5th Annual
Celebration of Literary Discussion

Houston Great Books is hosting a day of discussions and workshops.
All sessions are open to the public and only require an RSVP to attend.
Saturday, October 19
Bayou Bend
Lora Jean Kilroy Visitor and Education Center
6003 Memorial Drive (at Westcott Street)
Houston TX 77007
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Meet & Greet
​Doors open at 9:30 am
Stop in early to sign in, talk to old and new friends, and meet your HGB Councilmembers.

Houston Great Books Membership Meeting
10 - 10:15 am
We will have a very short business meeting and vote for re-election of councilmembers.
Morning Workshop A
10:15 am - 12:15 am

Understanding Shared Inquiry:
How to Improve Our Book Discussion Skills
led by Helen Cohen

"Shared Inquiry promotes an intellectually stimulating interpretative discussion of a work—a group exploration of meaning that leads to engaging and insightful conversation. It helps participants read actively, articulate probing questions about the ideas in a work, and listen and respond effectively to each other. And it is based on the conviction that participants can gain a deeper understanding of a text when they work together and are prompted by a leader’s skilled questioning."
from the Shared Inquiry Handbook

This is a great workshop for people new to book discussion and also for people with experience who want to hone their skill. 

"A&P" by John Updike
"The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov

A PDF of the readings and the Shared Inquiry Handbook will be sent when you RSVP.
Morning Workshop B
10:15 am - 12:15 am

Discussing Philosophy:
Utopia by Thomas More
led by Kent Guida and Eric Timmreck 

Thomas More, later Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII, famously lost his head over a disagreement with the king. Utopia is his story of an island commonwealth governed by an enlightened regime where all live in peace and harmony. “Utopia” can mean ‘good place’ or ‘no place.’ Which is it? The book is both a philosophical and a literary puzzle. Is Utopia something to which we should aspire? What does the book say about political life? Who in the story, if anyone, speaks for More? His themes are as relevant for us today as they were  for the English 500 years ago.

We are working with a new, very readable translation by Clarence H. Miller, published by Yale. It will help our discussion if we are all working from the same translation with the same page numbers. This is a short book, 139 pages with large, easy-to-read type.

We want everyone to read the same translation. Use the button below to find it on Amazon. We support our local bookstores and public libraries, so if you find the book locally, just be sure you have the right translator.
Lunch & Chat
12:15 am - 1:30 pm
Lunch will be provided for anyone who attends
both a morning and afternoon session ​and RSVPs by October 15.
Afternoon Workshop A
1:30 to 3:30 pm

The Library Book by Susan Orlean
partnering with Gulf Coast Reads
led by Kristen Stewart

On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? In The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play across the country and around the world—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

This book will be read and discussed as part of the Gulf Coast Reads: On the Same Page. This is an annual regional reading initiative focused on promoting the simultaneous reading or listening to a selected title by those living along the upper Texas Gulf Coast.

We are just one small event out of of many for the Gulf Coast Reads. After you read and discuss the book with us, find more at www.GulfCoastReads.org

Participants will need to procure the book on their own. Participating area libraries will have copies.
Afternoon Workshop B
1:30 to 3:30 pm

Expanding Your Reading List:
Discussing Contemporary and Diverse Stories
led by Wendy Wilkinson and Meredith Nudo

This is a session for the curious, for those who want to read outside of their normal boundaries. Whether you are actively trying to read from a wider diversity of authors or you are interested in the themes current authors are tackling, this is for you!

"Friday Black" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
"Cougar" by Maria Anderson
"Unearth" by Alicia Elliott
"My Brother Gary Made a Movie and This Is What Happened" by Sabrina Orah Mark

All of these short stories were published in 2018 and deal with these current issues: capitalism and its effects on low-wage workers, environmental catastrophe and its impact on economics, institutional abuse of children from indigenous peoples, and a surreal examination of family dynamics in a sharing culture.

All of these stories together are 23 pages and can easily be read in an hour or two. They will be emailed to you when you RSVP.