For tonight's class, we opened with a discussion of Born to Run. The class seemed to be split pretty evenly between those who loved it and those who absolutely didn't. I have to agree that it is the type of book that could take a little time for the reader to accept, and I believe it has more to do with expectations than the actual merits of the book. Some people really were inspired to get out and run barefoot while others were content to read and absorb this great story. Still others, uninspired and uninterested, were turned off by the book.
Next, the fantasy group presented the information from their chapter, which I thought was very informative and thorough. Many of the books mentioned are books I have read or want to read. I love the variety of story possibilities available in the fantasy genre.
After a break, we listened to part of an audiobook in which the characters were from the antebellum South and reflected the kind of anti-Yankee sentiment that pervaded the South during the time period in which our book, The Unspeakable Crime, was set. Listening to this section of the audiobook really did set the stage for the kind of feelings that were prominent in Atlanta in 1913, setting us up for our courtroom reinactment.
Then, we proceeded to have a casual "mock trial" of Leo Frank using information from the book. This activity was fun and an interesting way to review the events of the book, but we all agreed in the end that it would have been more productive if the witnesses were able to prepare ahead of time for their interrogations rather than attempt to remember sometimes minute details from the book.
For our next class session, we will be having guest speaker, Bart Bare, author of Girl: a Novel. It should be interesting to speak with him and get his insight. Also, the Friends & Society group presentation that was assigned for tonight was rescheduled for next week.
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