Beyond the Book: Station Eleven
Your Denison story doesn’t end at graduation — it’s just another chapter. Beyond the Book is more than a book club; it’s a space for alums to explore powerful stories, new perspectives, and themes rooted in the shared experiences of women. Through fiction and nonfiction, professional and personal development reads, and beyond, we’ll dive into Denisonian-selected books that inspire, challenge, and connect us.
Each book selection has been thoughtfully recommended and voted on by a group of volunteers, ensuring that our reading list reflects the interests, experiences, and voices of our Denison community.
While our discussions highlight the narratives that shape women’s lives, all alums are welcome to join the conversation. Come for the books, stay for the connections — because every story is better when shared.
About Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (978-0804172448)
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a post-apocalyptic novel that follows the interconnected lives of a traveling Shakespearean theater troupe of actors and musicians across a fractured North America. It explores themes of art, memory, fame, and what it means to be human in the face of civilization’s collapse. The story weaves between the “before” and “after” as they perform for scattered settlements and their connections to a famous actor who died on stage the night the pandemic began.
If you enjoy this book, you have the opportunity to hear from Emily St. John Mandel when she visits campus for the Beck Literary Festival during Big Red Weekend in November. Ticket information for those who would like to join us on the Hill during that and Big Red Weekend is forthcoming.
Beyond the Book is inspired by the Four Forward initiative, celebrating the first four women to receive degrees from Denison. While Beyond the Book discussions are often rooted in the shared experiences of women, the program is open to all Denisonians interested in engaging with its themes and conversations.
