They ask, "Oh, what book are you reading now." I have to explain that it is not a book club. We do not review books, but write papers, which is much more to my liking, since I enjoy writing.
Writing a research paper on a topic may involve using one book, or ten books in the process of doing that research.
Each member presents a 20 minute (approximately 10 page) paper on one over-arching theme each year. This year's theme has been: Literary Controversies. Topics have included specific selections, such as Candide, or To Kill a Mockingbird, or broader subject matter, like Books Banned from the Library, or Muckrakers. Other years the annual themes have focused on countries-- China or Canada.
Next year's topic should produce some interesting results. Escape. It is broad and can be interpreted any number of different ways. Escape artists. Prisons. Immigration. Slavery. War, and so on.
It is interesting hearing the papers presented, and also fascinating to see the direction one goes with the theme.
This particular Literary Club has been around for over 120 years. It has its origins in the era when women were well educated, but had no employment opportunities. This was one way of creating their own. They used their intellectual abilities, learned from one another, and created a community.
Women are exceptional at all three of those!
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