Hopeful Speculations Book Club: The Free People's Village

​Welcome to the third edition of the bimonthly Hopeful Speculations Book Club!

​A collaboration between The Climateverse and the Department of Imaginary Affairs, this is a community-building space to connect over speculative fiction and "read our way through the dark."

​Together we'll read everything from fantasy and sci fi to magical realism and even historical fiction, from diverse authors around the world, all grappling with questions of the futures we're hurtling towards, and how to chart our way to brighter possibilities.

​Next up: The Free People's Village by Sim Kern

​In an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. For twenty years, Democrats have controlled all three branches of government, enacting carbon-cutting schemes that never made it to a vote in our world. Green infrastructure projects have transformed U.S. cities into lush paradises (for the wealthy, white neighborhoods, at least), and the Bureau of Carbon Regulation levies carbon taxes on every financial transaction.

​This hope punk exploration of the pitfalls of climate action without equity we think is a timely reminder of the need to weave the eco and the social together.

​Get your copy here:
Toronto Public Library: https://tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S234C4445172

​And of course, we'll be taking a spin on the typical book club meeting. Expect guided discussion about the book, of course, but we'll also close each session with a futures activity based on the book!