Oakmont Book Group The Oakmont Book Group is comprised of students and teachers who meet regularly to discuss a shared reading. The Group, through consensus, selects a book to read and then meets over a pot-luck to discuss the book. For our final selection this year we decided on short stories, and picked Jorge Luis Borges, Collected Fictions. From Publishers Weekly: Undeniably one of the most influential writers to emerge in this century from Latin America or anywhere else, Borges (1899-1986) is best known for his short stories, all of which appear here for the first time in one volume, translated and annotated by University of Puerto Rico professor Hurley. Many of the stories return to the same set of images and themes that mark Borges' best known work: the code of ethics embraced by gauchos, knife fighters and outlaws; labyrinths; confrontations with one's doppelganger; and discoveries of artifacts from other worlds (an encyclopedia of a mysterious region in Iraq; a strange disc that has only one side and that gives a king his power; a menacing book that infinitely multiplies its own pages; fragmentary manuscripts that narrate otherworldly accounts of lands of the immortals). Less familiar are episodes that narrate the violent, sordid careers of pirates and outlaws like Billy the Kid (particularly in the early collection A Universal History of Iniquity) or attempts to dramatize the consciousness of Shakespeare or Homer. Elusive, erudite, melancholic, Borges' fiction will intrigue the general reader as well as the scholar. Max suggests we each read: Tln, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius The Gospel According to Mark The Garden of Forking Paths The Aleph The Zahir Ibn Hakkan al-Bokhari, Dead in his Labyrinth plus anything else from the collection that piques your interest/curiosity. Neither Stevens nor Forbush own copies of this book, but they both can get it through interlibrary loan. Plus, I have a copy I can loan through the Nims library. Our discussion/potluck will be Thursday, May 28 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM. Previous Book Group Selections have included: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Fifth Business The Shining A Confederacy of Dunces A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius The Golden Compass A Christmas Carol Carmilla Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows The History of Love The Road Everything is Illuminated Under the Tuscan Sun Frankenstein I am the Messenger The Kite Runner The Dante Club Dracula All Oakmont students and faculty are welcome to join the Book Group for enjoyable book discussion and tasty food. For more information, please contact Mr. Anderson.