One of my favorite things to do as the Woodson Art Museum’s director is to pop down during the day to watch one of our fantastic programs in progress. Seeing participants’ faces light up when they learn something new or create their own work of art is perpetually inspiring. Since my nose remains to the grindstone upstairs at the Museum, it’s rare that I get to participate. That will not be the case with the new recurring program “Novel Notions,” a book club where a different book will be discussed by avid readers at the Museum each month.
I jumped at the chance to join other bookworms in discussing books about art, nature, museums and other fascinating future topics. This month’s book is All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley. The book is a terrific read from the perspective of a writer who switched gears in his personal and professional life and took a job as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I’m anticipating what others who come to “Novel Notions” on Friday, August 23 will have to say about the book and the insights they’ll get into the museum world.
It was certainly a summer for reading, as I am already a member of a book club, albeit with a completely different subject matter. Since 2022, I have participated in a pro football book club with other pro football fans / historians. The main book this summer was All Rise: The Remarkable Journey of Alan Page. This biography of Page, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and now a Minnesota State Supreme Court Justice, was a fascinating tale of how he rose from humble beginnings to not only become a fearsome and accomplished football player at Notre Dame and the National Football League, but also an outspoken champion for player’s rights, an attorney, and finally a justice on the highest court in the state of Minnesota. As a treat, we were lucky to have Justice Page join our book club meeting where he spent over an hour answering our many questions and humoring us with great stories of his life and career.
Pro football book club meeting with special guest Alan Page
Regardless of the subject of the book, it is always refreshing to learn about something new and then share that experience with like-minded people. “Novel Notions” will be a great extension of that. Who knows, maybe Max Hollein will even make a guest appearance . . .
August’s book All the Beauty in the World is available here: All The Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley | The StoryGraph
September’s “Novel Notions” book: Birding to Change the World by Trish O’ Kane can be found here: Birding to Change the World: A Memoir by Trish O’Kane | The StoryGraph
