Joliet woman leads banned books club in Downers Grove

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

She has a new club you may be interested in joining, and she just might add that book to her list.

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

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

Reading Miller’s new book, which was released June 18, gave March the idea to create the Banned Book Club.

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

For example, the store has a display of banned books.

“A display is a great way to start the conversation,” she said. “But how do we continue the conversation pushing forward?”

Hence, the book club.

“The book is about a woman, Lula Dean, who deems books inappropriate by no other measure but her own,” March said. “So she has books pulled from public library shelves and school library shelves, then buys a bunch of books she deems appropriate.”

Dean puts in her yard one of those little library stands you see in some towns and fills it with her “appropriate” books. But the heroine, her daughter, replaces those with books that have been banned, disguising them beneath the dust covers of “appropriate” books.

As a result, people begin reading banned books, something that grabbed March’s attention. Each chapter is about how reading a banned book affects a character, “whether it taught them empathy or opened their eyes to a horrible situation – exactly what we want books to do for us,” March said.

The club will meet at Anderson’s. As of mid-June, 30 people had signed up.

The club “is about people coming together over a story,” March said.

The first meeting will be all about the “Lula Dean” book. After that meeting, club members will be assigned another banned 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 we see in the news that you may not be familiar with,” March said. “What’s the first step? Let’s get you acquainted with the book.”

There have been challenges to various books over the years “and most of those come from a place of fear of the unknown or fear of what is perceived versus what is the reality,” she said.

March contends that books help us understand the life journeys of people different than us.

“There’s no shame in learning about a darker side or a piece of our history we may not necessarily be proud of,” she said.

The most recent banned book in the headlines was “Gender Queer,” which is about a person exploring their sexual identity.

“It is raw. It is honest,” March said. “Going back to the fear of the unknown, people may not understand what it’s like to have those emotions, to go through the journey of trying to figure out who you are.

“I think it scares people. People are offended that it’s been in high schools.”

March said challenges and bans of books can come from liberals and conservatives.

“Little House on the Prairie,” she said, was banned “because of the language, the derogatory terms,” even though those were the terms used when the book was written.

“It doesn’t matter what side the ban is coming from,” March said. “The fact that we’re trying to restrict access to any story is what we’re fighting.”

Some of the books planned to be discussed are “The Hemingses of Monticello” about President Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemmings, “Nickled and Dimed” about a journalist who tries to live on minimum wage, and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Meetings are planned for the third Thursday each month except in November, when it will be held Nov. 14. Club membership is free. Meetings are expected to last about one hour.