Club writes a new chapter on banned books – Shaw Local

If you ever hear of a book being banned, contact Kathleen March.

She has a new club you might want to join, and she might add this book to her list.

March leads the Banned Book Club, which will hold its first meeting July 18 at 6 p.m. at Anderson’s Bookshop, 5112 Main St., in downtown Downers Grove.

March, 58, of Joliet, has worked at Anderson’s for 23 years, where she is co-manager and heads the children’s department. She is friends with Kirsten Miller, author of “Lula Dean’s Little Library of Forbidden Books,” the first book reviewed by the club in July.

When March read Miller’s new book, which came out on June 18, he came up with the idea of ​​​​founding the Banned Book Club.

“This is the book that inspired it all. We at Anderson’s have always supported the right for every story to go out into the world,” March said.

For example, the store has an exhibition of banned books.

“A presentation is a good way to start a conversation. But how can we continue the conversation?” she asked.

Hence the book club.

“The book is about a woman, Lula Dean, who thinks books are inappropriate for no reason other than her own. She has books purged from the shelves of public and school libraries and then buys a bunch of books that she thinks are appropriate,” March said.

Dean sets up one of those little bookstands you see in some towns in her yard and fills it with her “appropriate” books. But the heroine, her daughter, replaces them with forbidden books and hides them under the dust jackets of “appropriate” books.

As a result, people are starting to read banned books, which caught March’s attention. Each chapter is about how reading a banned book affected a character, “whether it taught them empathy or opened their eyes to a terrible situation – exactly what we want books to do for us,” March said.

The club meets at Anderson’s. By mid-June, 30 people had registered.

The club “is about people coming together around a story,” she said.

The first meeting is all about the book “Lula Dean.” After that, club members are assigned another forbidden book to read in preparation for the August meeting.

“The thirst is out there and I think this is a great way for people to read the books that we see in the news that you may not know about,” March said. “What’s the first step? Let’s get you familiar with the book.”

Over the years, various books have been challenged, “and most of these criticisms stem from fear of the unknown or fear of what is perceived versus reality,” she said.

March argues that books help us understand the lives of people who are different from us.

“There is no shame in learning about a darker side or a part of our history that we are not necessarily proud of,” she said.

The most recent banned book to make headlines was Gender Queer, which is about a person exploring their sexual identity.

“It’s raw. It’s honest. And when we go back to the fear of the unknown, people may not understand what it’s like to have those feelings and to go on that journey to find out who you are,” March said.

“I think it scares people. They are insulted that something like this happens in high schools,” she said.

March said criticism and bans on books could come from both liberals and conservatives.

“Little House on the Prairie,” she said, was banned “because of the language and derogatory expressions,” even though those expressions were already in use when the book was written.

“It doesn’t matter which side the ban comes from. We are fighting against the fact that we are trying to restrict access to every story,” March said.

Books to be discussed include “The Hemingses of Monticello,” about President Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemmings, “Nickled and Dimed,” about a journalist trying to make a living on minimum wage, and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Meetings are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month, except in November, when they are held on November 14. Club membership is free. Meetings are expected to last approximately one hour.