Queer Ecologies Book Club Reads: Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong

THIS BOOK CLUB HAS BEEN EXTENDED AND WILL GO THROUGH OCTOBER 2026. Check back in the fall to see if it will continue in 2027!
This group will meet regularly in-person at Charis on the first Thursday of each month at 7pm.
About the book club:
Queer Ecologies is an emerging field that illuminates queerness in the natural world. Through a mix of non-fiction, speculative fiction, and poetry, the Queer Ecologies Book Club introduces readers to the queer, non-binary, and downright bizarre beings found all over planet Earth. Simultaneously, we consider what it means to live queerly on and practice care for this rapidly transforming planet we call home. The Queer Ecologies Book Club centers queer, trans, and gender expansive people, ideas, experiences, and ways of being, but is open to all community members. Participants are encouraged to read the month’s book before our gatherings. However, doing so is not required – come as you are, regardless of how much you’ve read! Participants are expected to treat each other with respect in all group conversations and interactions. This book club is facilitated by Charis bookseller & queer ecologist, Yarrow Koning.
About our September book:
Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong by Clare Follmann
A caste of plants and animals labeled “invasive” are villainized as primary drivers of habitat degradation that must be eradicated at any cost–an ethically fraught and often futile approach. Fanatical intervention efforts lay waste to local ecosystems, yet this outdated narrative of “species management” persists in both public belief and conservation policy, distracting from and even justifying a far greater threat to biodiversity: the global capitalist system that is destroying our planet.
Drawing on environmental science and semiotics, Scapegoat recounts how the rhetoric of war between “native” and “invasive” species provides cover for business and political interests and their social and ecological consequences. In her clear-eyed polemic, Clare Follmann challenges received wisdom in light of the true ecological crisis we face. The choice is simple: we can have capital, or we can have life.
2026 Books:
January: Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer
February: Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival by Maria Pinto
March: Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
April: Unfurl: Survivals, Sorrows, and Dreaming by Eli Clare
May: What A Fish Looks Like by Syr Hayati Beker
June: Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction edited by Joshua Whitehead
July: Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love by Lida Maxwell
August: Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History by Caroline Tracey
September: Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong by Clare Follmann
October: The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
In-person event guidelines:
– All attendees must wear a face mask.
– We will begin seating people at 6:45 PM ET.
– As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event.
If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request specific accessibility accommodations, please contact info@charisbooksandmore.com or call the store at 404-524-0304
The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate online at www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person at the event.
By attending our event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Unsolicited sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.ability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Unsolicited sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.