Cactus Book Club
Cactus Book Club (CBC) aims to bring people together to discuss ideas, highlight the work of our community partners, and promote local independent bookstores. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month from 5:30-7:30 in the back room at Cactus Club (or on the patio, weather permitting). Each month a different business, community organization, collective, or band chooses the book and recommended bookseller and leads the discussion. We read fiction and non-fiction, with a focus on works by women, LGBTQ+, POC, and/or otherwise under-published groups. You don’t have to finish reading the book to attend. All book club meetings are free. No registration required. 18+.
Contact Kelly@CactusClubMilwaukee.com with questions or suggestions
Booksellers & distributors we’ve worked with:
A Room of One’s Own / roomofonesown.com
Boswell Book Company / boswellbooks.com
HER Publisher / HERpublisher.com
La Revo Books / larevobooks.com
Lion’s Tooth / LionsToothMke.com
Niche Book Bar / findyournichemke.com
Milwaukee Public Library / mpl.org
The Bookseller (within Mke Public Library) / supportmpl.org/bookseller
Verso Books / versobooks.com
Woodland Pattern Book Center / woodlandpattern.org
Books we’ve read & groups we’ve partnered with:
December 1, 2021 – led by Lion’s Tooth
Book: We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice by Adrienne Maree Brown
March 2, 2022 – led by Milwaukee Freedom Fund
Book: Carceral Con: The Deceptive Terrain of Criminal Justice Reform by Kay Whitlock & Nancy Heitzeg
April 6, 2022 – led by La Revo Books
Book: Too Happy to be Sad Girl: Surviving Sadness, Ditching Anxiety, & Learning to Thrive by Angel Aviles
May 4, 2022 – led by Hope Praxis Collective
Book: I Hope We Chose Love: A Trans Girls Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
June 1, 2022 – led by Tool Shed
Book: Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski.
July 6, 2022 – led by Autumn Farm Sanctuary
Book: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy
August 3, 2022 – led by The Daily Bird & Milwaukee Overdose Prevention
Book: Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction by Maia Szalavitz. CBC included an opioid overdose prevention training. Free Narcan nasal spray was given to all attendees.
September 7, 2022 – led by the Milwaukee Public Library in honor of Banned Books Week
Book: Saga: Book One by Brian K Vaughan (writer) & Fiona Staples (illustrator).
October 5, 2022 – led by the Women’s Medical Fund (WMF)
Book: Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The Complete Guide to Abortion Legality, Access, & Practical Support (2021 edition) by Robin Marty
November 2, 2022 – led by African American Roundtable
Book: No More Police: A Case for Abolition by Andrea Ritchie and Mariame Kaba
December 7, 2022 – led by BESTD Sexual Health Clinic in (belated) honor of World AIDS Day
Book: My Government Means to Kill Me: A Novel by Rasheed Newson
January 4, 2023 – led by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Milwaukee chapter
Book: Socialist Reconstruction: A Better Future for the United States (authored collectively)
February 1, 2023 – led by the Cathedral Center emergency shelter
Book: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
March 1, 2023 – led by the Wisconsin Humane Society
Book: Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
April 5, 2023 – led by the Hmong American Women’s Association (HAWA)
Book: dejsiab: from my liver to yours by Mai Neng Vang
May 3, 2023 – led by the Milwaukee Newspaper Guild
Book: News for All the People: the Epic Story of Race and the American Media by Juan Gonzalez and Joseph Torres
June 7, 2023 – led by Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP)
Book: A History of Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamor by Michail Takach and B.J. Daniels
July 5, 2023 – led by the Milwaukee Riverkeepers
Book: The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
August 2, 2023 – led by Girls Rock MKE
Book: Trust Kids! Stories on Youth Autonomy and Confronting Adult Supremacy edited by carla joy bergman
September 6, 2023 – led by the Riverwest Co-op
Book: Grocery Story: the Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants by Jon Steinman