MUSE Fall 2011

So after a very short summer, we are ready to convene the next MUSE season.  The reading choices are listed below.  Each meeting is in the Dean's Conference Room in the Main Building of Kent State University at East Liverpool and begins at 6:30.  MUSE is sponsored by the campus Library and is free and open to the public.  Refreshments are always served, often the food is in keeping with the theme of the book.  This definitely means that circus food will be on the menu for the September meeting!  What should it be?  Popcorn? Cracker jacks? Lemon shakes?  Elephant ears? Cotton candy?  Candy apples?  Come to the meeting and see!

September 27, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The brutish and enticing world of the circus is revealed to the reader by two versions of Jacob Jankowski; Jacob at 90 years of age (or maybe 93) and Jacob at 23.   Jacob lives and collides with a menagerie of animals and seedy human characters as he falls in love with the boss’s wife.   This novel has a bit of everything; adventure, mystery, fictional memoir, love story, and historical account.  Read it before the DVD is released on November 1!

October 25, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale is a haunting mystery perfect for Halloween reading.  It is the story of octogenarian Vida Winter, a best-selling British author and Margaret Lea, the young antiquarian bookseller and amateur biographer whom Ms. Winter has chosen to write her life story. The problem is that Ms. Winter has spent her life telling stories -- including 19 different versions of her background and childhood. In the end, both women have to confront their pasts and family secrets…as well as the ghosts that haunt them still.

November 9, UnBroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken is the true story of Louie Zamperini, a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic star-turned-war hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashes into the ocean.  Along with his friend Phil, the pilot, he survives gunfire, sharks, and starvation on a tiny raft, only to be rescued and thrown into a Japanese prison camp. Louie’s ordeal during the war and his struggle to return to civilian life are moving tributes to the Greatest Generation.  This inspiring read serves as a reminder, to all of us, of what US veterans have endured and sacrificed for the safety of our nation.