Sigma Tau Delta’s LITerary Book Club

By Kassidy Hart– Morningside’s English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, has started a book club and invites any and all students to join. 

The book club met on Friday, November 5^th, to discuss their first novel, City of Thieves written by David Benioff. The club was open for all of campus to join and take part in a discussion about the novel. In total, there were 8 students and 1 professor who made an appearance. 

“Though our book club is sponsored by our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, it is open campus wide to any students who would like to attend. We send out campus-wide emails through Christine Madden with meeting times and the books we have chosen,” Chairman of the Book Club Committee junior Kennedy Skinner said. 

So far, the participants of the club have been mainly English majors or minors in result of being a subcommittee of Sigma Tau Delta. This addition of the book club to Sigma Tau Delta made it more feasible for those students to get involved in their specific area of interest, but also encouraged involvement in the department campus wide. 

“There are many parts to English and the humanities as a whole,” Sigma Tau Delta President and junior Ethan Sorenson said. “This is an open-club, so anyone is welcome to join. Even if meeting up and talking to people about the book isn’t your thing, we still send out emails with the next book we are going to read so you can follow along with us just by reading the story if that is more of your thing.” 

The first novel chosen for the club members to read was a historical fiction novel, set in the WWII siege of Leningrad, that focused on the coming-of-age story of a teenage boy. The next novel, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, is a more recent story that tells about a woman’s journey of rediscovering the meaning of life and what could have been. 

“So far, our process of picking books has been pretty relaxed. For the first book we picked, I gathered some different suggestions from students interested in attending. Then we had a quick committee meeting with some members from Sigma Tau Delta who could make it over Zoom,” Skinner said. “We chose our book for our upcoming meeting at our first official meeting. This was a way better method of choosing, so this is what we are going to do moving forward.”

The first meeting was on rather short notice, giving students less time to get through the 258-page novel than they preferred. Nevertheless, the club found that the open and relaxed meeting style made it easier for those who did not have time to finish the novel feel that they could still join in on and be involved in the discussion. 

“I know a couple people, myself included, didn’t actually finish the novel in time for the meeting but we were still able to talk and hang out,” junior Lukas Knudson said.

With almost a month to finish the next novel, Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, the club is hoping that the discussion will be more literature-based but also have the same relaxed and open energy as the first meeting.

“Our last conversation was still productive and good, but everyone was, literally, on different pages and we weren’t able to all share ideas on everything involved in the novel,” Knudson said.

By joining the book club, students say that you can find a community of like-minded peers who are looking to read for enjoyment and casually chat about what they liked and disliked over a cup of coffee. Furthermore, the club does not have a long-time commitment, so the experience is what students choose to make of it. 

“Getting together with people who also enjoy reading and talking about literature is a nice reprieve from busy classes. If you don’t join one month or don’t have the time to read that novel, you can join next month! Book clubs are a way for people to explore literature and possibly read works they might not choose on their own,” Knudson said.

Any and all students and faculty who are interested in joining in on the next novel are encouraged to attend the meeting on Friday, December 3^rd, at 12:40pm on the first floor of the library.

“We don’t supply the novels as a club, that’s an independent responsibility. If you’re not able to get a copy but still want to join, you can reach out to me, or Kennedy Skinner and we can help you get a copy! We want everyone to have an equal opportunity to be included and involved,” Knudson said.