Discuss environmental literature at Ryerson Woods
Avid readers love getting lost in a great book. There is nothing like getting settled into a comfortable chair and letting your mind wander to faraway places. You imagine the smells, the touch and the wonders of the places that the book takes you. The 10th season of Ryerson Reads book selections will take readers on an environmental journey to find interesting and enlightening information about the natural world we live in and how we are all connected to it.
“Ryerson Reads is a community of intelligent readers who share an enthusiasm for the environment and for great works of literature about the environment,” said Benjamin Goluboff, who leads Ryerson Reads book discussions. “For the last 10 years we’ve read together a group of writers including Loren Eiseley, Sue Hubbel, Gary Snyder, Annie Dillard, Thoreau, Leopold, and many more. The discussions are always rich and surprising; the books seem to reveal new dimensions of interest as the group shares their ideas about them.” Goluboff is the professor of English at Lake Forest College and an expert in American literature.
The book discussions take place at Ryerson Woods and are open to the public. Most discussion take place in the Brushwood house, 21850 N. Riverwoods Road, Deerfield.
Friends of Ryerson Woods members pay $10 per session or $40 for the whole series. Nonmembers pay $15 per session or $60 for the series. One-year memberships are $35 for individuals and can be purchased at www.ryersonwoods.org or by calling (847) 968-3308. Copies of the books chosen for Ryerson Reads are set aside and available at the Deerfield Public Library, located at 920 Waukegan Road, Deerfield. Book selections will also be available for purchase at the Lake Forest Book Store, 680 N. Western Ave., Lake Forest or through Friends of Ryerson Woods.
The Ryerson Reads schedule of events is as follows:
Ÿ 4-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1: Discuss “American Canopy: Trees, Forests and the Making of a Nation” by Eric Rutkow. Participants will meet at the Welcome Center, 21950 N. Riverwoods Road, Deerfield, and walk to an outdoor spot for the discussion.
Ÿ 7:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18: Discuss “Air: The Restless Shaper of the World” by William Bryant Logan.
Ÿ 7:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13: Discuss “The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth” by Edward O. Wilson.
Ÿ 7:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15: Discuss “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood” by Janisse Ray.
Ÿ 7:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 12: Discuss “On Extinction: How We Became Estranged from Nature” by Melanie Challenger.
For more information, visit www.ryersonwoods.org.