"Kindness eases Change." (from The Books of the Living, verse 24)

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

What a beautiful wrap to an amazing summer dedicated to reading and discussing Octavia Butler's incredible novels, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents! Our final book discussion today was so thoughtful; you may watch the recap of the meeting here:

https://zoom.us/rec/share/6eFWCLT-1mhJa9LNtBmHXKgoF9y-aaa8gSBL_vEIzkbNye5UWHaX6Mtubo7hwz7j

Password: Ses1=x=g

I feel so thankful to have had the company and insights of all our participants throughout this summer for the Big Book Challenge. As mentioned by several readers, these are challenging books for challenging times, but the feedback I've received so far has indicated how deeply Butler's works have moved you. I hope you continue to explore more of Butler's incredible catalog and continue stretching your reading experience.

Thank you, too, for being so flexible and patient as we moved the challenge to a virtual format for the first time ever. We learned a lot along the way, but it seemed like we encountered more successes than snags. As verse 24 of The Books of the Living reads, "Kindness eases Change," and your kindness has certainly eased so much of the potential stress from making such big changes to the Big Book Challenge. Perhaps we have our own Acorn sprouting right here in University City!

As we wind down for the summer and prepare for the fall, I wanted to leave you with a litte (or a lot!) of Earthseed to take with you. Inspired by today's comment by Edmund that he wishes to read more from The Books of the Living, here are all the Earthseed verses compiled in one place, in case you'd like to bookmark it for days you need some inspiration:

https://godischange.org/the-book-of-the-living/

🚀 Lindsay 🚀

Recap of Monday's live Q&A with Dr. Wanzo

Many thanks to Dr. Rebecca Wanzo and all our participants who were able to attend last night's live Q&A. It was a rousing discussion to wrap up a tremendous group read of Octavia Butler's Earthseed books. Here is the recording of the conversation--my apologies, I forgot to start recording until just after Dr. Wanzo's first question, which was "Do you think Parable of the Talents ended on an uplifting note or a depressing note?" (paraphrased):

https://zoom.us/rec/share/3MItDrehrj5JW6fy1G_bB48qJKP0eaa813AZqPMFmkjU3I8Vja0d3Z8UNHdTdkMb

Password: 7ie=wLNv

If you would like to watch Dr. Wanzo's presentation that sparked this discussion, you can find it here.

We have one final discussion for the Earthseed path of the Big Book Challenge tomorrow, Wednesday, July 29, at 3 p.m. If you would like to attend, be sure to email lbeckman@ucitylibrary.org to receive an invitation.

Infinite Jest in Translation

A tangential topic, but one that always interests me, is translation of important works of literature.  I found this, Infinite Jest around the World, by Scott Esposito at LitHub. 

Translating IJ would be quite a feat, I think.  Contemplating that makes me wonder about all those Russian novels we've read - how well have we understood them?

Great Wednesday Night Discussion!

Last night's discussion of the middle portion of Infinite Jest was terrific!  Many thanks to Michael O'Bryan for joining us again and answering our many questions. 

More thanks go to reader Mary McFarland for sharing this 2018 New Yorker piece by Claire Friedman called 'How to Read "Infinite Jest".' 

Read it and you'll see that we, the Big Book Challenge readers, will never have such problems.  We've got each other to get us through!

View Dr. Rebecca Wanzo's Earthseed presentation AND event registration information!

Many thanks to Dr. Rebecca Wanzo for this virtual presentation on Octavia Butler's Earthseed duology! Dr. Wanzo is a professor and chair of the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University. In her presentation, Dr. Wanzo addresses ideas surrounding the literary tradition of sentimentality, new age religion and spirituality, and generational conflict, particularly as they relate to racial oppression. Please note that this presentation is in three parts and are posted in order below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Registration is now available for next week's two events via Zoom:

1. Monday, July 27 @ 7 p.m.: Live Q&A with Dr. Rebecca Wanzo
2. Wednesday, July 29 @ 3 p.m.: General book discussion of the Earthseed duology

Please email lbeckman@ucitylibrary.org to receive an invitation to register for one or both of these events (please indicate which events you wish to attend!).

So Many Fun Infinite Jest Sites!

Because if we ever needed visual aids it's now: Take a look at a site called brain pickings for an Infinite Jest flowchart, an Infinite Jest map of Boston, below, and an Infinite Jest character map.   Are any of these helpful? 

Boston Locations in Infinite Jest from https://lovredhatred.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/like-boston/

Dr. Wanzo's presentation is delayed

Dr. Wanzo's presentation will not be available until next week (the week of July 20). We apologize for the inconvenience, and we will make it available on the blog as soon as possible (along with a newsletter reminder).

In the meantime, I hope you are steadily making your way through the Parable of the Talents. Quite a lot occurs during this book. Do you have any questions or comments so far? Thoughts about how Earthseed has progressed? I would love to hear about your experience--email lbeckman@ucitylibrary.org.

Until next week, happy reading!

Black Science Fiction and Fantasy

During the two discussions of Parable of the Sower last month, several participants mentioned that they don't often read science fiction or are rarely drawn to the genre, but that Octavia Butler's work is piquing their interest to explore more science fiction, particularly Black perspectives in science fiction. While a simple Google search will bring back dozens upon dozens of science fiction recommendations by Black authors, you may find a lot of overlap, which belies the tremendous canon of Black authors in the genre. As luck would have it, acclaimed author Nisi Shawl recently published an annotated list on Tor.com that may help interested readers find their next great read: Take a Tour Through the History of Black Science Fiction. Here you'll find many different ways to dip into science fiction (including Octavia Butler!), and most are available to checkout through the library.

I also mentioned that I celebrate "Sci-Fi July" with a group of friends, and we usually make a bingo for each year. This year, we are celebrating female and non-binary Black authors in science fiction and fantasy. There are too many to include on one bingo sheet, so use this as a jumping-off point!

And, because we need an illustrated version of Infinite Jest...

From Poor Yorick Entertainment: https://pooryorickentertainment.tumblr.com/post/7792492668

So, Eschaton...

The Decemberists' Calamity Song

The chapter which begins our middle challenge portion (page 321, approximately) recounts in scrupulous detail the ETA ritual of playing this game, simulating nuclear world conflict by lobbing tennis balls on various world targets, mapped on the court.   I had a lot of trouble getting through this one, but found watching this video, created by Parks and Rec's Michael Schur, helpful.

For more background on the creation of the video, this New York Times article will bring you up to speed.

Dear Boss...

Thanks to dedicated Infinite Jest reader Lisa for sharing this with us:

So for those of you who aren't fans of Irish folk music, look up the song "Dear Boss/Bricklayers Song" on YouTube, and you'll see that it is an exact telling of the unfortunate events in the insurance memo on pp. 139-140. It's a great song too.

There appear to be loads of versions of the song on YouTube; here's one: The Clancy Brothers with Robbie O'Connell.

Remember by Joy Harjo

Every April, the American Library Association sends out a poster for National Poetry Month. I usually hang these around my desk at work, but this year, as the library building remained closed due to the pandemic, I tacked it up to a wall in my office at home. It's a photograph of artwork by Samantha Aikman, featuring a line from United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's poem "Remember" from her 1983 collection She Had Some Horses. Read the poem in full at Poets.org.

It's a beautiful poem, but somehow I only just recently connected it to Octavia Butler's Earthseed books. It is almost impossible not to hear Lauren Olamina in it--her connection to her parents, the land, literature. How her hyperempathy connects her to the world around her in such a visceral way. I would even argue that the poem itself reads a bit like verses from Earthseed: The Books of the Living.

Do you find resonance between "Remember" and the Earthseed books? Has other creative work reminded you of Earthseed?

From the Sower to the Talents

Thank you to everyone who attended the second Zoom meeting this week, discussing Parable of the Sower. It was wonderful to hear attendees talk about their reactions to the book--some who are revisiting the book are reading it with a new perspective, and others who don't normally read science fiction are finding themselves with new interest, especially considering how prescient it is. Many of the topics introduced by Dr. Pergadia also factored into the conversation. If you missed the meeting or would like to revisit it, you may watch the recording here:

https://zoom.us/rec/share/_NRwPqnR92dITKPnsG2DUf4IA7zBT6a8hHVK8vILyB2j0Cs-0mjl2UPc36wNDh36

Password: 5w!HC3^m

As we wrap up our month reading Parable of the Sower, be sure you haven't missed Dr. Pergadia's presentation. And if you are one of the many readers connecting the book to current events, I encourage you to check out the new podcast Octavia's Parables by adrienne maree brown and Toshi Reagon if you are able.

Many consider Parable of the Talents to be an even starker read than Parable of the Sower. The point of view expands in the second book, and we will learn so much more about Lauren, her world, and the development of Earthseed. Dr. Pergadia's insights will continue to inform your reading, and the library is excited to host Dr. Rebecca Wanzo, who will provide further context. July's discussions will follow the same format as June's--Dr. Wanzo's presentation will be posted here on the blog in mid-July, followed by a live Q&A on July 27 and a general book discussion on July 29. Stay tuned!

Parable of the Sower + John Green's Crash Course Literature

We have had a busy June! Thank you to everyone who joined us this week for our live Q&A with Dr. Pergadia and the following online Zoom book discussion. I hope you are eager to find out what happens to Lauren Olamina and her quest to establish Earthseed as we continue with Parable of the Talents in July.

For a little levity, I'd like to share a video that our Head of Youth Services, Erin Hood, brought to my attention. Popular Young Adult author John Green (whose works include The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska) also has built quite the Youtube presence from his Vlogbrothers series with his brother Hank. He also created a CrashCourse video on Parable of the Sower! Be forewarned, the video provides a brief summary of the book so there are a few spoilers--if you are still wrapping up this month's reading, you may want to wait until you've finished it before viewing.

While there are some curious animation choices (I suspect the animators haven't read the books...), Green does bring up some topics that we can continue to look at as we continue our reading into July, particularly how religion is used throughout the novels and the idea of dystopia vs. utopia. What are your thoughts and questions about how Green discusses Parable of the Sower? What are your questions or predictions for how the plot and characters might develop in Parable of the Talents?