December 4, 2020—Richard III, by William Shakespeare

Meeting Content:

We'll be discussing Richard III, by William Shakespeare.
We will also be creating the schedule of books for 2021. Suggestions of books may be sent to greatbookskc@gmail.com.

Please note the following links to assist in plans for preparing the 2021 schedule:
G.B. KC Categories of Books 
G.B. KC What Makes a Great Book 
G.B. KC History of Previous Books 

Meeting Location & Time:
Date: December 4, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm

 Zoom on-line conference
          —an email with link to join will be sent prior to meeting.

          —the link is sent to a limited mailing list of those who have either 

              attended a meeting this year or have requested that their name 

              be included on the mailing list

Description of Book:

Richard III is a play by William Shakespeare. It was probably written around 1593. It is labelled a history in the First Folio, and is usually considered one, but it is sometimes called a tragedy, as in the quartoedition. Richard III concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy (also containing Henry VI, Part 1, and Henry VI, Part 2, and Henry VI, Part 3) and depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England.

October 30, 2020—"A Madman's Diary," by Lu Xun

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be October 30, 2020.

Meeting Content:

     We will discuss "A Madman’s Diary," by Lu Xun.

     Greg Brown recommends the book, "Lu Xun : The Real Story of Ah-Q and 

     Other Tales of China," published by Penguin Classics.

     "A Madman's Diary" is in that book and only 20 pages long, so Greg Brown 

     recommended also reading "The Real Story of Ah-Q."

Meeting Time and Place:
     Date: October 30, 2020
     Time: 7:00 pm
     Zoom on-line conference
          —an email with link to join will be sent prior to meeting.

          —the link is sent to a limited mailing list of those who have either attended 

                 a meeting this year or have requested that their name be included 

                 on the mailing list.

Description of Book:

     "A Madman's Diary" is a short story published in 1918 by Lu Xun, a 

     Chinese writer. It was the first and most influential modern work written 

     in vernacular Chinese in the republican era, and would become a corner

     stone piece of the New Culture Movement. The story was often referred 

     to as "China's first modern short story." This book was selected as one 

     of the 100 best  books in history by the Bokklubben World Library.

September 25, 2020—Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be September 25, 2020.

Meeting Content:

We will discuss "Consolation of Philosophy," by Boethius

Meeting Time and Place:

Date: September 25, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Zoom on-line conference
—an email with link to join will be sent the day prior to meeting.
—If you wish to receive an invitation and haven't attended a meeting recently, send request by email to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com. 

Description of Book:

"The Consolation of Philosophy" is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius, written around the year 524 A.D. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, as well as the last great Western work of the Classical Period.

August 28, 2020—The Town, by Conrad Richter

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be August 28, 2020.

Meeting Content:

We will discuss The Town, from Awakening Land Trilogy, by Conrad Richter 

Meeting Time and Place:

Date: August 28, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Zoom on-line conference
—an email with link to join will be sent the day prior to meeting.
—If you wish to receive an invitation and haven't attended a meeting recently, send request by email to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com. 

Description of Book:

The Town is a 1950 novel by Conrad Richter and the third work in his trilogy The Awakening Land. It continues the story of frontier woman Sayward (née Luckett) Wheeler and her family.

The Fields, by Conrad Richter—July 31, 2020

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be July 31, 2020. 

Meeting Content:
We'll be discussing "The Fields," from Awakening Land Trilogy, by Conrad Richter

Meeting Time and Place:
Zoom on-line conference
—an email with link to join will be sent the day prior to meeting.
—If you wish to receive an invitation and haven't attended a meeting recently, send request by email to greatbookskic@gmail.com.
Date: July 31, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm

Description of Book:
The Fields is a 1946 novel by Conrad Richter and the second work in his trilogy The Awakening Land. It continues the story of the characters Portius and Sayward Luckett Wheeler begun in the novel The Trees.

In Case You Have Trouble Obtaining a Copy of the Book:
An e-book copy can be accessed from the Sunflower eLibrary (Overdrive) through Bonner Springs Library. Jack Granath has offered to facilitate issuing library cards and access to the e-book.
Jack's telephone number at the Bonner Springs Library is 913-441-2665.
Ask for Jack Granath and he can make arrangements of issuing a library cards which will enable access to the e-book.

The Trees, by Conrad Richter—June 26, 2020

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be June 26, 2020.   

Meeting Content:

We'll be discussing "The Trees," from Awakening Land Trilogy, by Conrad Richter 

Meeting Time and Place:

Zoom on-line conference

—an email with link to join will be sent the day prior to meeting.

—If you wish to receive an invitation and haven't attended a meeting recently, send request by email to greatbookskic@gmail.com.

Date: June 26, 2020

Time: 7:00 pm

Description of Book:

The Trees, the first novel of Conrad Richter's trilogy The Awakening Land, is set in the wilderness of central Ohio (c. 1795). The simple plot — composed of what are essentially episodes in the life of a pioneer family before the virgin hardwood forest was cut down — is told in a third-person narration rich with folklore and suggestive of early backwoods speech. The central character is Sayward Luckett, the eldest daughter in a family who the narrator says "followed the woods as some families follow the sea." 

In Case You Have Trouble Obtaining a Copy of the Book:

An e-book copy can be accessed from the Sunflower eLibrary (Overdrive) through Bonner Springs Library. Jack Granath has offered to facilitate issuing library cards and access to the e-book. 

Jack's telephone number at the Bonner Springs Library is 913-441-2665. 

Ask for Jack Granath and he can make arrangements of issuing a library cards which will enable access to the e-book.

Stoner, by John Williams—May 29, 2020

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be May 29, 2020.  

Meeting Content:

We'll be discussing "Stoner," by John Williams   

Meeting Time and Place:

Zoom on-line conference
—an email with link to join will be sent the day prior to meeting.
—If you wish to receive an invitation and haven't attended a meeting recently, send request by email to greatbookskic@gmail.com.
Date: May 29, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm

Description of Book:

Stoner is a 1965 novel by the American writer John Williams. Stoner has been categorized under the genre of the academic novel, or the campus novel. Stoner follows William Stoner's undistinguished career and workplace politics, his marriage to Edith, his affair with his colleague Katherine, and his love and pursuit of literature.

April 24, 2020— "Essay on Man," by Alexander Pope

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be April 24, 2020.  

Meeting Content:
    We'll be discussing "Essay on Man," by Alexander Pope

Meeting Time and Place:
    Zoom on-line conference
        —If you have attended one of our meetings this year (2020) an email will be sent a day prior to meeting with a link to join the meeting.
        —If you have not attended a meeting this year and wish to join the Zoom meeting, send a request to greatbookskc@gmail.com.
    Date: April 24, 2020
    Time: 7:00 pm

Description of Book:
"Essay on Man," by Alexander Pope is a poem published in 1733–1734. It is concerned with the natural order God has decreed for man. Because man cannot know God's purposes, he cannot complain about his position in the Great Chain of Being and must accept that "Whatever IS, is RIGHT". It popularized optimistic philosophy throughout England and the rest of Europe. Pope's Essay on Man and Moral Epistles were designed to be the parts of a system of ethics which he wanted to express in poetry. Moral Epistles has been known under various other names including Ethic Epistles and Moral Essays.

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by Mary Wollstonecraft

WE'RE MEETING BY ZOOM AT THE REGULAR TIME 

LINK to Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/125416668

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be March 27, 2020.  

Meeting Content:
We'll be discussing "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects," (1792), by Mary Wollstonecraft.

Meeting Time and Place:
Location: Plaza Branch Kansas City Public Library
               (on-line by Zoom)
Date: March 27, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Address: 4801 Main Street
Kansas City, MO

Description of Book:

"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792), written by the 18th-century British proto-feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, is one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy. In it, Wollstonecraft responds to those educational and political theorists of the 18th century who did not believe women should receive a rational education. She argues that women ought to have an education commensurate with their position in society, claiming that women are essential to the nation because they educate its children and because they could be "companions" to their husbands, rather than mere wives. Instead of viewing women as ornaments to society or property to be traded  in marriage,  Wollstonecraft maintains that they are human beings deserving of the same fundamental rights as men.

February 28, 2020 — Ecclesiastes

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be February 28, 2020.  

Meeting Content:
    We'll be discussing Ecclesiastes, from the Bible.

Meeting Time and Place:
    Location: Plaza Branch Kansas City Public Library
    Small Meeting Room
    Date: February 28, 2020
    Time: 7:00 pm
    Address: 4801 Main Street
    Kansas City, MO

Description of Book:
    Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh. Originally written c. 450–200 BCE, it is also among the canonical Wisdom literature of the Old Testament of Christianity. The title Ecclesiastes is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Kohelet, the pseudonym used by the author of the book.  

January 31, 2020—The Varieties of Religious Experience

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be January 31, 2020.

Meeting Content:
We'll be discussing The Varieties of Religious Experience, by Henry James.

Meeting Time and Place:
Location: Plaza Branch Kansas City Public Library, Small Meeting Room
Date: January 31, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO

Description of Book:
The Varieties of Religious Experience is a book by Harvard University psychologist and philosopher William James. It comprises his edited Gifford Lectures on natural theology, which were delivered at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland between 1901 and 1902. The lectures concerned the psychological study of individual private religious experiences and mysticism, and used a range of examples to identify commonalities in religious experiences across traditions. Soon after its publication, Varieties entered the Western canon of psychology and philosophy and has remained in print for over a century.