August Book Club: “The Long Way Home

Book: The Odyssey by Homer (translation of your choice — we can recommend a few!)

As summer wanes and the season shifts, join us for a journey that has shaped Western storytelling for over 2,500 years. The Odyssey is more than myth — it’s the ultimate tale of return, identity, and the trials that test who we are. With the upcoming film adaptation on the horizon and renewed interest in modern feminist retellings (The Song of Penelope trilogy, Circe, and more), this ancient text has never felt more alive.

We’ll explore Odysseus’s long voyage home, Penelope’s quiet strength, the monsters and metaphors that challenge him — and the epic’s enduring impact on how we think about storytelling, loyalty, and transformation.

A few things to consider as you read:

• Are you enjoying the book? Does it feel surprisingly accessible, or more distant and mythic than you expected?
• Which characters resonate with you most — Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, Athena, Circe, or someone else entirely?
• Is Odysseus a hero you admire, tolerate, question, or all three at once?
• Which encounters or episodes feel the most memorable, strange, moving, or symbolic?
• What does “home” seem to mean in this story? Is Ithaca a place, a person, a goal, or an idea?
• How does the epic balance adventure with loneliness, longing, and loss?
• Why do you think these stories continue to be retold and reimagined thousands of years later?

And for a lighter touch:

• Which mythical stop on the journey would you most want to visit — and which would you avoid at all costs?
• If you were casting a modern adaptation, who would make an ideal Odysseus or Penelope?

This is a passion pick for me, and I’m thrilled to be hosting. Whether you’re reading it for the first time or revisiting an old favorite, come ready for wine-dark seas, sharp discussion, and a fresh look at the foundations of myth.