Discussion Groups

Who’s ready to exchange ideas?  Connect with other members through discussion groups that foster conversations about literature, history, culture, art, and every topic under the sun.  You must be a member to join any of the discussion groups.

To join a discussion group or suggest starting your own, contact Reader Services at (617) 227-0270 or  discussion@bostonathenaeum.org. 

Groups can meet remotely, in person, or through a hybrid solution. Please check the group listings for specifics. This information is subject to change and will be updated as needed.

Art and Artists: seeking participants!

The Art & Artists Group will meet on Second Mondays from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in a hybrid format, beginning in January 2024.

When you look at art do you want to know more about the painting, the artist, the period? Do you enjoy reading books about the art world, about famous artists’ lives, about art thievery, about art around the world? If so, this group may be for you!

This group will launch in January 2024!

Meeting Dates

Jan. 8
Feb. 12
Mar. 11
Apr. 8
May 13

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Based on the Book

The Based On The Book discussion group meets the fourth Tuesday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

Each month this group discusses a book of fiction and a movie based on the book. Each discussion is moderated by one of the group members. The book and movie pairs are selected by the discussion group. Some examples of book and movie pairs are Jane Austen Emma (1815) and the 1995 movie Clueless with Alicia Silverstone; Pierre Boulle, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1952) and the 1957 movie with Alec Guinness; Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It (1976) and the 1992 movie with Brad Pitt; Mario Puzo, The Godfather (1969) and the 1972 movie with Marlon Brando; Ian Fleming, Casino Royale (1953) and the 2006 movie with Daniel Craig; Ian McEwan, Atonement (2001) and the 2007 movie with Keira Knightley.

Thank you for your interest in this group! Unfortunately they are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be contacted once space becomes available, please join our waitlist.

What We’re Reading

  • Sep. 26: William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story, 2021 film
  • Oct. 24: Mark Harris, Bang the Drum Slowly, 1973 film
  • Nov. 28: Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1969 film
  • Dec. 19 (N.B. this is the third Tuesday): Isak Dinesen, Babette’s Feast, 1987 film
  • Jan. 23: Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca, 1940 film

Past Readings

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Civil War: seeking participants!

The Civil War Discussion Group meets the fourth Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. as a remote only group. 

The group meets to discuss themes of the war broadly, such as leadership, battles, military matters, civilian and home front people and events, slavery, and pre-war and post-war politics. Come and enjoy a group that welcomes new members. Everybody learns something every time: a group of members, by the members, for the members.

What We’re Reading

  • Sep. 27: Bruce Levine, The Fall of the House of Dixie
  • Oct. 25: Choice between Steven Woodworth, Six Armies in Tennessee (262 pages) or Steven Woodworth, This Grand Spectacle (136 pages)
  • Nov. 15 (N.B. this is the Third Wednesday): Clint Crowe, Caught in the Maelstrom: The Indian Nations in the Civil War 1861–1865
  • Dec. 20 (N.B. this is the Third Wednesday): Owen Parry, Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales
  • Jan. 24: Benjamin Reiss, The Showman and the Slave: Race, Death, and Memory in Barnum’s America
  • Feb. 28: Kent Masterson Brown, Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command (first half)
  • Mar. 27: Kent Masterson Brown, Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command (final half)
  • Apr. 24: Fergus Bordewich, Klan War: U.S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction
  • May 22
  • Jun. 26

Past Readings

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Classics

The Ancient Greco-Roman Classical Literature Reading Group (“Classics”) will meet the second Tuesday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

The group will focus on Greek and Roman Literature in Translation and the Classical Tradition. Greco-Roman Literature encompasses epic poetry, love elegiacs, odes,  dramatic works, historical narratives, etc.

Participants must sign up in advance for the year. There is an annual fee of $100.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 10: Enuma Elish (Babylonian poem of creation)—translations include Timothy Stephany, L. W. King, Stephanie Dalley (in the Oxford World Classics series) and online as part of the Electronic
    Babylonian Library
  • Nov. 14: Hesiod, Theogony
  • Dec. 12: Hesiod, Works & Days
  • Jan. 9: The Poems of Enheduana (Sophus Helle translation, entitled
    Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World’s First Author)
  • Feb. 13: The Poems of Sappho
  • Mar. 12: Aeschylus, Agamemnon (Oresteia, play 1)
  • Apr. 9: Aeschylus, Libation Bearers (Oresteia, play 2)
  • May 14: Aeschylus, Eumenides (Oresteia, play 3)
  • Jun. 11: Euripides, Iphigeneia at Aulis

Past Readings

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Dickens: seeking participants!

The Dickens discussion group will meet the first Thursday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely. 

Taking its keynote from the memorable Nabokov introduction in which he announced, ‘We are now ready to tackle Dickens. We are now ready to embrace Dickens. We are now ready to bask in Dickens,’ the group seeks to create a welcoming literary space where members may tackle, embrace, and bask in Dickens for years to come. 

The group is open to all levels of experience and interest in Dickens, from those who have never had the pleasure of meeting him at all, to those who had a brief acquaintance with him in school, to those many for whom he has become an old and very dear friend.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 5: Pickwick Papers I (Chaps 1–29)
  • Nov. 2: Pickwick Papers II (Chaps 30–end)
  • Dec. 7: Reading of A Christmas Carol (using Dickens’s abridgment)
  • Jan. 4: Charlotte Brontë, Shirley
  • Feb. 1: Oliver Twist
  • Mar. 7: Elizabeth Gaskell, Ruth
  • Apr. 4: Nicholas Nickleby I
  • May 2: Nicholas Nickleby II
  • Jun. 6: Sherlock Holmes stories (stories t.b.d.)

Past Readings

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Drama: seeking participants!

The Drama discussion group will meet the first Wednesday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. This group meets in person. No background familiarity with dramatic works is required to partake.

Each meeting we will read a play aloud, rotating parts among participants and pausing between scenes to discuss what we have read. Some plays may require more than one session to complete. A group member serves as “play leader” and pre-circulates any background readings and the expected scenes to be read. Everyone has a chance to read, although anyone who would prefer not to is free to pass. Discussions are guided by the play leader and group moderator.

To get us started, the moderator has chosen the initial set of plays. Future plays will be chosen collectively by the members of the discussion group.

Prior to beginning our first play we will read the story of Pygmalion, as published in Ovid’s Metamorphosis. We will then explore how themes of the Pygmalion story have been treated over the centuries by various English-speaking playwrights, in the following plays:

Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw (1913)
The Winter’s Tale, by William Shakespeare (1610/11)
Educating Rita, by Willy Russell (1980)

Meeting Dates:

  • Nov. 1: Pygmalion, Acts IV and V
  • Dec. 6: The Winter’s Tale

Past Readings

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Fiction

The Fiction Discussion Group meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely. Titles are suggested by members and then chosen to obtain a variety of authors, publication dates, themes, and lengths.

Thank you for your interest in this group! Unfortunately they are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be contacted once space becomes available, please join our waitlist.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 2: Tom McCarthy, Remainder
  • Nov. 6: Henry James, What Maisie Knew
  • Dec. 4: Shirley Hazzard, Transit of Venus
  • Jan. 8 (N.B. this is the second Monday): J.F. Powers, Morte D’Urban
  • Feb. 5: reading t.b.d.
  • Mar. 4: reading t.b.d.

Past Readings

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James Joyce

The James Joyce Discussion Group will meet the second Thursday of every month from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. remote only. 

James Joyce wrote criticism and essays but is best known for his modernist works of fiction, which have a reputation for being difficult reads. A group recently completed a year-and-a half-long project to read and discuss Ulysses. We think we know many readers who are up to another challenge!

This group is starting with Dubliners and decides what they are reading from month to month.

Thank you for your interest in this group! Unfortunately they are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be contacted once space becomes available, please join our waitlist.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 12: from Dubliners, “Araby”
  • Nov. 9: from Dubliners, “Evaline”, and “After The Race”
  • Dec. 14

Past Readings

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Literary Conversations

This thriving, 25-year old discussion group meets at 6:00 p.m. on the third Monday of each month to discuss works of literature selected by the group, from the ancient classics to contemporary best sellers. Members take turns leading the discussions and engage in active e-mail correspondence about the book currently being read. Our Literary Conversations continue at a local restaurant following the meeting, and all members are invited. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

Thank you for your interest in this group! Unfortunately they are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be contacted once space becomes available, please join our waitlist.

What We’re Reading:

Oct. 16: Haruki Murakami, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

Nov. 20: Jung Chang, Wild Swans

Dec. 18: George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss

Jan. 15: Italo Svevo, Zeno’s Conscience

Feb. 19: Thomas Mann, Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man

Mar. 18: Frederick Douglass, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

Apr. 16 (N.B. this is the third Tuesday): Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

May 20: Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye

Jun. 17: Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children

Past Readings

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Mathematics, Technology, & Society: seeking participants!

The Mathematics, Technology & Society discussion group will meet the first Saturday of every month  from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and will consider mathematics and technology topics from historical and social perspectives. This group is remote only. 

Participation is encouraged by anyone interested in the history and impact of technology — no mathematics or computing expertise is required. Each meeting will focus on a different topic and background reading.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 7: James Vincent, Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants
  • Nov. 4: David Hone, How Fast Did T.Rex Run?: Unsolved Questions from the Frontiers of Dinosaur Science
  • Dec. 2: Matthew Shindell, For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the of the Red Planet
  • Jan. 6: Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realm Around Us

Past Readings

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Mystery: seeking participants!

Unless otherwise specified, the Mystery Discussion Group meets the last Monday of the month at 5:30 p.m. This group meets hybrid. Titles are democratically selected and range from popular thrillers to quiet country investigations to literary prizewinners with a mystery element.

What We’re Reading

  • Sep. 25: Sulari Gentill, Woman in the Library
  • Oct. 30: Stuart Kaminski, Rostnikov’s Corpse/Death of a Dissident
  • Nov. 27: Arnaldur Indrithason, Jar City
  • Dec. 18 (N.B. this is the Third Monday): Anne Perry, A Christmas Beginning
  • Jan. 29: Archer Mayor, Open Season
  • Feb. 26: Louise Penny, All the Devils Are Here
  • Mar. 25: Stuart Turton, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
  • Apr. 29: C.J. Box, Open Season

Past Readings

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New England Seminar: seeking participants!

The New England Seminar meets on the first Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. This group is remote only. The Group reads fiction and non-fiction written about Boston and New England. Past selections include Santayana’s The Last Puritan, Louis Menand’s The Metaphysical Club, Dorothy West’s The Living Is Easy, William Dean Howells’, The Rise of Silas Lapham, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Collected Short Stories.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 2: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Twice Told Tales
  • Nov. 6: Malcolm Gaskill, The Ruin of All Witches
  • Dec. 4: Christopher C. Gorham, The Confidante
  • Jan. 1: Tracy Kidder, Rough Sleepers
  • Feb. 5: Celeste Ng, Our Missing Hearts
  • Mar. 4: Elizabeth D. Leonard, Benjamin Franklin Butler
  • Apr. 1: Ann Petry, The Street
  • May 6: Zadie Smith, On Beauty
  • Jun. 3: Ilyon Woo, Master Slave Husband Wife

Past Readings

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Philosophy: seeking participants!

The Philosophy Group meets on the third Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. unless otherwise specified. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

This discussion group is for people who wish to step back from their daily routines and take some time to examine the whys and hows in life. We will cast a wide net, from the Classics to current politics, and participants will be invited to suggest authors and topics of interest.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 19: David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
  • Nov. 16
  • Dec. 21

Past Readings

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Poetry: seeking participants!

The Poetry Study Group meets from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely. . A selection of poems will be distributed prior to each meeting.

What We’re Reading

Oct. 18: Edgar Allan Poe

Nov. 15: Poems by Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson, set to music by Bruno Faria

Dec. 20: Patrick Kavanagh

Jan. 17: Jane Hirshfield

Feb. 21: John Milton’s shorter poems

Mar. 20: Octavio Paz

Apr. 17: Conrad Aiken

May 15: Hart Crane

Jun. 18 (N.B. this is the Third Tuesday): Alexander Pushkin

Past Readings

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Proust Reading Group

Boston Athenæum members who are already Proust enthusiasts, and those who are aficionados-in-the-making, are invited to join The Proust Reading Group. Meetings generally take place on the last Tuesday afternoon of each month, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

In September 2023, we will review The Fugitive and then begin Time Regained. Listed below are the pages in both the Modern Library translation and in the Yale University Press translation. The Yale edition of Time Regained has not yet been published.

The Modern Library Edition for The Fugitive is volume 5 of the series, and Time Regained is volume 6. The text is translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, and revised by D. J. Enright.

The group is led by Proust scholar Dr. Hollie Markland Harder, who is the director of language programs and Associate Professor of French at Brandeis University. Her work on Proust includes articles on Françoise’s cooking (“Proust’s Novel Confections: Françoise’s Cooking and Marcel’s Book,” which appeared in Modern Language Studies) and the function of humor in Proust’s novel (“Proust’s Human Comedy,” published in The Cambridge Companion to Proust).

Participants must sign up in advance for the year. There is a fee of $100 per year. Anyone interested should contact the Circulation Desk at (617) 227-0270 x279 or email harder@brandeis.edu.

What We’re Reading

  • Sep. 19 (N.B. this is the Third Tuesday): The Fugitive. Modern Library pp. 563–621, Yale University Press pp. 453–500
  • Oct. 31: The Fugitive ML pp. 621–671, YUP pp. 500-539 (read to the end of the page)
  • Nov. 28: The Fugitive ML pp. 671–723, YUP pp. 540-582
  • Dec. 19 (N.B. this is the Third Tuesday): The Fugitive ML pp. 723–773, YUP pp. 582-621
  • Jan. 30: The Fugitive ML pp. 773–822, YUP pp. 621–660 (read up to “A few months earlier, this knowledge …”)
  • Feb. 27: The Fugitive ML pp. 822–873, YUP pp. 660–700 (read up to “The night passed. In the morning I gave the telegram back to the hotel porter …”)
  • Mar. 26: The Fugitive ML pp. 873–921 YUP pp. 700–738
  • Apr. 16 (N.B. this is the Third Tuesday): The Fugitive ML pp. 921–936, YUP pp. 738–757; Time Regained  ML pp. 1–46
  • May 21 (N.B. this is the Third Tuesday): Time Regained ML pp. 46–93

 

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Proust Selected Studies Group

Boston Athenæum members who are already Proust enthusiasts, and those who are aficionados-in-the-making, are invited to join The Proust Selected Studies Group. The group typically meets the second Tuesday of some months, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

The group is led by Proust scholar Dr. Hollie Markland Harder, who is the director of language programs and Associate Professor of French at Brandeis University. Her work on Proust includes articles on Françoise’s cooking (“Proust’s Novel Confections: Françoise’s Cooking and Marcel’s Book,” which appeared in Modern Language Studies) and the function of humor in Proust’s novel (“Proust’s Human Comedy,” published in The Cambridge Companion to Proust).

Participants must sign up in advance for the year. There is a fee of $100 per year. Anyone interested should contact the Circulation Desk at (617) 227-0270 x279 or email harder@brandeis.edu.

This group is on hiatus for the current 2022/2023 season but will likely return for the 2023/2024 season.

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Reading Recap

Reading Recap is a new series of occasional discussion groups offered in connection to Athenæum events, anniversaries, etc. No need to make a long-term commitment! Choose which topics suit you and your schedule.
The happenings will be listed here, on the Events calendar, and announced in our newsletter. We will meet in different spaces, depending on the subject.
These are free to members, but registration is required in order to prepare.
Have suggestions? Please let us know:  warnement@bostonathenaeum.org.

Reading Recap: Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life

April 4, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.

Join us Tuesday, April 4, at 6pm in the Gordon Room to discuss Lydia Moland’s biography Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life. As part of our Salon Series, Ms. Moland spoke March 20 about her compelling biography of Lydia Maria Child, one of nineteenth-century America’s most courageous abolitionists.

Whether you were able to attend the author’s talk or not, now you’ve had a chance to read the book, come and discuss the subject in greater depth with your Athenæum community.

Keep an eye on the Program calendar to register!

**********************

In-person Event: The Boston Globe’s 150th anniversary
March 10, 2022, 6:00–7:30 p.m.

The Boston Globe first appeared in print on March 4, 1872 at a cost of 4 cents. Join us in the Gordon Newspaper Reading Room at 6 pm for a conversation moderated by Dan Breen about its history, impact on Boston, and what it means to you. Francis Storrs, editor of the Globe Magazine, will be on hand to offer insights, or should we say the Globe’s two cents!

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Science Fiction: seeking participants!

All fiction presents imagined people, places, and plots. Science fiction imagines broader realms than we experience day-to-day. Come every fourth Saturday at 2 pm to explore those worlds and how they touch upon our encounters.

This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 28: Sarah Gailey, The Echo Wife
  • Nov. 18 (N.B. this is the third Saturday): John Scalzi, Redshirts
  • Dec. 16 (N.B. this is the third Saturday): Ted Chiang, Exhalation

Past Readings

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Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Group: seeking participants!

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Group meets on Second Saturdays from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m, in-person only.

This is a hands-on writers group for seriously invested speculative fiction writers of science fiction, fantasy, or horror. The group is meant to support the writing of novels, providing feedback and brainstorming writing techniques.

Meeting Dates

Nov. 11
Dec. 9
Jan. 13
Feb. 10
Mar. 9
Apr. 13
May 11

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Scrabble: seeking participants!

The Scrabble Group meets semi-monthly, on the First and Third Wednesdays of the month from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., for a friendly game of Scrabble. Due to the nature of this group, they only meet in-person.

Game Dates

Sep. 6

Sep. 20

Oct. 4

Oct. 18

Nov. 1

Nov. 15

Dec. 6

Dec. 20

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Shakespeare

The Shakespeare Discussion Group meets the second Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

Every year we select a range of plays, each of which is read over two months. A play leader pre-circulates background readings, talking points, and questions, as well as the scenes to be read in plenary. Everyone has a chance to read, although anyone who would prefer not to is free to pass. Reading aloud helps to take us off the page and breathes life into the words themselves. Discussions are guided by the play leader and group moderator and generally flow organically.

There is no requirement of familiarity with Shakespeare’s works in order to join our discussions. We recommend the Arden edition if you are acquiring a new text.

Thank you for your interest in this group! Unfortunately they are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be contacted once space becomes available, please join our waitlist.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 11: Pericles
  • Nov. 8: Measure for Measure
  • Dec. 13: Measure for Measure
  • Jan. 10: Twelfth Night
  • Feb. 14: Twelfth Night
  • Mar. 13: Henry VI, Part 1
  • Apr. 10: Henry VI, Part 1
  • May 8: Richard III
  • Jun. 12: Richard III
  • Jul. 10: Sonnets or Great Speeches

Past Readings

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Short & Sweet: seeking participants!

Short & Sweet meets remote only the fourth Thursday (with exceptions noted below) of each month at 6:00 p.m.

“If I had more time, this would be shorter.” Just because something is a quick read does not mean it can be easily appreciated.

During the stay-at-home advisory, we initiated a new weekly discussion group, Short & Sweet, to connect via videoconference with readers while respecting social distancing. Now that we move toward a “new normal,” we’ll plan to meet once a month, on the fourth Thursday of the month when possible, via videoconference for the foreseeable future.

What We’re Reading 

  • Sep. 28: Richard Ford, “Sweethearts”
  • Oct.  26: Zadie Smith, “The Embassy of Cambodia”
  • No November meeting
  • No December meeting

Past Readings

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Thought for Food: seeking participants!

The Thought for Food group meets on the Fourth Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. Because the group may opt to enjoy a meal or drinks outside Athenæum grounds after the meeting is over, meetings will only be in-person so that all attendees have the option of the full communal experience.

Literature for Thought for Food could include both modern and historical literature and recipes based on the members’ current interests. We plan to focus on not just current food science and literature but also on historical recipes and literature and their impact on the food we eat today. Our discussions will involve a topic of the group’s choosing with each member choosing material that relates to the topic and sharing it with the group.

What We’re Reading

Aug. 24: Pairings: when good things come together

Sep. 28: Modern Consumer Appliances: Any invention that has modernized the kitchen such as the microwave or fridge

Oct. 26: Candy 

No November meeting. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dec. 14 (N.B. this is the second Thursday): Our holiday party. We may pick up a theme but may just keep it open ended for now and discuss in upcoming meetings. 

Past Readings

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Trollope: seeking participants!

The Trollope Discussion Group meets the first Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely. Over the past several years, Boston Athenæum Trollope enthusiasts have completed all of Trollope’s novels, yet many have decided to read them all over again. Sometimes the group complements their reading list with another contemporary novelist or a biography.

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 3: Barchester Towers
  • Nov. 7: Doctor Thorne
  • Dec. 5: Framley Parsonage
  • Jan. 3 (N.B. this is the first Wednesday): The Small House at Allington, first 30 chapters
  • Feb. 6: The Small House at Allington, Chapter 31 to end
  • Mar. 5: The Egoist by George Meredith
  • Apr. 2: reading t.b.d.
  • May 7: reading t.b.d.
  • Jun. 4: The Last Chronicle of Barset, with Professor Buzard

Past Readings

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World War I: seeking participants!

This discussion group was established in honor of the centenary of the August 1914 outbreak of World War I. Titles will be chosen democratically by group members. The group will meet the first Saturday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This group meets using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely.

What We’re Reading

Oct. 7: Rupert Brooke’s 1914, and T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland and The Hollow Men, and any other poems members wish to bring

Nov. 4: C. S. Forster, The General

Dec. 2: Ronald Grigor Suny, They Can Live in the Desert But Nowhere Else

Jan. 6: Giles Foden, The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika

Feb. 3: Jonathan Wyrtzen, Worldmaking in the Long Great War: How Local and Colonial Struggles Shaped the Modern Middle East

Past Readings

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World War II: seeking participants!

On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland and set the world ablaze. World War II would bring destruction, terror and death to millions. However, the world would also be a witness to incredible bravery, fortitude and brilliance. Today, we read and exchange ideas about the events, people, and strategies so we may learn from the past and be a bit wiser in our every day life.

The group meets on the third Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m. using a hybrid solution. You can attend in person or connect remotely. Afterwards, at noon, we go to lunch and share some laughter and friendship. Please join us. 

What We’re Reading

  • Oct. 21: Gordon Corera, Operation Columba—The Secret Pigeon Service: The Untold Story of World War II Resistance in Europe
  • Nov. 18: E.B Sledge, With the Old Breed 
  • Dec. 16: Richard J. Overy, The Air War, 1939–1945
  • Jan. 20: Ben Macintyre, Prisoners of the Castle: The Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz
  • Feb. 17: Barbara W. Tuchman, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911–45
  • Mar. 16: Rana Mitter, Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945
  • Apr. 20: I. J. Galatin, Take Her Deep!: A Submarine Against Japan in World War II
  • May 18: Joseph Balkoski, Beyond the Beachhead
  • Jun. 15: Evan Thomas, Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II
  • Jul. 20: A.J. Baime, The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War
    America at War

Past Readings

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Writers’ Workshop

The Writers’ Workshop meets the second Saturday of every month from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. remote only. 

How are things? That latest piece talking to you yet? Or perhaps you’re talking to yourself? It gets lonely in that writing corner after a while with nobody to bounce ideas off of. Maybe it’s time to come up for air, commune with other writers, and discuss the work in an informal and encouraging atmosphere. Writers of all stripes are welcome!

Each season is divided into trimesters, allowing members to join in September, January, or May, with the understanding that they will be committed to the group for the following four months. Sign-ups are on the first day of each trimester, and we will receive submissions from members in the previous group for that first meeting.

Thank you for your interest in this group! Unfortunately they are currently at capacity, but if you’d like to be contacted once space becomes available, please join our waitlist.

  • Oct. 14 Session 1 Fall/Winter Trimester
  • Nov. 11 Session 2 Fall/Winter Trimester
  • Dec. 9 Session 3 Fall/Winter Trimester
  • Jan. 13 Session 4 Fall/Winter Trimester
  • Feb. 10 Session 1 Winter/Spring Trimester
  • Mar. 9 Session 2 Winter/Spring Trimester
  • Apr. 13 Session 3 Winter/Spring Trimester
  • May 11 Session 4 Winter/Spring Trimester
  • Jun. 8 Session 1 Spring/Summer Trimester
  • Jul. 13 Session 2 Spring/Summer Trimester
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