Great Books Grand Rapids

Let's wrap up one of the most classic texts of philosophy with our friends from the Non-Fiction History Book Club! This time we're meeting at their usual location, Schuler Books on 28th St, the Third Saturday at 10am.

We had a great turn out at Küsterer in April for our first discussion of Plato's Republic. Around 20 members came out and we had to break into two tables! We had many great discussions about Socrates' rhetoric and imagination, while also questioning the practicality of ideas and his connection to reality. Dreaming up the ideal city is no easy feat, after all.

Let's pick up from the Cave and find out how he brings this conversation to its conclusion!

Then join us the following Monday back at Küsterer (always the Third Monday at 7pm) as we kick off Homer's Odyssey!

Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's great epic comes out in July, so let's read Homer's Odyssey in May and June before the movie comes out!

If you've never read this foundational classic, this is the perfect time to crack open a copy. The story picks up after the Fall of Troy and Odysseus—an imperfect king, father, and husband—just wants to get home. His adventure is full of shipwrecks, sea monsters, sirens, cyclops, witches, and other challenges. Likewise, his wife and son have their own struggles as they hold out for Odysseus' return.

For this session, just start reading. Several of us have a few chapters to wrap up in Plato, so feel free to just some exposure to the story (Book 6 is probably a good intro, as the first four books are mostly about Telemachus). If you have more time feel free to read up to Book 9 or 10, where Odysseus encounters the Cyclops and Circe. No matter where you get to in the beginning, we'll wrap up the rest in June!

See you soon!
Sam
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Regarding translations
Here are a few recommendations. Robert Fagles has been the standard for the last couple decades for a reason; it's a great balance between being poetic and readable. Personally, I enjoy the speed and bombast of Stanley Lombardo. The prose translation from the Rieus is great—and more poetic than some verse translations I've read. (Also, it looks pretty handsome as the Penguin Clothbound Classics volume.) Peter Green's translation is very good and includes enriching footnotes, but a bit slower compared to others. Finally, Emily Wilson is the only women to translate Homer's epics and she's been all the rage for the past several years in Classicist circles. But in 2026 Daniel Mendelsohn released a new translation—so is he the new hotness?

In any case, here's a pretty crazy tool for comparing the opening lines of the poem in every translation, so you can find which one grips you first: https://bibliothekai.ktema.org/texts/1/translations?

While all have their merits and are interesting, I can personally recommend Fagles, Lombardo, and Rieu, as I've spent the most time with them. Feel free to check out the others and we can compare notes in the discussion. After all, the best commentary is a translation.