Campus Book Clubs Discuss Vacation Reads

About forty students and several faculty members took advantage of campus vacation book clubs—four led by faculty and two by students—meeting virtually in mid-January to discuss what they had read over winter break. 

Librarian Mark Melchior began vacation book clubs in March 2019 and has offered them every school break since then. In December, he set up discussion groups for six books: three fiction—And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller—and three non-fiction—All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein, and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.

"I chose to offer several titles across genres because our time away from campus extended from November to January," said Mr. Melchior, "and I wanted to meet the varied interest areas of our students and faculty."

Song of Achilles and Range were the most popular selections. History teacher Eric Spierer led readers of Range to contemplate the book's theme of specialization versus generalization. “The best part was seeing the ways the students connected the book to their own lives,” Mr. Spierer said. “We discussed at length the ways Range relates to approaches they’re taking with their current studies at Groton, and especially how the school's curriculum aids in this effort to have a broad foundation from which to build future specialization. With this outlook, the students discussed at length their visions for their own futures and the ways they intend to engage multiple pathways to achieve expertise in the paths they choose.”

Mr. Melchior joined Classics teacher Preston Bannard ’01 to lead the group that read Song of Achilles, a reimagination of The Iliad. "The kids really responded to the book, partly from their background in Classics and partly from the love story at the center of the work," Mr. Melchior said. "We expect a story about Achilles to be about war, but we also get a very different side of him."

The librarian is already thinking about new options for spring break book clubs. He is also working with the Alumni Office to offer book clubs for Groton graduates.