Dean: A City that Reads Together Debates Together

Nashville’s mayor wants to spur conversations around the city by having as many as possible read the same novel–and he says it helps that the book in question is a contentious one.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood centers on a handful of hot-button issues: politics, religion and feminism. It also includes graphic sex scenes. The book shows up as assigned reading in colleges and high schools, and for almost three decades has been a regular on the list of books libraries are most often asked to throw out.

The Handmaid’s Tale was chosen for Mayor Karl Dean’s “citywide read” in large part because its author will be honored with the Library Foundation’s Literary Award late next month. But Dean also says it’s a good fit because it triggers strong responses.

“Certainly it’s controversial, but those are the books that generate conversations. That’s a book you’ll have a debate about, and that will be a good thing.”

The library has plans for several community discussions of the book over the next month and a half, culminating in a public reading by Margaret Atwood. The Mayor’s office says more citywide reads will follow in the effort they’re calling “Nashville Reads.”