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Bibliophiles anonymous
By Clarke Reader
creader3@mscd.edu

Every month a small but dedicated group gathers on campus to discuss a wide range of subjects, from vengeance to dehumanization to road rage. No, it’s not a social-awareness group. It’s Auraria’s own book club.

“Our main goal is to … bring about more of a community atmosphere on campus,” said Betty Ingels, the book club facilitator. “Because we have so many thousands of students … it allows them to connect on a more personal level and gives them a chance to do some recreational reading.”

The group meets in the Auraria Campus Bookstore the last Tuesday of every month to discuss and exchange ideas about the current book selection.

The year-old club allows students to read books from the classics canon and from contemporary authors who don’t get much exposure in mainstream media.

Last semester the group read In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, a writer from the Dominican Republic. The group enjoyed the book so much they decided to read another of Alvarez’s novels, Ingels said.

“It’s given us a chance to explore a lot of diverse ethnic traditions and get information we wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Ingels said.

This year they’re starting out with The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 story of betrayal and vengeance. Due to its length, the club decided to cover the book in two meetings instead of one.

The protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo is Edmond Dantés, a young Corsican sailor whose life becomes entrenched in jealousy and politics.

Dantés is unjustly sent to prison for allegedly consorting with pro-Napoleonic factions and is locked up in the dank dungeons of the Chateau d’If, an isolated island prison. After years of imprisonment, he escapes as a hard, bitter man bent on revenge. When he discovers a legendary fortune, Dantés adopts the title of the Count of Monte Cristo and sets out to avenge his unjust punishment.

More than 150 years after its original publication, The Count of Monte Cristo remains a pertinent archetypal tale about the true price of revenge.

At the first meeting, the club discussed the merits of revenge and debated whether it is ever an honorable pursuit. The debate covered religious perspectives on revenge, and the dehumanization of imprisonment and its impact on a person’s psyche. The group also discussed modern references like road rage and the movie V for Vendetta.

In addition to monthly meetings, the book club provides a chance to meet authors who are visiting campus to discuss their works. Last year, author Kent Haruf came to campus to talk about his novel Plainsong.

“My greatest hope is that people will gain a very genuine love of reading. What’s not already established will be learned, and what’s already there will grow,” Ingels said. “I can think of nothing better to do with a free moment than read a book.”