On Wednesday 30th April 2025, from 7.30-9.30pm, Stroud Radical Reading Group will host a discussion of two books looking at climate, one fiction and one non-fiction. We suggest people pick one or other of the books to read in full, or read excerpts from both – see below for links to buy the books at a discount from the local Yellow Lighted Bookshop and a variety of free text, audio, and visual resources relevant to the books.
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
- It’s Not That Radical: climate action to transform our world by Mikaela Loach
We’ve combined a fiction and non-fiction book looking at climate change. Parable of the Sower was published in 1993 and set from 2024 and onwards. It explores a number of prescient “speculative” ideas around a future of climate and societal breakdown, displacement, violence, authoritarian nationalism and inequality, also incorporating space exploration [Content Notes: rape, murder, torture, substance abuse, violence against adults, children (including torture and death), and animalsdeath of family members, cannibalism, slavery, body horror.]
It’s Not that Radical was published in 2023 with the subtitle “climate action to transform our world”. Its a book that argues that tackling the climate crisis requires looking at poverty, capitalism, police brutality, and legal injustice – at the roots.
We will meet at Creative Sustainability’s shopfront space at 10 John St, GL5 2HA (a short distance from the town centre train or bus station, with parking available nearby at Church St).
Entry is free and everyone is welcome – you do not need to have attended previous sessions, and we do our best to make the sessions welcoming to people who have not been to reading groups or similar settings like university seminars before.
More information about the books, venue and how sessions work is below.
About the books:
Parable of the Sower: “Set in a California where civilisation has all but broken down and poverty and unspeakable violence are the norm, this is a horrifying vision of what might be. Teenage Lauren knows there must be a better way to live and invents a new religion.” It’s a work of dystopian “speculative fiction” often hailed for its eerie prescience – for example around the recent California wildfires, or the (re)election of Donald Trump through a slogan used in the book: Make America Great Again.
Octavia E. Butler was a renowned African American author acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future. Learn more about her on the website maintained by her family and literary agent: octaviabutler.com
It’s Not That Radical: “For too long, representations of climate action in the mainstream media have been white-washed, green-washed and diluted to be made compatible with capitalism. We are living in an economic system which pursues profit above all else; harmful, oppressive systems that heavily contribute to the climate crisis, and environmental consequences that have been toned down to the masses.”
“Tackling the climate crisis requires us to visit the roots of poverty, capitalist exploitation, police brutality and legal injustice. Climate justice offers the real possibility of huge leaps towards racial equality and collective liberation as it aims to dismantle the very foundations of these issues. In this book, Mikaela Loach offers a fresh and radical perspective for real climate action that could drastically change the world as we know it for the benefit of us all.”
Mikaela Loach is an acclaimed author, climate justice organiser, and speaker, recognised as one of the most influential women in the climate movement. Learn more about her on her website: mikaelaloach.com
Buy the books
When looking at your “basket” enter the “couponcode” 25stroudradical for a 15% discount. Pick up book from Nailsworth, Tetbury or Chalford shops, or get books delivered to your door for £3.50 postage. If posting books, you may wish to buy other books we are reading this year.
- Buy Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler in paperback – RRP £10.99, £9.34 with discount (saving £1.65)
- But It’s Not That Radical: climate action to transform our world by Mikaela Loach in paperback – RRP £9.99, £8.49 with discount (saving £1.50)
Free Resources
Text Resources
- Read an Excerpt From Parable of the Sower (the Portalist)
- Read Parable of the Sower for free via the Internet Archive (pdf,
- Read an excerpt from “It’s Not That Radical”, featuring Loach’s argument that offers an answer to the question: “Am I too radical or not radical enough?” (mashable, 2023)
- Interview with Mikaela Loach: “‘The climate crisis is a liberationary struggle’” in Huck Magazine (2023)
- Interview: ““The Only People Who Can Save Us Are Ourselves”: Climate Activist Mikaela Loach On Why She’s Taking The UK Government To Court” (British Vogue, 2021)
- “Got Eco-Anxiety? This Activist Is Showing Us How to Keep Hope Alive” – an edited extract from Climate Is Just the Start written by Mikaela Loach (goodonyou, 2025).
Audio/visual resources
- Podcast episode: Mikaela Loach talks about her then soon-to-be-released book on the podcast she presents (‘Yikes Podcast‘) with Jo Becker
- Podcast series: Octavia’s Parables hosted by Toshi Reagon and adrienne maree brown. Episodes of approximately 40 minutes – one chapter each.
- Video – 65 minute interview – Mikaela Loach in conversation with Jess from Lighthouse Bookshop in Edinburgh
- Video – 75 minute interview – Octavia Butler‘s “Parable of the Sower” through themes of prophecy, dystopia, theology and a way forward in times like these, with Afrofuturist writer Tananarive Due, womanist process theologian Monica A. Coleman, and writer, activist, and facilitator adrienne maree brown
- Video – audiobook version of Parable of the Sower with AI art
About our events and the venue
Stroud Radical Reading Group events are free to attend, though we will make a collection to cover venue hire costs – please bring some cash.
We try to create a comfortable discussion space for everyone, including people who have not been part of a reading group or been to university. We do not want the sessions to feel like school – the idea is that everyone has something to contribute, even if primarily through finding the discussion texts difficult and having questions with other attendees can attempt to answer.
To ensure marginalised people feel welcome, we encourage care and thoughtful contributions that respect people’s identities and lives. We are an LGBTQ+ inclusive and anti-racist space.
Anyone is welcome to listen to the discussion, though we encourage contributions only from those who have read at least some of the book we are discussing.
There is an opportunity for more informal discussion after the session in the Ale House pub for anyone who wants to continue their evening.
About the venue
We will meet at the Creative Sustainability shopfront space at 10 John St, GL5 2HA (round the corner from Iceland and next to the Ale House pub). This is close to the train station and not far from the bus station. There are stands to lock bikes to outside, and parking for cars nearby at Church St car park. There are no toilets at the venue. There is a small step to access the building, which is then step free). The room is well lit. Please get in touch if you’d like to get more of an idea of what the sessions are like or if you have any accessibility needs.
Stroud Radical Reading Group 