Reading a book with friends is a joy unto itself. Discussing the different perspectives, themes, characters and styles adds to the appreciation of any piece of writing. But when you have the chance to discuss literature with a true master, entire new worlds are laid bare for your unmitigated enjoyment. Plot points and symbols that you may not have considered will be revealed and the story can take on an entirely new light as layer upon layer is unveiled for your appreciation. Fortunately for OLLI at OU members, Professor David Anderson is just such a master teacher, and his expertise in the relationship between literature and religion is sure to spark some interesting discussion for book club participants.
“The book club will allow us to have a sustained discussion of a single text, while also considering some of the larger themes that will pervade the texts chosen for each semester”, says Professor Anderson whose latest book Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England: Tragedy, Religion, and Violence on Stage was published last year by Ashgate Press.
This semester the University of Oklahoma Book Club will focus primarily on works of fiction. Professor Anderson sees the Book Club as a cousin to the Poetry Club he hosts monthly on OU’s Norman campus. Each session will begin with Professor Anderson offering a few thoughts on the selected book, and then the group will discuss their ideas and impressions about the chosen texts.
OLLI members will experience benefits from joining this book club: new books with new people, intellectual stimulation, and the building of lifelong friendships to name a few. Joining a book club is both an escape and a journey into something rich and wonderful. It is a safe place for participants to exchange and challenge ideas, while welcoming new perspectives that add to the overall learning and comprehension.
But the rewards from being a part of such a mind opening book club far outweigh the simple pleasures of reading on one's own. Not only will you be privy to Professor Anderson's insights, but you will have the chance to share ideas with like-minded readers. And it is the camaraderie, the lively discourse, the cross pollination of ideas and perspectives that make the OKC Book Club such a popular course for our OLLI students.
Your involvement enriches everyone's experience exponentially. This Book Club will meet once a month throughout the Fall semester at the Samis Center in Oklahoma City, starting Thursday, August 20 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. The book list for the fall semester includes: 1) Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, 2) Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, 3) Desolation Island by Patrick O’Brian, 4) The Fortune of War by Patrick O’Brian, 5) I Claudius by Robert Graves.
For more information:
Go to pacs.ou.edu/OLLI to sign up today or call our office at 405-325-3488 and register for the OKC Book Club today, where a wide world of reading awaits.
