Our next meeting:
Friday, August 26, 2011, 7:00 PM
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch, Small Meeting Room
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
Our “big book” for the summer is Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch. We have already met twice and will be meeting one more time to discuss the book. Please look at the following list to see which of the remaining "lives" we will discuss in August. If you can't read all of the assignment, we have designated which "lives" to give first priority.
The top priority “Lives” for August:
Demosthenes
Cicero
Demetrius
Mark Antony
Other “Lives” for August:
Alexander the Great
Julius Caesar
Phocion
Cato the Younger
Agis
Cleomenes
Tiberius Gracchus
Caius Gracchus
Dion
Marcus Brutus
Aratus
Artaxerxes
Galba
Otho
Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century.
The book contains twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals biographized, but also about the times in which they lived.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Plutarch's Lives by Plutarch (meeting 2 of 3)
Our next meeting:
Friday, July 29, 2011, 7:00 PM
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch, small meeting room
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
Our “big book” for the summer is Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch. We have already met once and will be meeting two more times to discuss the book. Please look at the following list to see which of the remaining "lives" we will discuss in July and August. If you can't read all of the assignment, we have designated which "lives" to give first priority.
The top priority “Lives” for July:
1. Aristides and Cato the Elder
2. Nicias and Crassus
Other “Lives” for July:
1. Philopoemen and Flamininus
2. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius
3. Lysander and Sulla
4. Cimon and Lucullus
5. Eumenes and Sertorius
6. Agesilaus and Pompey
The top priority “Lives” for August:
1. Demosthenes and Cicero
2. Demetrius and Mark Antony
Other “Lives” for August:
1. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar
2. Phocion and Cato the Younger
3. Agis and Cleomenes
4. Dion and Brutus
5. Aratus
6. Artaxerxes
7. Galba
8. Otho
Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century.
The book contains twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals biographized, but also about the times in which they lived.
Friday, July 29, 2011, 7:00 PM
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch, small meeting room
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
Our “big book” for the summer is Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch. We have already met once and will be meeting two more times to discuss the book. Please look at the following list to see which of the remaining "lives" we will discuss in July and August. If you can't read all of the assignment, we have designated which "lives" to give first priority.
The top priority “Lives” for July:
1. Aristides and Cato the Elder
2. Nicias and Crassus
Other “Lives” for July:
1. Philopoemen and Flamininus
2. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius
3. Lysander and Sulla
4. Cimon and Lucullus
5. Eumenes and Sertorius
6. Agesilaus and Pompey
The top priority “Lives” for August:
1. Demosthenes and Cicero
2. Demetrius and Mark Antony
Other “Lives” for August:
1. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar
2. Phocion and Cato the Younger
3. Agis and Cleomenes
4. Dion and Brutus
5. Aratus
6. Artaxerxes
7. Galba
8. Otho
Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century.
The book contains twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals biographized, but also about the times in which they lived.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Plutarch's Lives by Plutarch (meeting 1 of 3)
Friday, June 24, 2011, 7:00 PM
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
Our “big book” for the summer is Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch. We will be meeting three times this summer to discuss this book. Therefore we have divided the book into three reading assignments, and we have designated which “Lives” to read first if you are unable to read the complete assignment.
The top priority “Lives” for June:
1. Pericles and Fabius Maximus
2. Alcibiades and Coriolanus
Other “Lives” for June:
1. Theseus and Romulus
2. Lycurgus and Numa Pompilius
3. Solon and Poplicola
4. Themistocles and Camillus
5. Timoleon and Aemilius Paulus
6. Pelopidas and Marcellus
The top priority “Lives” for July:
1. Aristides and Cato the Elder
2. Nicias and Crassus
Other “Lives” for July:
1. Philopoemen and Flamininus
2. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius
3. Lysander and Sulla
4. Cimon and Lucullus
5. Eumenes and Sertorius
6. Agesilaus and Pompey
The top priority “Lives” for August:
1. Demosthenes and Cicero
2. Demetrius and Mark Antony
Other “Lives” for August:
1. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar
2. Phocion and Cato the Younger
3. Agis and Cleomenes
4. Dion and Brutus
5. Aratus
6. Artaxerxes
7. Galba
8. Otho
Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century.
The book contains twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals biographized, but also about the times in which they lived.
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
Our “big book” for the summer is Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch. We will be meeting three times this summer to discuss this book. Therefore we have divided the book into three reading assignments, and we have designated which “Lives” to read first if you are unable to read the complete assignment.
The top priority “Lives” for June:
1. Pericles and Fabius Maximus
2. Alcibiades and Coriolanus
Other “Lives” for June:
1. Theseus and Romulus
2. Lycurgus and Numa Pompilius
3. Solon and Poplicola
4. Themistocles and Camillus
5. Timoleon and Aemilius Paulus
6. Pelopidas and Marcellus
The top priority “Lives” for July:
1. Aristides and Cato the Elder
2. Nicias and Crassus
Other “Lives” for July:
1. Philopoemen and Flamininus
2. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius
3. Lysander and Sulla
4. Cimon and Lucullus
5. Eumenes and Sertorius
6. Agesilaus and Pompey
The top priority “Lives” for August:
1. Demosthenes and Cicero
2. Demetrius and Mark Antony
Other “Lives” for August:
1. Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar
2. Phocion and Cato the Younger
3. Agis and Cleomenes
4. Dion and Brutus
5. Aratus
6. Artaxerxes
7. Galba
8. Otho
Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century.
The book contains twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals biographized, but also about the times in which they lived.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
May 27, 2011 -- Candide by Voltaire
Our next meeting is Friday, May 27, 2011 at 7:00 PM.
Meeting place is Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO.
We will be discussing Candide by Voltaire.
Candide is a French satirical novel written in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. Candide is characterized by its sarcastic tone, as well as by its erratic, fantastical and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is mordantly matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so too does Candide in this short novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers through allegory; most conspicuously, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism.
It’s a short book that can be read in four hours.
We're meeting in the Small Meeting Room at the Plaza Branch Library. That room is located beyond (north of) the front desk and in the first door to the right.
Meeting place is Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO.
We will be discussing Candide by Voltaire.
Candide is a French satirical novel written in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. Candide is characterized by its sarcastic tone, as well as by its erratic, fantastical and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is mordantly matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so too does Candide in this short novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers through allegory; most conspicuously, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism.
It’s a short book that can be read in four hours.
We're meeting in the Small Meeting Room at the Plaza Branch Library. That room is located beyond (north of) the front desk and in the first door to the right.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
April 29, 2011 - Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, tr. Edward FitzGerald
April 29, 2011 - 7:00 p.m.
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch, Small Meeting Room
4801 Main Street
Kansas City, MO
This is our "non-western literature" book of the year.
Omar Khayyam was a 12th Century Persian Poet (also mathematician, astronomer, also philosopher). The Rubaiyat is available at most libraries and free on-line. It's not very long.
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Persian: رباعیات عمر خیام) is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám (1048–1131), a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer. A Persian ruba'i is a two-line stanza with two parts (or hemistechs) per line, hence the word "Rubáiyát" (derived from the Arabic root word for "four"), meaning "quatrains".
Group member Bernard has left this review AT THIS LINK since he won't be able to attend our next meeting.
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch, Small Meeting Room
4801 Main Street
Kansas City, MO
This is our "non-western literature" book of the year.
Omar Khayyam was a 12th Century Persian Poet (also mathematician, astronomer, also philosopher). The Rubaiyat is available at most libraries and free on-line. It's not very long.
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Persian: رباعیات عمر خیام) is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám (1048–1131), a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer. A Persian ruba'i is a two-line stanza with two parts (or hemistechs) per line, hence the word "Rubáiyát" (derived from the Arabic root word for "four"), meaning "quatrains".
Group member Bernard has left this review AT THIS LINK since he won't be able to attend our next meeting.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
March 25, 2011 - Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare & movie “10 Things I Hate About You"
Small Meeting Room
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
7:00 p.m. - March 25, 2011
This is our annual literature and movie night. We will discuss Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" and then together watch the movie, "10 Things I hate About You," which is loosely based on Shakespeare's work.
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. We will discuss Shakespeare's play for about 30 minutes, and then we together will watch the movie, "10 Things I Hate About You." The movie is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film. It is a loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew set in a modern Seattle, Washington, American high school. The screeply was written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith.
Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO
7:00 p.m. - March 25, 2011
This is our annual literature and movie night. We will discuss Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" and then together watch the movie, "10 Things I hate About You," which is loosely based on Shakespeare's work.
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. We will discuss Shakespeare's play for about 30 minutes, and then we together will watch the movie, "10 Things I Hate About You." The movie is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film. It is a loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew set in a modern Seattle, Washington, American high school. The screeply was written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
February 25, 2011 The Odyssey by Homer
(9 people attended, we all had a good time, no photo taken)
Our next meeting will be February 25, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Our meeting place will be the small meeting room at the Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO.
We will be discussing The Odyssey by Homer.
This book is our ancient Greek (or Roman) classic for the year. It's also a book that our group previously discussed six years ago. It is included in this year's reading list because we believe classics deserve to be reread.
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon. Indeed it is the second--the Iliad being the first--extant work of Western literature. It iwas probably composed near the end of the 8th century BC.
The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home following the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War.
Please see the following link for a discussion of Odyssey translations:
http://www.meetup.com/greatbookskc/pages/Odyssey_Translations/
Check the following link for a message from Christopher about spoken ancient Greek:
http://www.meetup.com/greatbookskc/messages/boards/thread/10426002/#39737402
Our next meeting will be February 25, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Our meeting place will be the small meeting room at the Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO.
We will be discussing The Odyssey by Homer.
This book is our ancient Greek (or Roman) classic for the year. It's also a book that our group previously discussed six years ago. It is included in this year's reading list because we believe classics deserve to be reread.
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon. Indeed it is the second--the Iliad being the first--extant work of Western literature. It iwas probably composed near the end of the 8th century BC.
The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home following the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War.
Please see the following link for a discussion of Odyssey translations:
http://www.meetup.com/greatbookskc/pages/Odyssey_Translations/
Check the following link for a message from Christopher about spoken ancient Greek:
http://www.meetup.com/greatbookskc/messages/boards/thread/10426002/#39737402
Saturday, December 4, 2010
January 28, 2011 - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The above is a photo of the group that met on January 28, 2011 to discuss "The Age of Innocence."
The Age of Innocence (1920) is a novel by Edith Wharton, which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. The story is set in upper class New York City in the 1870s. We will meet Friday, January 28, 2011 at the Plaza Branch Library in the Small Meeting Room at 7:00 p.m. to discuss this American classic.
This novel meets our "recent" and "woman author" slots for book selections this year. This book has a wider popular appeal to the general reading public than some of our other selections. So if you're one who has complained that our book selections are too old and boring, this may be the one book for this year that you can enjoy. And if you attend our meeting, we hope that you find our group so interesting that you'll want to attend more of our book discussions.
SCHEDULE for 2011
January 28, 2011
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
February 25, 2011
The Odyssey by Homer
March 25, 2011
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
and the movie, “10 Things I Hate About You”
April 29, 2011
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, tr. Edward FitzGerald
May 27, 2011
Candide by Voltaire
June 24, 2011
Plutarch's Lives by Plutarch, Part 1
July 29, 2011
Plutarch's Lives by Plutarch, Part 2
August 26, 2011
Plutarch's Lives by Plutarch, Part 3
September 30, 2011
Ecclesiastes from the old Testament
October 28, 2011
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
December 2, 2011
Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
Friday, October 29, 2010
December 3, Beowulf
Here's a photo of the group that met on December 3, 2010 to discuss Beowulf:
Date: December 3, 2010
Meeting time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Plaza Branch Library, Small Meeting Room
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64112
CLICK HERE TO SEE COMMENTS
We will meet to discuss the book, Beowulf.
Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century.
There are a variety of translations available, any of which are acceptable for our discussion. See THIS LINK for a comparison of more than a dozen translations of the poem. It can help you find the right translation for you.
We will also be deciding our reading schedule for next year. You may leave your suggestions at THIS LINK. If you don't want to open a Goodreads.com account, you can leave it as a comment here on our blog.
The following are links to comments by Bernard regarding our next meeting.
Some Suggestions for Possible Reads Next Year
Bernard's review of "Beowulf" for KC Public Library
Beowulf Translations
Please note that suggestions from people other than Bernard are at the link, "Some Suggestion for Possible Reads Next Year." As of the time of this edit, Tim has added some suggestions. I'm sure there will be more by others.
Date: December 3, 2010
Meeting time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Plaza Branch Library, Small Meeting Room
Address: 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64112
CLICK HERE TO SEE COMMENTS
We will meet to discuss the book, Beowulf.
Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century.
There are a variety of translations available, any of which are acceptable for our discussion. See THIS LINK for a comparison of more than a dozen translations of the poem. It can help you find the right translation for you.
We will also be deciding our reading schedule for next year. You may leave your suggestions at THIS LINK. If you don't want to open a Goodreads.com account, you can leave it as a comment here on our blog.
The following are links to comments by Bernard regarding our next meeting.
Some Suggestions for Possible Reads Next Year
Bernard's review of "Beowulf" for KC Public Library
Beowulf Translations
Please note that suggestions from people other than Bernard are at the link, "Some Suggestion for Possible Reads Next Year." As of the time of this edit, Tim has added some suggestions. I'm sure there will be more by others.
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