Colonial

[close] Inspired by the Ph.D. Qualifying 50-Book Exam administered to second-year Ph.D. students in the English Department at the University of Pennsylvania, I have created my own version of that daunting task - meaningfully read 50 books across a diverse range of historical periods; generic and formal categories; national and geographic origins; and personal and societal identifications - all from a catalogue of texts spanning more than 1000 years. In the spirit of the exam, I encourage participants to organize their selected 50 works into three broad rubrics according to Genre; Historical Period; and Theme or Theory. Each topic should provide a framework to structure their reading with works that speak to one another. Each of the three rubrics should also include one or two critical, theoretical, or historical works. Keeping with their guidance, all or most of the works from the period chosen should be included in the Historical Period list (i.e., not in the Genre or Theme/Theory lists) to prevent that period's overrepresentation in the challenge as a whole; no more than 20 works from that period should appear on the full list. In other words, at least 30 of the 50 works should be outside of one's designated period of specialization. I want to use this group to make this challenge dynamic. Whether it's weekly discussion posts on specific themes or genres, a support group for those who jumped head-first into the Medieval period, or a deep-dive into the oddities of a specific literary movement or author, an ongoing dialogue is encouraged. The Reading List: https://www.english.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Ph.D.%20Qualifying%20%252250-Book%2522%20Exam%20Book%20List.pdf For further insights on how to think about Genre, Historical Period, and Theme/Theory when building our your list and rubrics: https://www.english.upenn.edu/graduate/requirements-rules-procedures/first-year-oral-exam

[close] Here is an overview of the group reads & activities: Regional reads Nominations and Book discussions. Buddy Reads Find someone to read along with!. Share/discuss your current reading All current polls Vote for the group reads here Challenges, challenges, challenges! Set up a personal challenge Challenge: 50 Books By African Women That Everyone Should Read African Lit TBR Takedown challenge Bingo Challenge 2025 Authors! If you would like to promote your book, give away copies or otherwise advertise your books please do so in this folder - selfpromotion in other places will be deleted. Photo: Nairobi Skyline by Orientalizing

[close] A group for those who enjoy historical fiction novels...with some magic! As I was unable to find one after roughly an hour of searching, I was forced to create my own, so hopefully there are some other people out there with the same problem!

[close] A GENEALOGICAL BOOK GROUP, FOR RESEARCH HELP AND GUIDANCE. lilnk https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hr1LzpOSy3f8B2eOsM4_24wa5xUe-KxXxRQVz-VtzWA/edit