La Grange Librarians Redefine the Book Club

For reading tastes venturing beyond mainstream, there's Noir in a Bar, a book club with a twist in atmosphere and subject matter. 

During their first-ever meeting July 27, at Nicksons Eatery, 30 S. La Grange Rd., members discussed "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahame-Smith, an apocalypse parody of the Jane Austen classic, and sipped on Nicksons' "Zombie" cocktail.

The five present nibbled on brain-shaped gummy snacks as their conversation jumped from similarities between the parody novel and the classic novel, to Austen's other works, to movies based on books, to their likes and dislikes about the zombie parody.

"It's interesting to read a book and have to figure out what makes it good," said Nancy Bent, one of the founders, who is a reference librarian at La Grange Public Library. "It's really fun!"

Bent, with colleagues Debbie Darwine, head of reference and reader services, Noel Zethmayr, young adult library head of youth services, Brooke Sievers, head of technical services, and Kelly Laszczak, head of youth services, created Noir in a Bar after noticing the library's current book clubs weren't reaching 20 to 30-year-old readers looking for "weirder" material.

And, they thought, what brings people of that age together better than a drink? Noir in a Bar would meet in a restaurant, they decided, where the comfort level would be quite different than at the library.

On Sept. 28, Noir in a Bar will hold its second meeting at Francesca's Bellezza to discuss "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. Other future subjects are to include "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn, and "Hairstyles of the Damned" by Joe Meno, all available to check out at the La Grange Public Library.