Read along with Folger Book Club this Fall!

 

We have your summer reading sorted!   Folger Book Club is pleased to announce our line up for the Fall 2024 season.  From environmental activism in New Zealand to a magical contest in Golden Age Spain, our Fall titles will explore power dynamics and support the questions raised by Folger's "Whose Democracy?" season.  All discussions will be held in Zoom and we will also share the discussion questions, supplemental materials, and suggestions for sips and snacks in advance. Hope to see you there!   We return in August     Registration opens July 9 with early access for members Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton Thursday, August 1, at 6:30pm (ET)   Birnam Wood is on the move . . . A landslide has closed the Korowai Pass on New Zealand’s South Island, cutting off the town of Thorndike and leaving a sizable farm abandoned. The disaster presents an opportunity for Birnam Wood, an undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic guerrilla gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice. For years, the group has struggled to break even. To occupy the farm at Thorndike would mean a shot at solvency at last. But the enigmatic American billionaire Robert Lemoine also has an interest in the place: he has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker, or so he tells Birnam’s founder, Mira, when he catches her on the property. He’s intrigued by Mira, and by Birnam Wood; although they’re poles apart politically, it seems Lemoine and the group might have enemies in common. But can Birnam trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust one another? A gripping psychological thriller from the Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its drama, Austenian in its wit, and, like both influences, fascinated by what makes us who we are. A brilliantly constructed study of intentions, actions, and consequences, it is a mesmerizing, unflinching consideration of the human impulse to ensure our own survival.   Why did we choose this book? The Folger Shakespeare Library’s collection explores not only Shakespeare’s life and works, but also the plays’ historical context, source material, critical and performance histories, and the ways in which they inspire and are adapted by contemporary novelists. Kicking off our "Whose Democracy?" season, Birnam Wood asks questions about who truly holds power and how personal boundaries are continuously redrawn by ambition and opportunity, inspired by themes and relationships in Shakespeare's Macbeth.     This month, we are thrilled to partner again with Politics and Prose, DC’s premiere independent bookstore devoted to cultivating community and strengthening the common good through books, programs, and a respectful exchange of ideas. Orders can be placed online, or at any of the locations throughout DC—Connecticut Avenue NW, The Wharf, and Union Market. Learn more at politics-prose.com.   Click here to purchase your book from Politics and Prose   Catch up with The Latinist   Not able to join us for June's discussion of The Latinist by Mark Prins? The Folger Spotlight has introductory and supplemental material—including discussion questions—to help you explore the book or even host your own conversation.   Introductory Material Resource Guide Opening Conversation   Our Fall 2024 Book Selections   We are pleased to share our 2024 Fall Book Club selections! Registration for each session opens the preceding month, with early access for Folger members.   Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, September 5 Purchase from Kramers Edith Holler by Edward Carey, October 10 Purchase from Old Town Books Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma, November 7 Purchase from Busboys and Poets The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, December 5  Purchase from Solid State Books   Shakespeare Hour Live June 13, 7:30pm (ET)   Shakespeare Theatre Company and Folger Theatre will join forces to present this last SHL celebrating the work of Mary Zimmerman as both a director and playwright. Dr. Drew Lichtenberg and LeeAnét Noble will lead discussions on Zimmerman‘s adaptation of Mozart’s classic opera, The Matchbox Magic Flute and her play Metamorphoses that is currently on stage at Folger Theatre.    Zimmerman herself will join the conversation along with Director of Metamorphoses at Folger Theatre, Psalmayene 24, and Dramaturg for the play, Faedra Carpenter. This final Shakespeare Hour Live is free and can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home by streaming on YouTube. Visit STC’s YouTube channel to watch the discussion live or a recording after the event. Share your questions in the chat for a chance to have them asked live.   Shakespeare Theatre Company and Folger Theatre will join forces to present this last SHL celebrating the work of Mary Zimmerman as both a director and playwright. Dr. Drew Lichtenberg and LeeAnét Noble will lead discussions on Zimmerman‘s adaptation of Mozart’s classic opera, The Matchbox Magic Flute and her play Metamorphoses that is currently on stage at Folger Theatre.    We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of Folger Book Club       VISIT | CONNECT | SUPPORT       Folger Shakespeare Library | 201 East Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003   Main (202) 544-4600 | Box Office (202) 544-7077 | info@folger.edu