What we’re about
The Morristown Book Club
For those interested in our in-person only Book Club Meetups, they are now listed on Bookclubs.com, as the "Florham Park Readers Group". You can join us at this link: https://bookclubs.com/clubs/6022268/join/fb34f2/
History of this group:
Founded in 2011 by the manager of Zebu Forno (now closed but it was a great place on South Street); we have since had a stint at Atlanta Bread in Madison – now also closed – and after that Panera Bread in Morristown (until it also closed) , then the one in Florham Park. Now, we have switched to the Florham Park Diner, across the street – it is much quieter, and the temperature is more moderate. See above to join us.
We started as a typical book club – reading mostly "literary" best-sellers with some non-fiction sprinkled in, all suggested by members. Then we had a phase where we each picked books that had special meaning for us, and discussed them with the group. Also we did a string of great YA fiction... We then tried a "featured writer" approach, first Haruki Murakami (our members are called "Laikas" in remembrance of "Sputnik Sweetheart"), then Pat Conroy, and finally Virginia Woolf. Now we are picking books from the NYT list of the best books of this century, and all have been winners!
The Summit Sunday Book Club
We started up in 9 years ago in the winter of 2014. For the first couple of years, we met at the lovely Summit home of our founder, Amy P., always on Sunday afternoons.
Amy envisioned a sort of salon where we’d gather to discuss literary books over tea and cookies. She did a great job of selecting a diverse mix of books as well as moderating our discussions.
After Amy left in 2016 it took a few of us to fill her shoes. Suzanne organized and led us in choosing books while others pitched in to host us and/or provide the treats we had come to enjoy. We met less and less often, finding home hosting a challenge to schedule. But we soldiered on until COVID nearly shut us down.
That’s how we ended up online. At first we just exchanged recommendations for books, movies, TV, and local outdoor escapes to help us get through the lockdown. Last year we returned to our tradition of choosing/discussing individual books with more of us getting involved. Through our reading we traveled all over the place and back and forward in time.
We still meet virtually. We continue to look to the experts in the book biz for recommendations. They include reviewers, critics, and literary organizations from all sorts of media. All their output makes it much easier to find books that are likely to be interesting, informative and “discussion-worthy”.
Over the years we’ve learned that everyone’s book preferences are very different. It’s folly to promise you’ll love every book we choose. Instead, by choosing a wide variety of great books, we hope sooner or later to come up with some that intrigue you and a few that really inspire you. To learn more about us please join us at our next meeting.
The Everywhere Else Book Club
During the pandemic, we started to do Shakespeare readings over Zoom, and acquired members who are from elsewhere and who can't attend in-person gatherings. We are expanding the Zoom meetings to do more Shakespeare, and other authors. These are mostly "read-together" meetups; come-as-you-are; no pre-reading needed.
The Shakespeare readings are named in honor of our long-time participant, Milt Commons.
Upcoming events
145
•OnlineRead-Aloud: "The Threepenny Opera" by Bertholdt Brecht
Online(In our readalouds, the text is screen-shared. No experience in reading aloud or prep necessary.)
(Wiki:) The Threepenny Opera[a] (Die Dreigroschenoper [diː dʁaɪˈɡʁɔʃn̩ˌʔoːpɐ]) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, The Beggar's Opera,[1] and four ballads by François Villon, with music by Kurt Weill. Although there is debate as to how much contribution Hauptmann might have made to the libretto, Brecht is usually listed as sole author and Hauptmann as the sole translator, which was probably an unfair oversimplification typical of the time.
The work offers a socialist critique of the capitalist world.[3] It opened on 31 August 1928 at Berlin's Theater am Schiffbauerdamm.
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The Threepenny Opera offers an ideal starting point for understanding Brecht’s theoretical and practical work. It is a transition piece between his earlier plays, which are sometimes considered both expressionist and anarchic (Baal or Galy Gay), and his famous dramatic parables, mostly written in exile (Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Person of Szechwan and Life of Galileo, for example). Brecht used Threepenny as a testing ground, experimenting with new dramaturgical and technological devices (such as projections of scene titles, visible staging machinery and non-traditional ways of acting) as well as narrative and musical forms which would come to shape his typically ‘epic’ approach to theatre-making.
Brecht, Bertolt; Weill, Kurt. The Threepenny Opera (Student Editions) (pp. xvi-xvii). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.
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Latecomers (unless we know you) will generally NOT BE ADMITTED once the reading starts.
If this is your first time with us, consider joining five minutes early, so we can work out any technical issues you may be having.2 attendees
Past events
774
Group links
Organizers
Members
1,389
