What we’re about
If you would like to read those books that you feel you ought to have read but have never gotten around to, then this is the group for you. Book selections are chosen from all editions of "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die," edited by Peter Boxall. That means a master list of nearly 1300 books that is a mixture of classics and influential works across many genres, from the 1600s-2000s.
We try to read a book every third Sunday. The group includes old members, new members and visitors. If you want to try us out, we typically see at least one new person each time, so this is definitely not a closed group and we are in the habit of welcoming new voices.
What can you expect? We vary our format occasionally, but most often we go around the room once and give people space to express their thoughts without too much interruption. And, then we break into open conversation, digging deeper into themes and the work itself. Those book clubs where everyone comes and has a glass of red wine and no one has read the book? Yeah, that's not us. We love to read and think and converse about what we've read. Come often enough and you'll get to choose a book in the coming year to host!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyMrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro, Chicago, IL
Note: 1831 is the most commonly read edition. However, the choice is yours.
280 or so pages (depending on edition)
Which version of Frankenstein should I read?
Frankenstein and its transformationsFrom Wikipedia:
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.
Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815, moving along the river Rhine in Germany, and stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist had engaged in experiments.[2][3][4][note 1] She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. Galvanism and occult ideas were topics of conversation for her companions, particularly for her lover and future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley.
In 1816, Mary, Percy, John Polidori, and Lord Byron had a competition to see who wrote the best horror story.[5] After thinking for days, Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein after imagining a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made.[6]
Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, and the novel has had a considerable influence on literature and on popular culture, spawning a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays. Since the publication of the novel, the name "Frankenstein" has often been used, erroneously, to refer to the monster, rather than to his creator/father.[7][8][9]