About us
Did you know? Classics like The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird have been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries. That's why we're here.
Welcome to The Banned Book Club! We're a community of readers who believe in the freedom to read. Once a month, we get together to talk about a book that's been challenged or pulled from shelves, in Utah or somewhere else in the country. Come for the book and stay for the conversation.
How it works
- We meet in person each month at Wasatch Theater Company in The Gateway (77 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City). We're on the lower level, next to the comic book store.
- Can't make it in person? We have Zoom links, so you can join from anywhere.
- Bring a food item to share and your own drink (alcohol is fine).
- Didn't finish the book? Come anyway. We don't judge.
Help pick our next book
Join us on GroupMe to vote on upcoming books and chat between meetups.
Which books are banned in Utah?
Our website, The Banned Book Club, links to the current list of books banned from Utah schools. It also has recent news and resources for readers everywhere.
Please note
This is a non-political group, and members of every political view are welcome. When you join, you agree to be respectful of everyone. We keep the conversation on the book itself, not on debating politics.
Upcoming events
2
Like a Love Story - Abdi Nazemian
Wasatch Theater Company (Gateway), 77 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT, USJoin us Sunday, October 18th for a discussion on Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian.
Meet the Author:
This month is special because October 4-10 is officially Banned Books Week. The University of Utah has invited this award-winning author, Abdi Nazemian, to Utah for a discussion on Monday, September 28th from 12-1 at the J. Willard Marriott Library. Many of us will be reading the book prior to that event and attending it as well. It's free and we invite you to join us.The Book:
- Title: Like a Love Story
- Author: Abdi Nazemian
- Description: It’s 1989 in New York City, and for three teens, the world is changing.
Reza is an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS.
Judy is an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance...until she falls for Reza and they start dating.
Art is Judy’s best friend, their school’s only out and proud teen. He’ll never be who his conservative parents want him to be, so he rebels by documenting the AIDS crisis through his photographs.
As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart—and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.
This is a bighearted, sprawling epic about friendship and love and the revolutionary act of living life to the fullest in the face of impossible odds.
Why it's Often Banned:
- Sexual Content: Local review committees and conservative advocacy groups flagged the novel—which features teenage characters dating and discussing sex and HIV/AIDS safety—arguing that it meets state definitions for objective sensitive or indecent material.
- LGBTQ+ Themes: Critics and literary advocates point out that the book, which centers on a gay Iranian-American teenager in 1989 New York City during the height of the AIDS crisis, is part of a broader wave of targeted removals focusing on queer history and marginalized identities
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Event Details- When: Sunday, October 18th from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Where: Wasatch Theater Company at the Gateway Mall (77 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101)
- Because it's Sunday, there is free parking at the Gateway, and it's usually not too busy.
- What to Bring: Please bring a food item to share and your own drink of choice (alcohol is allowed!).
Note: In August, we had nearly 30 people RSVP and we had 5 show up. This makes it incredibly difficult to plan for food. If you RSVP, please plan on showing up. You don't have to have finished or even read the book - we don't judge. :)
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Stay Connected on GroupMe!
Don't wait until the meetup to join the conversation!Join our active GroupMe community to:
- Discuss current reads in real-time.
- Cast your vote in polls to help choose our upcoming books.
- Connect with other club members between meetings.
- Click Here to Join us on GroupMe
* Reminder: This is a non-political, respectful space where all viewpoints are welcome. Our discussion stays focused on the book and the ideas it raises. We won’t always agree, and that’s okay! Different perspectives make for great conversation. See you there!
4 attendees
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
Wasatch Theater Company (Gateway), 77 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT, USFor our July read, we will be reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller!
The Crucible, Arthur Miller's 1953 play about the Salem witch trials, written as a response to McCarthyism. It's been challenged and pulled from school shelves for decades, usually for its language, its portrayal of witchcraft, or its politics. It's also short, so it's a good pick if you're behind on reading.
We'll talk about why this keeps getting banned, what Miller was really writing about, and why it still gets staged constantly more than 70 years later.Why now: I also organize a theater group, and we're seeing The Crucible on the outdoor stage at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City the week of August 4. Reading it together first is the point of this month's pick. If you'd like to see it performed, the trip is open to anyone. Details here: USF trip event. No pressure at all if you just want to read and discuss.
Companion piece: If you're curious, Kimberly Belflower's John Proctor is the Villain (2022) is a modern play about a high school class reading The Crucible and arguing about whether Proctor deserves to be the hero. It's a great pairing, and worth reading or seeing if you get the chance.
The Book
- Title: The Crucible
- Author: Arthur Miller
- Description: The place is Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, an enclave of rigid piety huddled on the edge of a wilderness. Its inhabitants believe unquestioningly in their own sanctity. But in Arthur Miller's edgy masterpiece, that very belief will have poisonous consequences when a vengeful teenager accuses a rival of witchcraft—and then when those accusations multiply to consume the entire village.
First produced in 1953, at a time when America was convulsed by a new epidemic of witch-hunting, The Crucible brilliantly explores the threshold between individual guilt and mass hysteria, personal spite and collective evil. It is a play that is not only relentlessly suspenseful and vastly moving but that compels readers to fathom their hearts and consciences in ways that only the greatest theater ever can.
- Get the Book: Amazon Link
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Event Details- When: Sunday, July 11th from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Where: Wasatch Theater Company at the Gateway Mall (77 S Rio Grande St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101)
- What to Bring: Please bring a food item to share and your own drink of choice (alcohol is allowed!).
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Stay Connected on GroupMe!
Don't wait until the meetup to join the conversation!Join our active GroupMe community to:
- Discuss current reads in real-time.
- Cast your vote in polls to help choose our upcoming books.
- Connect with other club members between meetings.
- Click Here to Join us on GroupMe
*Reminder: This is a strictly non-political, respectful space for all viewpoints. We stick to the book, not politics! See you there!*
2 attendees
Past events
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