Chicago Reader Book Club: Precious Brady-Davis I Have Always Been Me: A Memoir

As Chicagoans, we know that winter is well and truly coming. At the Reader, we miss seeing our readers at in-person events and finding creative ways to engage with our city. While we don’t know what Chicago will look like a year from now, we do know there is nothing like a strong community and a good book to make it through a cold night. That's why we have created the Chicago Reader Book Club!

The Reader has curated a list of 12 books written by a diverse cohort of female-identifying Chicago authors including, Mikki Kendall, Eve Ewing, Rebecca Makkai, and Nnedi Okorafor, which we will read with our Book Club members each month. At the end of each month, members will be invited to join a discussion with the author in conversation with a Reader ambassador.

Book Club membership includes:
Exclusive insight from Chicago’s brightest authors
Discounts to your favorite independent bookstores*
A curated monthly newsletter
A members-only discussion forum
Special offers from Reader partners

Have a favorite author on our list? Pop in for that month only for just $20. You can save by joining us for three, six, or nine month memberships, or get your monthly read deeply discounted when you commit to spending a year reading with the Reader.

*Book not included in cost of membership

Chicago Book Club Authors

Mikki Kendall
Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot
Book Club Month: October 2020
Author Talk: 10/22/2020

Sonali Dev
Recipe for Persuasion
November 2020
11/19/2020

Riva Lehrer
Golem Girl
December 2020
12/17/2020

Emil Ferris
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
January 2021
1/28/2021

Eve Ewing
1919
February 2021
2/25/2021

Nnedi Okorafor
Remote Control
March 21
3/25/2021

Natalie Moore
The South Side
April 2021
4/22/2021

Rebecca Makkai
The Great Believers
May 2021
5/27/2021

Fatimah Asghar
If They Come for Us
June 2021
6/24/2021

Kayla Ancrum
Darling
July 2021
7/22/2021

Jessica Hopper
(TBD)
August 2021
8/26/2021

Precious Brady-Davis
I Have Always Been Me: A Memoir
September 2021
9/23/2021

Participating Bookstores
Bookie's (Beverly and Homewood)
Bookends and Beginnings
Bucket O'Blood Books and Records
Inga Bookshop
Madison Street Books
Pilsen Community Books
Roscoe Books
Semicolon
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore
The Book Cellar
The Dial Bookshop
Underground Bookstore
Volumes