Skirball Book Group

The Pure and the Impure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Admission $125 General $100 Members $75 Full-Time Students Book Groups 1 and 2 are now fully reserved. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please e-mail your name, phone number, and which Book Group you would prefer to learningforlife Group 3: Wednesdays, February 8, March 7, April 11, May 9, June 13, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (5 sessions) To register for Group 3, click here. Group 4: Wednesdays, February 15, March 14, April 18, May 16, June 20, 1:00–3:00 p.m. (5 sessions) To register for Group 4, click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THE Program This winter, Skirball Book Groups rea

Under the direction of a professional book group facilitator, at each meeting participants will learn about the author’s background and explore the book together, engaging in a lively, interactive discussion. Questions are distributed in advance of each book group session. Participants must read the book prior to each class session.

All books are available in Audrey’s Museum Store at the Skirball. Book Group participants receive a 10% discount (may not be combined with other discounts).

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FEBRUARY
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror,
and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
by Erik Larson

The award-winning author of Devil in the White City tells the true account of the events leading up to World War II. In 1934, William E. Dodd, a naïve American ambassador and his family are initially charmed by the “new Germany.” Dodd becomes increasingly alarmed at the evidence of Jewish persecution, yet despite his best efforts, is helpless as the full reality of Hitler’s regime is revealed.

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MARCH
The Shell Collector: Stories
by Anthony Doerr

A blind man spends his days collecting rare and beautiful shells when he discovers a poisonous snail has the power to cure malaria. A group of American fishermen endure a hilarious litany of woes in a fishing contest across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. These are among the eight stories in this collection, which explores exotic locales, characters with strange gifts, and nature threatened by human ruthlessness.

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APRIL
The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a
Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL
by Eric Greitens

Eric Greitens, founder of the veterans’ charity The Mission Continues, has been both a Rhodes Scholar and a Navy SEAL. He eventually served on secret anti-terrorist missions in Kenya, the Philippines and Afghanistan, and was wounded by a suicide car bomb in Iraq. His remarkable story is told with modesty and grace in this compelling autobiography.

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MAY
The Accident
by Mihail Sebastian

A love story set in the Bucharest art world of the 1930s and the Transylvanian mountains, this romantic and enthralling tale is about Paul and Nora, two people who meet by chance. During a skiing trip when they must deal with a mysterious family, the couple finds the keys to their fate.

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JUNE
Room
by Emma Donoghue

This novel opens as the protagonist, Jack, turns five. Jack has never been outside of Room: it’s his entire world, where he eats, plays, and learns. At night, when Old Nick visits his Ma, Jack sleeps inside a wardrobe. But when Old Nick cuts the power supply to Room, Ma must find a way to escape.

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Instructor: Penelope Litt Saltsburg is a professional book group leader and former high school teacher with degrees in English, speech, and public relations. She has worked with book groups for thirty years.