Spartan Book Club

The Spartan Book Club encourages alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends to virtually connect with each other to read and discuss books on a range of topics. Participation in the online forum is free — simply purchase the book or borrow it from your local library. A new book will be chosen approximately every two months. You can join at any time and do not have to participate in every reading session.

Our current book is "By Her Own Design" by Piper Huguley.

How It Works

There are no meetings of the Spartan Book Club — you can participate at your convenience and from anywhere you have Internet access

The book club is entirely online and connects through a private forum moderated by PBC Guru.
All discussions and networking take place in the forum.
The moderator poses questions to the group, shares relevant articles and facilitates conversation on topics in the book based on where members should be in the reading schedule. Generally, you’ll receive a weekly email from the moderator throughout the reading period.
Members are encouraged to post in the forum and share as well. 
Participation in the online forum is free — simply purchase the book or borrow it from your local library.
The book club reads a new book approximately every two months. We vote among several options each period and select a book based on participant interests. 
You do not have to participate in every book reading and your level of participation in the discussion is entirely up to you.

Even if you’ve already read the book, you’re encouraged to still participate by contributing to the conversation — one of the most valuable aspects of this book club is the opportunity to discuss the book with others in the Spartan community.

Benefits of Participation

Connect with fellow Spartans. The Spartan Book Club introduces you to MSU alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends from various backgrounds, geographies, generations and professions. Meet new people and gain different perspectives while reading and discussing the book.
Embrace lifelong learning. The Spartan Book Club will help you learn and grow with fellow Spartans as you enjoy regular discussions and share personal insights.
Reading is good for you. Reading can reduce stress, help you sleep better and improve your relationships [1]. Did we mention it also makes you smarter? Reading increases your verbal intelligence, your emotional intelligence and your creativity [2].

Details

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2024 Books and Reading Schedule

Jan. 5 - March 8: "The Lost City of the Monkey God" by Douglas Preston
March 15 - May 17: "By Her Own Design" by Piper Huguley
May 24 - July 26: "We Should Not Be Friends" by Will Schwalbe

Have a suggestion for a book you'd like us to consider reading? Email Elizabeth Wheeler. Our preferred genres are fiction, historical fiction, mystery/thriller, biography and history. If you're a Spartan author, in fairness to all Spartan authors, please understand that we currently do not plan to feature any Spartan authors as a book club selection.

About the Current Book Selection

1953, New York City. Ann Lowe faces the consequences of a broken pipe, a ruined wedding dress and a lifetime of struggle as a Black designer in a majority-white fashion world. Commissioned to design and make the hand-sewn dress for Jacqueline Bouvier’s marriage to John F. Kennedy, Ann and her design team have to start from scratch to re-create the dress in six days.

Based on the true story of one of the most famous designers of the twenties through the sixties, "By Her Own Design" details how Ann, the granddaughter of slaves, rose above personal hardship and racial prejudice to design and create one of America's most famous wedding dresses of all time.

"By Her Own Design" is Piper Huguley’s historical fiction debut. She is also the author of “Sweet Tea” and two historical series, “Migrations of the Heart” and “Home to Milford College. She is a literature professor at Clark-Atlanta University and blogs about the history behind her novels at piperhuguley.com. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and son.