Annual book discussion kicks off with theme focused on hardships

The “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” book discussion is kicking off its fall session this month.

The discussion series will include five sessions, where a humanities scholar will present the book selection before participants are split into smaller groups with discussion leaders, allowing students and faculty to come together and share their thoughts and ideas.

The theme this year is  “Hope Amidst Hardship.”

Harbour Winn, director of the Center for Interpersonal Study through Film and Literature, said he thinks the series will help participants find a commonality of hope and perseverance.

“Recognizing ourselves in others, even as we read of hardship, is a major reason we find reading enjoyable,” Winn said in a press release.  “Hardship comes in many varieties, and the books in this series offer varied examples but present a common theme, there is hope along the way. Sometimes this hope comes from deep within ourselves. Sometimes it comes from others in unexpected ways.”

Gabriella Ottersberg-Enriquez, music theater/vocal performance freshman, said she sees the program as an opportunity for students to bond about similar struggles.

“I think it’s important for us to find hope in the areas we have the most troubles in,” Ottersberg-Enriquez said. “It allows us room to improve ourselves and gives us ways to relate to each other for support.”

The next discussion is Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The book is about a boy, “Auggie,” who is home schooled by his mother due to a rare facial deformity.

The book follows Auggie after he enrolls in a private school and has to deal with the struggles of his deformity and facing his classmates’ degrading comments.

The discussion will be hosted at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 in Room 151 in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences.

“Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” is a cooperative project of the Oklahoma Library Association and the Oklahoma Humanities Council. Funding is provided by a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Katy Yates, acting freshman, said she likes the idea of this program being a safe haven for book lovers.

“Finding a safe place to go during a stressful or challenging time like college is something people need,”  Yates said. “It lets people clear their minds.”

Students interested in joining the group are encouraged to register with Winn at hwinn@okcu.edu. The books will be available for purchase at the campus bookstore.