One Year into the Club

December of 2023, I finished listening to the audiobook for The Brothers Karamazov. Its a book I found referenced by many authors and thinkers who I admire, and wanted to have a better understanding of the references. But, I realized that just listening to the story only gave me a surface level understanding of the novel, I needed some engagement. 

So I started a book club. I didn’t go to college so I hadn’t really been able to be a part of a discussion group like this, and had never thought of just starting one. I invited a dozen or so friends and acquaintances, and it took a few months but low and behold 10 people committed.  This passed year we have been meeting monthly at a local bistro to discuss The Brothers Karamazov section by section, we eat, drink, and discuss. It has been wonderful, and surprising because starting with a challenging novel like The Brothers Karamazov was a big swing. 

After a pause in December to discuss A Christmas Carol, we should have Brothers Karamazov wrapped up in February, then we’ll take a few months to discuss Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, followed by Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, and then John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. 

I’ve become fascinated by source text reading, or reading a book because it is referenced in another book to gain a better understanding. So with Brothers Karamazov, having a general understanding of the Christian Bible really helps understand a lot of the references Dostoyevsky makes. And, reading Brothers Karamazov really helped me understand some of the references in Albert Camus book, The Rebel. It’s becoming quite the little hobby, and a matric for the books that we’ve put on the schedule. I’m hoping to maybe tackle some short Greek plays next year, Sophocles’ Oedipus Trilogy, or possibly some sections of Plato’s Symposium.