2012-2013 Book Discussion Schedule
All book discussions are held in the Scholars Commons Conference Room. The Scholars Commons is located in the basement of Strozier Library.
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Wednesday, January 23
12:00 - 1:00
Discussion leader:
TBA
The Lacuna By Barbara Kingsolver
New York: HarperCollins, 2009
Alacuna, sometimes called a cenote, is a tunnel through which water makes its way from the jungle floor to the sea. The water may be fresh, salt, or a combination. Often such tunnels flow through lava, rock spewed from earth during volcanic reshaping. In southern Mexico they have been used to smuggle drugs and ancient artifacts. The lacuna in Barbara Kingsolver's brilliant new novel is a character in its own right, a haunting symbol and the scene of the story's greatest mystery.
Randall, M. (2010). The Personal and the Political. Women's Review Of Books, 27(3), 25-27. |
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Wednesday, February 27
12:00 - 1:00
Discussion leader:
Annamaria Deidesheimer - Education
"A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan's California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified 'dinery server' on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation—the narrators of {this novel} hear each other's echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small." (Publisher's note)
Mitchell, D. (2004). Cloud atlas. United Kingdom: Sceptre.
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Wednesday, March 27
12:00 - 1:00
Discussion leader:
Laurel Fulkerson - English
Roughly 600 years ago, book hunter Poggio Bracciolini happened upon a "lost" copy of On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura), a poem by Lucretius. It postulated that the world is made up of nature (atoms) and that religion is harmful and damaging to human life. Bracciolini had the manuscript copied and widely distributed. Some believe that this poem caused the world to swerve and change philosophical direction, thus beginning the Renaissance. VERDICT Whether one poem could be so influential is questionable. In addition to this overzealous history, book lovers are rewarded with brilliant descriptions of the history of books, libraries, and fascinating detail about manuscript production. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini's rather professorial presentation gives listeners the sense of participating in a one-sided lecture. ["Greenblatt's masterful account transcends (Bracciolini's) significant discovery," read the review of the National Book Award-winning Norton hc, LJ 6/15/11.--Ed.]
Baird, S. (2012). The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. Library Journal, 137(3), 70.
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Wednesday, April 24
12:00 - 1:00
Discussion leader:
Wendi Adelson – Author/Law
In "This is Our Story," Wendi Adelson has captured the reality of young trafficked women in the United States. The main protagonists are multi-dimensional, evoking sympathy and admiration as well as frustration and pity. She brings to life the utter disregard for human dignity that characterizes traffickers around the world. She movingly and persuasively demonstrates how the victims are brutalized into believing in their own lack of self-worth, lack of recourse, and lack of a future. The book ends with a bitter-sweet, frustrating, but all too real resolution that brings into stark relief the magnitude and gravity of human trafficking.
Cianciarulo, M. Associate Professor of Law, Chapman University (Amazon review Dec 2012)
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Outlook 
