CLARION – At the Travel and Leisure Book Club, one can escape daily life without ever leaving town. The book club, sponsored by the Clarion University Community Fellows grant, will meet at 6 p.m. Oct. 30 and Nov. 20 in the lower level of the Clarion Free Library. Anyone who is interested in taking an adventure through the pages of a book is welcome to join the discussions.
The club will discuss “The Last Train to Zona Verde” by Paul Theroux Oct. 30. The Nov. 20 meeting centers on “Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure that Took the Victorian World by Storm” by Monte Reel. Participants may borrow a copy of each book from Clarion Free Library.
Dr. Marilyn Harhai, professor of library science, and Daniel Parker, executive director of Clarion Free Library, began the club as a way for the campus and community members to connect in an informal setting via discussion of books. Members of the club share their passions and impressions during a lively discussion and are encouraged to share personal stories.
Parker hopes the travel and leisure theme speaks to our innate desire to meet new people and experience new places.
“This book club has had a number of reading adventures, from walking the Pacific Coast Trail, to visiting shrines in Tibet, exploring Southeast Asia, plumbing the spiritual depths of Machu Picchu, and exploring the world via culinary experience,” Parker said.
“The club’s interactions are driven initially by the books being read, but over the course of the club meeting, the talk becomes almost a community forum, and along the way, the participants are enriched by their participation,” he said.
The club has exposed readers to places and ideas they may never have dreamed of visiting. It is creating a more thoughtful community, one page at a time.
For more information or any questions about the club, email Dr. Marilyn Harhai atmharhai@clarion.edu.