A New Season of APS Together

Dear Friends,

We have so enjoyed reading with all of you this year. We are delighted to announce a new APS Together season for the new year. Our reading list is eclectic. Some familiar names. Some surprises. But as it was this year, the rhythm of our reading will remain slow and consistent. A half hour each day. We'll share some thoughts on social media; and invite you to share yours too. Guests will join us throughout the year, adding their observations. And once a month, we'll gather on Zoom to discuss our reading, picking up threads from the online conversation and welcoming your questions too.

With best wishes for the holiday season, and looking forward to reading with you in the new year,

A Public Space

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Winter 2021 Reading List

Natalia Ginzburg, The City and the House, translated from the Italian by Dick Davis. Starting January 5, 2021

Carson McCullers, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

Machado de Assis, Epitaph of a Small Winner, translated from the Portuguese by William L. Grossman

James Alan McPherson, Hue and Cry

Christina Stead, The Little Hotel

W. G. Sebald, The Emigrants, translated from the German by Michael Hulse

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FAQ

Will there be a reading schedule, with assigned pages for each day, as there was in 2020?
We will keep an approximate pacing of 10-15 pages per day, and will share a reading schedule on Twitter each morning and on our website. As always, read ahead if you have time, and yet there is never a worry about falling behind!

Why 10-15 pages a day? I like to read a book in one sitting.
War and Peace was the first book we read together in this way, and last spring Yiyun Li, our guide through Tolstoy's novel, suggested this slow, steady schedule as a way to provide solidity and structure during an unsettled time. But as one reader pointed out, this slow pace also allowed for a "quality of attention," a way of reading, that came to feel a vital part of APS Together.

How do I participate in the daily discussion?
You can see the daily comments and follow–and contribute to–the online conversation on A Public Space's Twitter and by using the hashtag #APStogether.

I am not on social media. How can I read your observations and follow the online conversation about each book?
There will be a monthly newsletter, with highlights from the online conversation and additional material about that month's books.

What is the monthly Zoom discussion going to be like?
We will select one book from each month's reading to talk about in depth at each Zoom event. Guest writers, translators, and editors will join us to talk about the book from a variety of perspectives and discuss topics of special interest that arise from the reading.