4 Reasons I'm Excited to Read 1984 with You this Summer

Here are four reasons I'm excited read 1984 with you this summer:

1. We'll read a great book

Nineteen Eighty-Four appears on many of the “best books” lists, 119 by one count. It’s been called everything from “the definitive book of the twentieth century” to a “book that changed the world” to a “must read before you die.” It’s a mainstay on publications’ recommended reading lists in England, the United States, France, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Denmark, Australia… (you get the idea). 

2. We'll find out for ourselves

You and I don’t have take some list’s word for it. We can find out for ourselves why 1984 has shaped cultural and political conversations since it was published 75 years ago, and continues to do so today. You get to figure out what you think, what your reactions are, what resonates with you and what doesn't. And I get to do the same.

3. We'll learn from expert conversations

We’ll illuminate the dueling themes from the book—freedom versus control, privacy versus surveillance, self-expression versus conformity, truth versus propaganda—through conversations with leading social and behavioral scientists, historians, authors, and more. Through their work, we’ll see deeper into Orwell’s world of 1984 and the world we find ourselves in today.  

4. We have a great community 

What kind of people join a summer book club like this one? Thoughtful, curious, open-minded people from all over the world. I’m especially interested to find out what aspects of 1984 stand out to people who live under different governments, work different jobs, hail from different generations, and exist in different cultures. What do they see that I don’t? What do we see when we look together?

Cheers to reading 1984 together this summer!