Midtown Book Group: 8th Annual Month of The CLASSIC

Literary Rebel, Sherri Caldwell, blogs about books, reading and literary events in Midtown, this month with an update from Midtown Book Group.

Required Reading July 2014: THE GRAPES OF WRATH.

July has long been the Annual Month of The CLASSIC for Midtown Book Group, which may serve as proof that there are indeed bibliophiles among us: we choose to read great literature, usually assigned in school, when (maybe?) we should be enjoying sandy beach novels and summer blockbusters in the heat of the summer.

Nevertheless, we have found that it is definitely more interesting to read Classics as adults, with perspective and experience, with group discussion and support-- and wine (although not when we meet at Barnes & Noble/Georgia Tech—no alcohol!). (That’s why we do our Month of The Classic during the summer, in our food-and-beverage-friendly alternate meeting location, but I digress.) Reading is a completely different experience when you choose to read for enjoyment, rather than forced to read for a grade.

In honor of the Midtown Book Group 8th Annual Month of The Classic, for historic reference, and to offer a list of great Literary Classics for your enjoyment, highly recommended:

Midtown Book Group Summer Classics

(With some extras in 2010 and a postponement in 2012)

• July 2007 - MADAME BOVARY by Gustave Flaubert
• July 2008 - PERSUASION by Jane Austen
• July 2009 - THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
• Mar 2010 - THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston - MBG Rated 4.2 / 5 (started rating in Sept 2009)
• July 2010 - THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton - 4.5
• Dec 2010 - TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee - 4.4 
• July 2011 - A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway - 3.4
• Nov 2012 - FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury - 4 / 5
• July 2013 - HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad - 3.4
• Coming Up:  July 9, 2014 – THE GRAPES OF WRATH

THE GRAPES OF WRATH is the Midtown Book Group Annual Month of The Classic selection for July 2014. We invite you to join us in reading and discussion of John Steinbeck’s extraordinary masterpiece:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers.

First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads-- driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.  --Amazon.com

On it’s 75th Anniversary, The Grapes of Wrath is as powerful and relevant today as it was in 1939. As a country, we are still grappling with the issues and challenges of social inequality and unrest; the Haves and Have-Nots; natural disasters and upheavals; Them vs. Us, especially with regard to migration/immigration, social justice and responsibility; individuals vs. corporations. The Joad's saga of dispossession and struggle could be pulled out of the headlines today, in 2014.

Happy Reading & We hope you will join us, virtually or in real life!

Midtown Book Group – July 2014

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

* * Winner of the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for Literature * *

Date:  Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Time:  8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Location:  Viewpoint Condos – 855 Peachtree Street

Community Rooms/Theatre – 11th Floor

For details & more information, please visit Midtown Book Group on Facebook. Midtown Book Group welcomes new members and visitors!