Introducing FEPPS’ Summer Book Club
Do you love reading and talking about books? Have you been wanting to engage with FEPPS students but can’t make the trip to the prison? If so, we hope you will join our summer book club!
FEPPS students and community members will be reading A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit.
Here is a short description of the book:
“The most startling thing about disasters, according to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and meaningful work that disaster often provides. A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster’s grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local.” https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301070/a-paradise-built-in-hell-by-rebecca-solnit/
How to participate:
Join the club!
FEPPS students and community members will read the book on a shared timeline, write reflections, and respond to discussion questions. FEPPS staff will compile and anonymize responses and share them with all book club members, inside and out. The reading schedule will run from ____ through the end of August.
Read at your own pace:
If this book intrigues you but you can’t commit to a regular reading and response schedule, we encourage you to treat the book as a common read and read along with us! If a particular passage resonates with you, you are still welcome to contribute to the reflections being sent back and forth by reaching out to FEPPS Program Coordinator Nina at ninakranzdorf@fepps.org.
Already read this book? Help guide our discussions:
If you are familiar with this book or have other relevant expertise, please send ideas for discussion questions and supplementary materials to ninakranzdorf@fepps.org.
Shop local!
Should you choose to purchase this book or any others, we hope you will support an independent bookstore near you or order from a black-owned bookstore (see this list!)