BRIDGEPORT — When you think of a library book club, you might imagine a whispered roundtable meeting under the yellowed florescent lights of the neighborhood's local branch.
Jeremy Kitchen, branch manager of the Richard J. Daley Library, and the owners behind Blue City Bicycle and Jackalope Coffee & Tea House want to change that.
In a collaboration with local businesses, The Chicago Public Library's Bridgeport branch at 3400 S. Halsted St. welcomes locals to the first-ever Bridgeport Book Club. The first meeting happens at Jackalope Coffee at 3 p.m. Nov. 21.
"We wanted to make it more of a neighborhood thing," Kitchen said. "Not a stuffy library thing."
The first book on the list is loaded with Chicago stories set at the Stockyards and Bubbly Creek: Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.”
Kitchen hopes the book's ties to Chicago history helps neighborhood folks learn more about their community.
"We’re really into community empowerment," Kitchen said.
You can snag a copy with your library card at the Richard J. Daley Library.
For more information, call the library at 312-747-8990.
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