June 2008

ELLIOTT BAY BOOK GROUP
Tuesday, June 3rd at 6:30 p.m.
(first Tuesday of each month)

Each month, the Elliott Bay Book Club reads and discusses the best in contemporary fiction with the occasional classic thrown in for good measure. Our selection is The House of Widows by Askold Melnyczck. James Pak is a historian who lives in Vienna and is haunted by his father's suicide. He takes possession of the belongings his father left, a letter written in an unfamiliar language, a glass jar and military identification papers, which sets him on a journey to uncover the past. Howard Frank Mosher writes of the novel, "The House of Widows is Askold Melnyczuk's masterwork. It is a compelling story of fathers and sons and family ties, brimming with adventure, international intrigue, mystery, true historical events, and memorable characters from all walks of life. A novel of great scope and great wisdom, The House of Widows shows how, even in the presence of the worst atrocities imaginable, human beings are still capable of hope and love..."

GLOBAL ISSUES & ETHICS BOOK GROUP
Tuesday, June 10th at 6:30 p.m.
(second Tuesday of each month)

Our Global Issues & Ethics Book Group is devoted to discussing books that cover the most relevant topics of our everyday lives. This month we read and discuss Under God: Religion and American Politics by Garry Wills. In this classic on religion and American politics, Wills examines our history to show the continuity of present controversies with past religious struggles and argues that the secular standards of the Founders have been misunderstood. The Milwaukee Journal called it, " A brilliant examination of the connection between religion and politics in American life." and Time said that it "Abounds in complexities and ironies."

SPECULATIONS - SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY BOOK GROUP
Tuesday, June 17th at 6:30 p.m.
(third Tuesday of each month)

As the literature of ideas and imagination, Science Fiction and Fantasy simply demands discussion. Our selection for June is Elizabeth Bear's Dust. On a broken ship orbiting a doomed sun, dwellers have grown complacent with their aging metal world. But when a serving girl frees a captive noblewoman, the old order is about to change....
Rien, a handmaid in this feudal society, must care for the prisoner Ser Perceval—a mutilated enemy who Rien discovers is her half-sister by an absent scion of the ruling family.

STAGES - DRAMA BOOK GROUP
Tuesday, June 24th at 6:30 p.m.
(fourth Tuesday of each month)

Elliott Bay's Drama Book Group, Stages, meets once a month to read, enjoy and discuss great plays and dramatic works, contemporary and classic, from the U.S. and around the world. With the start of summer, we turn our attentions to the newest work by Tracy Letts, August: Osage County...newly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. One of the most bracing and critically acclaimed plays in recent Broadway history, August: Osage County a portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest—and absolute worst. When the patriarch of the Weston clan disappears one hot summer night, the family reunites at the Oklahoma homestead, where long-held secrets are unflinchingly and uproariously revealed. "The most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years." - The New York Times. Please join us!