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.
-- At the end of each session there is time for offering general comments, telling the group how you like / don't like the book, etc.
Upcoming events
7
•OnlineThe Iceman Cometh by Eugene O’Neill – Led by Will
OnlineThe Iceman Cometh by Eugene O’Neill – Led by Will
Eugene O’Neill’s darkest and most nihilistic play
“We live and die, in the spirit, in solitude, and the true strength of Iceman is its intense dramatic exemplification of that somber reality. . . . Life, in Iceman, is what it is in Schopenhauer: illusion.”—Harold Bloom, from the Introduction
The Iceman Cometh focuses on a group of alcoholics and misfits who endlessly discuss but never act on their dreams, and Hickey, the traveling salesman determined to strip them of their pipe dreams. Eugene O’Neill—the first American playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature—completed Iceman in 1939, but he delayed production until after the war, when it enjoyed a long run of performances in 1946 after receiving mixed reviews. Three years after O’Neill’s death, Jason Robards starred in a Broadway revival that brought new critical attention to O’Neill’s darkest and most nihilistic play. Since then, The Iceman Cometh has gained enormously in stature; many critics now recognize it as one of the greatest plays in American drama.
Wikipedia – The Iceman Cometh
Buy on Amazon
Watch a performance on YouTubeThis 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.
22 attendees
•OnlineDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson – Led by Christi
Online### Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson – Led by Christi Williams
This classic Gothic novella tells the story of Dr. Jekyll, a respectable scientist who unleashes his dark alter ego, Mr. Hyde, through a chemical potion. As Hyde's crimes escalate, Jekyll loses control, and the story evolves into a chilling study of duality and repressed desire.
Robert Louis Stevenson published the book in 1886, and it has since become one of the most famous works in horror and psychological fiction. Its influence is far-reaching, exploring themes still relevant in contemporary discussions of identity, morality, and science.
Wikipedia – Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
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.
16 attendees
•OnlineOresteia by Aeschylus – Led by Adam
OnlineThe Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy of ancient Greek tragedies, telling the story of the House of Atreus. Beginning with Agamemnon, it follows a cycle of revenge, culminating in The Eumenides, where the gods intervene to replace blood vengeance with justice and civic order. These plays offer profound insight into the origins of law and morality
Aeschylus, often called the father of tragedy, wrote in 5th-century BCE Athens. The Oresteia represents a foundational moment in Western drama and philosophy, exploring the transition from archaic justice to civilized society.
Buy online from Oxford University Press
Wikipedia – OresteiaThis 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.
9 attendees
Past events
283
