Mayor's Book Club - Keep Austin Reading

Since 2002, the Humanities Institute, in partnership with the Mayor's Office and the Austin Public Library, has been bringing readers together from throughout the community to read a common book and participate in public discussions about it. Humanities Institute faculty, staff, and noted Austin citizens lead these conversations at branch libraries across the city as part of a month-long series of events, including discussion panels, films, and exhibitions addressing the themes and issues explored in the selected book. When possible, the annual events lineup includes a visit by the author of the Mayor's Book Club selection.

2009 Mayor's Book Club - The Septembers of Shiraz

Austin's 2009 Mayor's Book Club selection is Iranian American writer Dalia Sofer's award-winning The Septembers of Shiraz, a novel based on the author's experience as an Iranian Jew caught up in the 1979 revolution against the Shah. Sofer's novel traces the physical and psychic dislocations of a Jewish family in Tehran when the father, Isaac, is arrested, imprisoned, and interrogated by the revolutionary regime—an event that also compels his wife and two children to re-examine their prosperity, their Judaism, and their political and personal allegiances.

For further information or questions, please see Austin Public Library MBC 2009 Website or contact the Institute at (512) 471-2654 or community@humanitiesinstitute.utexas.edu.