Do you enjoy reading? Would you like to meet new people?
Would you like to take part in discussions about books and improve your English skills?


Then join our new BHT Book Club!

We will meet every other week during the semester to discuss books in a relaxed atmosphere.
You can also recommend books to the group and add your own topics. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dr. Alexia Schemien (alexia.schemien(at)bht-berlin.de). You don't need to buy the book or any specific version of it. Some stories can be read for free online or you read them as an audio book or you buy other versions than the ones mentioned below. Feel free to use the version that suits you best.

Where?

B 314

When and what?

Time: We always meet from 4.00-5.30pm!

April 25, 2023

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher" (short story; available on many different websites, e.g. here).

We'll start with a classic. It's not the easiest read due to an old-fashioned writing style and probably unknown words. However, it's definitely worth it! It's a gloomy, perfectly crafted story that at its time set new standards in short story writing. A must read ... and of course: it's short! :-)

 

May 2, 2023

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher" (short story; available on many different websites, e.g. here).

 

May 16, 2023

Ana Castillo, The Guardians. (novel; can e.g. be ordered on amazon)

This is the first session we'll dedicate to The Guardians.

Ana Castillo's novel The Guardians is a wonderful example of contemporary Mexican American literature. It plays with various notions of "Otherness", portrays U.S. America including all its sociopolitical and ethnic facets. You can read it on many different levels. It is quite an easy read in general but there is more to it when you start analyzing the many symbols that are hidden in the text.

For this session you only need to read half of the book, until p. 107 (the last sentence is "But then I said to myself, Steady girl, you have company. Don't freak out.").

 

May 30, 2023

Ana Castillo, The Guardians. (novel; can e.g. be ordered on amazon)

This is the second session we'll spend on The Guardians. Please read the rest of the novel.

Ana Castillo's novel The Guardians is a wonderful example of contemporary Mexican American literature. It plays with various notions of "Otherness", portrays U.S. America including all its sociopolitical and ethnic facets. You can read it on many different levels. It is quite an easy read in general but there is more to it when you start analyzing the many symbols that are hidden in the text.

 

June 13, 2023

Octavia Butler, Kindred. (novel; can e.g. be ordered on amazon)

This novel is a combination of many different genres and interesting perspectives. It's a contemporary African American novel that plays with the idea of time travel and pays tribute to the genre of the slave narrative while being a feminist story at the same time. The first sentence "I lost an arm on my last trip home" already says a lot.

You don't need to read the whole novel (but of course you can if you like/have time); we'll specify which pages should be read in order to be able to discuss the book; these pages will be specified here and in the Moodle course.

 

June 27, 2023

Book to be announced

July 11, 2023

Book to be announced

Questions?

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dr. Alexia Schemien