Kristen's Reading Goal:  One banned book per week

For this year's Read-A-Thon, I'm going to read one banned book every week of March, each focusing on a different theme. The listed books are all books that are commonly banned and/or challenged in public libraries and school libraries across the US.

Week 1: Feminism
Week 2: Race
Week 3: Queerness
Week 4: Sex

If you donate, you get to vote between the top options for each week to select which banned book I read (voting link: https://forms.gle/BXow4qTkjYhf3KmS8) Once I've finished reading the book, I will donate these books to Open Books so more people can have access to them.

Any donation above $50 can also provide me a book title to read that I will also donate back to Open Books (can be in-theme or not!)

Note: I know that many of these books hit on multiple/all of the listed topics, given the intertwined nature of feminism, race, queerness, sex, violence, etc. This organization is arguable and mostly vibes-based for the purposes of the Read-A-Thon

Open Books' Associate Board is hosting a month-long Read-a-Thon throughout March 2025, in honor of National Reading Month, to raise funds and awareness for Open Books' signature reading and book access programs. Considering Open Books' mission to support literacy skill development and encourage everyone to enjoy reading, this is a fantastic opportunity to get involved and show why you love to read! Please consider supporting one of our readers or joining in the fun yourself - you can sign up here or contact development@open-books.org to learn more and get started. 

This year, the Read-a-Thon team is working hard to raise $45,000 for Open Books' literacy and book access programs. Consider what your donations can support:

$25 can provide books and supplies for one 1st or 2nd grader in our year-long Reading Buddies program
$50 can support a month of upkeep of our Little Free Library network in Lawndale
$100 can provide 30 new, high-interest book titles for our youth book granting efforts
$250 can fund supplies for one of our eight-week-long Early Childhood Literacy Residencies in at-home daycares
$500 can support the development of resources for parents and caregivers in our target communities

Open Books' Mission

Open Books is a nonprofit literacy organization that helps transform lives through reading, writing, and the unlimited power of books. We partner with communities to ensure that youth and families have equitable access to be lifelong readers. Open Books is committed to working in community with our neighborhood partners toward a collective effort to grow and foster a literacy-strong Chicago. We work to break down systemic barriers to reading and literacy and build strong values of reading. Through neighborhood partnerships, we design and implement literacy initiatives for youth, families, caregivers, and communities on the South and West sides of Chicago by providing high-quality resources, experiences, and book-centered spaces. We employ people power and a variety of pathways for books to fuel our placemaking initiatives so that reading can happen anywhere, anytime. To learn more, please visit www.open-books.org.