You can tell a lot about a book lover by what’s in their TBR pile. The first thing you can tell from mine is that I’ve been way behind in my reading. That’s why I joined a summer reading program at a local library so I can get through it all.

On top of my pile was Reaching for Grace, the upcoming novel by Anna Daughterty. I had promised to review it and give her a blurb in January. (Facepalm. Sigh.) But I finally finished it and went to the next on my pile, Prom Babies by Kekla Magoon. (See my Goodreads review.) Now, I’m reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. Then it’s Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes.

The next thing you can tell from my TBR pile is none of these books go together.

Reaching for Grace is a Christian rich boy/poor girl romance. It’s an excellent book, but you can expect as much spice as a church potluck casserole. Prom Babies pulls a 180 to show what happens to three teens who get pregnant. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is what you’d get if Chuck Palahniuk wrote a self-help book. And Spin Me Right Round looks like a queer Back to the Future. (And as someone who wrote about the 1980s, I’ll be interested in David’s depiction of that time.)

Christians, feminists, f-bomb slinging life coaches, and LGBTQ+ people all have a place in my book bag. That’s because I like diversity. I like to read books that are about and from people who are different from me. That’s when reading does what it should: expand your mind, broaden your awareness, and strengthen your empathy.

That’s the difference between those of us who believe in freedom and those who want to strip rights away.

Oligarchic autocrats have been trying to convince you there’s some kind of war on Christianity. What war? Plenty of Christians have tried to ban my faith, but none of us, certainly not in the United States, have sought to return the favor. But if the Radical Right takes over the country and enacts Project 2025, many forms of Christianity will wind up getting banned. Catholics, Latter-Day Saints, Adventists—basically any Christian group who doesn’t adhere to the most strict and narrow form of Evangelism they wish to impose on our nation. And if you’re an Evangelical Christian, your faith won’t be safe either. In the extremist’s mind, no one is pure, obedient, and loyal enough.

If we want to stop this assault on our freedoms, there are many things we must do. Most importantly, we need to vote against it in November—from the president down to city council. But we need to educate ourselves. The best way is through reading. Consuming news media feels like drinking from a fire hose—and the water is tainted. Books give us the depth, nuance, and understanding we desperately need. Fiction enables us to see the world from other people’s perspective. That’s why books are the first things tyrants take away, and the freedom to read and write is the one we must fight the hardest to defend.

We all need a bigger book bag. Fill it up with the books, ideas, and perspectives that will enrich and broaden your mind and motivate you to defend our freedoms.

Related topics:

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