Michigan, keep reading! If you're not, signal boost this to your Mitten State Mutuals!

Michiganders, it's time to contact your state reps and tell them to vote YES on HB 6034 and HB 6035. Together, these two bills comprise the Freedom to Read Act and they severely limit the ability of assholes to ban books in the state of Michigan.

Want to read the bills for yourself? Click here:

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Search/ExecuteSearch?sessions=2023-2024&docTypes=House%20Bill,Senate%20Bill&contentFullText=%22freedom%20to%20read%22

Tl;dr? Here's an article and video summarizing the Act from CBS News:

Not sure how to contact your Michigan state representatives? Text RESIST to 50409 and Resistbot will walk you through it.

It's easy, it takes about 5 minutes, and you can do it from your couch/bed/puddle of despair.

Tips for contacting elected officials:

1) If you're asking them to vote YES or NO on something, say that in the first line. Bonus points if you can tag the actual bill (HB/House Bill) number.

2) Only include ONE issue per communication.

3) 1&2 are because these are being skimmed by interns who keep a running tally of what each communication is about. One communication = one point.

3a) Don't be a dick to the interns. Their lives are hard enough.

4) Keep it short. One sentence very clearly stating what you want. One or two sentences about why they should care about what you want ("As a resident of your district, I know you agree that SOMETHING SOMETHING FREEDOM, SOMETHING SOMETHING LIBERTY, SOMETHING SOMETHING THINK OF THE CHILDREN.") Appeal to the person they claim to be in their campaign ads. Get it, give them clear instructions, get out.

5) No profanity.

6) No threats.

7) No memes/ slang/ sarcasm/ lols. You are cosplaying as someone who thinks salt is too spicy and whose greatest joy in life is sorting their collection of plain white socks.

8) 5, 6, & 7 are because anything you communicate to an elected official will become a matter of public record. It goes into a file. And if anyone ever pulls that file, you want to be on record as the most boring, conscientious, polite, non-threatening motherfucker who ever lived.

Now go forth and make your voice heard!

(Hey @unpretty and @official-michigan-posts, can you help get the word out?)

[cinnibelle]

[mariakov81]

[theacemenace]

Booktook imploding

I've just seen all the “booktook is not political” drama. I'm letting out an evil laugh as I write this. I don't care if it sounds arrogant, but I WARNED YOU. I spent over a year on that damn app warning about the consequences of the growing anti-intellectualism in the literary community. Who knew that inducing an entire community to turn off their brains 24/7 on the excuse of “let people enjoy things” and attack anyone who raises any questions would result in a severe decline in reading and interpretation skills. This was supposed to be a place that encouraged people to acquire reading habits, expand their horizons and have fun while doing it. Instead we have a place full of alienated people, complaining that books have too many words in a constant battle of egos over who reads more without actually reading. The cherry on the cake is that books are not political, according to certain booktook influencers who walk around with a stanley cup in one hand and an Amazon shipment in the other, saying this while a wave of books are censored in various states.

While I was most active on tiktok, I not only pointed out how people were increasingly being misled into lacking critical thinking skills, but how the “it's not that deep” narrative was being used as a pipeline by the far right. For those who are more attentive and know how conservatives tend to interpret works like BioShock or songs by bands like Rage Against the Machine. None of this is new; emptying works of their social issues is an old tactic. I had hoped that the booktook, being a place mostly for young people, I thought we had already evolved as a society so we wouldn't fall down a rabbit hole.

In any case, my soul has been washed clean by these events. Obviously I'm not happy about the situation, but knowing that after all this time I've been called crazy, elitist, a conspiracist, etc., it's extremely validating and frustrating to see that I was right but that I wasted my breath in vain.

literally my reaction

[asherquazar]

Are you looking for a book packed with trans rage and gay kissing? 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Looking for something moody, spooky, and unapologetically political? 🥀🦇

I've pledged 100% of Bleeding Mars's sales this month to the Trevor Project, and I'm looking for more indie authors to make charity pledges too!

You can learn more about my project to create a searchable list of authors pledging a % of sales at my website: https://asherquazar.com/bap

If you know any indies who might like to participate, please share this with them!

[nyx5133106]

All the "I would have also dated Dorian Gray knowing how morally bankrupted he is. Have you seen him?" posts annoyed me a little but I thought they were just jokes and didn’t think much of them...But were they really? With the amount of people on the internet arguing how "books are not political" and debating how characters like Batman would be republican I am not so sure anymore.

[ataurusinabookshop]

So in light of recent events in the US, does anyone have any quotes from fantasy books with female leads that are tattoo-able?

Like as powerful as “To whatever end, you do not yield” is, I’d rather pick a phrase that’s by an author that isn’t so problematic/controversial.

Maybe “IGNITE” (Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi) would work but I’d like more options

[rufousnmacska]

BOOKS ARE POLITICAL

ART IS POLITICAL

Fuck trump and everyone who supports him.

Unfollow me I don’t care

[queerism1969]

[iambaggedsoup]

wanna know how not to die now that the world’s going to hell in a hand basket? wondering what to read? who to listen to? how to help within your potentially extreme limitations? fearful as a marginalized person, or someone looking to help those communities? BOOM. Menagerie got you covered

Check out their Project 2025 Survival Guide to start regaining hope and formulating an actual plan immediately. it’s also a really great community over there if you’re looking for a wholesome, inclusive scene to join

[rkivees]

Every time someone has the need to say books are not political a little part of me dies. If there's something that's political, it's books. There's a reason they get banned when a far right-wing government takes place. Please, use your brain.

[appleskywalker]

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[mysharona1987]

That’s a concentration camp, tho.

[typhlonectes]

Independent bookstores around the country have a particularly clever lifeline, one perfectly suited to the unprecedented moment we find ourselves in. The strange part? It came into being just weeks before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, and before the bookstores started closing up shop wondering if they’d reopen at all.

The lifeline in question is called Bookshop. 

In simple terms, it’s a super clean, user-friendly online bookstore whose raison d’être is supporting independent bookstores — not simply with exposure or resources (though that’s certainly a factor), but with cold hard cash...

[myblogforbooks123]

I'm seeing very few people talk about this, but Project 2025 threatens to get rid of the Department of Education. This would allow increased parental control into what's being taught in the classroom, and will only increase book bans. Please, if you know a child in your life, get a book into their hands. Give them banned books. Give them books about any topic being taken out of schools. Take them to the library. Pirate ebooks for them. Donate your own books. Don't let their education be taken away.

[incognitopolls]

This is specifically asking about how your enjoyment of the work has changed based on your knowledge of the author's politics. Vote based on that, not based on whether you think the quality of the work itself has gone down.

TERF = trans exclusionary radical feminist. JK Rowling has been very openly anti-transgender in recent years and has poured unfathomable amounts of money into funding anti-trans legislation in the UK.

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