Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
I didn't know about Verne until after the nominating. I read about it in the introduction in the Penguin Classic published version.
I know this idea might not be one that may go over well, but how about vetting what we nominate so we know what's what before the process. The problem then becomes that if someone doesn't want to read a specific book because of the author, then rule of reading the winning book if you vote should it win isn't a good idea. I don't know the best way to handle this. Too many books (for me) are spoiled by these sorts of things in the book.
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I do vet books before I nominate them. However, the problem, as others have noted, is that most books reflect social attitudes prevalent during the time they were written, that at a later date are recognized as prejudiced.
It’s not possible for any of us to completely escape this, even today. All books, tv, movies, etc can be deconstructed and shown to have some questionable underlying assumptions. Unconscious bias is part of the human condition, and is very different from deliberately promoting hatred and bigotry. So the challenge for a book club is determining where to draw a line.