Classic Novels Book Club: Expectations and Guidelines

In our first meeting (July 2018) the group sketched out some reasons for wanting to be part of the book club and expectations they have. Here’s what we came up with:

1. Motivation. Why did people join this group? It will hopefully inspire all of us to read the classics!

2. Rant/Share. This should be a place where people can rant about books (or aspects of books) which they don’t like as well as share what they enjoy.

3. To Finish or Not to Finish… While everyone is encouraged to finish books before book club meetings, we also understand people have busy lives or may have lost motivation to finish certain books. Everyone is welcome, regardless of how far along they got in the book. Just don’t expect the group to keep quiet regarding spoilers!

4. Help. Another big factor in being part of a book club is the assistance we can offer each other in reaching a greater understanding of books, whether it be unpacking a complicated plot, understanding characters’ motivations, or delving into the themes behind a story.

5. Social/Talk About Books. A book club offers a chance to make connections with others. We want the chance to gather with others who enjoy reading and discussing what they’ve read.

6. Movies. We also agreed it is perfectly acceptable to watch the movie adaptations of books. Part of our discussions may even be about the differences between a book and its movie version.

7. Agree to Disagree. It is important that people can express their honest opinions about the books and the feelings they evoke. We must understand that we won’t always agree and that it is okay to have these differences of opinion.

8. Author Background. We also talked about the value of knowing some background about a book’s author and the possible motivations and context in which the book was written.

9. The Discussion Board. Members are encouraged to use the comments section on the meetup page in between meetings to ask questions, post links or videos, give insights about the author and the background of the book, and share observations and thoughts about the book.

10. The Meeting Space. As of this writing, our meetings have always been at one of the Johnson County public libraries. Know that you are permitted to bring food and drink, but the library does not allow alcohol or any kind of cooking.

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Last updated 7/12/2021. For more information about the Classic Novels Book Club, go to the meetup site.

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A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving Published This Month

Last updated 7/6/2020.

A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving

First Publication: March 1989 Category: novel with religious themes Sales: ?

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: From A Prayer for Owen Meany: “I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.” AZ The seventh novel from John Irving “tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960s.” WK “In the summer of 1953, [the] two eleven-year-old boys…are playing in a Little League baseball game.” AZ Owen hits a foul ball which kills John’s mother. Owen “doesn’t believe in accidents; …[he] believes he is God’s instrument. What happens…after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary.” AZ “The novel is also a homage to Günter Grass’ most famous novel, The Tin Drum. Grass was a great influence for John Irving, as well as a close friend. The main characters of both novels, Owen Meany and Oskar Matzerath, share the same initials as well as some other characteristics, and their stories show some parallels. Irving has confirmed the similarities. A Prayer for Owen Meany, however, follows an independent and separate plot.” WK “The novel deals with serious spiritual issues, such as the importance of faith, matters of social justice, and the concept of fate.” WK “John and Owen both offer criticisms of organized religion and religious hypocrisy,” WK but Owen “is quite certain that he will die because he is an ‘instrument of God’ and thus will serve some good and important purpose.” WK Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon WK Wikipedia Plot Overview (SparkNotes) Summary (Shmoop) Characters (SparkNotes) Analytical Overview (SparkNotes) study guide available on Amazon (Book Caps)

In July 2018, I became the organizer of the Classic Novels Book Club. Check out the Book Club tab here or Meetup for more information. This is our January 2019 book.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez Published 10 Years Ago Today

Last updated 7/6/2020.

One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez

First Publication: May 30, 1967 Category: magic realism novel Sales: 50 million

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude is “The greatest moment in magical realist fiction” TG and “one of the 20th century’s enduring works,” BN “García Márquez's passionate, humorous history of Macondo and its founding family, the Buendías, has the seductive power of myth.” TG “Alternately reverential and comical, [it] weaves the political, personal, and spiritual to bring a new consciousness to storytelling. Translated into dozens of languages, this stunning work is no less than an accounting of the history of the human race.” BN “Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women – brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul – this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.” AZ “It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.” BN “Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility - the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth - these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel García Márquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master.” BN Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon BN Barnes & Noble Prezi.com “Buendía Family Tree” Sparknotes.com “Character list” Sparknotes.com “Plot Overview” TG Telegraph: The Perfect Library

In July 2018, I became the organizer of the Classic Novels Book Club. Check out the Book Club tab here or Meetup for more information. This is our November 2018 book.