Wisconsin Book Discussion Group

The Wisconsin Academy is planning to celebrate the lives and works of our state’s best writers with a Wisconsin Book Discussion Group the first Wednesday of every month starting in April 2012. John Lehman, founder of Rosebud Magazine and literary editor of Wisconsin People & Ideas, will facilitate the discussions. There is no charge. Just read the selected title, show up 7:00 pm at the conveniently located Wisconsin Academy offices at 1922 University Avenue in Madison (parking along the street and behind the building), and be willing to share why this book means something to you. For those of you that cannot attend the Madison discussion group meetings, we will provide discussion questions on the Wisconsin Academy website (see bottom of the page to download the file) and work with Wisconsin Academy members to facilitate discussions around the state.

For 2012, we have selected the first round of contemporary and classic authors based on their readability and relevance (click individual links below for more information on each title/meeting):

April 4: A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
May 2: Museum of Happiness, Jesse Lee Kercheval
June 6: American Boy, by Larry Watson
July 11 (delayed due to holiday): Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
August 1: Self Help, by Lorrie Moore
September 5: Son of a Middle Border, by Hamlin Garland
October 3: Fanny Herself, by Edna Ferber
November 14 (delayed due to the Wisconsin Book Festival): The Land Remembers, by Ben Logan
December 5: Rascal, by Sterling North

Readers of Wisconsin People & Ideas will be asked to make suggestions for future selections. For a complete list of upcoming dates and titles, visit wisconsinacademy.org/bookgroup. And, of course, we encourage participants to purchase books at their local independent bookseller. Those who wish to purchase the books from Amazon can find them here.