Nov. 10 - The Tragedgy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Deck the Halls with Shakespearean tragedy.

At our October meeting, discussion of "Edgar Sawtelle" turned to the fact that Wroblewski's novel is a modern telling of the Hamlet tale (Edgar's uncle=Claude, Hamlet's uncle=Claudius; Edgar's mother=Trudy, Hamlet's mother=Gertrude. A "play within the play" (by a cast of actors/ or dogs) points to the uncle's guilt. Accidental murder of a friend. Death galore.)

So fascinated were we by these intentional parallels that we decided to read the original for December. Copies of Hamet are easy to find, online, through interlibrary loan, maybe even on your bookshelf.

Also easy to find through interlibrary loan are Hamlet-related materials: criticisms, commentaries, teacher's guides, student guides. If we also each select one of these to read, we'll have a variety materials and thoughts to discuss.

I'll also make sure we have a few copies of "The Story of Edgar Sawtell" to complete the afternoon.

Tues, Oct. 13 - Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins

We decided to read this after discussing "Taliban" and admitting how little we know of the history of the East. It's the story of India's movement toward independence from the British Empire.

Both Marilyn and I read "Freedom at Midnight" a l-o-o-o-ng time ago, and we're both looking forward to delving into it again.

Tues, Sep 15, 2009 - Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism... - Ahmed Rashid

(Note change of date this month.)

(Note that this book was originally scheduled for October.)

(Note the above notes.)

Aug 11, 2009 - The Jane Austen Book Club

Our light summer read. All I know about this book is that it's about a book group that meets monthly, five women, one man . . . hey, I think I hear the Twilight Zone theme song. There's the signpost up ahead . . .

After Meeting Report: Considering the comparatively light weight of this "summer read," we actually had an interesting discussion. I was glad to see I wasn't the only reader curious about the odd points of view that seem to shift around. Thanks, Betty, for your preparation.  

Tues, July 14, 2009: The Brothers Karamazov

This is what shows up on our light summer reading list, ladies, when we are sl-o-o-o-w to organized our schedule: one of the thickest, densest, patronym-loaded of the Russian novels.

And one of the best. I ordered a Cliff's Notes Study Guide to accompany my reading of this tome, which begins tonight.

I'll be emailing y'all with a dire warning: we need to schedule a few months in advance. I'm planning, at our July meeting, to be a Grumpy Old Man and insist that we set up our reading list for the fall at the beginning of the meeting. This will prevent our probing discussion of Ilya Mikhailovich "Mika" Karamazov's relationship with Nikolas "Nikita" Mikhailovich "Mikel" Karamazov Jr. from running too long.

Tues., June 9 - The Good Shepherd - C.S. Forester

Be sure you get the Forester novel; as you might imagine, there are a lot of religious/inspirational books with "The Good Shepherd" in the title.

Life of Pi

When we left our last meeting, I was put in charge of trying out out this book to see if it was safe for Marilyn to read.

A few weeks later, before I'd had a chance to begin, I got a call at the library. It was Marilyn, saying she was enjoying "The Life of Pi," and that I should be sure to read the introduction carefully.

I did, and am happy to say I'm enjoying the book immensely.

The Glass Castle- Jeanette Wall

MAR 10 2009 - The Glass Whistle Castle, Jeanette Wall.

Ta-da!

Here it is, three weeks after our last meeting, and I've finished the site I told you I could make in 45 minutes.

A small item to talk about at our February 10 meeting: the day of our March 10 meeting will be busy at the library, as the referendum consultants will be in town. It would help if we could meet that day a half hour later, at 4:30.

See you soon!

Frank.

In Cold Blood

I was fascinated to learn at the January meeting that Harper Lee helped Capote with his research. Apparently they were childhood friends. I either never knew this or forgot it decades ago.

Harper Lee is quoted as saying that the character of "Dill"--the nerdy boy next door--in "To Kill a Mockingbird" was based on Capote.

The End - Books we have read

Anywhere But Here -- Mona Simpson
Atlas Shrugged -- Ayn Rand
A Prayer for Owen Meany -- John Irving
Cider House Rules -- John Irving
Crazy in Alabama -- Mark Childress
Deliverance -- James Dickey
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- Robert Louis Stevenson
East of Eden -- John Steinbeck
Ethan Frome -- Edith Warton
Fahrenheit 451 -- Ray Bradbury
Flags of Our Fathers -- James Bradley with Ron Powers
Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus -- Mary Shelley
Freedom -- Jonathan Franzen
Freedom at Midnight -- Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
Gilead -- Marilynne Robinson
Haunted Mesa -- Louis L’Amour
In Cold Blood -- Truman Capote
Is Paris Burning? -- Larry Collins
Life on the Mississippi -- Mark Twain
Mayflower -- Nathaniel Philbrick
My Grandfather’s Son -- Clarence Thomas
My Sister’s Keeper -- Jodi Picoult
Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science -- Charles Wheelan
Pale Horse, Pale Rider -- Katherine Anne Porter
Pillars of the Earth -- Ken Follett
Postville -- Stephen Bloom
The Professor and the Madman -- Simon Winchester
Riders of the Purple Sage -- Zane Grey
Running With Scissors -- Augusten Burroughs
Salvation on Sand Mountain -- Dennis Covington
Sarah's Key -- Tatiana de Rosnay
Saturday -- Ian McEwan
Slaughterhouse-Five -- Kurt Vonnegut
Snow -- Orhan Pamuk
Sophie’s Choice -- William Styron
Tending to Virginia -- Jill Mccorkle
That Old Cape Magic -- Richard Russo
The Bluest Eye -- Toni Morrison
The Brothers Karamazov -- Dostoevsky
The Circus in Winter -- Cathy Day
The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer
The Color of Water -- James McBride
The Corrections -- Jonathan Franzen
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time -- Mark Haddon
The Devil in the White City -- Erik Larson
The Glass Castle -- Jeanette Wall
The Good Shepherd -- C.S. Forester
The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet -- Jamie Ford
The Immortal Life on Henrietta Lacks -- Rebecca Skloot
The Jungle -- Upton Sinclair
The Kite Runner --  Khaled Hosseini 
The Left Hand of Darkness -- Ursula K. LeGuin
The Life of Pi -- Yann Martel
The Lincoln Lawyer -- Michael Connelly
The Peabody Sisters -- Megan Marshall
The Poisonwood Bible -- Barbara Kingsolver
The Professor and the Madman -- Simon Winchester
The Secret Life of Bees -- Sue Monk Kidd
The Help -- Kathryn Stockett
The Stories of John Cheever -- John Cheever
The Things They Carried -- Tim O’Brien
The White Tiger -- Aravand Adiga
The Year of Pleasures -- Elizabeth Berg
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe 
Three Cups of Tea -- Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Wide Sargasso Sea -- Jean Rhys

About us

The Nulli Secundus Literary Society was formed in Aledo, Illinois in the late 19th century. As well as pursuing literary interests, Nulli Secundus (Latin for "Second to None") sponsored entertainments and dancing to live music for the price of 25 cents, profits used to buy school materials.

The Mercer Carnegie Library Book Group, formed in 2005, maintains an eclectic reading list of books and discusses the latest "read" on the second Tuesday of each month.

Controversy rages as to whether this newer group is a continuation of the Nulli Secundus organization or is a separate entity. It's a quiet rage, however, so soft that you hardly notice it. An uninformed observer might watch members of both factions sitting together around the table discussing "The Peabody Sisters" or "The Jungle" and have no idea that mortal combat was in progress.

The Slush Pile

Books under consideration. Feel free to submit ideas. (You can quickly check a book's availability by using RSACAT.)

Available through Interlibrary Loan

• The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama 
  
• The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
  
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
  
• Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
  
• Taliban: Militant Islam, oil, and fundamentalism in Central Asia - Rashid Ahmed

Not yet widely available

• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski