Upcoming Readings for Low-Stakes Book Club

Have you been wanting to join a book club, but it's too much of a commitment? Welcome to Low-Stakes Book Club, where we only read short stories, essays, and poetry! Miss a

meeting? That's ok, we'll see you next time. Don't like the reading? Don't worry, it's not that many pages, and next meeting we're discussing something different. I'm making an effort to select readings that are available online unless otherwise elected by the group. If we decide to purchase a book, I will make an order via Brickbat Books so that we can support a local small business.

Join the mailing list via the form at the bottom of this page to receive updates about future meetings.

UPCOMING MEETINGS:

Please RSVP via the event links to let me know which events you plan on attending. If you are new, kindly use the form at the bottom of the page to sign up for future newsletters tailored to your interests.

FUTURE READINGS:

We will be alternating reading essays, short stories, and poetry. Feel free to comment below with suggestions!

Friday, October 17th at 5 pm

"The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson

Full information about the readings, including links, are located in the RSVP page below.

We all read "The Lottery" in high school, so I've selected a lesser-known story about an old lady who secretly wreaks havoc on her neighbors.

This meeting will be cancelled if we do not have 3 participants RSVP.

If you have RSVPed and cannot make it, please let us know.

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RSVP HERE:

Low-Stakes Book Club: Shirley Jackson's "The Possibility of Evil"

October 17, 2025, 5:00 – 6:00 PMPhiladelphia

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PREVIOUS READINGS and MEMBER SUGGESTIONS:To see what we've read before and check out what other members suggest, visit this page.

Planning for winter: Who's interested in a field trip?

I'm looking for a good reading or two about notorious painter James McNeil Whistler's libel lawsuit against the critic John Ruskin and/or the debacle surrounding his masterpiece/failed commission "The Peacock Room." This might be a two-parter, since he was a real character as well as a revolutionary figure in art history.

Upon seeing Whistler's 1875 painting "Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket," Ruskin wrote, "I have seen, and heard, much of cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” The painting was ahead of its time an presaged abstract expressionism and color field painting. Whistler won the libel suit after an interesting discussion of the artistic process, aesthetics, and skill, among other things. However, the jury awarded him a single farthing and didn't not require Ruskin to pay Whistler's legal fees. As a result, Whistler was rendered destitute despite his victory.

The Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art houses "The Peacock Room," as well as a wonderful collection of Whistler's paintings alongside Asian art and ceramics. Several "Nocturne" paintings are in the Freer, but the painting above is in The Detroit Institute of Art.

I was planning this field trip for the fall, but my schedule has gotten complicated, so let me know if you're interested in joining us in the winter.