Carol Stark: Online book club to launch

Opinion

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January 30, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sat Jan 30, 2010, 08:45 AM CST

Terry McDermid’s son thinks I’m really setting her up for abuse. At least that’s what she told me after she agreed to blog for the Globe.

Her assignment? To follow Missouri Southern State University’s Literary Lions’ upcoming session featuring the book “Rebecca.” The Literary Lions is a cooperative project between MSSU’s Alumni Association and Spiva Library. Each semester a book is selected and the discussion group is moderated by a member of the campus community who has specialized knowledge on the subject matter.

My specialized knowledge is that I — unlike McDermid’s son who had to read it as part of a class requirement — couldn’t put the thriller down. McDermid, on the other hand, writes books. When she walked into my office last week bringing me an op-ed on her love of libraries, I didn’t hesitate to ask her if she would help the Globe create a community book club in cooperation with the Literary Lions.

Wendy McGrane, library director at MSSU, readily agreed to the venture. We’re all in hopes it will expand the program.

“Rebecca” was written by Daphne du Maurier in 1938, and two years later was recreated for the silver screen. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. The Literary Lions still has a few spots open for its discussion group. Cost is $25 — $15 of that goes to Friends of the Spiva Library. The rest pays for the book, which is donated back to the library at the end of the session, and refreshments from the University Java coffee shop. Response is needed by Feb. 8. The first session is at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at the Spiva Library coffee shop. The second session is at 6:30 p.m. March 4, and the final session, a viewing of the Hitchcock film, will be at 6:30 p.m. March 11. Pat Murphy, an MSSU English professor, will moderate the group discussions. If you would like to participate, contact the Alumni Office at 625-9355.

For the Globe’s purposes, well, we’re letting McDermid do most of the work. All you have to do is read along. Before Feb. 18, you can go to our Web site, www.joplin globe.com, click on blogs and see her thoughts on the books and leave your comments. We’ll reprint her commentary and your’s weekly on our Sunday books page.

To help jumpstart the experiment, we’ll give away 10 copies of “Rebecca.” All you have to do is e-mail me at cstark@joplinglobe.com or write to me in care of the Globe, providing me with your name and phone number. We’ll draw 10 names out of the hat and get them to you so you can read along.

The Literary Lions has been holding the book sessions since 2003. Among the selections: “Catherine the Great,” “The Good Earth,” “A Thousand Acres” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

At the end of each session, the MSSU group brainstorms to generate ideas for the following semester. We’ll ask you for ideas as well and forward your thoughts to McGrane.

Carol Stark is editor of The Joplin Globe. Address correspondence to her, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or e-mail cstark@joplinglobe.com.

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Carol Stark: Online book club to launch

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