TURNING OVER A NEW PAGE Emalee Krulish makes her mark establishing a new book club on campus Anew club formed on campus to meet the needs of readers who liked historical fiction and thoughtful discussion. Novelties, a book club for good books and good history, according to founder senior history major Emalee Krulish, started in January 2012. The club was intended to give students a break from curriculum reading and to help them return to the joys of reading for pleasure while also giving Krulish a chance to leave her stamp on Harding. When Krulish began the school year, she intended to read historical fiction on her own, but she also wanted to read and share with others, making reading in her spare time more of a social event. Krulish was certain others within the history department would be interested in a club with this design and sought them out. "I like to read, and I love history, and instead of just sitting in my room and reading by myself, I figured it would be great to get other people involved and us all be doing ' it together," Krulish said. Krulish distributed signs in the history and English departments, knowing that people Scribblers Est. 1993: Row 1: T. Vanscoy, M. McKenna, S. Slape. Row 2: T. Engel (sponsor), M. Bridges, M. Nelson. T Vanscoy. C. Swaby. Row 3: N. Walker, D. Casella, B. McGienn, N. Henton (sponsor). who genuinely wanted to read and have good discussion would likely fall into these majors, but anyone was welcome to join the group. Krulish wanted to recruit students with a passion for literature, regardless of major. Krulish found a prospective club member in sophomore Erin Choate, a history major with an English minor. After a talk with Krulish, Choate immediately knew she would enjoy the club and found its atmosphere to be "warm and casual for anybody interested in reading books." "You can discuss without knowing absolutely everything," Choate said. "Just skim it or look up SparkNotes for a few seconds or just come for the discussion and listen." Novelties met after a book had been read, giving members ample time to read and to absorb the content before a discussion. The books were of moderate length to accommodate a full academic schedule. The club read four books a semester, meeting to talk usually in the Kibo room at Midnight Oil but also in other venues on campus like the Ganus building basement. Novelties Est. 2012: E. Krulish, E. Choate, J. Harris (sponsor). Students read many classic novels because the classics were steeped in history but spent the fall semester trying to focus on books linguistically depicting a specific time period. The discussions consisted of a group of friends meeting to discuss a good story and criticize the story where it seemed fitting. Krulish created Novelties to be a literary outlet and a community where students of all majors could take a break from class reading assignments and enjoy literature with friends. The club was not only endeared to the students who participated but also to the faculty members who sponsored the club, instructor of history and social sciences Kim Laing and associate professor of history Dr. Julie Harris. Both professors knew Krulish well and were happy to support her and provide the outlet for students to freely eJ.<press themselves. "I think a lot of times it's easy in college to forget that you loved reading just for its own sake," Laing said. " [Novelties] is a nice way to remember that." Chaney Mitchell Souvenirs Est. 2002: T. Nance (alumni founder), M. Hawley, J. Goslowsky, M. Claxton (sponsor). Literature & Academics I 243
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==