For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago and beyond, all the way to the beginning over a decade and a half ago. It will take a while. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions on a weekly basis. Here are the questions from June's title, The Witches Are coming. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
The Witches Are Coming
by Lindy West
Summary:
In this wickedly funny cultural critique, the author of the critically acclaimed memoir and Hulu series Shrill exposes misogyny in the #MeToo era.
THIS IS A WITCH HUNT.
WE'RE WITCHES,
AND WE'RE HUNTING YOU.
From the moment powerful men started falling to the #MeToo movement, the lamentations began: this is feminism gone too far, this is injustice, this is a witch hunt. In The Witches Are Coming, firebrand author of the New York Times bestselling memoir and now critically acclaimed Hulu TV series Shrill, Lindy West, turns that refrain on its head. You think this is a witch hunt? Fine. You've got one. In a laugh-out-loud, incisive cultural critique, West extolls the world-changing magic of truth, urging readers to reckon with dark lies in the heart of the American mythos, and unpacking the complicated, and sometimes tragic, politics of not being a white man in the twenty-first century. She tracks the misogyny and propaganda hidden (or not so hidden) in the media she and her peers devoured growing up, a buffet of distortions, delusions, prejudice, and outright bullsh*t that has allowed white male mediocrity to maintain a death grip on American culture and politics-and that delivered us to this precarious, disorienting moment in history. West writes, "We were just a hair's breadth from electing America's first female president to succeed America's first black president. We weren't done, but we were doing it. And then, true to form-like the Balrog's whip catching Gandalf by his little gray bootie, like the husband in a Lifetime movie hissing, 'If I can't have you, no one can'-white American voters shoved an incompetent, racist con man into the White House." We cannot understand how we got here-how the land of the free became Trump's America-without examining the chasm between who we are and who we think we are, without fact-checking the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and each other. The truth can transform us; there is witchcraft in it. Lindy West turns on the light.
Discussion Questions
We did our questions a little differently this month. There was so much to talk about in this book and no official questions on the web already that the club's official questions were purposely a little generic. I then tasked our participants to come up with one or two topics or questions that they really wanted to discuss. Meanwhile, I tasked myself with narrowing down my massive list of specific questions and topics directly from the book.
What observations can be made of the American culture based off of the book? Look at how the author examines economics, politics, family traditions, the arts, religion, language, food and more.
What is the central idea discussed in the book? What issues or ideas does the author explore? Are they personal, sociological, global, political, economic, spiritual, medical or scientific?
Do the issues affect your life? How so—directly, on a daily basis, or more generally? Now or sometime in the future?
In what way does the author’s background impact her understanding of the topic?
Does the author criticize or admire the culture? Does she wish to preserve or change the way of life? What would be risked or gained?
What evidence does the author use to support the book's ideas? Is the evidence convincing...definitive or...speculative?
Does the author depend on personal opinion, observation, and assessment? Or is the evidence factual—based on science, statistics, historical documents, or quotations from (credible) experts?
What solutions does the author propose? Are the author's recommendations concrete, sensible, doable? Who would implement those solutions? Do you agree with her analysis?
What kind of language does the author use? Is it objective and dispassionate? Or passionate and earnest? Is it biased, inflammatory, sarcastic? Does the language help or undercut the author's premise?
What are the implications for the future? Are there long- or short-term consequences to the issues raised in the book? Are they positive or negative...affirming or frightening? Are they both?
How controversial are the issues raised in the book? Who is aligned on which sides of the issues? Where do you fall in that line-up?
Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...? What was memorable?
What have you learned after reading this book? Has it broadened your perspective about a difficult issue—personal or societal? Has it introduced you to a culture in another country...or an ethnic or regional culture in your own country?
What did you appreciate most and least about this book?
If you got the chance to ask the author of this book one question, what would it be?
How does the title relate to the book’s contents? What other title might you choose?
If you read West’s previous book, Shrill, how do they compare? Do you see one playing off of the other or the previous informing the new book?
What new questions do you now have about this subject after reading this book?
What other books on this topic have you read? How does this one compare?
What about this book drew you in and kept you reading?
Was there a section of the book that had an impact on the reader? Was it good or bad? Share parts of that section and its impact.
Did the way the book was written affect the reader’s enjoyment or ability to understand the subject? Give examples.
Did anyone’s opinions on the subject change due to information contained in this book? Has your interest in the subject matter increased? How so?
Compared to other books your group has read, did this title or author live up to your expectations? Why or why not?
Has Lindy West generated change? Examine what might have been different without her influence.
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