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Great Books Discussion Group

Interested in joining a Book Discussion Group?

The Great Books Discussion Group
meets at the Keene Public Library
September through May

(sponsored by the Friends of the Keene Public Library)

Welcome to the 25th year of our local Great Books discussion group!

blue bullet The group meets at the Keene Public Library (60 Winter Street) in the Trustees' Room on the second floor, which is accessible by elevator or stairway.

blue bullet Meetings are on Thursdays, starting at 7:00 pm and usually end about 8:30-8:45.   

A "GREAT BOOKS" DISCUSSION:

Is NOT:     ... teaching    
                ... lecturing          
                ... imparting facts         
                ... forcing consensus        
                ... accepting authority       		But IS:     ...exploring
               ... questioning
               ... examing ideas
               ... inviting participation
               ... honoring diverse opinio

blue bullet At last spring's potluck supper (our annual end-of-the-year get-together), we voted to use the anthology The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler for our 2011-2012 meetings.

blue bullet One copy of The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler will be available for checkout from the Keene Public Library. Many of the selections are also available online and in other anthologies.

blue bullet The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler can also be ordered from The Great Books Foundation (order number ADU-SDS). The cost is $19.95 plus $4.50 shipping. To order, call 1-800-222-5870 ext.2 (weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time) and charge to your credit card. Or order online at the Great Books Foundation website. An order usually takes a week or so to arrive. Or you can order the book online at: www.greatbooks.org.

blue bullet We also decided to devote two meetings to a discussion of the United States Constitution. A copy of the Constitution, with some discussion questions and other selected readings, is available in the booklet "The Will of the People: Readings in American Democracy" (80 pgs, order number ADU-WP), which can be ordered as above for $12.95. There is no extra shipping cost. Or you can obtain a copy elsewhere - many are available online.

blue bullet There is a long break between the Dec.29th and March 15th meetings, so let's decide in the fall on a longer work to read for the March 15th discussion. 

blue bullet If you would like to know more about the Great Books Reading and Discussion Programs in general, please visit their web site at www.greatbooks.org. To find out more about our local discussion group, please call Ardis Osborn at 352-2198. The group heartily welcomes new people to the discussion group, and will be glad to answer any questions you have about it.

Hope to see you all on Thursday, September 1st, 2011!

GREAT BOOKS MEETING SCHEDULE 2011-2012

Date   
Reading (Links are provided to the full text online, if available.)
Sept. 1, 2011 Faulkner: "A Rose for Emily"
Sept. 15, 2011 O'Connor: "Good Country People"
Sept. 29, 2011  Wharton: "Roman Fever"
Oct. 13, 2011    Wolff: "Smokers"
Oct. 27, 2011 Kipling: "Mary Postgate"
Nov. 10, 2011 Atwood: "Hairball"
Nov. 17, 2011 Chekhov: "The House with the Mezzanine"
Dec. 1, 2011 Mason: "Shiloh"
Dec. 15, 2011  Constitution
Dec. 29, 2011 Constitution
Mar. 15, 2012 [Novel to be selected]
Mar. 29, 2012 Lawrence: "The Rocking-Horse Winner"
Apr. 12, 2012 Bowen: "The Inherited Clock"
Apr. 26, 2012 Carver: "Fat"
May 10, 2012 Xu Xi: "Famine"
May 24, 2012 Klass: "Not a Good Girl" and Englander: "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges"
June 7, 2012 Poems: Bring in a poem or a very brief prose selection (less than a page) that relates in some way to our readings. We'll each read our selection aloud and say something brieftly about why we find it interesting and relevant. The group can discuss questions it may pose. [It's very helpful if you can make some extra copies of your reading to pass around.]
June 14 or 21? (we'll vote)
Potluck Supper!

Last updated: 8/3/2011