What we’re about
Welcome to reading aloud together and book discussions over zoom. Full length novels, short stories, essays, letters and diaries on Tuesday night. Non-fiction and modern to contemporary fiction, regular book club format. From time to time there are table reads of plays on Fridays. The remaining days of the week are open. Suggestions welcome.
We have a lot of fun. We read the entire book or the entire play together, from first page to last. Co-organizer Mark L. and I have found this to be a terrific way to get to know a writer, and to share with other readers. Currently we're reading Virginia Woolf, and writers connected to her.
Format for the read-alongs: At each session, a volunteer will recap the previous week's readings, and introduce the upcoming material. We will then take turns reading a few paragraphs at time, stopping for discussion as we go. Link to free copy of the text provided.
This is cool for books because: We gain a shared, thorough understanding of the book. We may take weeks and months to explore a novel (and the writer’s world). Also, you don’t “have to” prepare in advance. No anxiety-inducing deadline reading! Plus the obvious benefits of Zoom: not only can you attend in the comfort of your jammies, but you get to meet people from all over the world. By the way, vocal participation not required; some prefer to come and just listen.
Also, from time to time we read a variety of plays, from all eras, using scripts available on-line. Cold reads can be challenging, and few of us have done theater; but we learn a lot and have fun doing it. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/theater/plays-to-read-out-loud.html
Most of us will be non-professional speakers, learners and enthusiasts. Non-native speakers of English are especially welcome. People of all ages, gender orientations, ethnicities: please come. The only “rule”: be mindful of each others’ experience in the session.
Me: Literary fiction, history, biography, general non-fiction, natural history, poetry, and more. Louise Erdrich, Salman Rushdie, David Mitchell, Yann Martel, Toni Morrison, Lauren Groff, Madeline Miller, and many more. Most of these discovered via Meetup book clubs.
Cheers,
Sherry
***
By Hazel, our Founder, now retired:
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ~Dr. Seuss
I've tried joining a few book clubs that were genre specific (chick lit), gender specific (chicks only), and author specific (Stephen King) but as none seemed to satisfy my palate, I thought I'd try to see if there were others like me, i.e. those who can equally enjoy the likes of Jane Austen, Stephen King, Shakespeare, Neil Gaiman, Dean Koontz as well as nonfiction books. Chosen as "One of the 5 Best Book Clubs to Join in New York" by CBS Local* ! (in 2012)
Story About The Name of this Book Club:
I am a huge Jane Austen fan and attended a Jane Austen Discussion at the Morgan Library featuring modern day authors whose works were a tribute to Jane Austen literature. One of the authors, Ben Winters, had written "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monster"' published by Quirk Classics. I admit that I had read "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by the same publisher and had no desire to read another work from their publishing house. During the Q&A session, Ben Winters confessed to an audience mostly comprised of the Jane Austen Society of North America that he had actually disliked Jane Austen in school and wrote his book to appeal to a larger audience. What caught my attention was an audience member who had read the book asked him to confirm the HP Lovecraft references in the book. (HP Lovecraft?!). He affirmed this, adding that other influences for the book included Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson. This intrigued me and yes I did go "Hmmmm..." buying the book that same day and devouring it over the weekend.That experience taught me to keep an open mind and inspired me to create this book club. As Ben wrote when he autographed my copy "Come on in, the water's fine.."
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- The Waves by Virginia WoolfLink visible for attendees
Links to FREE online copies of all texts will be provided in the comments section of this event page, shortly before our start time.
WELCOME: to our in-session reading and discussion of literature by and near Virginia Woolf, every Tuesday evening.
Tonight we continue our several-months-long journey through the most experimental, and most poetically beautiful, of Woolf's nine novels. This is a slow reading group, so please don't hesitate to jump in "midstream". You'll get the gist, and we focus on the current text.
In this book, six friends grow from childhood through late adulthood. "The power of communicating with profound insight and discriminating exactness experiences which are widespread and produce in the reader a sense of recognition is an essential part of Virginia Woolf’s creative gift, though it is not the whole. It is developed to its fullest extent in The Waves."
In addition to reading and discussing the text itself, we will deepen our understanding by reading excerpts from Woolf's relevant letters and diaries, and by tracing her friends' and family's lives which are woven through the characters, as well as other biographic information. For example, there is a quite a bit of Woolf's sister, the artist Vanessa Bell, in one of the current characters. Therefore, we will also be looking at Bell's life and paintings over the next few weeks, in conjunction with our reading of the novel.
Prior familiarity with the material is not necessary to enjoy these evenings. Taking turns, we read aloud during the session, discovering and discussing as we go. For those who do like to pre-read and even read ahead, here is a free copy of The Waves: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0201091h.html
Aim: To have fun! A deep dive, to gain some degree of understanding and appreciation of the text.
Who: We are mostly non-professional readers, learners and enthusiasts. Non-native speakers of English especially welcome. All ages, gender orientations, ethnicities. Friendly people, mindful of each others’ experience in the session.
Where: Zoom. The link will be visible when you rsvp.
How to prepare: No prep necessary. We do our reading IN the sessions, out loud, taking turns.
What to bring: An open mind and a sense of humor. The text will be provided free of charge during the zoom via pdf or screen share.
Format: We take turns, with each person reading a few paragraphs at time out loud, pausing for discussion as we go. Reading aloud and discussing not required. It is fine to simply listen; most people do discover that they love reading aloud.
PLEASE NOTE:
- We begin on time. If you need to arrive later, log in to the zoom waiting room and you will be integrated into the group once we come to a natural stopping point. Special note to first timers: you are most welcome. However, due to the nature of the reading experience, and a recent plague of zoom bombers, if a first timer needs to log in after our scheduled start time, please first direct message Sherry or Mark an hour or more ahead of the start time. Otherwise, if you come late, you will not be admitted .
- Links to free online copies of all texts will be provided in the comments on the event page. will be announced every Tuesday, in the comments section.
- Please open the material and find the starting point as you are logging in, so you will be ready to go.
- Readings ABOUT Shakespeare (and his plays)Link visible for attendees
This is a read-aloud session, with all text shared on-screen. You do not need to purchase the book for yourself, although we encourage you to do so.
For the foreseeable future, we will be reading from a selection of works about William Shakespeare and his plays.
Our primary works are Marjorie Garber's "Shakespeare After All" and "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare".
The main plan is to read about Shakespeare plays in the chronological order adopted by Garber, and synchronized to the live readings of the plays we do later in same evening in our "Milt Commons Shakespeare" sessions. See upcoming event listings for details.
Our typical rotation is to first read what Garber has to say about the current play, then in the next week or two, read Isaac Asimov, Harold Bloom, and Mark Van Doren's chapters on the play.
If we decide we have read enough about a particular play, we turn to "Will in the World".
The reading for the current session will generally be given in a pinned comment on the event page.
***
Late-comers, unless we know you, will generally not be admitted, as it disrupts the reading. However, it's fine for attendees to drop off at any time they want. - Milt Commons Shakespeare: "Henry VI, Part 1"Link visible for attendees
Join us in reading Shakespeare plays out loud; no prior experience needed. We assign roles by scenes, and discuss the scenes after.
You only need a copy of the play to participate; we use the Folger's online version: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works
We will commence or resume our reading of our current play from where we left off the previous week.***
We are temporary suspending our viewing of a performance of the play at 9pm. We will resume when we reach Part 2 of Henry VI.
***A quick overview of Shakespeare: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/The-Plays-of-Williams-Shakespeare--A-Complete-Guide-20240317
An article about the Folger Shakespeare Collection reopening: https://wapo.st/4c5w4vc.
The Shakespeare readings are named in honor of our long-time participant, Milt Commons.
***
Click on the link at right to join the Zoom meeting. You may need to install/update the Zoom software on your device. We usually open the room a little early in case you want to test your settings.Image of the Folger Shakespeare Library Reading Room.
Late-comers, unless we know you, will generally not be admitted, as it disrupts the reading. However, it's fine for attendees to drop off at any time they want.
- The Waves by Virginia WoolfLink visible for attendees
Links to FREE online copies of all texts will be provided in the comments section of this event page, shortly before our start time.
WELCOME: to our in-session reading and discussion of literature by and near Virginia Woolf, every Tuesday evening.
Tonight we continue our several-months-long journey through the most experimental, and most poetically beautiful, of Woolf's nine novels. This is a slow reading group, so please don't hesitate to jump in "midstream". You'll get the gist, and we focus on the current text.
In this book, six friends grow from childhood through late adulthood. "The power of communicating with profound insight and discriminating exactness experiences which are widespread and produce in the reader a sense of recognition is an essential part of Virginia Woolf’s creative gift, though it is not the whole. It is developed to its fullest extent in The Waves."
In addition to reading and discussing the text itself, we will deepen our understanding by reading excerpts from Woolf's relevant letters and diaries, and by tracing her friends' and family's lives which are woven through the characters, as well as other biographic information. For example, there is a quite a bit of Woolf's sister, the artist Vanessa Bell, in one of the current characters. Therefore, we will also be looking at Bell's life and paintings over the next few weeks, in conjunction with our reading of the novel.
Prior familiarity with the material is not necessary to enjoy these evenings. Taking turns, we read aloud during the session, discovering and discussing as we go. For those who do like to pre-read and even read ahead, here is a free copy of The Waves: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0201091h.html
Aim: To have fun! A deep dive, to gain some degree of understanding and appreciation of the text.
Who: We are mostly non-professional readers, learners and enthusiasts. Non-native speakers of English especially welcome. All ages, gender orientations, ethnicities. Friendly people, mindful of each others’ experience in the session.
Where: Zoom. The link will be visible when you rsvp.
How to prepare: No prep necessary. We do our reading IN the sessions, out loud, taking turns.
What to bring: An open mind and a sense of humor. The text will be provided free of charge during the zoom via pdf or screen share.
Format: We take turns, with each person reading a few paragraphs at time out loud, pausing for discussion as we go. Reading aloud and discussing not required. It is fine to simply listen; most people do discover that they love reading aloud.
PLEASE NOTE:
- We begin on time. If you need to arrive later, log in to the zoom waiting room and you will be integrated into the group once we come to a natural stopping point. Special note to first timers: you are most welcome. However, due to the nature of the reading experience, and a recent plague of zoom bombers, if a first timer needs to log in after our scheduled start time, please first direct message Sherry or Mark an hour or more ahead of the start time. Otherwise, if you come late, you will not be admitted .
- Links to free online copies of all texts will be provided in the comments on the event page. will be announced every Tuesday, in the comments section.
- Please open the material and find the starting point as you are logging in, so you will be ready to go.
