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Reading for Change Book Discussion Group

Main Library, First Floor Historical Room

Explore Race and Ethnicity Equity and Inclusion (REEI)

The Reading for Change book club will explore Race and Ethnicity Equity and Inclusion (REEI) and the impact of inequity on individuals in our society. In conjunction with the Fairfield County Juvenile Court, we will expand our knowledge of systemic racism and intersectional social justice issues, examine how we uphold these systems of inequity, and identify steps we can take to combat inequities. We hope to provide an inclusive space to explore meaningful change. We will spend two or three months discussing one title so that we have time to unpack the topics in the book.

In October we will read:

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor

by Layla F. Saad

Based on the viral Instagram challenge that captivated participants worldwide, Me and White Supremacy takes readers on a journey, complete with journal prompts, to do the necessary and vital work that can ultimately lead to improving race relations.

In November we will read:

Our Missing Hearts

by Celeste Ng

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn't know what happened to her-only that her books have been banned-and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him.

Then one day, Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will finally learn the truth about what happened to his mother, and what the future holds for them both.

Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It's about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and the power of art to create change.

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