There must be 50 ways: Participating in democracy #37: Start a book club

My granddaughter and I started a book club for "kids of all ages," to read the Ari Ara Young Adult novel five-book series by visionary storyteller Rivera Sun. Ari Ara is a tween in a fictional world of tech that might match that of the 12th century Europe but also has some elements of magic. In that series, Ari Ara overcomes innumerable obstacles and manages conflict using a combination of physicality and psychology that does so without inflicting pain on others.

The idea of a book club may be more than just sharing appreciation for entertainment; it might be with a purpose toward peace, justice, environmental protection, and preserving or enhancing freedom and democracy. Becoming more well informed together with a cohort sharing a book each month, for example, can create a shared consciousness, which can help drive public knowledge as well. It can make the book club members more effective in a democracy, whether as voters, community organizers, lobbyists, teachers, officials, journalists, or staffers for elected officials.