Literary Deep Dive: The Plight of Belonging

Welcome to our Literary Deep Dives

Every other month at Oldspeak we’ll launch a new reading list and you’ll have the option to buy some or all of the books. Join us the following month for a deep dive – where we meet and talk about relevant topics surfaced across the book list.

Skip the small talk: this event is for those who enjoy a healthy debate, enjoy diving into the deep end, and seek to improve their communities.

Get the reading material: Buy the book bundle at Oldspeak and get 20% off all books plus a free drink of choice when you buy the bundle. You can also just buy one or two of the books and still partake in the conversation. But for the rowdy readers, we dare you to read them all.
November book theme: The Plight of Belonging – an exploration and understanding of everyday people, places, and experiences.

While attending Ocean Vuong’s book tour this summer, he said something that I’ve been thinking about ever since:

"I’m not interested in the American dream. I’m interested in Americans who dream."

Since then, we at the Lit Room have had several conversations about the importance of highlighting the mundane human experience; the forgotten majority; the many untold stories of everyday people.

The books we have selected for the next deep dive do just that…and in the most stunning, heart wrenching, laugh-out-loud, cry while you giggle type of ways.

You’ll meet characters that reflect someone in your life and perhaps offer a new perspective. You’ll get to intimately experience stories that impact all of us in some way: addiction, aging parents, chasms that feel too wide to repair, and everything in between.

We hope you’ll love these characters and stories as much as we have!

Recommended Reading List:

1. Love is for All of Us
2. Little Weirds | Jenny Slate
3. Raising Hare | Chloe Dalton
4. Sandwich | Catherine Newman
5. The Emperor of Gladness | Ocean Vuong

Come join us for a night of intense discussions and deep dives into the works of authors who so keenly speak to the everyday human experience. From Ocean Vuong's bestseller The Emperor of Gladness to Sandwich by Catherine Newman (a staff favorite that gives you big laughs and big tears), we'll be exploring how literature can provide new perspectives and appreciation of life as it's lived. So grab a drink, settle in at Oldspeak, and get ready to dive deep into (loosely moderated) conversations.

Event starts at 7, but come early to grab drinks and mingle. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Chelsea Major