A work of literature enabled people from different backgrounds and with different interests to engage intellectually and socially in a way they might not have otherwise. And great mysteries like Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep are especially suited to that type of engagement, as the genre requires them to be highly believable while also allowing for wide speculation. Four months later, I still find myself returning to their reflections.
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Professor Lisa Safford and the participants in her Books@Work seminar reflect on how images brought to life Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. As Lisa describes, “Wharton wrote a subtle, but very rich tale of love, lust, duty, reputation, internal conflict, choice, limitations, and resignation. Along the way, she paints a vividly detailed picture—with sardonic wit and tender nostalgia—of the life and times of the era of her youth. As we discussed the story Wharton tells, I used images to guide readers toward the poignancy of Wharton’s writing within the context of the times in which she lived.”
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Whereas traditional college students can sometimes find it challenging to relate ideas and concepts to their own views and lives (perhaps due to their youth and inexperience), Books@Work groups are diverse, and the discussion include a rich variety of reactions and inferences about literature. Participants have a lifetime of experiences that give them insight into characters and storylines.
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“Likes” and “dislikes” are the currency of our digital world. But is “liking” a book a relevant question? Is it possible to gain meaning and value from a book that you do not like? Is there a better way to evaluate the impact of a book or a story?
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The Heart of the Matter, published last year by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, makes the case that the humanities and social sciences are essential for civic society, innovation, and life in a globalized world. The humanities and social sciences are, in the report’s own words, “the keeper of the republic.” At Books@Work we are bringing these ideas to life everyday.
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Happy New Year from all of us at Books@Work. As we close the books on 2013, I cannot help but reflect back on the prior year. Nothing has occupied my thoughts and energies more this past year than Books@Work. 2013 was intended to prove that the program works in multiple industries, with diverse participants and a wide array of reading materials. And prove it we did! As we embark on 2014, we are all excited to take the program to the next level.
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When most people think of the writer John Cheever, they think of the stuff of Mad Men: wealthy old New England suburbs, outdoor swimming pools, bored housewives, frustrated husbands and afternoon martinis. Cheever’s world is hard to imagine from the shores of the Rock River in Beloit, Wisconsin, a town that has endured prolonged economic hardship.
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On day one at Swagelok I asked the Books@Work participants why they signed on for the program:
“The program was a natural. I love to rip through books to find out what happens.”
“I don’t read much besides work-related stuff anymore and thought the program would be a good way to get back into it.”
“I just thought the idea of talking about what I read is cool.”