BookTalk at BSC 2020 – Join Us!
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BookTalk at BSC – The Stranger in the Woods
Who: You!
What: BookTalk at BSC 2019 – “Off the Grid”
Book: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
When: Sunday, February 3, 2019, 1 to 3 p.m.
We will be done in plenty of time for the Super Bowl!
Where: LEA 204, BSC Library 2nd floor meeting room
Discussion leader: Dr. Brian Palecek, English & Humanities Instructor, United Tribes Technical College
BookTalk at BSC 2019 Online Guide: http://bsc.libguides.com/booktalk/2019
Discussions are free and open to all. BookTalk is funded by the BSC Library and a grant from the BSC Foundation.
Hope to see you then! Bring a friend … or two.
BookTalk at BSC 2015
BookTalk at BSC is the BSC Library’s annual book discussion series. Read the books & join us for lively discussions at the Library. The books are available from libraries and booksellers.
BookTalk at BSC 2015
ROAD TRIP
BookTalk discussions are free and open to all. Join us … and bring a friend!
Good reading!
BookTalk at BSC 2012
Good news! We received word from the BSC Foundation that our BookTalk at BSC 2012 grant request was funded!
We are working on the final plans, but here’s a preview to whet your appetite:
Our theme, The Only Thing that Lasts, was inspired (in part) by this line from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind:
“Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O’Hara, that Tara, that land doesn’t mean anything to you? Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin’ for, worth fightin’ for, worth dyin’ for, because it’s the only thing that lasts.” — Gerald O’Hara
The Books
- O Pioneers by Willa Cather (January 8, 2012; discussion leader: Dr. Amy Juhala)
- Red Earth, White Earth by Will Weaver (February 5, 2012; discussion leader: Brian Palecek)
- Dakota or What’s a Heaven For by Brenda K. Marshall (March 4, 2012; discussion leader: Author Brenda K. Marshall)
BookTalk discussions will be held in the BSC Library from 1-3 p.m. Discussions are free and open to all.
Stay tuned for more details … In the meantime, start reading.
The Space Between Us – BookTalk at BSC
On Sunday, February 6, Dr. AnnMarie Kajencki will lead the second discussion in our 2011 BookTalk at BSC series. 
Our theme this year is “What Divides Us.” Join us as we continue to explore, through literature, our differences and our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.
On February 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the BSC Library, we will be talking about The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar.
In this bestselling novel, the author looks at life in two Bombay households, and shows how India, even now, is ruled by class and social structure, firmly rooted in tradition and the perceived difference between the sexes. One example of that is the relationship between Sera Dubash, an upper-class Parsi homemaker, and her servant, Bhima. Though they may share a cup of tea and chat like close friends, Sera sits in a chair while Bhima sits on the floor. Yet, even though class separates the women, they are united in their treatment at the hands of men, who consider all women inferior.
Joy Humphrey, in a Library Journal review, wrote that “Umrigar beautifully and movingly wends her way through the complexities and subtleties of these … relationships.”
The Space Between Us is a very good book and will make for a great discussion!
For more information about BookTalk, check out the LibGuide or call us at 224.5450.
See you on February 6!
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan – BookTalk at BSC
Join us for the first discussion in our 2011 BookTalk at BSC series:
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Discussion of Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Discussion leader: Dr. Janelle Masters, Dean of Academic Affairs
Bismarck State College Library
1 to 3 p.m.*
*Note: We will finish a little early so those who also want to attend Conversations at BSC at 3 p.m. can do so.
Mudbound is Hillary Jordan’s award-winning debut novel. Set on a cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta in the late 1940s, we see a world of racism, prejudice, and hardship through the eyes of six characters, who take turns narrating the story. Mudbound won the Bellwether Prize for Fiction in 2006. Barbara Kingsolver, the founder of the prize, said this of Hillary Jordan’s book, “Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still.” For more information about the author and the book, visit Hillary Jordan’s website.
BookTalk discussions are free and open to all. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call us the BSC Library at 224-5450.
BookTalk at BSC 2011
Good news! The BSC Foundation approved our grant for BookTalk at BSC 2011, the Library’s annual book discussion series. We are still finalizing the details, but wanted to give you a heads up about our plans.
BookTalk at BSC 2011
“What Divides Us”
| Date | Book & Author | Discussion Leader |
| Sunday, January 9, 2011 | Mudbound by Hillary Jordan | Dr. Janelle Masters |
| Sunday, February 6, 2011 | The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar | Dr. AnnMarie Kajencki |
|
Sunday, March 6, 2011 |
The Book of Dead Birds by Gayle Brandeis |
To Be Announced |
Discussions are held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the BSC Libraryand are free and open to all. The books can be borrowed from local libraries or purchased from local booksellers.
Stay tuned for more details!
Iran Awakening – BookTalk at BSC – March 7
BookTalk at BSC 2010 continues with discussion of Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi on Sunday, March 7, from 1 to 3 p.m., at the BSC Library. Dr. Daphne Ghorbani, Assistant Professor and Secondary Education Program Coordinator at the University of Mary, will lead the discussion.
About the Book and the Author
Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country is both a memoir and an insider’s account of the history of post-revolutionary Iran. The book was written by Shirin Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Ebadi earned a law degree at the University of Tehran and became Iran’s first female judge. After the Islamic Revolution, she lost her judgeship. Islamic clerics called women “too emotional” to hold a high ranking position in the judicial system. Rather than leave the country like so many of her contemporaries and colleagues, Ebadi chose to stay and work from within as a human rights lawyer battling for justice in Iran’s revolutionary court. She won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in this arena. Time Magazine named Ebadi one of 2004’s top 100 most influential people.
Iran Awakening can be purchased from local booksellers or checked out from local libraries. BookTalk at BSC discussions are free and open to all. Refreshments will be served.
BookTalk at BSC is supported by the BSC Library and a grant from the BSC Foundation.
BookTalk at BSC – The Bathhouse
BookTalk at BSC 2010 continues with discussion of The Bathhouse by Farnoosh Moshiri on Sunday, February 7, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the BSC Library. Suzanne Kramer-Brenna, BSC English adjunct instructor and NDCAWS staff member, will lead the discussion.
About the Book
The Bathhouse won the Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction and is based on interviews with Iranian women who were imprisoned in the early days of the Islamic revolution. The story’s central character is a 17-year-old girl, arrested and imprisoned because of her brother’s involvement with leftist politics. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Written with the simple authority of an oral deposition, packing the punch of All Quiet on the Western Front, this is a gripping, harrowing story of personal courage and endurance.”
The Bathhouse can be purchased from local booksellers or checked out from local libraries. BookTalk at BSC discussions are free and open to all. BookTalk at BSC is supported by the BSC Library and a grant from the BSC Foundation.
“Strange Times, My Dear” – BookTalk at BSC 2010
BookTalk at BSC 2010 will focus on Iran. With Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi as the Campus Read selection, Roxana Saberi visiting campus on April 20, 2010, and Iran being so much in the news, it seems appropriate to learn more about this country.
“Strange Times, My Dear”
The theme, “Strange Times, My Dear,” is inspired by Ahmad Shamlu’s poem, “In This Blind Alley,” which was written in response to the Islamic revolution. Each stanza ends with the line, “Strange times, my dear.”
The Books & the Discussions
BookTalk discussions will be held at the BSC Library from 1 to 3 p.m. and are free and open to all. The books can be borrowed from libraries or purchased from local booksellers.
Caspian Rain: a Novel by Gina B. Nahai 
Sunday, January 10, 2010 — Discussion leader: Arlene Gray
Caspian Rain received rave reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Publishers Weekly said, “… Nahai explores the struggles of an Iranian family in the tenuous decade before the Islamic revolution … a poignant tale of a ‘damaged family.'”
The Bathhouse by Farnoosh Moshiri 
Sunday, February 7, 2010 — Discussion leader: Suzanne Kramer-Brenna
The Bathhouse won the Black Heron Press Award for Social Fiction and is based on interviews with Iranian women who were imprisoned in the early days of the Islamic revolution. The story’s central character is a 17-year-old girl, arrested and imprisoned because of her brother’s involvement with leftist politics. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Written with the simple authority of an oral deposition, packing the punch of All Quiet on the Western Front, this is a gripping, harrowing story of personal courage and endurance.”
Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country by Shirin Ebadi
Sunday, March 7, 2010 — Discussion leader: Dr. Daphne Ghorbani
This book is a memoir by Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. Ebadi was a judge in Iran until the Islamic Revolution forced her demotion. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Ebadi chose to stay in Iran and work from within for human rights in fundamentalist Iran.
BookTalk is funded by the BSC Library and a grant from the BSC Foundation.
Read it! Read it! 