The Alumna Book Club, a Barnard Tradition

September 30, 2009

Arriving on campus can be an exciting and intense experience for new Barnard students. Designed to ease the transition is the New Student Orientation Program (NSOP), which guides incoming first-years as they figure out where they fit in among their new peers and in their new home.

Barnard's Class of 2013 comes from 41 states and 23 countries, from public and private schools, and with a huge range of experiences under their belts. NSOP helps students find common ground and navigate the university. One NSOP offering is the Alumna Book Club, which ensures that new students have more than their love of Barnard over which to bond.

First-years page through Special Topics in Calamity Physics as they await
author Marisha Pessl '00

Beginning with the Class of 2004, all incoming first-years have participated in the Barnard Alumna Book Club by spending the summer reading a book written by an alumna and chosen by the Book Club committee. When they arrive at Barnard, they have the opportunity to discuss the book with their classmates and attend the Alumna Book Club Forum, where the author speaks to the students about the book and her experiences as a Barnard student and as a writer.

The committee comprises of one Barnard student who serves as an NSOP program coordinator, one representative from Alumnae Affairs, two professors from the English department, and one representative from the College Activities Office. This year before the committee met, Elizabeth Glynn, the representative from Alumnae Affairs, compiled a list of recent publications by alumnae authors and a brief summary of each book. The committee then narrowed down the list to a few finalists. Professors Margaret Vandenburg and Laurie Postlewate were the first to review the books and the NSOP program coordinator, Shilpa Guha '12 this year, had the final vote.

This year's selection was Special Topics in Calamity Physics the first book of Marisha Pessl '00. It is the story of Blue Van Meer, a Harvard-bound high school senior who works to untangle a web of secrets in the sleepy mountain town where she spends her senior year. Guha says Special Topics was chosen because "it seemed fitting in many ways. For one, it targeted the correct age group. Also, it was a dense but fun read, and it could apply to a wide range of readers."

"The Alumna Book Club committee was very mindful of the type of book we chose," says Hayden Greene, associate director of the College Activities Office. "We knew that students were about to be inundated with heavy reading for classes so we wanted to provide a book that would be enjoyable to read over their summer."

The James Room overflowed with students who gathered at this year's Forum to hear Pessl read selections from the book, reflect on the writing process, and offer advice to aspiring writers. Perhaps, she suggested, more than a few in attendance would one day be candidates for the Alumna Book Club themselves.

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