Tuesday 20 July 2021 19:00
Our Teen Reading Club, hosted by the author Stella Kasdagli, continues through the summer, and comes together for another exciting meeting at the SNFCC’s Mediterranean Garden.
The book we’ll be reading this month is Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vern.
For this session, 27 members between 12 and 16 years old get together at the SNFCC’s Mediterranean Garden on Tuesday, July 20, at 19:00, to discover alternative worlds waiting to be created by the readers themselves – that’s us!
Don’t worry if you don’t have time to get through the whole book, or if you didn’t make it to our previous meeting: in any case, Stella will give the signal each month, announcing the book we’ll all be reading over the next few weeks. At the end of the month, the gang that has read the book (or half of it, at least!) will get together to share thoughts, impressions, feelings and concerns inspired by what we read – whether we liked it a lot, or not so much!
A bit more on July’s book
Around the World in 80 Days was first published in 1873 by Hetzel in Paris, with illustrations by Alphonse Marie Adolphe de Neuville and Leon Benett. As with all of Vern’s books, this too develops along the backbone of a voyage – or, rather, it is a voyage in itself! A voyage to places real and imagined, to knowledge and myths, to worlds familiar and unknown. And of all his works, this one is an adventure in its purest form, the most beloved and widely read, that takes us on a journey around the customs and traditions of dozens of civilizations, in praise of ingenuity, inner strength, honor and justice, and perseverance in the face of adversity.
The plot:
Eccentric British aristocrat Phileas Fogg wagers his entire fortune on traveling around the world in 80 days, at a time – imagine! – when the fastest modes of transport were trains and steamboats. Accompanied by his faithful servant Passepartout, he embarks upon an adventurous voyage, crossing mind-boggling distances, without ever suspecting that a secret policeman is following his every move, as he considers him a suspect in a major bank robbery in London.
A bit more on Stella
Stella Kasdagli is an author, translator, co-founder of the non-profit organization Women On Top, and educator to teenagers and adults. She completed her degree (only God knows how) in French Philology in Athens, and went on to study Media Theory in London. She worked as an editor on Cosmopolitan magazine for a number of years, while also writing for other Greek and English-language publications and sites. She now designs and implements actions to empower women, writes on topics she’d like to see discussed more widely, translates foreign literature, and runs workshops for teenagers on body image, the internet and social change. She is also (phew!) co-founder of the Mentorkids network and the Bookworm online book club. She has written the books Koilitsa.com [Belly.com], Ithela mono na horeso [I only wanted to fit], 30 gynaikes pou allaksan ton kosmo (kai pos boreis na ton allakseis ki esi) [30 women who changed the world (and how you can change it, too)], and the Princess Athena series. She has two daughters, and they grow up together in Athens.
Tuesday 20/07, 19:00
MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
For boys and girls aged 12-16 years old
Up to 27 participants
Free participation by online pre-registration
Preregistration starts on Friday 02/07 at 12.00
To take part in the Reading Club, those who register must have read the book of the month (or half of it, at least).
Around the World in 80 Days is available in Greek translation by Metaichmio Books.
In the context of the collaboration between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center and the National Library of Greece, the teenage book of July’s Reading Club has been selected by the Staff of the NLG.
The use of face mask and social distancing measures are mandatory in indoor and outdoor areas of the SNFCC, in accordance with Hellenic National Public Health Organization regulations.
Due to public health measures, there may be changes regarding either the staging of the event, or the maximum number of participants.
Children should always be accompanied by parents or adult chaperones, who should stay outside the activity area for as long as the activity lasts.
