Thank you to everyone, including our new friends from the Bonn English Language Book Group, who joined this month's rich discussion of Elif Shafak's novel The Bastard of Istanbul. (Copies are in stock at Books Inc. Opera Plaza if you still want to pick it up.)
As usual, we have a number of suggestions for further reading, viewing, and exploring.
Viewing and listening:
TED Interview (2019): “Elif Shafak on the Urgent Power of Storytelling”
"Armenians Came to SF to Escape Genocide. Now, Fears of That History Are Resurfacing" (KQED, Oct 2020)
Intent to Destroy (2017 documentary about the Armenian genocide)
The Promise (2016)
Kedi (2016 documentary about cats in Istanbul)
Reading: (* = previously read by the book group)
Interview with Elif Shafak about writing in Turkish and English
President Biden's statement on 4/24/21 acknowledging the genocide of Armenians
Three San Francisco Bay Area counties also passed resolutions this week (KRON4)
The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak *
The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric * (mentioned by Elif Shafak in the TED Interview, link below)
A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar *
Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds by Steven Kinzer *
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power *
Exploring:
PEN America's profile of Turkey with regard to freedom of expression
Our May Discussion
For May, we turn to a book about financial markets first published in 1841 that continues to be turned to today. Find out if you find the arguments relevant and resonant!
"In writing the history of the great financial manias, Charles Mackay proved himself a master chronicler of social as well as financial history. Blessed with a cast of characters that covered all the vices, gifted a passage of events which was inevitably heading for disaster, and with the benefit of hindsight, he produced a record that is at once a riveting thriller and absorbing historical document. A century and a half later, it is as vibrant and lurid as the day it was written. . . . When the next stock market bubble comes along, as it surely will, you are advised to recall the plight of some of the unfortunates on these pages, and avoid getting dragged under the wheels of the careering bandwagon yourself."
Join the conversation!
Sunday, May 23, 2021
11 a.m. to approx 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time
The book is available for purchase at Books Inc. Opera Plaza.
(Many editions of this book are available.)
Location: Online
Subscribe to the email list to receive the meeting invitation. (Kindly allow a couple of days for a reply.)
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