Our fearless committee has met, discussed, pondered, agonized, and finally decided. Here are the three books for our upcoming 2009-2010 academic year:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz
2. A Mercy, by Toni Morrison
3. Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson

As usual, there were many contenders for the three slots. The Glass Castle almost made the cut. The Age of Innocence was in and out of the top three. Beloved by Toni Morrison, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah; the list goes on and on.

We scheduled our first forum on Friday, July 10 at 2:00 pm in Humanities 202. Contact Melissa Flannery to reserve a spot and order a copy of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. As usual, the university buys the book for you, and you pay $5 to Melissa to cover the cost of refreshments.

The Powers That Be at Bellevue University have pledged their support for this community-building event. In other words, you have the blessing of your boss to come and discuss a great book. Hey, bosses have each other's blessings to come, too!

Curious about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao? Check the review in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/Scott-t.html Better yet, skip the review and read the book first - it is short and sweet and well worth the time.

As Groucho Marx once said, outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. We'll see you in July!