ALN Monthly Book Club: The Book Eaters (Old Town)

For our July Monthly Book Club, we will be reading Sunyi Dean's "The Book Eaters!"

We will be hosting this event IN PERSON, outdoors, at Presidio Park in Old Town! Attendees must be vaccinated; vaccination cards WILL be checked. In addition, we recommend (but do not require) that attendees wear masks and maintain social distance.

We typically meet at the picnic tables in the shade at the end of the loop made by Cosoy Way. Please see the embedded map below for more details.

Content warning: Body horror, confinement, domestic abuse, forced marriage, gore, graphic violence, misogyny, forced pregnancy/childbirth, and violence against children. Details not given here to avoid spoilers. Contact an organizer if you have concerns about the book's content.

There is a line of people who eat books and gain the knowledge written inside. Devon is a woman who was given fairy tales to eat while her brothers feasted on books of valor and adventure. Devon's life is upturned when her son is born with a darker hunger; not for books but human minds.

We hope to see you there!

Questions:

1. Intro: What is your name, and if you had to decide on a taste for your favorite book, what would it taste like?
2. In most mainstream fiction, love is depicted as a transformative and uplifting force. In "The Book Eaters," however, we are told that "love is not inherently good" and see multiple characters do and allow horrible acts to occur due to love. What do you think of the depictions of love in the book, and how does it compare to the depictions of love in other media?
3. Cai describes both himself and Devon as “monstrous.” A major theme of the book lies in exploring the figurative and literal meanings of the word “monster” and in contrasting the ways each of the characters are monstrous. What makes a character a monster? Who do you think are the most and least monstrous characters?
4. The lines between what counts as writing (and therefore a book eater cannot do) and what does not (and therefore a book eater can do) is nebulous. Placing pen to paper and writing out symbols to convey meaning is clearly writing. However, we see book eaters drawing pictures, interfacing with voice-to-text software, and tapping out morse code on a phone. What do you think counts as writing?
5. The patriarchal society of the Six Families is underpinned and reinforced by the argument that female Book Eaters are exceedingly rare, and the species is on the verge of extinction, and that book eater princesses must be protected and sheltered and carefully bred to minimize inbreeding. Does this argument hold water? What is the proper way to treat the breeding members of a dwindling population?
6. The book eaters gain knowledge not just from reading books, but from eating them, too. The books they eat form the basis of their understanding of the world. To what extent do you feel this is true for you? How has the choice of books you’ve read (or eaten - we don’t judge) defined your worldview?
7. What did you think of the way the knights and dragons were written? Do you think, given the powers (and drawbacks) of being born as a mind-eater, that the establishment of the order of knights and dragons was inevitable?
8. If you had to choose only one method for interacting with books, would you rather eat books or read them?

Upcoming Events:
August: Forging Hephaestus, by Drew Hayes
EPIC (September): Jurassic Park and The Lost World, by Michael Crichton
September: 2025-2026 ALN Book Selection!