When some say no, others say yes

WordsWorth Books recently started a Banned Books Book Club. “Every other month, we’ll get together to talk about a book that’s been challenged in libraries or schools,” says Kandi West, one of the Little Rock store’s owners. “If you’re the type of person who sees a banned book and thinks, ‘I’d better read that,’ then this is the book club for you.”

The subject, she says, “has been gaining more and more attention this past year as the Arkansas State Senate Bill 81 [now Act 372] passed and has since been challenged in the courts.”

One of the reasons WordsWorth began this specific club “is that we have many customers ask us about the book banning topic when they are in the store,” West continues. “They ask where they can find banned books in the store. We do not have a designated collection of books that have been ‘banned,’ but all of our booksellers are knowledgeable enough to talk about various books that have been challenged in the past and why. “

It’s not helpful, she says, “to use the word ‘ban’ since we can see all of these books out in the world and in the bookstore, so it is confusing. Understanding challenges and other ways that people and organizations try to limit access to literature they find objectionable is helpful in knowing how to stop it.”

A book gets banned, she suspects, “because there is some reason someone wants to silence someone’s story being told in that book. My pastor recently spoke about the topic of book banning. One of the things he said that really meant a lot to me is that part of loving people is wanting to really know them, and that means saying, ‘I want to know your story.’”

Why should anyone read a book that has been banned?

Here are some reasons, in West’s opinion:

■ No one other than you should decide what books you do or do not read.

■ Banned books often authentically reflect the hard things that are topical and timely. Many people fear facing those things; however, fearbased reading (or fear-based anything) is never the answer.

■ Banned books often shine a light on marginalized people.

■ Banned books allow us to build empathy by reading about people who are different than ourselves.

The club, which will meet at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every other month at Words-Worth, 5920 R St., Little Rock, had its first meeting in September, says West, who is moderating the gatherings. “We did not advertise the club outside of the store initially, wanting to keep it small at first to see how things went. We started with a handful of interested customers, and only three people attended the first meeting.

“We read ‘The Bluest Eye’ by Toni Morrison [a novel set in 1941 in Lorain, Ohio—Morrison’s hometown—that concerns a young African American named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression and how she is consistently regarded as ugly due to her mannerisms and dark skin, which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with “whiteness”] and had a good discussion.”

The subject for the group’s meeting on Nov. 2 is “Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale” by Art Spiegelman, a graphic novel that chronicles the often chilling experiences of the author’s father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats.

Recently, she says, a school board in Tennessee voted to ban “Maus” from being taught in classrooms because of inappropriate language and the illustration of a nude woman.

West plans to be prepared at each meeting with options for the next book choice. “I want the club to select the next read based on the members’ collective interest. At our first meeting, one member expressed the desire to read a graphic novel. ‘Maus’ was mentioned, and we agreed to read it. We will see how easily selection is accomplished as membership grows.”

At each meeting, she continues, “I will have a few questions prepared to get the discussion going. We will discuss for 30-45 minutes and then do a wrapup, including an introduction of the next meeting’s read or a discussion to select the next read. My goal is for the group to select each book as a democratic process.”

So far, West says, “about 45 people have signed up to say they are interested and want to attend. The vast majority have been women. We have had no one under the age of 18 ask to be added.”

Participants will read and engage with the text “and discuss these books in the same way we would in any other club. In addition, we will read and ask such questions as ‘What fears does this book cause for those that would like to challenge or ban it?’ and ‘How could we alleviate those fears?’ Our mission is always to read with an open mind and with the goal of using the book as a way to connect with the characters, with each other, with ourselves and with the world around us.

“We may like a book that we read; we may not. Either way is OK.”

Want to join the club? Email info@wordsworthbookstore.com.