Alpha Readers: Our Ninth Year

By William Wong '16, Alpha Readers President

Yesterday, the first meeting of the 2014-2015 Alpha Readers book club took place at teacher Ms. Schoonover’s house for a dinner and discussion about the summer selection, The Slype by Russell Thorndike. Beginning its ninth year, Alpha Readers, sponsored by Mr. Robert Davies and NEHS, included teachers Mr. Eric Barr and Ms. Cynthia Michael as well as ten students for a meal of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and dessert. The Slype is set in the not-so-dull town of Dullchester, England, a mostly peaceful and static town, in the early twentieth society. With its eccentric and varied cast of characters (such as the Paper Wizard and Boyce’s Boy), one might think that The Slype would be a simple, fun read; however, things are not as they seem, and the seemingly trouble-free town Dullchester is not at all serene. The topics discussed within The Slype included characterization, vocabulary, and setting. Needless to say, Alpha Readers had a magnificent meeting over a great novel with great food and great people (and great dogs).

*A slype is a covered passage from a cathedral or church to a chapter house (the assembly room of the canons of a church).