📚 New Banned Books & Exciting Events Ahead!

Hey Banned Book Club,

Two more books just got pulled from Utah shelves. The state found a new way to spend $60,000. And we've got a full fall lineup to make up for both.

The Ban List

Add these to the pile:

Different Seasons by Stephen King. Yes, the collection that gave us "Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me." Gone.

Push by Sapphire. The novel Precious was based on. Also gone.

Keep that second one in mind. It's about to come back up.

Utah Just Spent $60k to Ask a Very Weird Question

The state is paying $60,000 to investigate whether book vendors are "intentionally selling pornographic content to public schools." Every school library in Utah now has to fill out a survey detailing what they bought and from whom, all in service of a theory that someone, somewhere, is sneaking porn onto middle school shelves via the same vendors who sell "Diary of a Wimpy Kid."

Remember Push? It's the book Precious was based on, and it's tangled up in the same wave of scrutiny that's driving this $60k survey. Feels less like a coincidence and more like the same fight wearing a different outfit.

$60,000 could have restocked underfunded school libraries, or funded a literacy tutoring program for kids who don't have books at home. Instead it's funding a paperwork exercise built on a premise nobody's proven.

FULL STORY

What's Coming Up

September 21, Doors 6:00 PM / Movie 7:00 PM The Love Hypothesis Advance Screening at Megaplex Sandy Jordan Commons

We teamed up with the I'll Read What She's Reading podcast and Prime Video for a free advance screening, ahead of the movie's September 23 streaming release. Complimentary concessions, a photo opp, and passes that are first-come-first-served, so get there at doors. RSVP here and list BOOKTALK SLC as your org when you sign up.

It's also Banned Books Week, October 4–10. Here's the national rundown: bannedbooksweek.org. Our Read-In kicks it off right here in Salt Lake.

October 4, 12:00–2:00 PM Banned Books Read-In with The King's English We're running a banned books craft. Grab tickets early on Eventbrite, or just show up and pay at the door.

October 27, 6:00–9:30 PM ACOTAR 6 Release Party at Heat Nightclub Yes, really. Use code BOOKTALK for 10% off tickets on Eventbrite.

November 6, 6:00–8:00 PM Tilt Banned Book Club with Blackout Poetry & Frame Decorating at Drift Lounge We're reading Ellen Hopkins' Tilt for this one. Grab tickets on Eventbrite.

One More Thing (Not Ours, But Go Anyway)

On September 28, from noon to 1:00 PM, author Abdi Nazemian is speaking at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the U for "Love Is Our Legacy: Communicating Across Differences." It's free and open to the public.

Nazemian wrote Like a Love Story, which is banned in Utah. I heard him speak at the Capitol last year, and it's the reason Banned Book Club exists. If you can only make one event this month that isn't ours, make it this one.

That's everything for now. See you at the read-in.

- Chloe, BOOKTALKSLC