The theme for this year's Seward Community Library Book Talk is "What does it mean to be human?" The books we will be reading ask us to consider questions like these:
What separates human beings from other forms of life?
Do these characteristics imply certain responsibilities?
What responsibilities do we have to ourselves and each other?
What is "evil?"
What is the nature of "law?" Are there "higher laws" transcending human law?
When is Civil Disobedience appropriate or, as some would claim, a necessity?
Sounds heady! But these questions will raise other questions and those, in turn, will raise even more.
This year we've connected a film to each book. One of our books is a drama, so we've selected a film version of that play. But the other films have themes that connect to each book. These films are available at the library and may be checked out by those participating in the book talk.
Below are the five books we'll be reading followed by the related film and the date of each discussion. Our meetings will be on Thursdays in the basement of the Seward Community Library from
January 28th -- Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas)
February 11th -- Antigone by Sophocles (A film version of Antigone)
February 25th -- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (Bicentennial Man)
March 11th -- Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (Artificial Intelligence)
March 18th -- The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (Bowling for Columbine)
PHOTOGRAPH by Doug Capra. Sunrise on Resurrection Bay, Alaska, December 6, 2009 (c).
Reading for group discussions at book talks may be different from the way you usually read. Not only do we want to share and discuss our varying opinions and feelings about the book, but we want to connect those opinions and feelings to specific words, sentences or paragraphs in the book itself.
ReplyDeleteFor example: “I feel the narrator of this book is an evil person.” Why do you have this feeling? What specific words, dialogue, actions in the book lead you to this decision?
Here are some methods you might consider to help you participate in the book talk discussions.
1. Write in the book. The books given to you by the library are yours to keep. The ones you buy yourself are yours, too. Underline, highlight, write in the margins and/or use small post-it notes to help you find specific passages.
2. Keep a reading journal. After every chapter or so do a journal entry. Don’t just summarize what you’ve read, but reflect on how you feel about what you’re reading. What do you like or dislike? Agree or disagree with? What make you laugh or cry or angry? Why do you react the way you do? The journal technique is especially good for those who don’t feel comfortable speaking during discussions. If you have some comments written down, you can read them to the group.
3. Instead of the journal, participate in this blog. Save hard copies of your blog entries or later print them out and bring them to our book talk discussions.
Using one or more of these techniques will help you better remember the book, even if you read it months before our meeting. You can go back and review your notes or journals or blogs just before we meet.
Remember – we’re basically dealing with paper and ink and little blots on the paper. These ink blots, letters, form words which form sentences and ideas. The meanings we get out of these books come from us, the readers, connecting with those words on the page. Meanings come from us as a group discussing and making connections.
Meanings aren’t simply embedded with in the text. Meanings are constructed by us as we read and discuss the book. Of course, good writers have meanings in mind as they write and they try to convey those meanings to their readers. But readers bring a lifetime of experiences with them, and those experiences determine how the reader interprets the writer’s work.
That’s why we need to make sure we consciously try to connect our opinions, attitudes, and feelings to specific passages in the text that seem to elicit them.
HOW TO POST A COMMENT
ReplyDeleteIf you've tried to post a comment here with no luck, don't fret. I reset some of the options and now anyone who is listed as a "follower" can post.
As the moderator of this "Blog", I'm the only one who can create a "Post" that can be commented upon. "Posts" are also called "Threads." I'll create a master Thread for each book, and then all the discussion about that particular book should be done within that Thread. The first Thread will be titled "Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan." The title of each other Thread will be the title of the book under discussion on that Thread.
At the bottom right of each Thread, you'll see the word "comments." Click on that and you'll go to all the comments on that thread. At the bottom of that page you'll see a comment box. Make your comment. Below the comment box is a small box that says "Post." Click on that.
Your comment will be sent to me for moderation. This is just a precaution to make sure spam or inappropriate comments don't make it to publication. I don't expect that problem with our local book club, but I've set this blog up so that anyone can register and comment. We already have one follower from outside Alaska, and I hope to get some more. Once I've reviewed each comment, I'll post it to the blog.