Schedule for 2022

Our planned reading and discussion schedule of books for 2022 is as listed below:

Jan. 28, 2022— The Tragical History of the Life and Death of 

                           Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe 

                            and 

                           Volpone, by Ben Jonson

Feb. 25, 2022— The Golden Ass, by Apuleius

Mar. 25, 2022— Ten-Thirty on a Summer Night, by Marguerite Duras

Apr. 29, 2022— Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, 

                           and The Wasteland, by T. S. Eliot

                          

May. 27, 2022— The Brothers Ashkenazi, by I.J. Singer

Jun. 24, 2022— In Search of Lost Time, Swann's Way, 

                           by Marcel Proust

Jul. 29, 2022— In Search of Lost Time, In the Shadow of Young 

                          Girls in Flower, by Marcel Proust

Aug. 26, 2022— In Search of Lost Time, The Guermantes Way, 

                            by Marcel Proust 

Sep. 30, 2022— Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, by James Agee 

                            and Walker Evans

Oct. 28, 2022— A Non-Western Work of Literature 

                           (to be named later)

Dec. 2, 2022— Ezra and Nehemiah from the Bible

Dec. 9, 2022— Prepare Schedule for 2023

December 3 & 10, 2021—Story of David from the Bible

Great Books KC will meet two times yet this year: December 3, 2021 & December 10, 2021

Meeting Content, Dec. 3, 2021:

We will discuss Story of David, 1 Samuel 16-31, 2 Samuel, and 1 Kings 1-2.

Meeting Content, Dec. 10, 2021:

We will create the schedule of books for 2022. 

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 Time and Place:

Dates: December 3, 2021 & December 10, 2021

Time: 7:00 pm

Zoom on-line meeting

—an email with link to join will be sent 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 Discussion Topic:

David is described in the Hebrew Bible as king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. David is richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition, and is discussed in the New Testament. Early Christians interpreted the life of Jesus in light of the references to the Messiah and to David; Jesus is described as being descended from David in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The biblical character of David has inspired many interpretations in art and literature over centuries. In the Quran and hadith, David is mentioned as a prophet-king of God. 

Those who wish for more can read The Secret Chord (2015), a novel about King David by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks. 

Oct. 29, 2021— Kakoro, by Natsume Soseki

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be October 29, 2021. We will discuss Kakoro, by Natsume Soseki.

Meeting Location & Time:
Date: October 29, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
 Zoom On-Line Meeting:
 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com.

Description of Book:

Kokoro is a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. The title, translated literally means "heart". The word contains shades of meaning, and can be translated as "the heart of things" or "feeling". The book deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls "Sensei" ('teacher).

September 24, 2021—The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be September 24, 2021. We will discuss The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison.

Meeting Location & Time:
Date: September 24, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
 Zoom On-Line Meeting:
 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Description of Book:

The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, is the first novel written by Toni Morrison. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio (Morrison's hometown), and tells the story of a young African-American girl named Pecola who grew up following the Great Depression. Set in 1941, the story tells that she is consistently regarded as "ugly" due to her mannerisms and dark skin. As a result, she develops an inferiority complex, which fuels her desire for the blue eyes she equates with "whiteness".

August 27, 2021—The Big Money (The U.S.A. trilogy) by John Dos Passos

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be August 27, 2021. We will discuss The Big Money (The U.S.A. trilogy), by John Dos Passos

Meeting Location & Time:
Date: August 27, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
 Zoom On-Line Meeting:
 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Description of Book:
The U.S.A. trilogy is a series of three novels by American writer John Dos Passos, comprising the novels The 42nd Parallel (1930), 1919(1932) and The Big Money (1936). The books were first published together in a volume titled U.S.A. by Modern Library in 1937.

The trilogy employs an experimental technique, incorporating four narrative modes: fictional narratives telling the life stories of twelve characters, collages of newspaper clippings and song lyrics labeled "Newsreel", individually labeled short biographies of public figures of the time such as Woodrow Wilson and Henry Ford and fragments of autobiographical stream of consciousness writing labeled "Camera Eye". The trilogy covers the historical development of American society during the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1998, the US publisher Modern Library ranked U.S.A. 23rd on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

July 30, 2021—1919 (The U.S.A. trilogy) by John Dos Passos

The next meeting of Great Books KC Will be July 30, 2021. We will discuss 1919 (The U.S.A. trilogy) by John Dos Passos

Meeting Location & Time:
Date: July 30, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
 Zoom On-Line Meeting:
 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Description of Book:
The U.S.A. trilogy is a series of three novels by American writer John Dos Passos, comprising the novels The 42nd Parallel (1930), 1919(1932) and The Big Money (1936). The books were first published together in a volume titled U.S.A. by Modern Library in 1937.

The trilogy employs an experimental technique, incorporating four narrative modes: fictional narratives telling the life stories of twelve characters, collages of newspaper clippings and song lyrics labeled "Newsreel", individually labeled short biographies of public figures of the time such as Woodrow Wilson and Henry Ford and fragments of autobiographical stream of consciousness writing labeled "Camera Eye". The trilogy covers the historical development of American society during the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1998, the US publisher Modern Library ranked U.S.A. 23rd on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Jun. 25, 2021—The 42nd Parallel (The U.S.A. trilogy) by John Dos Passos

The next meeting of Great Books KC Will be June 25, 2021. We will discuss The 42nd Parallel (The U.S.A. trilogy) by John Dos Passos

Meeting Location & Time:

Date: June 25, 2021

Time: 7:00 pm

 Zoom On-Line Meeting:

 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Description of Book:

The U.S.A. trilogy is a series of three novels by American writer John Dos Passos, comprising the novels The 42nd Parallel (1930), 1919(1932) and The Big Money (1936). The books were first published together in a volume titled U.S.A. by Modern Library in 1937.

The trilogy employs an experimental technique, incorporating four narrative modes: fictional narratives telling the life stories of twelve characters, collages of newspaper clippings and song lyrics labeled "Newsreel", individually labeled short biographies of public figures of the time such as Woodrow Wilson and Henry Ford and fragments of autobiographical stream of consciousness writing labeled "Camera Eye". The trilogy covers the historical development of American society during the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1998, the US publisher Modern Library ranked U.S.A. 23rd on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Meetings During the Month of May 2021

 There will be two meetings of Great Books KC during the month of May. The first meeting will be May 14, 2021 to discuss The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, by Vladimir Nabokov. The second meeting will be May 28, 2021 to discuss Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, by Nikolai Leskov. 

First Meeting:

• Date: May14, 2021
• Time: 7:00 pm
• Location: Zoom On-Line Meeting
• Book Title: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, by Vladimir Nabokov.
• An email with link to join will be sent prior to meeting.
• The link is sent to a limited mailing list of frequent attenders. 
• Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com .
• The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is the first English language novel by Vladimir Nabokov, written from late 1938 to early 1939 in Paris and first published in 1941. A work centered on language and its inability to convey any satisfactory definition, it has been identified as a forerunner of the postmodernist novel.

Second Meeting:

• Date: May 28, 2021
• Time: 7:00 pm
• Location: Zoom On-Line Meeting
• Book Title: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, by Nikolai Leskov
• An email with link to join will be sent prior to meeting.
• The link is sent to a limited mailing list of frequent attenders.
• Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com .
• Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District is an 1865 novella originally published in Fyodor Dostoyevshy's magazine Epoc. Among its themes are the subordinate role expected from women in 19th-century European society, adultery, provincial life and the planning of murder by a woman, hence the title inspired by the Shakespearean character Lady Macbeth from his play Macbeth.

Apr. 30, 2021— Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, by Aimé Césaire

 The next meeting of Great Books KC Will be April 30, 2021.  We will discuss Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, by Aimé Césaire.

Meeting Location & Time:

Date: April 30, 2021

Time: 7:00 pm

 Zoom On-Line Meeting:

 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Description of Book:

Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (1939), variously translated as Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, Return to My Native Land, or Journal of a Homecoming, is a book-length poem by Martinican writer Aimé Césaire, considered his masterwork, that mixes poetry and prose to express his thoughts on the cultural identity of black Africans in a colonial setting.

March 26, 2021—Lysistrata & Thesmophoriazusae, by Aristophanes

The next meeting of Great Books KC Will be March 26, 2021.  We will discuss the Greek plays, Lysistrata & Thesmophoriazusae, by Aristophanes.

Meeting Location & Time:

Date: March 26, 2021

Time: 7:00 pm

 Zoom On-Line Meeting:

 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Descriptions of the Greek plays:

Lysistrata is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city states by denying all the men of the land any sex, which was the only thing they truly and deeply desired. The play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society. 

Women at the Thesmophoria, is one of eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was first produced in 411 BC, probably at the City Dionysia. The play's focuses include the subversive role of women in a male-dominated society; the vanity of contemporary poets, such as the tragic playwrights Euripides and Agathon; and the shameless, enterprising vulgarity of an ordinary Athenian, as represented in this play by the protagonist, Mnesilochus.

February 26, 2021—Othello, by William Shakespeare

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be February 26, 2021.

We will discuss the book, Othello, by William Shakespeare

Meeting Location & Time:
Date: February 26, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
 Zoom On-Line Meeting:
 —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 in the past year or have requested that their name be included on the mailing list. Requests to be added to the mailing list may be sent to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com 

Description of Book:
Othello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. The story revolves around its two central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, and his treacherous ensign, Iago. Given its varied and enduring themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge, and repentance, Othello is still often performed in professional and community theatre alike, and has been the source for numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations.

January 29, 2021—The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be January 29, 2021.

We will discuss the book, The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow

Meeting Location & Time:

Date: January 29, 2021

Time: 7:00 pm

 Zoom On-Line Meeting:

 —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 in the past year or have requested that their 

  name be included on the mailing list.

Description of Book:

The Adventures of Augie March is a picaresque novel by Saul Bellow, published in 1953. It features the eponymous Augie March who grows up during the Great Depression and it is an example of Bildungsroman, tracing the development of an individual through a series of encounters, occupations and relationships from boyhood to manhood.

The Adventures of Augie March won the 1954 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. Both Time magazine and the Modern Library Board named it one of the hundred best novels in the English language.

2021 Schedule

Jan. 29, 2021— The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow

Feb. 26, 2021— Othello, by Shakespeare

Mar. 26, 2021— Lysistrata & Thesmophoriazusae, by Aristophanes

Apr. 30, 20201— Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, by 

                              Aimé Césaire

May 14, 2021 — The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, by Vladimir Nabokov 

May. 28, 2021— Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, by Nikolai Leskov

Jun. 25, 2021—The 42nd Parallel, The U.S.A. trilogy, by John Dos Passos

Jul. 30, 2021— 1919, The U.S.A. trilogy, by John Dos Passos

Aug. 27, 2021—The Big Money, The U.S.A. trilogy, by John Dos Passos

Sep. 24, 2021— The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

Oct. 29, 2021— Kakoro, by Natsume Soseki

Dec. 3, 2021— Story of David, 1 Samuel 16-31, 2 Samuel, and 

                         1 Kings 1-2