MM Book Club Discussion: "Resistance, Rebellion and Death" (August 2026)
Here's where to discuss this month's choice from the "Context for a Dark Time" shelf
Welcome to the Discussion Page for “Sleeping with the Dictionary” by Harryette Mullen, an acclaimed Black American female poet and English professor at UCLA. This is one of our five options to read for the MM Book Club in August 2026.
To learn more about the club, where to get your books and more, go to the official book club launch page. Learn about the rules for commenting, and get the links to the discussion pages for the other titles on this month’s Book Club Hub.
Context for a Dark Time Shelf (Non-Fiction Essays)
”Resistance, Rebellion, and Death“ by Albert Camus (free digital version)
You go to a protest. You carry a sign. You speak out. But does any of it actually make a difference? Camus wrestles with the moral question of what ordinary people owe one another in the face of injustice. Essential reading for anyone wondering what resistance really means, and why it’s something we still need to feel, and why we need to fight for things that are important to us in the moment we’re in. It feels weightier than the other books this month, but trust me, if you give it some time, you’ll feel what I did. What’s the point of life, if not to care for one another?
My Thoughts and Discussion Kickoff
OK, I hear you. This Albert Camus book is not exactly a beach read, unless, of course, your idea of relaxing is wrestling with war, tyranny, political violence and a rampant moral crisis.
But let’s put this into context. At the start of 2026, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported 130 armed conflicts around the globe.
“Even for those who experience war only through the headlines, today’s conflicts are shaping a future that will affect every one of us,” the ICRC noted. “The erosion of the rules of war is not confined to distant battlefields; it threatens the stability, security and values that underpin our societies and our lives, no matter where in the world we live.”
With wars raging worldwide and a reign of madness here in the cradle of Democracy, Camus feels less like a writer from another century and more like a man trying to get our attention.
He asks questions we still haven’t answered. How do you fight what is wrong without becoming the very thing you’re fighting? Do we have a duty to resist cruelty and injustice? In that same vein, do we have a duty to remember that no cause gives us permission to stop seeing other people as human?
What is your takeaway from what you’ve read so far? What are the most insightful passages to you?
MM
P.S. Bonus reading: The sobering, but worthy Humanitarian Outlook 2026: A World Succumbing to War by the ICRC, a one-page online summary.
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Learn about the rules for commenting, and get the links to the discussion pages for the other titles on this month’s Book Club Hub.