What we’re about
We have been in existence as a book club in Houston for over forty years. Our focus is "significant fiction": either classics you might have read in a literature class, or modern major prize winners. We read novels, and occasionally include plays or epic narrative poetry. We are affiliated with Houston Great Books http://www.houstongreatbooks.net and recommend their website for other book clubs of interest.
We meet on the first Thursday evening of each month. You may attend any or all meetings at your choice, regardless of whether you have read the month's book selection. (We ask that only those who have read the book participate actively in the discussions.) We select our books twice a year, six months at a time. If you like what we do and wish to take a part in selecting future books, you are welcome to join our selection team.
Our meetings occur simultaneously on-line (on Zoom) and in-person, in the Rice Village area of Houston, Texas. Our in-person venue is small and we give priority to regularly-attending members. In-person participants are invited to adjourn to a nearby restaurant following the meeting for socializing.
Our approach centers on the work itself and follows a process of "shared enquiry":
-- The discussion leader provides direction and guidance by asking question. The participants in the group look to the leader for questions, not answers.
-- None of us are experts or authorities. We welcome viewpoints from all participants. We engage in active search for the meaning of a work ... articulate and support ideas with evidence from the text, and consider different plausible meanings.
-- We listen carefully, and disagree respectfully ... pursue the implications of others’ thoughts ... support their different interpretations with evidence from the text.
-- We stay focussed on the work that we all share. Avoid digressing into other works or into our personal life experience or philosophy.
-- We avoid relating the work to politics or current events. We enjoy diverse views on literature but do not welcome political statements or arguments.
Notice to Authors:
We’ve been alerted to an email scam involving fraudulent messages that falsely claim to solicit books for presentation in our club. Unfortunately, we cannot prevent messages sent outside of Meetup.com from misusing our name. If you receive such offers, please disregard them—they are not legitimate communications from Houston Montrose Great Books.
Upcoming events
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•OnlineAbsalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner – Led by Travis
OnlineAbsalom, Absalom! is Faulkner’s haunting Southern Gothic masterpiece, telling the story of Thomas Sutpen, a man obsessed with founding a dynasty in Mississippi. Through a shifting chorus of narrators and a layered narrative structure, Faulkner explores memory, race, ambition, and the South’s tragic legacy. The novel is challenging but rewarding, steeped in rich prose and psychological depth.
William Faulkner, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, is one of America’s most important literary figures. Absalom, Absalom! is widely considered his most ambitious and complex work. Its influence is immense, resonating with scholars and writers for its formal innovation and its deep moral and historical inquiry.
Wikipedia – Absalom, Absalom!
This meeting will take place online via Zoom. Once you RSVP, you’ll see an “Online Event” link—click it to access the Zoom registration page.
A limited number of in-person spots (in Houston, TX) are available. If you’d like to request one, please message the Organizer through Meetup and include your return email address.21 attendees
•OnlineThe House of Mirth by Edith Wharton – Led by Adam
OnlineThe House of Mirth follows Lily Bart, a beautiful but penniless woman navigating the social expectations of New York’s elite in the early 20th century. Trapped between the desire for freedom and the pressure to marry well, Lily’s downfall is as much a result of societal cruelty as her own missteps.
Edith Wharton was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This 1905 novel marked her emergence as a major literary voice, dissecting the moral failings and constraints of American high society with elegance and insight.
Wikipedia – The House of Mirth
This meeting will take place online via Zoom. Once you RSVP, you’ll see an “Online Event” link—click it to access the Zoom registration page.
A limited number of in-person spots (in Houston, TX) are available. If you’d like to request one, please message the Organizer through Meetup and include your return email address.8 attendees
•OnlineA Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. – Led by Leigh
OnlineA Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction classic that follows a Catholic monastic order over centuries as they preserve fragments of knowledge after a nuclear holocaust. Structured in three interlinked parts, the novel examines the rise and fall of civilizations and humanity’s enduring struggle between faith, science, and self-destruction.
Walter M. Miller Jr., a WWII veteran, won the Hugo Award for this novel, which blends speculative fiction with theological and philosophical inquiry. It remains a landmark in science fiction for its intellectual depth and moral seriousness.
Wikipedia – A Canticle for Leibowitz
This meeting will take place online via Zoom. Once you RSVP, you’ll see an “Online Event” link—click it to access the Zoom registration page.
A limited number of in-person spots (in Houston, TX) are available. If you’d like to request one, please message the Organizer through Meetup and include your return email address.5 attendees
Past events
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