Reading: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The book may be purchased here on Amazon.

Also available as an audiobook here on Amazon.

This book presents the story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, in an the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. You are encouraged to read/listen to all of it, but the chapters we will discuss (about 130 pages) are shown below:

Ainulindalë
Of Aule and Yavanna
Of Thingol and Melian
Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
Of the Darkening of Valinor
Of the Flight of the Noldor
Of Beren and Lúthien
Of Túrin Turambar
Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin
Akallabêth 

Location: The home of Bob and Marya Weil -1914 S. 197th Street, Omaha, NE 68130
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Reading: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen. The 151 page paperback book may be purchased here  on Amazon here. (No audiobook is available).  
Synopsis: A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son catapulted Henri Nouwen on an unforgettable spiritual adventure. Here he shares the deeply personal and resonant meditation that led him to discover the place within where God has chosen to dwell. As Nouwen reflects on Rembrandt’s painting in light of his own life journey, he evokes a powerful drama of the classic parable in a rich, captivating way that is sure to reverberate with readers.
Location: To be announced in the next meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Please sign up below and RSVP for the next meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive before each meeting.

Reading: We will be reading selected stories by this Catholic science fiction master (selections to be announced soon). The book may be ordered here on Amazon. (Unfortunately, it is not available as an audiobook.)
Location: To be announced in a coming meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Please sign up below and RSVP for the next meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive before each meeting.

Reading: The sci-fi classic A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller. It may be ordered from Amazon here.
Synopsis: From the Amazon website description: "Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature -- a chilling and still-provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future.
In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze.".
Location: To be announced in the next meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Please sign up below and RSVP for the next meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive before each meeting.

Film for Viewing: The entire Dialogues of the Carmelites film may be downloaded here and viewed on your computer or mobile device.
Short Reading: Libretto (script) for the Dialogues of the Carmelites, by Francis Poulenc and Georges Bernanos (author of Diary of a Country Priest), which can be purchased here on Amazon. It consists of just 64 pages.
Synopsis: Dialogues des Carmélites is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, set to music and a libretto by Francis Poulenc. It was completed in 1956. This is a fictionalized version of the story of the Martyrs of Compiègne, Carmelite nuns who, in 1794 in the closing days of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, were guillotined in Paris for refusing to renounce their vocation. the music is quite melodic, and though the thematic material can be challenging at times, the music is not difficult to listen to, unlike much 20th century music.
Amazon notes regarding this performance of Dialogues: "Among operas composed in the post-War era, Dialogues des Carmélites, first seen in 1957 at La Scala, is one of the most frequently performed and best loved. At the end of 2013, the year that marked the 50th anniversary of Francis Poulenc's death, his gripping and moving operatic masterpiece was staged in Paris by director Olivier Py with a cast featuring some of Frances finest female singers Patricia Petibon, Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau and Sophie Koch under the baton of Jérémie Rohrer. Le Figaro described the production as a thing of wonder and The Diapason stated that Jérémie Rohrers conducting and Olivier Pys production deserve nothing but praise."
Location: To be announced in the next meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Once you've registered, please RSVP for each meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive in advance of each meeting. This allows us to properly account for refreshments and munchies

Readings: Excerpts from The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky and several short stories from Alexei Tolstoy, including "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" - together exploring the nature of Good and Evil, and God and the Devil

Here is the download link for the readings in Acrobat form (totaling less than 100 pages):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/x5vkb3dxs7t8fpfkkeyga/MENS_GROUP_MARCH2025_RUSSIAN_LIT.pdf?rlkey=4zkyunkcohyvwtdana5kzonc1&dl=0

Location: To be announced in the next meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Once you've registered, please RSVP for each meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive in advance of each meeting. This allows us to properly account for refreshments and munchies

Reading: Lost in the Cosmos, essays by Walker Percy. The book may be purchased here on Amazon.

"Walker Percy is very much a modern-day Pascal, in that he is wrapped up in the project of waking up modern man from his numb, jaded, over-entertained stupor into realizing what a predicament he is in. It's an existentialist concern, in the Christian-existentialist sense of Kierkegaard, especially insofar as both Percy and the Melancholy Dane are obsessed with the problem of subjectivity, and our awareness of it, and the paltry ways we try, unsuccessfully, to transcend it. The book is a critique and satire of all the failing strategies of modernism to find a meaningful connection to reality." - An Amazon Reviewer

Location: To be announced in the next meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Once you've registered, please RSVP for each meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive in advance of each meeting. This allows us to properly account for refreshments and munchies

Reading: The epic prose poem "Ballad of the White Horse," by G.K. Chesterton. It can be purchased here on Amazon.

"More than a thousand years ago, the ruler of a beleaguered kingdom saw a vision of the Virgin Mary that moved him to rally his chiefs and make a last stand. Alfred the Great freed his realm from Danish invaders in the year 878 with an against-all-odds triumph at the Battle of Ethandune. In this ballad, G. K. Chesterton equates Alfred's struggles with Christianity's fight against nihilism and heathenism—a battle that continues to this day.
One of the last great epic poems, this tale unfolds in the Vale of the White Horse, where Alfred fought the Danes in a valley beneath an ancient equine figure etched upon the Berkshire hills. Chesterton employs the mysterious image as a symbol of the traditions that preserve humanity. His allegory of the power of faith in the face of an invasive foe was much quoted in the dark days of 1940, when Britain was under attack by Nazis. This new edition offers an authoritative, inexpensive version of Chesterton's inspiring work." - Amazon Book description

Location: To be announced in the next meeting reminder email after you register below.
RSVP: Once you've registered, please RSVP for each meeting no less than five days beforehand using the reminder email that you will receive in advance of each meeting. This allows us to properly account for refreshments and munchies