SILENT BOOK CLUB breaks the barriers of a traditional book club where there's no pressure to finish a certain book, no pressure to socialize and no pressure to do anything but read! Silent Book Club is just that: a silent gathering of readers in Dorothy once a month with an option to follow our highlighted reads and an option to chat with our book club curator - or to keep on reading!
During a Silent Book Club Sundays, Dorothy will be playing instrumental music at a slightly lower volume than normal and will keep the lights at a key higher than usual. Due to the dark nature of our bar we encourage anyone to bring reading lights! Silent Book Club lasts all night: 6-10pm. Arrive early for seating!
Our Silent Book Club is hosted & curated by Charlie Schumann! Charlie is a writer, bookseller, and pop culture enthusiast who lives in Logan Square with their (cool as fuck) fiancé, Beth and (demonic) cat, JJ Peppers Convenience Store. A Chicago native, Charlie knows there’s no place like (or better than) home. When they’re not in the photo booth at Dorothy or FaceTiming their friends to talk about fanfiction, they like to go out for Italian ice, visit the garlic couple at the farmers market, and howl at the moon.
For April - June, Charlie has curated book suggestions which you're welcome to explore, bring to the bar or completely ignore and read whatever you want. :) Shop from our Bookshop.org Wishlist and support Semicolon, Chicago's largest Black-woman owned bookstore and gallery.
April
- There are Trans People Here by H. Melt
- The Girl and the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
- Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
May
- Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
- Female Husbands: A Trans History by Jen Manion
June
- Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell
- Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff
- Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
Alongside our event we will have pop up guests with us, including:
- APRIL: Chicago Public Library - registering folks for library cards, changing names on libary cards and accounts, lending books & more
- MAY: Cook County Health - educating the community on their services, offering free sexual health items and private on site HIV testing
- JUNE: Therapy Access Project - sharing resources on their organization that assists members of the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities in obtaining mental health services. Author Rae McDaniel will also be joining us spreading word about their book Gender Magic which comes out in paperback!
Dorothy is 21+ and requires physical ID for all to enter. Dorothy is also ADA accessible via elevator access on Campbell Avenue. If you are a guest who requires elevator access, wait by the double doors on Campbell Ave and call our staff to assist: 773-770-3799
