Events

The library hosts a range of events on both a recurring and occasional basis. See the 'Upcoming Events’ box on the right for the most up-to-date information. (Looking for a listing of all NMC events? Check out NMC's General Events Calendar and Student Activities Calendar).

Curiosities: Voyages Beyond the Stacks

Finally, a 'book club' for the book club skeptic!

Structured as an ongoing series of topical explorations, CURIOSITIES is a chance to connect with fellow lifelong learners at NMC. We take one topic at a time, spending four consecutive weeks per topic. Each week we gather to discuss a shared bit of reading, listening or viewing.

Register for multiple topics throughout the year or just the one that interests you most.

Past 'Curiosities' Topics

Global Literature Reading Group

The NMC Global Literature Reading Group meets twice a year, bringing together NMC students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines to discuss a book about life in another culture. The group aims to stimulate critical thinking, literary enjoyment, awareness of global diversity, and cultural interconnections in support of the college’s strategic direction to ensure that NMC learners are prepared for success in a global society and economy. Anyone is welcome to join!

Copies of the current semester's Global Literature Reading Group selection are available at the library at a subsidized price of $5. Email Nicco Pandolfi at npandolfi@nmc.edu with any questions, or to reserve a copy.

SPRING 2023: Planet of Clay by Samar Yazbek (Syria)

Planet of Clay book cover

Rima, a young girl from Damascus, longs to walk, to be free to follow the will of her feet, but instead is perpetually constrained. She finds refuge in a fantasy world full of colored crayons, secret planets, and The Little Prince , reciting passages of the Qur’an like a mantra as everything and everyone around her is blown to bits. Since Rima hardly ever speaks, people think she’s crazy, but she is no fool—the madness is in the battered city around her. One day while taking a bus through Damascus, a soldier opens fire and her mother is killed. Rima, wounded, is taken to a military hospital before her brother leads her to the besieged area of Ghouta—where, between bombings, she writes her story. Discussion will be held via Zoom on Thursday, April 13, 2023 from Noon–1 p.m.

Some Recent Global Lit Reads

  • Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov (Fall 2022)
  • The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa (Spring 2022)
  • The Underground Girls of Kabul, by Jenny Nordberg (Fall 2021)
  • The Future We Choose, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac (Spring 2021)
  • S now, by Orhan Pamuk (Fall 2020)
  • The Line Becomes a River, by Francisco Cantú (Spring 2020)
  • Blue Label, by Eduardo Sanchez Rugeles (Fall 2019)
  • Tears of Salt: A Doctor's Story, by Pietro Bartolo & Lidia Tilotta (Spring 2019)
  • Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah (Fall 2018)
  • A House Without Windows, by by Nadia Hashimi (Spring 2018)
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba (Fall 2017)
  • My Son's Story, by Nadine Gordimer (Spring 2017)
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