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Bearded Reader - Adam

@bearded_reader_adam

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Bearded Reader 📚 | Adam
Books as culture, community & conversation
Founder, Midwest Lit Commons
⬇️ Free Midwest event guide

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I’ve learned that opinions on Lonesome Dove are not subjective. Apparently, we must all love it and find it moving. #lonesomedove #larrymcmurtry #booksta #bookmemes by @bearded_reader_adam

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So far, I definitely get the East of Eden hype. #eastofeden #johnsteinbeck #eastofedenbook #booksta by @bearded_reader_adam

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2 days ago

It took me 3 attempts to want to make it through Red Rising. It didn’t pick up until around chapters 6 through 8 and seemed to want to retroactively deepen both the characters and the stakes in a way that never really immersed me. It does end with enough change that it makes me intrigued with everything else that will happen in the series.

However, Hunger Games did it more successfully in the first book. I’m hoping Brown gets better as a writer and prove all the claims that the series (and his writing) continues to evolve.

I feel like people forgive and defend this books sins, because they love this series, which is fine if you can admit it. For the first 6 chapters, it was kind of bad. 😬🤣 #redrising #howlers #bookhottakes #booksta #piercebrown by @bearded_reader_adam

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3 days ago

Explain how “religious freedom” means your religion gets to pick my kids school library books.

I’m a parent too. I think what you are saying is my parental rights don’t count unless you agree with them. #schoollibraries #publiclibraries #booksta #parentalrights #bannedbooks by @bearded_reader_adam

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4 days ago

Apparently I believe that I will somehow always have more time to read books than I do. It’s a weird thing to keep believing at this point. #libbyapp #audiobooks #booksta by @bearded_reader_adam

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6 days ago

Joining Moms for Liberty didn’t make you my kid’s parent. Now explain why your family’s belief’s should overrule my options? #booksta #bookbanning #momsforliberty #parentalrights #momsfortrump by @bearded_reader_adam

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7 days ago

I promise you that your school library did not invent gay people. 😭 Good luck with that whole book banning thing though. Seems like a weird hobby to me. #bannedbooksweek #booksta #bannedbooksweek2026 by @bearded_reader_adam

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8 days ago

Another school board meeting about Toni Morrison and Margaret Atwood. In 2026. We’re really still doing this. The Bluest Eye is about a little girl the adults around her fail. I have a daughter in school. That gives me plenty to worry about before anyone starts pointing at a paragraph. And The Handmaid’s Tale? There’s a whole conversation to have about who gets to control women’s bodies. Apparently we’re using that time to argue about the library copy.

I keep hearing that removing these books protects kids. Okay. The book is gone from some schools. What actually got safer? #theblueesteye #thehandmaidstale #bannedbooksweek #booksta by @bearded_reader_adam

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Apparently I missed the part where we agreed to let you raise my kid.

It’s Banned Books Week this week, and the conversation about banned books keeps coming back to “parental choice” and “parental rights.”

To me, parental choice means deciding what your own child reads. Parental rights mean being involved, asking questions, and setting boundaries for your family.

My family gets those choices too. Removing a book from the school library takes an option away from my kid because you didn’t want it for yours.

I don’t remember signing that permission slip. #bannedbooksweek #bannedbooksweek2026 #booksta #parentalrightsmatter #parentalchoice by @bearded_reader_adam

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9 days ago

Read the most disturbing passage out loud. Leave out what it means in the story. Ask everyone to judge the whole book.

In The Kite Runner, Amir witnesses Hassan’s assault and abandons him. He tells us:

“In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward.”

His guilt over that betrayal drives the novel. That’s the context missing when this scene gets presented as “indoctrination.”

What, exactly, is this book supposedly teaching children to do? #thekiterunner #bannedbooksweek2026 #bannedbooksweek #booksta by @bearded_reader_adam

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It’s banned books week and apparently we need to talk about what’s “inappropriate for children.” Some kids are going home to the exact experiences adults want removed from libraries.

How does removing that story where someone else experiences what they’re going through remove their pain? How does it keep them safe? How does it give them language to talk about it? To think about it? To process it? #bannedbooksweek #bannedbooksweek2026 #booksta by @bearded_reader_adam

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10 days ago

I get this argument on nearly every banned books related post on every platform. There are plenty of complicated conversations to have on this subject about age, access, libraries, schools, parents, and who gets to make those decisions.

“You can still buy it somewhere…” is not a particularly useful conversation. Representation of people and experiences in media matters. #bookban #bannedbooksweek #bannedbooksweek2026 #booksta by @bearded_reader_adam

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11 days ago