{"id":1567,"date":"2026-01-31T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T18:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/warrens-voice.com\/?p=1567"},"modified":"2026-01-31T12:37:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T18:37:44","slug":"does-warren-county-need-a-better-bookstore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/warrens-voice.com\/?p=1567","title":{"rendered":"Does Warren County Need A Better Bookstore?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is not an exaggeration to say that books are the foundation of society. Books, stories, words, poems, and myths provide the soil from which culture grows. That being the case, does our local community need a better bookstore?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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**Become a monthly donor for $10 or more and get EXCLUSIVE content!!!**<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Pageturners, a local bookstore in Indianola, recently announced <\/a>they will be moving to the former location of Pamela\u2019s Place. Pageturners may be the only privately owned bookstore in Warren County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Pageturner’s logo from their website<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Pageturners, owned by Kathy Macgruber, is noted for its support of anti-conservative causes. The store heavily features books promoting the LGBTQ+ agenda as well as other woke and progressive ideologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The store also promotes the false \u201cbook ban\u201d narrative which compares the removal of obscene material from schools with the suppression tactics of totalitarian regimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Warren County’s only privately owned bookstore heavily promotes LGBTQ+ propaganda<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In September of last year, Pageturners hosted <\/a>a \u201cBanned Book Storytime\u201d event that perpetuated that narrative. Steve Kerby noted <\/a>that \u201cthe focus of ‘Banned Book Storytime’ was on promoting an LGBTQ+ agenda to children. By the way, did you know that the 1930\u2019s classic about the gentle Spanish bull, The Story of Ferdinand<\/em> by Munro Leaf, \u2018has been a go-to for teachers and parents looking for LGBT-friendly kids lit?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warren County still has many fine libraries. But these government institutions seem to always be susceptible to statist and progressive notions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Warren County need a conservative-friendly bookstore? Would a bookstore that simply provides wholesome, quality books that promote traditional values be a strategic investment for local conservatives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether or not such a bookstore appears remains to be seen. In the meantime, we must do our best to promote quality, traditional literature and stories in our communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joshua Stilwell is the editor-in-chief of Warren’s Voice, the associate pastor of Alathea Baptist Church<\/a> in Des Moines (the Warren County side), and a self-diagnosed bibliophile. He lives with his family in Indianola where they can regularly be seen reading books. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is not an exaggeration to say that books are the foundation of society. Books, stories, words, poems, and myths provide the soil from which culture grows. That being the case, does our local community need a better bookstore? **Become a monthly donor for $10 or more and get EXCLUSIVE content!!!**<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7,5,27],"tags":[291,211,162],"class_list":["post-1567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-indianola","category-opinion","category-warrens-voice","tag-kathy-macgruber","tag-lgbtq","tag-steve-kirby"],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Warren County Need A Better Bookstore? - Warren's Voice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is not an exaggeration to say that books are the foundation of society. 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