Tiny Glimmers #6 - Book Clubs for Democracy
Imagine if... reading books could save the world!
✨ Happy Friday lovely Glimmerers (is that a thing?)
It’s been a little while since I wrote one of these, and truth be told, it’s because I got into my head. I have so many ideas for Tiny Glimmers but lately, my inner critic has been popping up telling me “That’s a silly idea”, or “This is ridiculous, it could never happen”.
And then it hit me.
Duh! The ideas for the future I share here are supposed to be ridiculous (at first)! Futurist Jim Dator even said it:
“Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous.”
Well ok then, challenge accepted!
💌 In today’s Letter from the Future I tried to go extra “ridiculous” - I hope you like it!
Let’s take a trip to the year 2034…
[Wednesday, April 5th, 2034, Frome, UK]
Book Clubs are the Future of Democracy
Today, was a big day, we welcomed the 25th group of readers to Frome’s Book Council! I’ve facilitated so many of these now but it’s always exciting to meet the new group of bookworms, get to know them and find out about their vision for our town.
The Frome Book Council (FBC) started out as a radical experiment in participatory democracy, almost 7 years ago.
As with most good ideas, it all started in the pub, over a pint. 🍻
A group of us had just finished our monthly book club meetup and we marveled at how unique book clubs are. They were one of the rare spaces where people got together every month to chat about all sorts of different topics, without trolling or fighting each other. Sure, there was debate but it was always respectful and friendly.
Why couldn’t politics be like that?
Hmmm, what if it could be?
Time for a true democracy
It was one of those “right time, right place” kind of situations.
In the late 2020s, there was long-overdue upheaval in the UK government. People had finally had enough of the corruption in politics, we were waking up to how undemocratic our so-called democracy actually was. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that until recently we had a House of Lords, a bunch of unelected rich people who got in for life and could pass on their titles to their children. How did we ever think that was democratic?!? 😱
We also realised that having only two major parties (made up of mostly of old, rich guys) shouting at each other across the aisle wasn’t ever going to solve massive problems like climate change and inequality.
We needed to find a way to talk to each other again.
To be able to have healthy and productive conversations and debates about difficult topics. Social media had made that harder than ever.
So basically, there was a huge push a the time towards new forms of participatory democracy, inspired by other countries like Poland and Scandinavia.
That evening in the pub, we thought “What if Book Clubs could be part of the answer?”
A few hours of beer-fuelled brainstorming later, we had a plan to take to Frome Town Council the next day.
They heard us out and decided to fund a pilot trial of 5 Book Clubs and the rest is history! We’ve been going ever since and local Book Councils spread to over 100 councils around the UK.
How do the Book Councils work?
The Reading Groups are made up of randomly selected citizens of Frome but with a true representation of our demographic makeup.
The FBC Reading Groups read 12 books over a year, around different themes which are currently on the council agenda.
For example, this coming year Frome is focusing on public transport, rewilding and food security, so those are the topics we’ll be reading books about.
The groups are run by neutral facilitators (like myself), to make sure every voice is heard and the discussions are respectful, inclusive and on topic.
We meet once a week to discuss a few chapters and after we’ve read a few books on each topic, the group puts together a list of recommendations for the Town Council, which is legally binding and has to be taken into account.
Of course, each member is paid for their time, meetings last 2 hours and then there’s reading time too. Child care and transportation are also provided to make sure the Book Council is as accessible as possible.
People do care
We used to think that people just didn’t care about politics, but that was never true. We just needed to feel heard and like we had some agency. The Book Council made that possible.
I might be biased, but I always knew books had the power to change the world.
Now let’s travel back to the present, April 2024…
What inspired today’s future?
Unsurprisingly, I’m a huge bookworm and lifelong reader. Whenever I face a problem or want to learn about something, my first stop is the library. My house is filled with books piled up in every corner.
For the past 6+ years, I’ve also been part of multiple book clubs, online and in-person. We read and discuss books across the whole genre spectrum, fantasy, romance, anti-capitalism, history, and travel.
No matter what book we read that month, we always have an interesting conversation. Especially when we have a range of opinions about a book, meaning some of us loved it and some of us hated it.
This is quite remarkable when you think about it. Looking at how people engage with others who have different opinions, you’d think we’d have arguments every month, but that’s never the case. In fact, disagreeing about the books we read makes the discussion so much richer and often makes us change how we feel about the book, as we’ve now seen it through someone else’s perspective.
I also have a big interest in participatory democracy, especially Citizens Assemblies. Last year I even spent 3 days of my summer vacation learning everything about them at a training camp run by the Centre for Blue Democracy. It was fascinating.
The other day, I was muttering to myself after book club about “why can’t politics be like this?” and the idea for the book council popped into my head.
I hope you enjoyed it!
And I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments!
🍄 Signals of Change 🍄
Cool things that are already happening around the world.
Citizens Assemblies are already being used around the world to make big decisions. Find out how they work here.
The Sortition Foundation in the UK is running a campaign to replace the House of Lords with a House of Citizens.
Ten examples of interesting participatory democracy initiatives around the world.
The City of Baltimore in the US has been running a book club for over 10 years, to help inform decisions. Read about The Good Government Book Club here. And here.
Women’s Reading Groups have a long history of rebellion and resistance.
Business and corporate book clubs are also on the rise
✨ Let’s imagine together! And have a chat in the comments ✨
Would you want to join a Book Council to help shape your towns future?
Which part of this future sounds most interesting to you?
Is there something you’re going to research or learn about after reading about the Book Councils?
Please let me know in the comments or hit reply!
Have a lovely and imaginative week!
Jenny
Last edition I wrote a letter from the future about supporting female-owned businesses, you can read it here if you missed it:
Hey, ridiculousness is an essential part of the fun!
What a great idea! One thing I noticed from book clubs I’ve been in is if people sit in the same seats they tend to put forth the same views, no matter what the book. I’m all for comfort but new perspectives can be had just by looking out a different window. It reminds me of advice about corporate meetings: have them standing up. Physical presence really influences thought.