For the three hundred or so of you who have signed up, enlisted your friends and begun reading—Welcome to the BackStage BookClub. We’re happy you’re here; please spread the word—the more, the merrier.
I heard David Carr, media critic for the New York Times, describe a blog as “a large yellow Lab: fun, friendly, not all that bright, constantly wanting attention.” In appeasement of all you cat lovers out there, he also noted that a blog can be “bottomless…needy…begetting an obsessive dalliance.”
Were it so: here at the BackStage BookClub, our dog goes hungry. It’s not that we don’t love dogs (and cats, heh)—it’s just the pace of things around Mondavi Center is hectic this time of year.
That said, hectic is as hectic blogs. Here goes:
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
TWO PULITZER-PRIZE WINNERS
MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 20
I hope most of you are wrapping up your reading of this year’s first book A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. Ms. Smiley will be in Jackson Hall on Monday, October 20 at 5 pm to discuss with UC Davis faculty Gina Bloom the path of taking Shakespeare From Page To Stage. The comparisons of A Thousand Acres with King Lear are too numerous to count (see this excellent review by Ron Carlson); between her erudite grasp of the Bard and Dr. Bloom’s expertise in contemporary stagings of Shakespeare, we hope to take your experience with the book and deepen it a whit.
Do mark your calendar—it’s a free event with a Pulitzer Prize winner after all—and there’s plenty of seats in Jackson Hall for you, your bookclub—gee, bring your extended family, kids in the neighborhood, associates you don’t generally associate with.
WHEN: Monday, 10/20, 5 pm
WHERE: Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center
I hope most of you are wrapping up your reading of this year’s first book A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. Ms. Smiley will be in Jackson Hall on Monday, October 20 at 5 pm to discuss with UC Davis faculty Gina Bloom the path of taking Shakespeare From Page To Stage. The comparisons of A Thousand Acres with King Lear are too numerous to count (see this excellent review by Ron Carlson); between her erudite grasp of the Bard and Dr. Bloom’s expertise in contemporary stagings of Shakespeare, we hope to take your experience with the book and deepen it a whit.
Do mark your calendar—it’s a free event with a Pulitzer Prize winner after all—and there’s plenty of seats in Jackson Hall for you, your bookclub—gee, bring your extended family, kids in the neighborhood, associates you don’t generally associate with.
WHEN: Monday, 10/20, 5 pm
WHERE: Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center
NEXT BATTAH, NEXT BATTAH—SCHWING
Our next book is of an entirely different breed, penned by yet another Pulitzer-Prize winner. Tracy Kidder went in search of Dr. Paul Farmer, a driven, compassionate doctor who, in considering the medical needs of the very poorest, challenged basic tenet after basic tenet as to how medicine is practiced in the Third World. Mountains Beyond Mountains is a rich, rich book—from its considerations of the health care industry to the complexities of globalization, all cast from the unflinching eye of a doctor who, simply stated, is a heroic, certain figure in contemporary medicine.
Mountains Beyond Mountains is this year’s Campus Book Project at UC Davis, which means hundreds--nay—thousands-- of people are reading the book both on campus and in the community. It also means that UC Davis has dozens of presentations centered around the book itself.
For our part at Mondavi Center, we are bringing Tracy Kidder to Jackson Hall to give a ticketed lecture about his book. A first-class speaker and a writer of broad curiousity, he has said that Mountains Beyond Mountains is his best book. Scheduled for 8 pm on December 1 in Jackson Hall, the insights Mr. Kidder will share will be rich.
Mr. Kidder will also participate in a panel discussion about the globalization of health care at 4 pm that day, also in Jackson Hall.
We made numerous attempts to bring Dr. Farmer to campus; his busy schedule simply would not allow. Here’s why.
Mountains Beyond Mountains is this year’s Campus Book Project at UC Davis, which means hundreds--nay—thousands-- of people are reading the book both on campus and in the community. It also means that UC Davis has dozens of presentations centered around the book itself.
For our part at Mondavi Center, we are bringing Tracy Kidder to Jackson Hall to give a ticketed lecture about his book. A first-class speaker and a writer of broad curiousity, he has said that Mountains Beyond Mountains is his best book. Scheduled for 8 pm on December 1 in Jackson Hall, the insights Mr. Kidder will share will be rich.
Mr. Kidder will also participate in a panel discussion about the globalization of health care at 4 pm that day, also in Jackson Hall.
We made numerous attempts to bring Dr. Farmer to campus; his busy schedule simply would not allow. Here’s why.
BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG SAVINGS!!!!
The UC Davis Bookstore will sell you a copy of Mountains Beyond Mountains for a little over nine bucks. Here’s directions to the store.
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Mondavi Center is taking the BackStage BookClub global!
Welcome to BackStage BookClub at Mondavi Center.
We hope to assist you as you gather a few good friends around a few good books, to read, to discuss, to deepen your involvement with some truly worthwhile works.
Mondavi Center can help you start a book club by doing what we do best.
Mondavi Center launched its BackStage BookClub in 2008 and demand immediately outpaced the available space. This spawned the following idea: we’ve chosen four books that tie into Mondavi Center artists, lectures and themes—uniting the performing arts, spoken word events, and the literary arts under one big roof, with room for all.
Each of the books the BackStage BookClub offers has a connection with a performance, lecture or panel discussion at Mondavi Center. All are open to the public; many are free; what’s most important is that they will allow you and your book club an unusual opportunity to meet an author, hear a discussion, or consider a facet of a great book you may not have considered any other way.
In addition, we’ll provide those who join us with access to a blog, discount coupons for the select books at the UC Davis Bookstore, and study guides.
We invite you to use our books four months out of the year, and choose your own books for four (or more months) out of the year. Have your group read with us in September (Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres), November (Tracy Kidder’s Mountain Beyond Mountains), January (Anne Sexton’s Transformations) and March (Ishmael Beah’s Long Way Gone).
Choose your own books in October, December, February and April. Meet every month for a discussion with your friends; every other month, we’ll give you a couple of reasons to get out of the house and drop by Mondavi Center for a further deepening of your reading experience.
The best book clubs have a lot in common: a few friends gather, select books they want to read, and gather monthly in a living room for a lively discussion, a libation and dessert. Consider this a book club with a twist.
Sound good? Sign up at http://www.mondaviarts.org/bookclub/ The more people from your club that sign up, the better.
FAQs
What can Mondavi Center add to a bookclub of comprised of me and my friends? Conversations with authors, artists, speakers, UC Davis faculty; coupons for discounts on books; resources to make your read more enjoyable—a blog, links, questions for discussion... All for free.
Any advice on how to put together a bookclub? Why, sure:
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/20080701_orig_bookclub/2
http://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=starting_club
http://www.bookclubs.ca/pdfs/resources.pdf
http://classiclit.about.com/c/ht/00/07/How_Start_Book_Club0962934774.htm
We hope to assist you as you gather a few good friends around a few good books, to read, to discuss, to deepen your involvement with some truly worthwhile works.
Mondavi Center can help you start a book club by doing what we do best.
Mondavi Center launched its BackStage BookClub in 2008 and demand immediately outpaced the available space. This spawned the following idea: we’ve chosen four books that tie into Mondavi Center artists, lectures and themes—uniting the performing arts, spoken word events, and the literary arts under one big roof, with room for all.
Each of the books the BackStage BookClub offers has a connection with a performance, lecture or panel discussion at Mondavi Center. All are open to the public; many are free; what’s most important is that they will allow you and your book club an unusual opportunity to meet an author, hear a discussion, or consider a facet of a great book you may not have considered any other way.
In addition, we’ll provide those who join us with access to a blog, discount coupons for the select books at the UC Davis Bookstore, and study guides.
We invite you to use our books four months out of the year, and choose your own books for four (or more months) out of the year. Have your group read with us in September (Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres), November (Tracy Kidder’s Mountain Beyond Mountains), January (Anne Sexton’s Transformations) and March (Ishmael Beah’s Long Way Gone).
Choose your own books in October, December, February and April. Meet every month for a discussion with your friends; every other month, we’ll give you a couple of reasons to get out of the house and drop by Mondavi Center for a further deepening of your reading experience.
The best book clubs have a lot in common: a few friends gather, select books they want to read, and gather monthly in a living room for a lively discussion, a libation and dessert. Consider this a book club with a twist.
Sound good? Sign up at http://www.mondaviarts.org/bookclub/ The more people from your club that sign up, the better.
FAQs
What can Mondavi Center add to a bookclub of comprised of me and my friends? Conversations with authors, artists, speakers, UC Davis faculty; coupons for discounts on books; resources to make your read more enjoyable—a blog, links, questions for discussion... All for free.
Any advice on how to put together a bookclub? Why, sure:
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/20080701_orig_bookclub/2
http://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=starting_club
http://www.bookclubs.ca/pdfs/resources.pdf
http://classiclit.about.com/c/ht/00/07/How_Start_Book_Club0962934774.htm
In September, we’ll read A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Here is the Related event:
Shakespeare: From Page to Stage
October 20, 2008 ▪ 5 pm
Jackson Hall ▪ Free
A conversation between Jane Smiley--who took themes from Shakespeare’s King Lear and won a Pulitzer Prize resetting it this modern American novel--and Jeffrey Callison, host of Insight on KXJZ
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
