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Book clubs are booming in Dubai. Books are everywhere — in Reels, in cafés, tucked beside cappuccinos and candles, peeking out of tote bags like accessories. Aesthetic? Absolutely. Aspirational? Of course. And I am all for it. But I worry when books become props instead of portals. At one club, pirated PDFs are passed around casually — sometimes by aspiring authors who joke, “When my book comes out, you better buy it!” At another, members are told not to bother reading at all