Hewlett-Woodmere Library group toasts 20 years of reading

Mark Twain said that a classic was a book that people praised but didn’t read. Unfortunately, Twain’s, and so many other terrific writers’, works are now often left to gather dust while lighter literature flies off of the shelf. But for nearly 20 years, the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library has hosted a Great Books Discussion Group, giving lovers of literature an opportunity to revisit the classics.

In 1998, Hewlett resident Iris Gorenberg approached her friend Dr. Allen Lanner, a now-retired English professor, about creating a place where people interested in classic literature could meet to discuss it. “I knew he was brilliant and humorous, and thought he’d be a wonderful asset to the library,” Gorenberg recalled. “And when I asked, he was curious and academic enough to say yes.”

Several members of the club have compared group meetings to a college course — only better, because there are no tests or papers. Lanner leads the discussion, but everyone is eager to participate. “I thought it’d be nice to share ideas with very literate people,” he said when asked why he initially got involved. “We have some incredibly strong readers here with active, enthusiastic comments. I wish my students were like this.”

A dozen members were on hand for the Dec. 12 discussion. According to longtime member Eleanor Wolff, the group started with about 15 members in 1998. “Unless maybe if it was Shakespeare,” she said, laughing. “They’d say they’d come, but then they wouldn’t.”

Walter Fishkind, who recently retired from teaching at Forest Hills High School in Queens, attended his first meeting last week. “I’d be marking papers and preparing tomorrow’s lesson instead of being here if I was still teaching,” he said. “It’s very hard to take the time to read a book and enjoy it when you’re working full-time.”

Most of the group members are of a certain age, but there is a noticeable exception. Kareena Kongyingyong, 22, was studying for her medical school admissions test at the library this fall when she decided to check out the club. “I wanted to get back into reading and work on my critical reading skills,” she said, adding that the group given her the push she’s needed to read a few books she had been putting off. “A lot of these are books I wouldn’t normally pick up. The fiction most people my age read is more lighthearted.”

Other members had run into similar issues with other book clubs. “I suggested ‘The Blue Guitar,’ by John Banville, to another book club,” said Pat Belikis, while also recommending it to the rest of the members at the table. “They came back to me saying there were too many big words.”

The club, which anyone can join, strives to strike a balance between intellectually stimulating and enjoyable to read. According to Ellen Getreu, a club member and a research librarian at the facility, members have moved away from some of the literary epics. “Some of the novels were very hard to keep up with,” she said. “Now we’re in a short-classic-books phase, more shorter novels.”

Before cutting a chocolate cake to celebrate the club’s 20th year Gorenberg paused to toast Lanner. “To Allen,” she said, “who’s helped us for 20 years, with pleasure, with insight, with coherence and with humor.”

Irene Levy, president of the Friends of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, praised Lanner’s ability to start and subtlety move the conversations along. The discussions, Levy added, help her think about each book in a different light. “If you come to this group, you’re going to read some things you’ve never read before,” she said. “Other times, you reread a book when you’re older and see it differently. When you have a meeting like this, it’s an exchange of ideas. Every person may see it differently, and may bring up things you never saw.”

The next meeting is Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.