We are delighted to announce the 2025 Winter and Spring online book discussion opportunities with Jay Bonner, Ambassador for Constituent Outreach, and Clay Smith ’90, Director of Literary Initiatives at the Library of Congress. All Asheville School alumni and friends are invited to partake in these engaging educational experiences. If you are interested in participating in an online session, please contact Jay Bonner via email at [email protected]. Pay special attention to the enrollment deadlines below to secure a spot.
2025 Winter & Spring Schedule
January 2025
Less May Be More?: Classic Novellas
This Zoom discussion of three classic novellas by three masters of the form allows for a reading warm up as we enter into the new year. We will read Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener (Wednesday, January 8), Edith Wharton’s The Touchstone (Tuesday, January 14), and Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych (Tuesday, January 28). We ask that you consider buying the handsome Melville House The Art of the Novella series editions of these works here. Email Jay (bonnerj@ashevilleschool.org) by Friday, January 3 if interested in this class.
February 2025
Is the Past Ever Past?: Reading a Contemporary Novel
This Zoom discussion of Adam Haslett’s forthcoming novel, Mothers and Sons, intrigues us. Imagine Me Gone is one of the best contemporary novels Jay Bonner has read, and he and Dr. John Lawrence (past parent and former trustee) taught one of Haslett’s short stories, “The Good Doctor,” from his debut, You Are Not a Stranger Here, in their Medical Humanities Honors Seminar. Ann Patchett and others are praising this latest work of Haslett’s fiction. We will discuss the novel over two Wednesday sessions, February 5 and 12, at 7:00 PM. Email Jay (bonnerj@ashevilleschool.org) by Thursday, January 30 if interested in this class.
February and March 2025
Isn’t Pasta Pasta?: Experiencing Naples, Italy/Amalfi
This Zoom class offers a tandem reading and/or experiential component: a chance to read about Amalfi coastal regions and then join a trip to explore and to experience the Amalfi Coast’s food and archaeological and artistic wonders (April 6 – April 13). In advance of travel, participants will be asked to read two novels set in Naples, The Bay of Noon, by prize winning writer Shirley Hazzard, and My Brilliant Friend, by the astonishing Italian writer Elena Ferrante. We will also read Hazzard’s account of Graham Greene, Greene on Capri, an island we will visit as part of the itinerary. (We may well add Elizabeth Gilbert’s opening chapter of Eat, Pray, Love to prepare for the culinary delights of Naples.) Even if not joining the trip, we invite interested Asheville School alumni and friends of the School to join this Zoom class.
The Zoom class will meet weekly on Wednesday evenings (7:00 – 8:00 PM), beginning February 19 (with a discussion of Hazzard’s The Bay of Noon), and we will conclude no later than March 26. Email Jay (bonnerj@ashevilleschool.org) by Friday, February 14 if interested in this class.
April and May 2025
What’s the Oldest Plot in Literature?: A Classic Epic Made Personal
We will embark on a journey together, reading two works by Daniel Mendelsohn, his forthcoming Odyssey translation and his memoir, An Odyssey, which will parallel our reading of Homer’s epic poem. We will meet weekly on Wednesday evenings (7:00 – 8:00 PM), beginning April 30, and we will conclude no later than May 28. Email Jay (bonnerj@ashevilleschool.org) by Friday, April 18 if interested in this class.
June 2025
Going Somewhere?: Summery Journeys
Please join Jay and Clay for a reading kick-off into summer. This class will meet Wednesday, June 4, at 7:00 PM, to discuss Rick Moody’s Hotels of North America. This short and remarkably poignant novel will send us into summer refreshed. Please email Jay (bonnerj@ashevilleschool.org) by Friday, May 30 if interested in this class.